Just boght a 1984 Marine Trader Labelle 43'

7tiger7 · 01-16-2011, 09:09 PM

Hi Everyone,
I am the proud new owner of a 1984 Marine Trader Labelle 43', with twin Volvo TAMD40B.
It' my first trawler, moving up from a 30' Catalina sailboat. Plan to moor her in Boston, maybe cruise to Maine and Cape Cod for the summer.
Happy to hear advice or recomendations for a trawler newbie!

**Baker** · 01-16-2011, 09:45 PM

Welcome aboard and congratulations on the new boat!!!

Daddyo · 01-16-2011, 10:01 PM

Congrats! Now it's time to put an avitar.

Egregious · 01-16-2011, 10:50 PM

I have an '84 TT (don't ask).

Check the fuel tanks for crud and windows for leaks.

Otherwise, enjoy your boat!

Woody

KJ · 01-16-2011, 11:06 PM

Congratulations!!* I've had my eye on a LaBelle 44 for a while.*It's located in Jacksonville, Fla.*It was under contract but the buyers backed out and decided to go on an extended cruise (cruise ship) instead. I hope it's still available this summer. *I didn't know they made a 43.* Did you get the sundeck or cockpit configuration?*I think it's a really good boat, if it's dry.*I'm anxious to see a pic.* Good luck.**** KJ**

-- Edited by KJ on Monday 17th of January 2011 01:06:03 AM

7tiger7 · 01-17-2011, 12:00 AM

Hi,
here are some pictures of her. Still a bit dusty inside, she was laid up for winter, and sadly her owner passed away, and left her to his three daughters, who sold the boat to me.

http://s529.photobucket.com/albums/d...20Trader%2043/

FF · 01-17-2011, 04:05 AM

Install comfortable heat and refrigeration that wont destroy the batteries.

Get a 60lb + anchor and an easy way to retrieve it.

Enjoy!

Tom.B · 01-17-2011, 05:42 AM

Wow...Nice. Congrsts and good luck. What is the big square rigging?

**EDIT** Oh... closer look sees outriggers and flopper-stoppers. Never seen that on a pleasure trawler until now. IMHO, they're ugly.

-- Edited by GonzoF1 on Monday 17th of January 2011 06:46:18 AM

Moondance · 01-17-2011, 05:58 AM

Nice. Congratulations. I have a 1982 44' DC and am installing Volvo TAMD 41Bs. Same size as yours, I believe, or close. 200 HP each. I would love to know your fuel burn and what you top out at. What trannys on the vessel? Thanks.

**koliver** · 01-17-2011, 08:57 AM

MD; I have 41s in my C&L 44, same hull (and most everything else) as the MT44
7tiger: I used to have 40s, till 2000, when I moved up. I saw a pair of TAMD40Bs in a MT47 pilot house, rating the engines at 165hp. Is that what yours are?

TMD40A, or B, is a glow plug start 145 hp (A, I don't know the B rating) engine, without the aftercooler. The injection is into a chamber in the manifold, so on start you need to grind for a while. This engine was designed well before the boat was, so not a high pressure injector, some blue smoke, especially on startup. Mine had 4500 hrs on them when I got the newer 41s. They burned just over 4 gph at 7.5 knots, which I measured over 1500 hrs of my own use, in 6 seasons. the only real problem with the design was the heat exchangers, with a rubber boot over the aft end, that has both in and out hoses and fits over a central vane on the brass part. when the HE was getting clogged, water pressure would cause the boot to let go of the vane, allowing cooling water to exit through the boot instead of going first through the HE, result: engine overheat. I fought that until after I bought the 41s, before I solved it. The cure was to keep the HE cleaned out, by shoving a rod down the 100 tubes if there was any hint of an overheat. Also had recurrent pinhole leaks in the high pressure fuel lines. Annoying, as the mist of fuel covering the top of the engine seemed like a potential fire hazard and got everything messy. Had that on 5 different lines by the time I got the new engines.

The TAMD41s, being a newer design (late 80s) have direct injection, higher injection pressure (still nothing like a truly modern engine, IIRC something like 1500 psi v 800 on the 40s, v 30000 on really new stuff) resulting in very fast starts, very little blue smoke, better fuel economy. Mine are the As, rated hp is 200 hp.
Fuel burn is 3.8 GPH at 8.2 knots, so you see I gained 10% in boat speed as well as saving another 5% in burn. I also repitched my existing props from 19x13 to 19x17. That results in getting the 8.2 knots at 2100 rpm instead of 2750, so should be less wear on the engines. I am expecting these to out last me by a large margin. I have put another 1500 hrs on the 41s since installation in 2000, so the numbers are accurate averages. Another big difference: zero maintenance in 10 years! I am not counting the oil and filter changes and I did start with rebuilding the injectors and replacing the sleeves on getting these engines at 1500 hrs.
Top speed went up a little, from just under 10 knots to about 10.5. Seems limited by the hull shape, which would probably take 800 hp to get on a plane. at 10.5 the bow is angled up quite a ways and the hole at the stern is deep, into which all that extra fuel burn is being wasted.
I didn't change the trannys, still run the BW Velvet drives that came on the 40s. No issues there either. I checked the damper plates on hte swap. They were ok then, at 4500 hrs, and seem ok still, at 6000 hrs. I had a tranny fluid drip from the seal at the back of one, got that fixed years ago, so no other issues.

All calculations are in Canadian Gals, nautical miles.

Sorry for the longish post. Hope the info helps.

Woodsong · 01-17-2011, 09:08 AM

Congrats 7tiger! Welcome to the best trawler forum to be found on the internet!

7tiger7 · 01-17-2011, 09:31 AM

Hi,
the TAMD40B are rated at 165hp. Will let you know my fuel burn in the spring when I start cruising her.

And, yes, those are out riggers, with birds. I can't say I like them either, I'll probably remove them and sell them, or store them some where until I sell the boat some day.

Or I could rig a pair of jib sails to them, and sail down wind

Carey · 01-17-2011, 10:37 AM

Contrary to some opinions, I am not at all offended by the outriggers, and I know you will like them when you find yourself rolling side to side at anchor.

healhustler · 01-17-2011, 11:10 AM

Shew! *That's a whole lot of boat there. *But before you go chopping off those birds or anything else, use the boat as is for a while. *I've modified more than one boat before I found out why it was like that in the first place. *Wish I had some of the stuff back. *Congrats and welcome to the power side of pleasure.

ARoss · 01-17-2011, 05:10 PM

Congrats on your move to the Dark Side. My own transition was from a 34' Catalina to a 34' Marine Trader, and the learning curve on sail-to-power boat handling was steep. These tanks just don't turn and stop like a sailboat. You will experience 'way more challenges with the displacement of 44' plus the big sail area of a sundeck, so practice, practice, practice.

Steve · 01-17-2011, 05:33 PM

Very nice!! Congratulations & welcome
Steve W.

KJ · 01-17-2011, 05:45 PM

Did you take it out for sea trials?*

Marin · 01-17-2011, 06:51 PM

Quote:

7tiger7 wrote:

And, yes, those are out riggers, with birds. I can't say I like them either, I'll probably remove them and sell them, or store them some where until I sell the boat some day.

You might not want to get rid of the passive stabilizers yet.* I have met people who have them on their boats and regardless of their*appearance (the stabilizers', not the owners'), they have told me they make the difference between a ride that everybody likes and a ride that nobody likes.

Something I read a lot on the GB forum is that*someone's boat*has*ride in rough water*that the husband can tolerate okay but that makes the wife/significant other very uncomfortable.* And an uncomfortable or unhappy boating partner renders the aesthetics of a boat totally meaningless.

GBs very rarely have passive stabilizers--- most of these guys are talking about active stabilizers.* But nevertheless, you might think about keeping your outriggers and birds on the boat until you are 100% sure that everyone involved in your boat is happy with the unstabilized ride.* There are times we've wished we'd had them on our boat, for instance in the Strait of Georgia on a rough-ish day with a beam or quartering*sea.* Semi-planing hulls like GBs have a very quick, snap-back roll that a lot of people find very un-nerving or uncomfortable.* Stabilizers--- passive or active-- can greatly*reduce that.

-- Edited by Marin on Monday 17th of January 2011 07:57:46 PM

Moondance · 01-17-2011, 07:08 PM

Pardon my ignorance, but can you explain what exactly the outriggers and birds are. I can see the frame and lines. I have out riggers on my Grady, and use birds to troll, but obviously that's not we are talking about here.

How do the outriggers and birds aid in stabilization. Are there sails involved.

And lastly, I've seen ads for stabilized trawlers. Exactly how and at what cost is that accomplished.

Marin · 01-17-2011, 07:18 PM

Passive stabilizers are heavy, streamlined weights--- usually finned-- that are hung from outrigger booms angled out from each side of the boat. The weights are often called "birds." Their weight and their resistance to vertical movement in the water reduces the roll of the boat when they are deployed. The birds "fly" several feet below the surface, deep enough so they don't break the surface of the water when the boat rolls away from them. The booms provide leverage to multiply the resistance of the birds.

When not deployed the birds are swung inboard and stowed and the outriggers are are raised to a vertical position against their supporting tower. The outriggers used for passive stabilization are a far cry from the outriggers used for trolling. They are much heavier and are strongly braced to the towers that support them and fore and aft to the hull (usually)since they are subject to a lot of stress from the rolling and pitching of the boat and the resistance of the birds in the water.