Newbie Needs Purchase Advice

sunchaser said:

Old Dan, much as you could be called GB

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Sunchaser, your boat, your money, spend it however you wish.
IMO, if you buy something made in China, buy two. One part for now and one part to use when the first China part breaks then, hope for the best.

OldDan1943 said:

Spare parts etc. They do not last.

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During the past many decades, name brand Chinese yacht builders tend to stick with well known and accepted mechanicals, electricals and hardware. When my boat was being built, the spec sheet listed many "world" common yacht build things whether engines, genset, instruments, FRP products, hatches, blowers, plumbing, windlass etc.

Bottom line, normal spare parts sourcing is about the same as American Tug I would guess.

As I said, IMO, dont buy parts made in China.
Your boat, your money, do as you wish.

I am not saying "Buy US made parts." I am saying Chinese made parts may not made up to acceptable standards.

OldDan1943 said:

I am saying Chinese made parts may not made up to acceptable standards.

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OK, I'll bite. What specific Chinese made parts on what brand of boat are you referencing?

Sunchaser keep buying Chinese made parts and you can make up your own list.

Steveandkelly said:

This is great advice. In a way you are scaring me, but perhaps that's a good thing. You are right, I have decided on the Mainship 34 Trawler before I have really even looked at and evaluated these boats. The part that is scary is the financial part. If we make an expensive mistake or error this is going to have a detrimental effect on us. So I appreciate the message you provided. I will take that to heart.

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Steveandkelly,

It's unlikely that you'd make a huge financial mistake, unless you just paid too much or had a major failure of something.

If you bought the MS 340 and you just didn't like it, there are buyers out there for that boat and you shouldn't take a big hit, unlike some rare orphaned or very expensive boats that are just hard to sell.

All of the Mainships are fairly popular and nice boats, and they are American Made in St. Augustine, FL. However, I've sure there could be some Chinese parts on board.

BTW, I've never had a ounce of problems getting parts for my MS, often overnight if needed.

OldDan1943 said:

Sunchaser keep buying Chinese made parts and you can make up your own list.

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It astounding to see the country of origin for all sorts of things we buy on a daily basis that are made in China. Batteries, watches, I Pads, cell phones, TVs, refrigerators, washer, dryers, laptops, electric motors, alternators, wind farm systems, solar panels, oil filters, raw materials shoes and clothing but to name a few.

Except for electronics I don't recall any replacement Chinese made boat parts I've purchased. Except for those that fall in above paragraph. I am not alone in the boating world in this regard.

To say don't buy Chinese made boats eliminates over 2/3 (or more) of normal recreational trawlers from the mix as far as point of assembly. It would be interesting to ascertain if an American Tug is any better made or equipped than a Helmsman or North Pacific. All 3 use pretty much the same "critical" build and construction parts.

I said PARTS.

OldDan1943 said:

I said PARTS.

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I got what you meant e.g. Chinese metallurgy that caused the massive Groco seacock recall, Chinese anodes that either last for two days or 10 years. Non-brand name Chinese electronics bought on E-bay ........ etc.

There are valid concerns about equipment from a country that thinks it's ok to add melamine to powerded milk.

boatpoker said:

I got what you meant e.g. Chinese metallurgy that caused the massive Groco seacock recall, Chinese anodes that either last for two days or 10 years. Non-brand name Chinese electronics bought on E-bay ........ etc.

There are valid concerns about equipment from a country that thinks it's ok to add melamine to powerded milk.

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Well quite a lot of equipment is coming from there if not most of it, the difference is more about the quality control made on what is manufactured than the country of origin. Even in US and Canada or Europe some junk is manufactured by companies that prefer volume over quality.

L

Lou_tribal said:

Well quite a lot of equipment is coming from there if not most of it, the difference is more about the quality control made on what is manufactured than the country of origin. Even in US and Canada or Europe some junk is manufactured by companies that prefer volume over quality.

L

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Oh yea, my Kaiser auto turned to rust shortly after purchase.

Lou_tribal said:

Well quite a lot of equipment is coming from there if not most of it, the difference is more about the quality control made on what is manufactured than the country of origin. Even in US and Canada or Europe some junk is manufactured by companies that prefer volume over quality.

L

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Hence the qualifier "Non-brand name".

Is there someone in your area w a Mainship? We have had folks walk down the dock to look at ours (one came by dinghy while we were at anchor), we are always happy to show them around. If you see one go say hi and see if you can get a tour.

It is a good way to start. Also don't be afraid to take a road trip, we went 6hrs to Canadian boarder ( 5min and we knew that one was not for us)and a week later 8hrs to MD (bingo!) to check out boats. Enjoy the hunt

Good advice. Thank you.

I can get you on a number of Mainship 34 both fly and pilot next spring as we have an owners group in the cove. They are not for sale but you could see the options. Pm me if interested.

Where is “the cove?” I doubt we will have pulled the trigger by then so this might be a great idea. Thanks!

Warwick cove in RI. Bit icy now

Gotcha. Thanks.

OldDan1943 said:

I said PARTS.

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Where do you think Cummins/Onan Genuine Branded and Boxed genset stop/start solenoids are made? Look at the "PART". It`s made in China, boxed,imported and sold by Cummins. I can, and have bought and carry onboard, a proudly Chinese made spare, at one 1/5th of the Cummins price, delivered in one day from the local stock in Australia, of a Chinese seller. Would not be surprised if the same factory made both.
Are not whole refrigerators, and washers, and lots of appliances, built of PARTS, assembled together? Muir windlasses, made here, have Italian gearboxes and European made motors. And that range of component sources probably varies.
Years ago Japanese quality was poorly regarded. These days it is often "the standard". Same with Korean cars 20 years ago, but not now. It may be popular to rubbish China, for political/economic reasons etc etc, but quality is not all bad, and improving.

As I am sure many of you are as well, I have been around long enough to verify what BruceK was saying about the historical quality of Japanese and Korean products. There was a time when products coming from this two countries were most definitely inferior. Not the case today! Politics aside, when it comes to a product or component that has any kind of tight technical standard, I am loath to purchase “it,” if it was manufactured in China. Just my opinion.

IMO if you want to be happy with the boat you buy you must do a lot of homework. Climb aboard a lot of boats before you decide. After you buy you will see a lot of boats and you don't want to discover that you would have been happier with something else.

On one of our weekend boat searches in Wickford RI we found a great ice cream shop: The Inside Scoop in North Kingstown RI just off of route 1

https://www.theinsidescoopri.com/

The boats were a bust but the ice cream--- we still talk about.
Greg and Rosie

OK, good folks. We are taking all of this great input and advice into account. You may have read that the focus of our interest at this time is a 2004 - 2009 Mainship 34 Trawler. All of them but 1 we have looked at (on-line) have had both the flybridge control station and the helm station in the salon. We have found one on-line that looks great, but it is the only one of this model that only has the helm station up on the flybridge. What are the negatives you can tell us about with only having the flybridge helm or control station?

If it gets rocky, it will really rock up there. I only drive the boat from the fly bridge, but I have stabilizers. Also, you will need to make sure the enclosure is sound unless you like driving in the rain and cold.

Gordon

Gordon J said:

If it gets rocky, it will really rock up there. I only drive the boat from the fly bridge, but I have stabilizers. Also, you will need to make sure the enclosure is sound unless you like driving in the rain and cold.

Gordon

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Agree with Gordon. The higher you are the more accentuated the roll ... and ... you can't keep watch (on the boat or your partner) while you make a pot of coffee.

bayview said:

IMO if you want to be happy with the boat you buy you must do a lot of homework. Climb aboard a lot of boats before you decide. After you buy you will see a lot of boats and you don't want to discover that you would have been happier with something else.

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I agree wholeheartedly with Bayview!!!
As I have stated in earlier posts, don't rush into the first brand/model of boat that "looks nice" to you. First carefully look at what you want to do with said boat, decide on your wants (such as single or twin engine, gen set, watermaker), needs, and DON'T WANT (for your specific use).

Many people like their flybridge. Some love to operate their boat from their, especially in beautiful, calm weather. However, I know many people who have flybridges, and after using them, just don't anymore. They find it better (for their circumstances) to helm from the pilothouse or inside station if no pilothouse. Inside, you are protected from the wind and weather, closer to the head, galley, ER, etc., and better access to the deck for helping out when docking, anchoring, catching a mooring, etc. The first mate (person not driving the boat) may get tired of taking food and drinks up top, then having to take the dirty dishes and leftover back down to the galley. On some boats, access to the flybridge is difficult (only one ladder) and may be very difficult in a rolling seaway. Did someone mention the roll issue???
Personally, one of my WOULD NOT WANTS would be having to operate from a flybridge as the only option!
MainShips are good boats, but may not be the right boat for what you are proposing to use it for?? Don't know, only you can decide that.

All of the above is just my humble opinion
Good luck,
Tom

Just my opinion.
I have no use for an upper steering station. Something about riding out a storm and a pendulum, so I would need to carry a bucket if I went up there.
Plus, one might wait too long to go inside due to bad weather then, you are stuck up there until the weather clears.
I see these fishing boats with Tuna Towers.... They are built for the young folks. Young folks always seem to have something to prove. Who do you think came up with, "Hey, watch this."? A young guy, no doubt.
I dont think I ever had anything to prove.
I like to be inside, dry, in the AC or heat and close to the food, coffee and HEAD.
It is not the fear of heights that bothers me. It is the fear of falling off.

Steveandkelly said:

OK, good folks. We are taking all of this great input and advice into account. You may have read that the focus of our interest at this time is a 2004 - 2009 Mainship 34 Trawler. All of them but 1 we have looked at (on-line) have had both the flybridge control station and the helm station in the salon. We have found one on-line that looks great, but it is the only one of this model that only has the helm station up on the flybridge. What are the negatives you can tell us about with only having the flybridge helm or control station?

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Seems odd... Luhrs/Mainship didn't do much in the way of customization. There are a few instances where they offered a lower helm in a boat model that otherwise wouldn't have had one... but going the other way (deleting a common construction feature) seems goofy.

Did they also eliminate the side door in that instance?

Maybe it wouldn't be impossible, or even all that difficult, to add lower helm controls where they would normally have been located, anyway.

-Chris

ranger42c said:

Seems odd... Luhrs/Mainship didn't do much in the way of customization. There are a few instances where they offered a lower helm in a boat model that otherwise wouldn't have had one... but going the other way (deleting a common construction feature) seems goofy.

Did they also eliminate the side door in that instance?

Maybe it wouldn't be impossible, or even all that difficult, to add lower helm controls where they would normally have been located, anyway.

-Chris

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Chris, NOTHING is impossible if you have good techs, time and lots of money.
Why not start with a boat that has a lower steering station?

I built my 38 with both an upper and lower helm station. I find I run 95% from the lower station. Out of the elements, food, drinks, stereo, navigation electronics out of the weather, easy access to anchor and docking lines, less motion in the seas, etc, etc.

Nice to go up top sometimes in super weather and clear water. But would not like having to be up there all the time.

Lower stations fell out of favor with high HP faster boats, where it was not possible to see over the bow when angled up.