1984 Marine Trader LaBelle

Hi, I am a new member and have owned my trawler for 3 years now. Happy to share info with any other MT owners, etc.

New to this form i am currently looking into the marine trader la belle,s any positive or negative information would be greatly apperciated

DOC53 said:

New to this form i am currently looking into the marine trader la belle,s any positive or negative information would be greatly apperciated

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I owned a 1986 40 label. It was a great boat and we really enjoyed it. It was constructed very well with good systems. I sold it a few years back to upgrade. Enjoy

Well they give you a lot of boat for the money. Strong hull, roomy liveaboard. Very suitable for coastal cruising but not a long range offshore type boat. They have a reputation for "leaky teaky" with water penetration to decks and around windows, but depending on age, that is pretty common with all older boats. Hard to give you more specifics without knowing age, engines, asking price, location, etc.

MT Sundeck 36 here in NC. Love the LaBelles. Huge boats. What's your engine package?

Ben said:

MT Sundeck 36 here in NC. Love the LaBelles. Huge boats. What's your engine package?

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I have twin Volvo 165hp diesels. Installing new drive shafts and couplings and cutlass bearings (almost complete). Should be ready for spring launch. And the Labelle is a big boat. Probably more than I need, but great liveaboard for the money. She's a dry boat and my project list is almost complete. New electronics are next on the list but no hurry.

Back in the water!!! Just launched this week. Great to be out of winter storage and ready to enjoy the summer season here in Maine. Did a trial run with the new shafts and cutlass bearing and she ran very smooth. Replaced house battery which died over winter. Hard rains this week but not a single leak! Boat is good to go and running great.

Labelle 40

I have a 40 foot Bestway Labelle Sundeck. Its a lot of boat for the money

I had a 1986 for 3 years. We really enjoyed it and it is a sound built boat. We miss it, however we did upgrade to a Hatteras 48lrc which is giving us the ability to cruise off shore. If we ever go back to inland cruising we would definitely consider buying another me.
Enjoy
Capt Don

We went back into winter storage last week and returned to Florida this week. Summers are short but sweet in Maine.

I am looking at a 47' cockpit model with twin Lehman's and a small turbo, 275 hp what do you know about these! a similar model in a Offshore weighs in 5 tons heavier!

Good timing on this thread, we're looking at the Labelle 40 that's been for sale for a while in Michigan.

I have my boat listed for sale on YachtWorld for $97500. The Lehmans were the base engine for the MTs and are good engines. I have the twin Volvo turbo 165's which provide more cruising speed but who is in a hurry with a trawler. My MT has a good sized keel and hard chines which make for a very smooth stable ride. The MT's are a great live aboard design. Very roomy and the large enclosed sun deck is a big bonus and we entertain groups of friends on it (our boat has become the social center at our Marina). The MT is a fine boat for coastal cruising but not for long range off shore cruising. A trawler designed as a LRC would be much heavier.

I have a 1983 Marine Trader LaBelle 43 footer. So far I love the boat I picked it up in Everett Washington and was going to have it hauled to Portland Oregon, because it had set for 7 years at the port. No one would haul it because it was to wide and tall. I ended up cruising her along the coast and up the Columbia River. She did pretty well. Had a few problems with one of the engines overheating when I took her over 2000 rpm. It took 3 days of day traveling and hitting the ports at night. We were traveling in small craft advisory weather but she seemed to handle it. The pic of her is and older one and hopefully with a lot of love and commitment she will look that way again. I have never seen one like her at the ports that I have been so I think she is unique and I get a lot of admirers at the docks. The only thing that I can say about her that may be negative is that she does have a lot of teak.

We have a `81 Labelle that we purchased last September. WE love it even tho I have had to do a lot of work on it due to non-use. We had the hardtop enclosed this past January and installed a sliding hatch to the flybridge so its now completely enclosed. We just got back from a ten day trip to the San Juans via LaConner north bound and Port Townsend southbound. Cruised at 8 knots 2100 rpm most of the time. Took on 110 gallons at Everett and 92 gallons back at Kingston so we didn't use that much fuel on the trip. They are a good running boat and we get lots of compliments on it. ( not entirely deserved tho )




C

1986 40 ft MT LaBelle

We are looking to upgrade our plumbing to an electroscan and need ideas on where to install it. A friend that has a sister ship suggested the cabinet aft of the head, but we have a sea cock and a exhaust taking up all the room in that locker. If any of you have installed an electr scan I would like to hear from you.
Here is the unit
Raritan Electro Scan Treatment System - 12vdc

Here is our boat with some of the upgrades we have done so far
@ TheOffice

We installed a Hardtop last winter and it is very nice this summer it is cool to sit under. Home | Hard To Top

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quick question.. Does anyone know what size the prop shafts are? getting ready for haulout and planning on new zincs and bottom paint. I cant find the receipt for last years zincs.

Mine was a 2" shaft. It was a 1987 with TAMD 60 engines.

My Marine Trader Labelle 43 is running a 2 1/4. that is hooked to a WB Velvet Drive

cappy1.rm said:

quick question.. Does anyone know what size the prop shafts are? getting ready for haulout and planning on new zincs and bottom paint. I cant find the receipt for last years zincs.

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My 1985 Labelle has 1-3/4 inch shafts with TAMD40Bs

with all the different sizes being reported you need to go inside and measure them with a caliper.

I am sorry about the wrong shaft size. I have a 1 3/4" stainless steel with 25X25 Bronze 3 Blade propeller. Don't forget about the rubber cutlass and the stuffing box. That would also be a good time to check. The engine is a Volvo Penta TMD 40 A

If you have every had your boat surveyed all that information should be in your paperwork.

BillMFl said:

Hi, I am a new member and have owned my trawler for 3 years now. Happy to share info with any other MT owners, etc.

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I am just starting my search and the Le Bella 43 looks like it would meet my needs. I found a 82 Bestway Le Bella with Volvo Penta engines with 2518 hours. I do not plan any off shore , just weekends traveling up and down the east coast in land waterway.

Can you give me any pros and cons on the Bestway Le Bella 43.

BillMFl said:

Well they give you a lot of boat for the money. Strong hull, roomy liveaboard. Very suitable for coastal cruising but not a long range offshore type boat. They have a reputation for "leaky teaky" with water penetration to decks and around windows, but depending on age, that is pretty common with all older boats. Hard to give you more specifics without knowing age, engines, asking price, location, etc.

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It is a 82 with twin Volvo Penta diesels with 2518 hours. It is currently in south Florida