How do you use your "classic" Mainship 34?

The MK1-2-3 are much different in size and layout so this mostly applies to that(Love the 390).

I know it's not common but I use mine as a day tripper for the most part. Taking quite a few people to the sandbar/island hopping for the day, Grilling, hanging out, Etc.

I've only stayed on the hook twice in a year but do spend the night there maybe once a month.

Great all around boat with many uses.

This is a really strange poll, and if I were being uncharitable (and I am) I would say, why do it? You could change the name from Mainship to a dozen other boats and get more or less the same results if the sample size was large enough.



David

We did 2000hrs in 5yrs. One season was Baltimore to Kew West and back. Good starter boat. Affordable to try the lifestyle....

djmarchand said:

This is a really strange poll, and if I were being uncharitable (and I am) I would say, why do it? You could change the name from Mainship to a dozen other boats and get more or less the same results if the sample size was large enough.



David

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Don't get defensive...


Out of all the nonsense that goes on around here you think how someone uses their boat is useless info?

Mrwesson said:

Don't get defensive...

Out of all the nonsense that goes on around here you think how someone uses their boat is useless info?

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You are right. Lots of other nonsense to worry about here.


David

David, do you need some more fiber in your diet?
You know the saying. If you can't say anything nice...

Wesson, we mostly use ours for water skiing and such. Anything faster than 20-25 knots and the wife gets scared so the 160 Perkins is good for that.



It seems like all we use ours for lately is to take up any free time we have. Right now it's on the hard undergoing phase II of the rebuild. All new decks. Not the scope of repairs we went through last year, though. Hopefully it'll be done by summers end then we're going to do overnighters/weekends this fall, a little more extended cruising of the Chesapeake ,NC & perhaps Delaware/South Jersey next year. Our primary goal will be north Florida for the winter of 2020. We chose this boat because it's a good fit for a cruising couple with room to entertain friends for a day. Plus it's budget friendly.

Mrwesson said:

The MK1-2-3 are much different in size and layout so this mostly applies to that(Love the 390).

I know it's not common but I use mine as a day tripper for the most part. Taking quite a few people to the sandbar/island hopping for the day, Grilling, hanging out, Etc.

I've only stayed on the hook twice in a year but do spend the night there maybe once a month.

Great all around boat with many uses.

Click to expand...

Our boat usage has evolved over time, not unexpectedly, given other demands that we had then versus now...

When we had our '87 Mk III in the early '90s we used it for weekends, often hopping to local destination marinas but also often anchoring out... and then we also tried to do a longer trip each year.

These days, we'd probably be on it 70-80% more than back then, and some of our usage would maybe fall into a "cruiser" category, a 4-5 month trip to somewhere and back.

The boat we have now is better suited to that, and we don't have the ladder to deal with now... but the Mainship could have worked. Not unique, in that...

-Chris

boomerang said:

Wesson, we mostly use ours for water skiing and such. Anything faster than 20-25 knots and the wife gets scared so the 160 Perkins is good for that.



It seems like all we use ours for lately is to take up any free time we have. Right now it's on the hard undergoing phase II of the rebuild. All new decks. Not the scope of repairs we went through last year, though. Hopefully it'll be done by summers end then we're going to do overnighters/weekends this fall, a little more extended cruising of the Chesapeake ,NC & perhaps Delaware/South Jersey next year. Our primary goal will be north Florida for the winter of 2020. We chose this boat because it's a good fit for a cruising couple with room to entertain friends for a day. Plus it's budget friendly.

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I hear you. I would say I spend 50% of my free time "working" on mine and sometimes getting frustrated until I look up what a new boat in this size would cost.. Then it's worth my time.

It is SO appropriate that you misspelled Key West

Sealife said:

We did 2000hrs in 5yrs. One season was Baltimore to Kew West and back. Good starter boat. Affordable to try the lifestyle....

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I owned one for 14 years and none of the poll choices apply.

I didn't vote because I'm not clear on the meaning of 'Weekend/Camping', and because with a 350 Trawler, though in the same class, isn't invited to participate in the poll based on the stringent guidelines

We use ours for weekends and vacations from 1 - 2 weeks. Though we took a 26 trip this year, which is uncommon. However, I wouldn't call it 'camping'.

jleonard said:

I owned one for 14 years and none of the poll choices apply.

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Charter?

Shrew said:

I didn't vote because I'm not clear on the meaning of 'Weekend/Camping', and because with a 350 Trawler, though in the same class, isn't invited to participate in the poll based on the stringent guidelines

We use ours for weekends and vacations from 1 - 2 weeks. Though we took a 26 trip this year, which is uncommon. However, I wouldn't call it 'camping'.

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Weekend camping would be staying on the boat for the weekend either at the marina or close enough to get back for work on Monday.

I've been aboard the 350/390 and it's a much roomier boat. I would and could live on one with my wife and no pets and I wouldn't even consider living on my MK1.

Take the compliment

jleonard said:

I owned one for 14 years and none of the poll choices apply.

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No, never a charter.
We used it for our weekend and vacation destination for 14 seasons.

Normal weekends or 3 day weekends we would stay local, Block Island, Sag Harbor, Coecles harbor, etc.

Vacations were either 2 or 3 weeks and we would venture farther, Martha's Vineyard, Plymouth, Ma, Erie canal, Chesapeake Bay, Narragansett Bay, etc.

Usage for our MS I is "local" overnights pretty much every weekend mostly moorings and anchoring in spots around Narragansett Bay RI (heavy dose of Newport last few years), try and do a full week/10 day vacation trip to BI, Cuttyhunk, ect. Nothing to far but we are on it quite a bit from early June into October.

I travel on mine. It doesn't have a permanent home. Wintered southern Lake Michigan 2015/16, traveled 2200 nm 2016, wintered on Lake Erie, then 1200 mn 2017 and wintered on Lake Ontario. Have been through four great lakes and several times through the Erie and Rideau waterways. I launched a couple of weeks ago and am now on the Trent Severn headed north through Georgian Bay to Chicago then south from there this fall. I have a generator and extra water tankage and am solo with occasional guests. Carry a RIB and a bicycle for local excursions. Generally I avoid marinas. Boat works pretty well for me as an aspiring looper on a budget.

Not sure how to vote. Not really full time liveaboard as I have a home in southern Ontario, but not there much when my boat's afloat.

The PO of my boat followed a similar pattern, traveling 7000 miles around the great lakes in seven seasons. Boat's been on the move for ten years and going strong.

Jeff, I don't want to derail this thread but I'd like to hear your views regarding the shortcomings and positive aspects of your boat as you are someone who obviously spends more time aboard than most.

How do you use your "classic" Mainship 34?

We can’t seem to use ours enough, due to the wife’s health concerns, work or other obligations. We do as many weekends as we can at anchor or mooring. 3-4 days at Block Island in September happened every year except last year. This year we did do an extended cruise to BI and then to Montauk with friends, each on our own boat. A Cuttyhunk cruise got rained out.
My only dislike is the v berth. Too narrow and uncomfortable for me.
It’s hard for me to get over 100 hours on my Perkins in a season as much as I try.
I would love to upgrade to a 34T, 350/390 or even a 400 but I don’t think it will happen.

For the first two years we used it for weekends around Narragansett bay and occasional week long trips down to Connecticut or out to Long island. Then we sold everything and lived aboard for almost a year while bringing it down to Punta Gorda Florida. Now we are back to weekends and longer trips in this area. We are hoping for a longer trip to the Bahamas or the Keys next spring.

boomerang said:

Jeff, I don't want to derail this thread but I'd like to hear your views regarding the shortcomings and positive aspects of your boat as you are someone who obviously spends more time aboard than most.

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Not sure I have much to offer as my previous experience voyaging and living aboard has all been in sailboats. I'm learning as I go

There is a tremendous knowledge base on these boats here, on the Yahoo owners group, and on owners blogs. Some of the contributors are here. I benefitted a lot from that material. I was looking for an efficient displacement speed boat that I could handle and maintain myself and that would be suitable for economic voyaging in sheltered waters. Not disappointed in any way with this boat. Interior is pretty dated, but I don't care. It's a palace compared to other boats I've had.

1984 MkIII..... up to now just 2/3 day overnights..... hope to make longer journeys this winter. Like the boat, like the MkIII version. And yes the vberth doesn't cut it.

Well, bought my '78 Mk1 #95 in April. So far I use it as a time sponge. With daytime temps in the high 90s, I am waiting till Oct to start using it for 3 to 10 day long trips. Not planning an ocean crossing. For two people it could be a live aboard if traveling, but not as a slip queen.

I think access to the boat and access to your own little slice of paradise affects how nearly all boats are used (other than live aboards). Living on a canal/river/lake with your boat tied up at your backdoor will generally be used more than if you have to pack a lunch for the hour+ ride in traffic to get to the marina.
Likewise if you can be to one of a dozen great anchorages within a 2-3 hour cruise vs having to slog through 50 miles of industrial parks or high-rise apartment buildings that have so much boat traffic that you need a couple days between passages to settle your nerves or to make it worthwhile.

We could be anywhere from Cabbage Key to Lover's Key and back home before the afternoon thunderstorms including spending a few hours on the hook letting the dogs have free run of their own island. This kind of access allowed us to use the boat with no more forethought or planning than locking the door and walking across the backyard when we were both off on the same day. We went out more than anyone in our neighborhood except the TowBoat capt and during the summer weekdays we probably even beat him!

But if we would've had to drive down from Orlando....that would entail a couple hours in the car before even getting to the boat. Having to have gone shopping for "boat" food/snacks the night before. And then spending a half hour checking the boat over, setting up and stowing covers, etc before ever casting off the first line......providing there was nothing wrong (but we all know nothing ever goes haywire on a boat that sits for weeks/months without use, right?). So I'd have to be planning on at the very least an overnight stay on the boat before even leaving the house.

IMHO the sub 40'er is best suited to the owners who live close and will visit frequently. While I know that some of these can get way up in the 6 figure prices (Nordhavns), but a large portion are well below $100K and for a lot of folks buying in that range the cost of having someone else keep your boat in ready-to-go condition just isn't in the budget especially if they are having to pay for dockage. For this reason I'm a HUGE fan of the trailerable trawlers. But then you'd have to factor in the cost of a tow vehicle if you didn't have any other use for it. Eh, boating.....nobody ever said it was a test for sanity!

btw our boat's name......TIME well wasted

Jeff F said:

Not sure I have much to offer as my previous experience voyaging and living aboard has all been in sailboats. I'm learning as I go

There is a tremendous knowledge base on these boats here, on the Yahoo owners group, and on owners blogs. Some of the contributors are here. I benefitted a lot from that material. I was looking for an efficient displacement speed boat that I could handle and maintain myself and that would be suitable for economic voyaging in sheltered waters. Not disappointed in any way with this boat. Interior is pretty dated, but I don't care. It's a palace compared to other boats I've had.

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Jeff, I know what you mean as far as not being disappointed. I bought a 79 fixer upper and have not been one bit disappointed. Taking time and dollars but hope to bring her back to her glory days then follow in your wake with an eye on doing the Loop

Jeff F said:

Interior is pretty dated, but I don't care. It's a palace compared to other boats I've had.

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If you want to lose a hundred pounds and make your cabin comfier look up Mali Flex Futon. I bought one of these and tossed that original cast iron useless sofabed contraption. This fit very nicely and the adjustable end "wings" were great to tip your head up so you could keep an eye on things through the rear glass wall. Its comfortable and comes in a myriad of colors.
One of these, an area rug from a discount store and a weekend re-staining your interior trim and cabinets makes huge difference for around $300!

The rug also adds another layer of sound dampening and insulation from the engine/genset.

twiisted71 said:

If you want to lose a hundred pounds and make your cabin comfier look up Mali Flex Futon. I bought one of these and tossed that original cast iron useless sofabed contraption.

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Threw mine overboard in the boatyard this spring. It was very satisfying That thing was a beast. I'm much happier with a favourite two seater leather couch that came out of my home.

LOL yeah it was absurd how much they made that thing weigh.

I have a leather back seat from a Suburban that I am thinking about adding, but I hate to take out the old couch since my '78 is original except for the deck and lower walls. But I don't know what it means to have an "original MS-34 Mk1" In car circles that would be really cool if you had the original fabric on the couch, but it may mean nothing in boat circles. And the engine has already been replaced with a Volvo anyway so its not really original is it?

Mine was bone stock 1984 even the fly bridge helm seat and back to back benches. The arms on the helm seat tore out of the seat base on the bring home journey in 3-4' stern quartering seas! Thankfully I had my hammer drill along so I re-lagged them in a differnt position. The back-to-backs were beginning to rot the bases. I replaced all that.
Perhaps if you have a classic mahogany runabout originality means something. On larger f'glass vessels tasteful updating is much more sought after in. my experience.

twiisted71 said:

Perhaps if you have a classic mahogany runabout originality means something. On larger f'glass vessels tasteful updating is much more sought after in. my experience.

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I am coming to that way of thinking. I also collect cars so its hard for me to change my attitude toward boats. But a boat requires more comfort and convience than a car that you only spend an hour in.