1980 34' Mainship

C

Crossroads

Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
RO Number
2208
Messages
308
Is there any bad history to these boats? They are single diesel boats with pretty good trawler attributes. However, I just wanted to check if there are any negative things like chronic blisters and such.
 
I think some of them had problems with cored decks that would get damaged. Many have already been repaired. Other than that they are a fairly good boat.
 
Friends of ours rebuilt a Mk1 from a wreck. IIRC it was a solid glass hull & cored decks as mentioned above. All deck hardware had to be removed and rebedded. All screw holes were overdrilled and epoxied before rescrewing the hardware down. I believe the only problem area with the cored decks was where the flybridge coaming was attached to the cabin roof. Also IIRC there were some places where the windows were leaking so look for water ingress around all openings.

Have the engine checked over, believe most were Perkins diesels in the 150 HP range. A failed heat exchanger caused a hydrolock which eventually lead to the Mk1 having to be re-engined ($20K). All in all I really like the Mk1 and the only thing I'd do is extend the cabin top over the cockpit.

Rick
 
Very popular boat for the Gulf Coast. As above, the cored decks will go soft if water gets in. In that age boat the aluminum fuel tanks are suspect. You have to cut out the cockpit deck to replace them. Blisters are not much of a problem with Mainships, but they can show up. The boat is not fast and will get slower as you add people and gear. Don't expect much more than 8 to 9 knots, even with the turbo diesel. Good lay out for a crusing couple and low operating cost. A friend and his wife took a early 80's, 34' from the Central Gulf Coast to the Virgin Islands and back.
 
Thanks guys for the help. I'm seriously considering buying one and I've probably over researched the issue already. I've looked at 4 of these boats and the floor in the salon area seems bouncy to me in all of them.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Bill Glockzin

Thanks guys for the help. I'm seriously considering buying one and I've probably over researched the issue already. I've looked at 4 of these boats and the floor in the salon area seems bouncy to me in all of them.

Click to expand...


Hopefully this photo shows up. This is the re-engine of the Mk1 I mentioned.

20041201_5.jpg


You'll notice the gaping hole in the salon floor. This is the massive engine hatch which can be a godsend when you have to get in there and work and as you say a lil' bouncy due to the large span. You could strengthen it to get rid of some of the bounce but that'd add weight. Catch 22!
 
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