davesisk
Member
Hey guys...I'm a newbie here, I've been lurking for a couple weeks, and I've got a few questions.
Last weekend, I went and looked at an older Mainship 34 at the coast here in NC. I spent the night on it, it was reasonably comfortable. Here's the good and bad:
Good:
1) In 2009, it was repowered with a new Perkins 165hp diesel, and it only has about 20 hours or so on it. I don't know if this model even has glow plugs, I don't think it spins more than 1 revolution before it starts. Big plus here. New main battery too (that's a big battery!)
2) The hull appears to be in good shape, bottom was recently painted. I could only find one minor leak (the hatch on bow).
3) The water pumps and plumbing appear to all work, running water, shower, electric marine head...I didn't check the hot water heater, but it looks fairly new. There's AC/heat, and that works (or at least the AC does).
4) There's very little rotten wood (a couple of small spots of the trim on the back). No rotten wood around the sliding door. Overall, it structurally and functionally appears to be very good. (A survey would confirm that.)
Bad:
1) There's a diesel generator that is locked up and won't turn-over (even jumped to the huge main battery). This is quite an expensive replacement (although I'm not sure I'd truly need it for the way I'd use the boat).
2) The carpet is old and musty, the couch is old and a little ragged. (This can be replaced though...this is probably the easiest fix out of anything.) The top side could really use a paint job.
3) Biggest concern, the whole cabin smelled strongly like diesel fuel. I don't know if there's a diesel leak, or there were some spills while replacing the engine, or what. I'd think it would be pretty dangerous to having diesel fuel leaking into the engine compartment...right?
4) There are no electronics on the boat at all...not even a depth guage. Crucial stuff could be added of course, with a little time and money. I could live with the basic depth guage and a good easy-to-use marine GPS. That would suffice for now.
5) There are the typical soft spots on the lower rear deck...it's soft across the back, and there's a really soft spot opposite side from the ladder to the bridge. I think the easiest fix would be to simply cut those sections out, and replace them with sturdy hatches (can't hurt to improve the accessibility to the stuff under the deck, right?).
My plan would be to use the boat mainly as a floating condo, plus cruise around the intra-coastal waterway, probably take it onto the ocean a few times (I love boating so maybe it's time I took up fishing, eh?), find some nice abandoned beaches and anchor for the afternoon (or maybe the night), take it to some of the coastal downtown docks accessible by water (like downtown Wilmington, maybe Morehead City, Beaufort, Southport, etc)...essentially, keep it reasonably close to "home". I don't mind that it's kinda slow, and really like that at a slow speed it'll get about 2gph (my old trailerable Bayliner cabin cruiser uses about 20gph while running!).
Anyway, they are asking $19K, which I gather is essentially what the prior owner paid to replace the engine. What do you guys think? What monthly and yearly maintenance should I include in that price?
Cheers,
Dave
Last weekend, I went and looked at an older Mainship 34 at the coast here in NC. I spent the night on it, it was reasonably comfortable. Here's the good and bad:
Good:
1) In 2009, it was repowered with a new Perkins 165hp diesel, and it only has about 20 hours or so on it. I don't know if this model even has glow plugs, I don't think it spins more than 1 revolution before it starts. Big plus here. New main battery too (that's a big battery!)
2) The hull appears to be in good shape, bottom was recently painted. I could only find one minor leak (the hatch on bow).
3) The water pumps and plumbing appear to all work, running water, shower, electric marine head...I didn't check the hot water heater, but it looks fairly new. There's AC/heat, and that works (or at least the AC does).
4) There's very little rotten wood (a couple of small spots of the trim on the back). No rotten wood around the sliding door. Overall, it structurally and functionally appears to be very good. (A survey would confirm that.)
Bad:
1) There's a diesel generator that is locked up and won't turn-over (even jumped to the huge main battery). This is quite an expensive replacement (although I'm not sure I'd truly need it for the way I'd use the boat).
2) The carpet is old and musty, the couch is old and a little ragged. (This can be replaced though...this is probably the easiest fix out of anything.) The top side could really use a paint job.
3) Biggest concern, the whole cabin smelled strongly like diesel fuel. I don't know if there's a diesel leak, or there were some spills while replacing the engine, or what. I'd think it would be pretty dangerous to having diesel fuel leaking into the engine compartment...right?
4) There are no electronics on the boat at all...not even a depth guage. Crucial stuff could be added of course, with a little time and money. I could live with the basic depth guage and a good easy-to-use marine GPS. That would suffice for now.
5) There are the typical soft spots on the lower rear deck...it's soft across the back, and there's a really soft spot opposite side from the ladder to the bridge. I think the easiest fix would be to simply cut those sections out, and replace them with sturdy hatches (can't hurt to improve the accessibility to the stuff under the deck, right?).
My plan would be to use the boat mainly as a floating condo, plus cruise around the intra-coastal waterway, probably take it onto the ocean a few times (I love boating so maybe it's time I took up fishing, eh?), find some nice abandoned beaches and anchor for the afternoon (or maybe the night), take it to some of the coastal downtown docks accessible by water (like downtown Wilmington, maybe Morehead City, Beaufort, Southport, etc)...essentially, keep it reasonably close to "home". I don't mind that it's kinda slow, and really like that at a slow speed it'll get about 2gph (my old trailerable Bayliner cabin cruiser uses about 20gph while running!).
Anyway, they are asking $19K, which I gather is essentially what the prior owner paid to replace the engine. What do you guys think? What monthly and yearly maintenance should I include in that price?
Cheers,
Dave