Opinions about the Mainship 395 vs, the Beneteau Swift Trawler 34

[bmckinnon]

My wife and I have been looking at a “fast trawler” to play around with in the Chesapeake Bay. We are considering the Mainship 395 or the Beneteau Swift 34’.

It looks like the Beneteau is a little bit faster at a similar price point

What do you guys think?

 

[DavidM]

I saw the Marlow 395 at Trawler Fest a month ago and I saw the Beneteau 34 a year or so ago at the docks in Oriental as it passed through on its Great Loop tour.


The Beneteau is a solid, utilitatrian (and I don't mean ugly) boat that can be cruised long range by a couple or used for short weekend trips for four.


The Marlow 395 is a foo-foo boat. Worse than a True North 38 at about the same price.


David

 

[bmckinnon]

Thank you for your response

What do you mean by foo-foo boat?

 

[Ski in NC]

Ha!! Had to laugh at David's comment. Foo foo is analagous to bling, fluff, frilly window dressings, tiny fluffy dogs, tv reality shows, politicians, etc.

I think he meant that he really did not like it very much!!

 

[DavidM]

I think that Ski caught my meaning. It seemed that Marlow had done everything they could to make that boat look fancy but not be fancy in the sense of a Flemming or a Hinckley. I must admit that the boat I saw at Trawler Fest was customized by a dealer who may have "tarted it up" even more than Marlow did.


David

 

[danderer]

I wasn't impressed with the Marlow either. However, the Mainship 395 is a different boat that Marlow had nothing to do with.

The 395 was built by Mainship just before they went out of business. It was a successor to the 34T with the galley-up and a 2nd stateroom. I thought of it as a blend of a 34T and a 390. Never saw one in person; don't know how many Mainship made before closing the doors.

 

[DavidM]

You may be right. I had forgotten about the short lived Mainship 395. I owned it predecessor, the 34T for several years and like it a lot. It was a perfect couples boat.


The 395 was introduced to: 1) be different, 2) inflate the name and 3) add a guest berth below. The later destroyed the nice layout of the 34T IMO.


So comparing the 34T with the Beneteau 34, I like them both. The Beneteau has a Cummins QSB 380 which is a marginally better engine than the single Yanmar 370 on the Mainship. For some reason- engine, hull design, weight, the Beneteau is claimed to cruise 2-3 kts faster than the Mainship.


The Beneteau has a galley up layout which doesn't give as much saloon room as the Mainship. But it does have a guest berth.


There are lots and lots of Mainship 34Ts on the market now, some as low as $150,000. The Beneteau will be double that, but newer.


David

 

[BandB]

I wasn't impressed with the Marlow either. However, the Mainship 395 is a different boat that Marlow had nothing to do with.

The 395 was built by Mainship just before they went out of business. It was a successor to the 34T with the galley-up and a 2nd stateroom. I thought of it as a blend of a 34T and a 390. Never saw one in person; don't know how many Mainship made before closing the doors.

I would look very carefully at the Mainship, given those conditions. I'm always very concerned about anything built by a company while it's in serious financial trouble and headed toward closing the doors. I definitely would get a survey, but then I'd do that on any boat.

Some of the Mainship 395's were sold with Twin Yanmar's.