New member in Texas

Help... My husband has just purchased a 1981 34 Mainship. The exterior is in good shape, systems work....but boy does the interior need updates! The previous owner gutted the salon and the kitchen and sleep area are original. Any advice is appreciated

Welcome from a neighbor! I believe there are a couple of Mainship 34 owners in here I'm sure you'll be getting some words of wisdom. Maybe post some pictures when you can so they can get an idea of what you are working with.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard. I hope you stick around here, but here is a link that may prove useful.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mainship/info

Thanks, will post pics as soon as we have the old girl on our property.

Welcome to the forum

I have a Mainship 36 DC
The layouts are not that different I don't think.
Where in Tx are you? I just left the Kemah/Seabrook Area.
There is a Yahoo group for Mainship. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mainship/info
The formatting sucks but the people are very helpful. It is not a very active group but always some activity going on. You will finds lots of people with the same boat as yours and probably the same year of manufacture and possibly in your area.
Congrats and good luck.

Thanks to Don and Tony for the Yahoo link. @Tony we are near San Antonio but are still deciding between Corpus or Port Lavaca Marinas.... that is once we finish most of the repairs.

. To me, the choice would be easy. Port Lavaca is way too boring for me unless all you want to do is fish. Corpus is pretty nice and if you want to go about another 30 minutes, Port Aransas has a really neat upscale marina there " Island Moorings Yacht Club and Marina". At least it was the last time I was there around 2006. It had lots of amenities. Great for the whole family and fairly well protected harbor.

This is where I found it, and when I got it to the shop. Harvey

Welcome to TF... you'll find a lot of great advice and support with your "new" boat on this site. In a roundabout way, you may have a diamond in the rough... there's nothing wrong with peeling it back to the "bare walls" and rebuilding it like you want it. It'll take time and $$$$$ but you can end up with a nice vessel to enjoy. It looks like your boat is a single engine, so that means you'll have half the work effort to get it ready to splash. On TF, there's a page to Mainships, and there should be other 1981 MS owners that would be glad to offer advice.. I enjoy my MS and in time, you'll be showing off your new boat... Please keep the photos coming as you rebuild your new project.

Hardluckauto said:

This is where I found it, and when I got it to the shop. Harvey

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If the hull and engines are in good shape, then interior can be easily remedied. Well, not easily. But a lot less trouble than hull and engines.

Not knowing where you live in Texas, but I'd recommend the best marina that is among the closest to you. Simply the closer you are the more you'll use it. As the drive increases, you're more likely to question the worth of the trip when your time is limited.

The hull engine and generator are good. The guy I got it from said that he got it from a guy at lake Travis up in Austin and some marina said that it needed complete wiring redone. He give up. Next guy went to lake Travis made a couple of repairs and drove it across the lake ten miles to the boat dock brought it to his shop where it sat for 5 years and here we go. Last guy said the bottom paint is new just never put in water yet . (He said its saltwater paint) Me being a car/pickup mechanic/body shop and listening to the last guy which I trust and is just a mile away. The only concern I may have is old fuel. So I will address that put some interior in it and off we go.... I will keep you posted I will post pics of interior.
Harvey

As far as the marina goes yes that is our concern is closest and amenities. I think we would sacrifice amenities to achieve a closer distance. That being said, we also have a motorhome and if we want to land camp we'll take the motor home. We got this boat cause its large enough to water camp. Forgive my terminology but that's what we call it for now.If we go to a slip that we don't care for we will try someplace else next year. The one we found in Port Lavaca is a municipal but thats it. But just over east a bit in Palacios is a rv park/marina with amenities we want to check out.

Hardluckauto said:

The hull engine and generator are good. The guy I got it from said that he got it from a guy at lake Travis up in Austin and some marina said that it needed complete wiring redone. He give up. Next guy went to lake Travis made a couple of repairs and drove it across the lake ten miles to the boat dock brought it to his shop where it sat for 5 years and here we go. Last guy said the bottom paint is new just never put in water yet . (He said its saltwater paint) Me being a car/pickup mechanic/body shop and listening to the last guy which I trust and is just a mile away. The only concern I may have is old fuel. So I will address that put some interior in it and off we go.... I will keep you posted I will post pics of interior. Harvey

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. You may have to suck it out to clean it . Does it have clean out ports on the tanks if it does open then to clean Add bio bore to keep it clean or buy lots of filters.

Actually...if you are going to do a lot of work at first...you may want the scruffiest, DIY yard you can find. The manager is important to what they will and won't let you do. Plus a lot of other DIYers can and usually will help/advise while much of your work is going on.

Once the "construction" is done and you just have a few "minor projects" left...then might be a good time to switch.

I had a manager that decided to make my life miserable every time I picked up a sander...I could have been in a "6" starr marina but I was miserable because he was. Got so bad the other boats started harassing him for his treatment of me and my "work in progress".

If you truly have a ton of interior remodeling...you may consider getting your boat closer to home (best is your backyard) until much of it is done...staying on a boat (thankfully you have a motorhome) while major renovations are going on is difficult and can be downright unhealthy from all the dust and fumes depending on your projects and scope.

It is in the scruffiest place possible...my backyard @ my auto shop. I plan on putting on stands to do major work before taking it down to the coast.

We had an '87 Mainship III, great boat. When you get to it, post interior pics so we can see what "gutted" looks like and what ideas may be forthcoming.

FWIW, I did put together some ideas once on what I might have done with ours, had I known then what we know now. Nothing too wild, but also including ideas like replacing the ladder with a circular staircase.

-Chris

Hardluck - I told you so... the advice from TF members you're getting is invaluable and it's based on personal experiences of those who have been down the same waterways. Now my 2 cents. I'm the 3rd owner of my MS and I didn't get a full accounting of service and maintenance. The surveyor confirmed that the mechanical aspects of the boat were sound, but he also advised me set aside the cosmetic issues and get smart on the things that make the boat go - ie engine, transmission, filters, heat exchangers, coolant, zincs, thru hulls... the things that can leave you stranded. This applies to the generator also... the transmission fluid in my trans was reddish brown which indicates a long time between changes - maybe never.... You can get manuals for your engine, gen, trans, etc, and they'll have operator maintenance and service intervals listed. Also, having fluid samples analyzed is helpful. As an auto shop guy, this isn't anything new, but as a new boat owner, it's somewhat of a learning curve. We on TF are always learning something new from other members.. Welcome again.

Hi hardluckauto, I think I know your boat. it was located in Corpus Christi about 2 years and was owned by a young couple. the owners removed pretty all from the inside and one day just left to be never seen again.

Hooking Bull is a DIY boatyard located in Rockport. They have access to a lot of skilled resources.
good luck
Francois (from San Antonio... )

The boat's name is Finesterre

We looked at the Marina and is nice. Has a flood gate. Has nice, clean bathrooms and laundry facilities. Has nice piers but none are covered. Good luck and let me know how you are doing. lol. Due to the fact I am in the same boat so to speak... what did I get myself into I ask. But like you ready for an adventure.