Purchasing Mainship 430 2000

Hello Trawler Forum, I'm in the process of purchasing a 2000 Mainship 430 aft cabin.
Cummins diesels 6BTA 5.9 M3's, 2200 hours, 8 KW Kohler generator.
The boat seems clean, very well-maintained, located in Nova Scotia.

The survey is scheduled for next Monday.

I've read some information about swim platforms with wet balsa cores.
Is there anything else for which I should be on the lookout?

Greatly appreciate any input!
Thank you.

Welcome aboard and congrats, hopefully, on your new boat. As to what to check. Obviously any and all deck coring. Look at the stringers for rot if they have a wood core. Get an engine survey, boat survey and do a sea trial. Make sure the engines will turn the maximum recommended RPMs. Good luck.

Greetings. I'm sure our 2003 430 has moisture in the swim step, but there are no soft spots so I'm not worried about it. Ours has Yanmar engines, but I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Yes, Porman has a wealth of info on the 430, and helped me quite a bit. I haven't had mine that long so I could probably only tell you how not to do things.


Just removed the Aft cabin walls to provide a backing plate for a bike hoist, it was a bitch, but the hoist is going well.

CaptnChuck said:

Hello Trawler Forum, I'm in the process of purchasing a 2000 Mainship 430 aft cabin.
Cummins diesels 6BTA 5.9 M3's, 2200 hours, 8 KW Kohler generator.
The boat seems clean, very well-maintained, located in Nova Scotia.

The survey is scheduled for next Monday.

I've read some information about swim platforms with wet balsa cores.
Is there anything else for which I should be on the lookout?

Greatly appreciate any input!
Thank you.

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Most boats of that vintage will have wet cores in the swim platform. Not nearly as big a deal as wet cores in the deck or boat deck.

Thank you, Dave! Yes, I have all the folks lined up, should be a productive day. I’ll post when the service is done and let you know how it goes.

porman said:

Greetings. I'm sure our 2003 430 has moisture in the swim step, but there are no soft spots so I'm not worried about it. Ours has Yanmar engines, but I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have.

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Thank you porman, really appreciate it. I am highly likely to be reaching out for answers to questions if we move ahead with the boat, looking forward to it!
Thank you.

Good morning and welcome to the Trawler Forum.
Congrats on your upcoming purchase of a 2000 Mainship 43’. I am the proud owner of a 2000, Mainship 39’.
From my own experience, when having your survey done, I would recommend special attention be paid to the exhaust system, as it can be an issue with the 2000/2001 vessels, specifically hydrolock. In my Mainship manual, hydrolock is mentioned as a potential engine issue, and I have just had to have an engine rebuild due to getting lake water into the turbo injectors and having a seized engine. If the current owners have a waterlock muffler installed, then you are golden. Good luck with the survey, and happy boating.

Thank you sovereign! That is great info, really appreciate it.

In the market for a Mainship 430 sedan. Good info here! Thanks!

Afcaptain1 said:

In the market for a Mainship 430 sedan. Good info here! Thanks!

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Welcome aboard.

Welcome aboard!
I currently own a 1999 Mainship 43 and she's a wonderful boat. I hope your inspection goes well. I don't have the same engines as the boat your looking at but I'm willing to answer any other questions you may have.
Dave

Seevee,
I'd love to see what you did for a bike hoist.
Thanks,
Dave

Welcome aboard!