New member, Mainship 390 owner

[Byekurman]

My title is a little premature. I've just made an offer on a 2003 Mainship 390. I'm pretty excited. It's only my second boat. It is equipped with a Yanmar 6LYA-STP with only 750 hours on it. It shows nicely. I'm hopeful but a little nervous to. So much to learn. I'm sure you will be seeing many advice seeking posts. Stay healthy.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Nice boat. Good luck.

 

[rgano]

Welcome, and let me offer a bit of experience with a slightly different Mainship and slightly different Yanmar. I bought my 2005 Pilot with a 315-HP 6LPA-STP in 2015 with 456 hours on it. Boat and engine came out of a boat barn in like new condition. However, despite the light use, things on engine do age. Be sure and look closely at the engine manual for the maintenance interval on things like the timing belt and the intercooler and the air heater coils on top of the intercooler. Those three things can break/corrode and destroy your $30 engine. As a precaution, just due to the chronological age of the engine, I had timing belt changed, removed and serviced the inter-cooler, and pulled and checked the heater coils (a five minute DIY job). So I did all that, and a couple of years later the cooling hose exiting the raw water pump blew out at 3400 RPM and caused a heavy duty overheating episode. A Borel exhaust heat alarm, which I had been thinking about installing would have alerted me earlier then the coolant temp alarm or even the bilge alarm which also eventually came on. At 35 gallons a minute, that pump was filling the boat up fast. New silicone hoses all around and the Borel alarm makes me a lot more confident. Just some words to the wise. And check all five or six anodes in the coolers every 60 days or so.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Welcome Aboard, don't be put off by horror stories. Use your head, read the manual, stay sober and enjoy the boat.

pete

 

[rgano]

Yup, the Yanmar is a good engine. Just take care of it, and it will take care of you.

 

[Comodave]

I also like the Borel alarm system. Easy to install and works well.

 

[Byekurman]

Thanks for the reply. Where do I find an owners manual for my 390?

 

[Olebird]

Check out the "library" top right TAB. May find something similar there if not the exact revision. Yanmar manuals are available from Yanmar their web site most likely - most important manual. Mainship - not so much. Check out "Baccus"'s sticky post on the Marlow Mainship builder sub forum on front page. super info from him.

Good luck with your buy and welcome to the forum.

 

[Comodave]

There used to be a Mainship users group on Yahoo, but I think it may have gone under. Might look there just in case.

 

[Bacchus]

There used to be a Mainship users group on Yahoo, but I think it may have gone under. Might look there just in case.

Welcome aboard TF
The Yahoo group is still around but has really slipped in usefulness IMO. All saved / filed content has been purged.
Many have come over to TF.
I have a link on my Bacchus website to a number of MS manuals but honestly the MS manual is of little use.
What is helpful is the individual manuals, installation instructions, service manuals for each major system or piece of equipment.
Some are available from the Bacchus site, some in the TF library and some others are online via search.
I started an excel spreadsheet of key parts, service contacts, etc. Happy to share... if you have questions once your deal is done PM me your email and f I have it I can send you what I have for specific items.
The website also has a searchable BOM for late model 34T/HT with a photo of the part with source info for many but not all of the parts. Yours is a different model but many parts / sources are common on the MSs.
There is another link for parts for MS, Luhrs, Hunter boats but no BOMs so one has to scan through the thumbnails to find what you are looking for.
Rgano and others here have lots of knowledge and experience and are more than willing to help.
Good luck with the rest of the deal.

 

[porman]

For the 6LYA-STP I found the operation manual and the parts catalog online in PDF form for free. Our Mainship Yanmars had 800 hours on them when we bought it in 2014. Just turned 2000 hours. I am in the process of removing the coolers and heat exchangers for servicing and replacing all the original water hoses and clamps. After 17 years I figured it was time. Our boat has been kept in fresh water with between 3 and 4 months a year in salt water so wear and tear is a little better than a salt water only boat.

 

[Shrew]

Use your head, read the manual, stay sober and enjoy the boat.

What does staying sober have to do with anything?? Such lifestyle choices have nothing to do with the purchase of a new boat or the engine inside of it.

 

[Olebird]

Panties in a wad today?

Probably a good idea to stay sober when buying "only my second boat"! Drink only AFTER... you realize what you've done! (or when it's after 4 pm)

 

[Shrew]

Panties in a wad today?

Probably a good idea to stay sober when buying "only my second boat"! Drink only AFTER... you realize what you've done! (or when it's after 4 pm)

That is lovely.