At 26.9 feet overall, with a 25-foot waterline, it’s a compact dual-purpose boat: a fin-keeled, masthead-rigged sloop with a shaft-drive diesel and six berths. Brohäll balanced its modest coastal-cruising dimensions with an unexpectedly serious rig and a ballast-to-displacement relationship that belies the boat’s size.
Design and Construction
Albin Marin AB built the 82 MS in fiberglass. The hull is a sprayed single laminate of glass-fiber-reinforced polyester, while the deck uses sandwich construction.
The fin keel carries 1,984 pounds of iron ballast against a total displacement of 7,496 pounds. That gives the boat a 34 percent ballast ratio, placing it firmly toward the stable end of the spectrum for a boat of this length.
A length-to-beam ratio of 2.89 and a displacement-length ratio of 215 describe a hull with moderate beam—9.32 feet—and load-carrying, comfort-oriented sections rather than the proportions of a featherweight racer. Wetted surface is roughly 247 square feet, and the immersion rate is 811 pounds per inch. In practical terms, the boat sits heavily and changes trim slowly under stores and crew, consistent with the class’s recorded Motion Comfort Ratio of 23.0 to 23.2.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The 82 MS has a masthead rig and a generous sail plan for a 27-footer. It carries more rig than 90 percent of similar sailboats, with a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.3 using the ISO reference sail and 17.0 with a 135 percent genoa.
That substantial rig sits over a hull with a theoretical displacement speed of 6.7 knots. Period specifications nevertheless list a cruising speed of 7.0 knots, reflecting the motorsailer brief, in which the Volvo Penta diesel and shaft drive do real work.
The capsize screening value is 1.90, which indicates that the boat could, by that formula alone, be accepted for ocean-race participation. Its spade rudder and fin keel give it the directional manners expected of a Brohäll coastal design.
Accommodations and Cruising Role
Below, the 82 MS has one cabin with six berths, along with a galley and toilet facility. On a 26.9-foot hull, the single-cabin layout devotes the available interior to practical cruising space rather than partitioned staterooms.
Water capacity is 17.2 gallons, paired with 33 gallons of diesel. Those capacities frame the boat as a weekend and short-coast cruiser rather than a long-range liveaboard. Its motorsailer character also shapes the interior volume: the deckhouse and cockpit arrangement favors a sheltered helm and ready galley access over open-plan racing accommodation.
Home-Completed Boats and Survey Considerations
Some of the 82 MS fleet was sold for completion at home, so certain hulls reached owners as unfinished shells rather than factory-finished boats. On those examples, the quality and consistency of the interior joinery, electrical routing, and through-hull installation depend on the individual builder rather than Albin Marin AB’s production line.
The solid-fiberglass hull laminate and sandwich deck are straightforward to assess for moisture, but a home-completed boat deserves the same scrutiny as an amateur refit.
Verdict
The Albin 82 MS is a small Swedish motorsailer with a disproportionately serious rig and a stable, comfort-oriented hull. Brohäll’s mid-1970s design combines a genuine ocean-race screening figure with six berths in a boat under 27 feet. The main wrinkle for buyers is the home-completed portion of the 220-boat fleet, where workmanship can fall outside factory control.
Pros
- Fin keel and spade rudder, with a 34 percent iron-ballast ratio and a comfort ratio near 23
- Masthead rig with more sail area relative to displacement than 90 percent of similar sailboats
- Capsize screening value of 1.90, meeting the ocean-race acceptance formula
- Six berths, galley, and toilet in a compact motorsailer
Cons
- Some hulls were completed at home, leaving finish quality outside factory control
- Modest 17.2-gallon water capacity limits extended cruising range
- Heavy immersion rate of 811 pounds per inch means trim shifts noticeably with load
