1984 Mainship 40

It has twin Perkins which they say will burn a little over a gallon an hour doing 11kt. Sounds a little off, anyone agree?

Overall, how well was this boat built? It's called a motor cruiser in the ad, but I don't know if that's what it was actually called so it makes research hard. It seems like it could be a really nice boat. Anyone know about them?

Thanks in advance!

We have a single Perkins 135hp 6.354MT in our TT and it burns a little over a gallon an hour at 7kts with a displacement hull. I would wager what you are being told is orders of magnitude off.

SaltyDawg86 said:

It has twin Perkins which they say will burn a little over a gallon an hour doing 11kt. Sounds a little off, anyone agree?

Overall, how well was this boat built? It's called a motor cruiser in the ad, but I don't know if that's what it was actually called so it makes research hard. It seems like it could be a really nice boat. Anyone know about them?

Thanks in advance!

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Sounds off, to me. I'd guess "a little over a gallon an hour" could be right, but more likely at 7 kts or so. "11 knots" could maybe be a legit cruise speed, though. Might be an editing problem more than anything else. In any case, it'd probably still be a reasonably economical boat (for fuel burn) in the grand scheme of things.

We had an '87 34 MkIII and it was well built, good boat. Oak interior. Ours was a single DD 8.2T, 220-hp IIRC, very economical.

The 40 might have been a double-cabin model, can't quite remember. Thought I remembered the 36 DC and 40s were mostly gas engines, but maybe not... unless the boat you're looking at is a repower.

There's a Mainship group somewhere, Yahoo I think.

-Chris

Those fuel numbers are GREATLY exaggerated. More like 3 to 4 gph per engine at that speed.
They are nice boats been on several, know several owners.
Try the Mainship owner's group in Yahoo for specifics about that model.

We've got a 1981 40' but is got a little cockpit instead of an aft cabin. We burn a little over a gallon and a half per engine at just under 8 knots (I don't have good numbers yet). We've got the perkins

Overall it's a really solid boat. Keep an eye on the bridge deck and foredeck for soft spots.

Ours was labeled a mainship 40 pilothouse., if that helps. And it sounds like only 20 or so were made.

Good luck, let us know if you go have any other questions and if you go ahead with it!

Think you talk about this ad. 1984 Mainship 40 Motor Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Reiziger said:

Think you talk about this ad. 1984 Mainship 40 Motor Cruiser Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

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Looks like a interesting project boat but needs a lot of work

Ad says "around a gallon per hour each", more in line with jleonards numbers. At 11kts?

Nice looking boat though.

Haha yes, that's the boat. The seller said there's a soft spot on the bridge. How hard is it to fix? IMO for that price, if I do the updates, it could be a really good deal. I'm waiting to get "accepted" into the yahoo group so I can ask them as well. Thanks for the input.

SaltyDawg86 said:

Haha yes, that's the boat. The seller said there's a soft spot on the bridge. How hard is it to fix? IMO for that price, if I do the updates, it could be a really good deal. I'm waiting to get "accepted" into the yahoo group so I can ask them as well. Thanks for the input.

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Soft spot on the bridge could be a simple if your handy lots of resources online

but you really never know until you get into it

That is true. I'm on my ship right now and won't be home until Thursday. The wife and I are chewing it over, but it could be a lot of fun!

Looks rough, but if the engines really do run well... and the hull is sound... and if you can do much of the work yourself... could be a decent project.


Interior work could be as "simple" as cleaning up the cabinetry (sanding, new varnish, etc.), new countertops and sinks, decent cooktop and so forth, maybe replace the range/oven thing with a combo microwave/convection oven in the same lower space (to get the microwave off the shelf), wall cleaning (looks like hardboard of some sort?), carpeting, new mattresses and upholstery, etc. It's probably not too difficult to cost all that out beforehand to see if the numbers can work...


I don't see a note about a genset, so assume there isn't one.


-Chris

That's a 40 Pilot House. Around 40 were made. Not too bad of a layout for 2 people, but not for everyone. (The double cabin is more popular).
I almost bought one with intent to make a single engine boat out of it, but didn't like the lack of access around the outside (personal opinion).

Soft decks on an old Mainship are easy to fix. Do it all at once ort pick away at it. I rebuilt the entire bridge deck of a 78 in 4 weekends one spring when the boat was on the hard.
At that price you can't go wrong IMHO. A friend sold around here a few years ago for 15K and I think he stole the boat.
Those engines are still supported although some of the parts are very pricey.
With that open layout any changes you want to make would only be limited by your imagination.
Good luck.

I don't like hearing it's good for 2. I have 2 boys as well and at times I'm sure some friends may like to come along. It's a good deal I think, but it may not be what I'm looking for. Hummm....

We have the turboed version of that motor (twins) on a smaller boat. They burn a little over 2gph each at 8 knots. Not sure how the seller is figuring that burn rate but I'm with the majority here thinking that sounds a little optimistic.

We bought a boat that didn't "need" anything but we've done tons too it over five years. My point being you're unlikely to get a boat you're not going to do some work on, at least from that era. At least with a fixer upper from a motivated seller you're increasing value somewhat with the improvements. In any case you'll probably increase your enjoyment! I wouldn't let the needed work scare you off; you seem ready, willing and able to take it on.

Good luck on your boat search!!

Pineapple Girl said:

We have the turboed version of that motor (twins) on a smaller boat. They burn a little over 2gph each at 8 knots. Not sure how the seller is figuring that burn rate but I'm with the majority here thinking that sounds a little optimistic.
!!

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The engines in the Mainship ARE turbocharged.

Saltydog
Wife and I have a 40' Mainship Double Cabin..Same hull, but we have 2 turbo charged Perkins at 200hp each. Running at 7-8kts, we burn 4 gph...bump it up to 11 and it's closer to 6gph any higher and I just open the wallet and don't worry about it. WOT is about 13kts. Personally, at $12k for the boat, I really don't see any way you can go wrong as long as the mechanicals are good and the hull is sound. SURVEY required IMO. (BTW we LOVE our boat)!

40' Mainship Pilothouse

I looked hard at the 40' pilothouse for a long time. Couldn't find one worth buying on the west coast. If yours is the pilothouse model then I was convinced it was an almost perfect "couples" boat. Mainship only built about 20 of them. They were not a hit for Mainship primarily because they were a single stateroom in an era full of aft cabin boats. I remember 2 things about the configuration that I hoped had been done different. The aft cockpit was too small and the swim step door opened to the outside which I always thought felt a little backwards.
She's a well built boat, have fun.

Yea there lies the problem. We have 2 kids. We would like 2 staterooms so I don't know if this would be worth it. The price is good and I know how to get my hands dirty, but I don't know if it will fit our needs.

Not too far from you when you get home if you like to come see my Senator 35 sundeck witha Perkins 6-354 im in Potsmouth

Perkind 6-354 Fuel consumption

We have a Senator 35 sundeck witha perkins 6-354 we burn approximately 2.75gal/per hr at 2150rpms to make 7 kn/hr.Portsmouth Va

Twlight time said:

We have a Senator 35 sundeck witha perkins 6-354 we burn approximately 2.75gal/per hr at 2150rpms to make 7 kn/hr.Portsmouth Va

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We make 7 kts at 1650rpms with our single Perkins 6.354. It shouldn't take 2150 rpms to make 7 kts. Is your bottom clean? Are you propped properly?