Mainship 40 general and 1 or 2 engines

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charlesr

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May 14, 2014
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Just joined the forum as my wife and I head toward retirement and a cruising lifestyle. Hoping you folks can provide sage advise. We looking at a 40-45' power boat that will be based in St. Pete's, FL

Our cruising style is 7-8 kts but I like knowing I have more speed available if necessary to avoid weather, etc. We'll probably spend about a week at a time on the boat, maybe a few weeks in the Bahamas or who knows, we might do The Loop some year. Usually it's just the two of us but will probably have guests for day trips or looking forward to welcoming new marina friends on board for a cocktail; ie entertaining space. We've bounced around a lot of styles but we keep coming back to trawlers and I'm seeing everything we need plus decent value in the Mainship 40 (opinions welcomed please).

What I'm really struggling with is single or twin engines. I see the advantages of each:
Single - better fuel economy (I assume), lower maintenance costs, more room to service the engine, etc
Twin - reliability of two engines, faster at WOT, better maneuverability (although bow thruster is standard on the singe, it seems lots of the twins have them as well)

My problem is I don't know which of these are significant advantages.
Sorry for the lengthy post but any insights or general comments on the Mainship 40 much appreciated
 
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Oh my. The age old question single or twins. Mr. c. Do a search of the archives. There are numerous threads (I think) although the way threads creep around here, answers may be buried. Whatever you do, DON'T ask about anchors (yet)....
"...I don't know which of these are significant advantages". EVERY boat is a compromise on some level(s). You're on a good site to get a broad range of opinions. The final choices will be up to you so keep those questions coming.
 
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I'd say single and thruster you'd be just fine. You can always add a stern thruster too.
 
Have a good look at Eastbays and Down East styles. A 42 NT or similar sized American Tug are others to consider. These all give you marvelously built vessels with a turn of speed when you desire it.
 
A single engine with out thruster will do about 95% of the manuvers required to get into tiny slips in advese conditions.

With a thruster a single engine can do 98% of the manuvering a twin can do.

This assumes very skilled and practiced operators for both boats!

A good skipper will know when to say NO, and demand a different slip , or simply anchor out.


Really depends on your cruising lifestyle , M>M marina to marina or anchor out most of the time.

1 or 2 engines is not a rational discussion , it is a RELIGOUS discussion , like anchoring or gas vs diesel.

Tons in the archives,,,,

AMEN
 
FF said:
A single engine with out thruster will do about 95% of the manuvers required to get into tiny slips in advese conditions.

With a thruster a single engine can do 98% of the manuvering a twin can do.
Click to expand...


Adding slightly to that...

A single engine without thruster but with one good crew aboard and a spring line can do about 97%...

And a single engine with thruster and one good crew member and a spring line can do about 99%...

-Chris
 
looking at the right things?

Welcome
+1 on the "not a rational discussion"
any extra focus on this arguable technical issue detracts from the important tasks of

1) pleasing the admiral
2) achieving value for money
3) making sure the prospect is not fooling you
4) figuring out how to pay for it and where to put it
5) having the courage to pull the trigger and
6) finding the time to use it
 
We have a Mainship Sedan bridge and we love it!! Having two engines is nice as last season we had to "limp" back home with one engine...
 
Thanks for the insights so far. Yup, pleasing the Admiral is a must and she really likes the Mainship 40 galley. Looking forward to more thoughts.
 
Yes, the galley is great and we love the walkway from the bridge to the bow.
 
51zulu said:
Yes, the galley is great and we love the walkway from the bridge to the bow.
Click to expand...
I have a Mainship 40SB with a finshed hardtop. It has the largest VETUS bow thruster that runs on 12VDC. The boats never let us the down the salon and galley are full width of the boat very nice. My wife's not sure if she can get used to the narrower 36 Gulfstar, I know I'll get real used to the fuel burn in the Gulfstar.
Bill
 
We have a 2005 Mainship 40 T, with twin Yanmar 240hp. We looked long and hard at many, many boats when we moved up from our Gulfstar 36. It fit our needs/budget best, though I would likely have bought a 42 sabre if I could have afforded one.

We love it so far. Personally, I was not at all interested in the single as it was just too slow/inefficient at anything above hull speed. We mostly run at hull speed, but it is really nice to have more speed when you need it. Not so much to outrun weather (I cant even do that in my flats skiff and it runs 50 knots) but to use on a long delivery type trip.

Our boat is pretty happy at 2900 rpm, which is right around 15 knots. It's nice to cross the gulfstream in 3.5 hours instead of 7.

Also, we have come in on one motor two or three times over the years (our old boat was twins as well). Once in the middle of nowhere in the Bahamas we would have been screwed with a single.
 
Bill, do you have a picture of the hardtop?? I would be very interested to see as I am leaning towards installing one on mine.
 
http://www.trawlerforum.com/attachments/photobucket/img_234557_0_3cefe823947664f3106b5696a31e81ab.jpg

img_234557_0_3cefe823947664f3106b5696a31e81ab.jpg
 
There you go I hope that's what you are looking for. The hardtop is finished on both sides and insulated with Divinicell.
Bill
 
Here is the original soft top and old arch

img_234561_0_18a120721b7c428e140f360721090b7d.jpg
 
Very Nice!!! A definite improvment. I leaning a little more that way now! Thanx very much for the pictures.
 
There is 1 huge problem if you do a custom hardtop like mine. When you go to sell the boat it can not be trucked. It has to go to it's new owners via it's own power and bottom. I can not remove the hardtop without cutting the X bracing and removing all the electronics in the channels and arch. This would ruin the vessel.
Bill
 
Dougcole, are you still around,
I read your old thread and wanted to get an idea for the fuel consumption as we are looking at a 40 twin, Yan, 260 and the broker cannot provide the info.
I am hoping for a reasonable cruise speed, not 8 knots, maybe 12 and wonder if you had a fuel curve
Thanks
 
Hi Bigfoot.

Sorry for the delay getting back to you, I just noticed this post. At 2,900 RPM, about 15 knots, we burn 12 to 14 GPH. For cruise planning at fast speeds I figure on 1 MPG, just to give myself a cushion. At 1850 RPM, about 8 knots, we burn 4 to 4.5 gph.

On a recent three week trip we went from Stuart outside down almost to Ft. Lauderdale, then across to Bimini, then from Bimini to the Berrys, then messed around in the berrys for a while, then around Hole In the Wall into the Abacos, North throught the chain around to West End then back up to Stuart we burned exactly 10 GPH. That was a mix of hull speed and fast cruise. that also included a good bit of generator use.

Hope that helps.
 
charlesr said:
Just joined the forum as my wife and I head toward retirement and a cruising lifestyle. Hoping you folks can provide sage advise. We looking at a 40-45' power boat that will be based in St. Pete's, FL

Our cruising style is 7-8 kts but I like knowing I have more speed available if necessary to avoid weather, etc. We'll probably spend about a week at a time on the boat, maybe a few weeks in the Bahamas or who knows, we might do The Loop some year. Usually it's just the two of us but will probably have guests for day trips or looking forward to welcoming new marina friends on board for a cocktail; ie entertaining space. We've bounced around a lot of styles but we keep coming back to trawlers and I'm seeing everything we need plus decent value in the Mainship 40 (opinions welcomed please).

What I'm really struggling with is single or twin engines. I see the advantages of each:
Single - better fuel economy (I assume), lower maintenance costs, more room to service the engine, etc
Twin - reliability of two engines, faster at WOT, better maneuverability (although bow thruster is standard on the singe, it seems lots of the twins have them as well)

My problem is I don't know which of these are significant advantages.
Sorry for the lengthy post but any insights or general comments on the Mainship 40 much appreciated
Click to expand...
We seem to share common goals. I am already steering away from twins based upon fuel consumption, added weight and added cost to maintain etc. I totally agree on the bow and better yet, bow and stern thrusters. I have been seriously looking at the mainship lineup, I like the layout and the cost. I have heard though that they are really meant for inter coastal cruising etc and also do not track as well as others due to a smaller keel? I have also been looking at the tug lineup, between American, Nordic etc. Much more expensive than the Mainship but seem to be able to handle more water
 
ADK1

We have owned ocean boats since 1981 with single gas, twin gas and twin diesel

Certainly a single diesel is most economical in most situations but our history is as follows

Single gas- carburetor problem- tow home
- seized up the clutch on a leg- tow home

Twin gas - v-drive breakdown- came home on twin engine
- distributor bearing failure- came home on twin engine
- irreparable water pump failure- came home on twin

Twin diesel - blew an o-ring at an oil cooler -came home on the twin engine
- lost an air sensor- came home on the twin engine
- lost a leg - came home on the twin engine
-lost a clutch on a leg- came home on the twin engine

The common denominator for the twins is "came home on the twin engine"

As we boat in an area that does not have a C-Tow or equivalent service or many boaters in the area to help out, "coming home on the twin engine" is extremely important.

I would never own another single engine boat and I would never fly to Europe in a single engine jet airplane.

An often used argument for single that commercial fishing boats often use singles but these guys are often within sight of other vessels and help.
If you are in the same boat, then a single engine might be the way to go but ruling them out for money saved and giving up safety needs careful consideration.
 
Without getting into the general advantages/disadvantages of twins vs. single I'll speak to the specific reasons I think a twin Mainship 400 is a better boat than a single, at least for me.

1. Speed. The twin is capable of cruising at 15 knots at about 75 to 80% throttle. The single, from everything I read, is not.

2. Fuel burn. The twin burns only marginally more fuel at all speeds, and less at over 10 knots.

3. Draft. The draft on the single is around 6" more. That may not matter in some parts of the country but it matters in the Bahamas and Florida.

4. Engine access. Some on here are going to howl about this, but due to the layout of the ER Hatches, engine access on the 400T is the same as, if not better, on the twin. You open one hatch and you are down between the engines without moving any furniture. To access the port side of the engine on the single you have to move the couch.

5. Resale value. The twin engine boats are worth in the range of $10,000 more on the used market, and according to my broker, sell faster.

Again, there are advantages for twins in every boat (maneuverability, get home ability) and disadvantages (maintenance costs, unprotected props) but these are specific to the 400.
 
Very interesting that a twin drafts less than a single? Good comments on this post they are appreciated. The safety aspect of a backup engine has me thinking more. I guess depends on the type of cruising. I look at the nordhavn three at sea who have cruised thousands of miles with only a single in their 40'. Were they just lucky? Hard saying.
 
Dougcole said:
4. Engine access. Some on here are going to howl about this, but due to the layout of the ER Hatches, engine access on the 400T is the same as, if not better, on the twin. You open one hatch and you are down between the engines without moving any furniture. To access the port side of the engine on the single you have to move the couch.
Click to expand...


Do the engines have service points on the outboard sides? What does it take to access outboard sides of each engine in the twin set-up?

-Chris
 
Yes, there are service points on the "outside of the engines." I'd call the access to that area fair but not great. Main thing is a few zincs, which are pretty easy, the raw water pump and impeller on the port side (you have to pull the pump, but you have to do that anyway to access the impeller) and the oil filter on the Stb side which I change by punching a hole in it and draining it into a milk jug.
 
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Mainship

One other advantage of the single is that the prop is better protected from floating debris. I looked at both and bought a single. One year later, I am happy with that decision. I suggest that if going fast is a major desire, you might consider a different type of boat that can get to 20 - 30 knots
 
I had owned a Mainship 390, with a single Yanmar 315. Cruising speed was 8-10 knots. This is similar to the 400. I'm not sure if you can get a 400 with a 315, as I recall Mainship changed their focus to fast trawlers. I would recommend the 390 as a possible alternative (if you want a real trawler speed boat).
 
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