Mainship Hull Construction

[Mermaid]

I am doing my research for my next boat. It will be a single engine, 40-ish foot, Kadey Krogen, Nordhavn, Nordic Tug or Mainship, or something similar, a less than 20 year old boat (and preferably newer), with as little teak as possible and absolutely no teak decks. I am downsizing from a 58' Hatteras motoryacht that has 4 staterooms/4 heads/4 showers - a big boat. I don't need all that much boat. There is a Plan A and a Plan B which why my prospects have such diversity.

Being a long time Hatteras owner, I am set on a few "must haves". One of those is a solid hull - no coring. My question is are Mainships cored or do they have solid hulls? If some are cored and some are solid, at what year did they change to solid hulls?

If solid, does anyone know how they were laid up, how thick they are and what kind of resin is used? Thanks for your advice.

 

[psneeld]

Saw a 39 Mainship in a travel lift get squeezed enough to crack the side decks at the fuel fills....pretty sure it eas a 39.

Cant say why, but shocked me none the less.

I would definitely see if that was a freak or a model flaw.

 

[Keysdisease]

I'm pretty certain all Mainships have solid fiberglass hulls that are cored above the waterline.

 

[Keysdisease]

Interesting, most Travel lifts don't squeeze a boat at the gunnel in such a way as to put pressure on the side decks. The straps are supposed to be spotted where there are bulkheads where there is plenty of structural strength to keep that kind of thing from happening

Saw a 39 Mainship in a travel lift get squeezed enough to crack the side decks at the fuel fills....pretty sure it eas a 39.

 

[johnma]

The below is from a review on the 390 in 1997.


The Mainship 390’s construction is solid and conventional,
a combination that doesn’t make for a lightweight
boat, but then again that’s not what a trawler is
all about. From the keel on up the waterline chine, the
hull is made of solid fiberglass, using multiple layers of
biaxial and woven glass reinforcement. The sides of the
hull above the waterline as well as the deck are cored
with end-grain balsa. The hull/deck joint is a flange
arrangement, fastened with 3M 5200 adhesive and
screws on three-inch centers.

John

 

[psneeld]

[STRIKE][/STRIKE]

Interesting, most Travel lifts don't squeeze a boat at the gunnel in such a way as to put pressure on the side decks. The straps are supposed to be spotted where there are bulkheads where there is plenty of structural strength to keep that kind of thing from happening

Not all travel lift lifts and yards are created equal though..... small 35T lift and around here they seem to worry about lifting balanc and not bulkheads because......normally the strap pull usually only squeezes at the chines and never touches the upper rubrail like after strap in the picture.

That day was different, but I have seen other boats squeezed at the deck too.

The reason I mentioned it is because of the crack right at the fuel fill. Some designs like the 26 Keel Shamrock have a weak spot in the decks right at the fuel fills. Large hole, narrow deck. Several in our assistance tow boat fleet cracked there as the plywood core got older.

 

[jleonard]

My Albin 40 needs blocking in order to spread the straps wide enough to not crush the hull because if the bow flare. See pic.

 

[Keysdisease]

You should have stuck with your racing Mainship Jay, you ever hear from her?

My Albin 40 needs blocking in order to spread the straps wide enough to not crush the hull because if the bow flare. See pic.