MS 30 Pilot II - Nu owner - DIY Little things

With a "ToDo" list like you have, when do you plan on enjoying the boat?

Seriously, my boat is larger and older than yours and probably in poorer condition but if I was to compile a list nearly as comprehensive as yours I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Mine is just an old plastic boat, basically a cousin to leisure suits and old bleach bottles. It will never be perfect but it sure does get used!

P.S. I know fiberglass is not akin to polyester or plastic but you get the idea..

pete

Thanks AKDoug, neat setup on your Willard - and some beautiful scenery to boot!


Really thinking about adding rod holders to support something like this

https://tinyurl.com/wu5bkum

from Amazon, to be used a hand hold or billaying pin (in lieu of a usefull cleat). Just don't know how much load a typical rod holder can handle.


Photo: Tennessee River Gorge https://www.trgt.org/


Alaska is not the only beauty queen in these United States. If you have time to cruise up the Tennessee while you're out "Doing the Loop" at the corner of Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee you will pass thru the deepest river gorge east of the Mssy. Yesterday this was covered with a 4" blanket of snow - the sky was clear and vis unlimited!! Fantastic!!

Hi Pete,


Actually that's Rgano's list, not mine. No telling how many man hours he has in his boat. I'm gonna cherry pick his projects for now!


Bye the bye, I suspect your plastic boat is closer to "polyester" than you might realize!!

Most rod holders aren't designed to take the kind of load you are likely to put on a lever that long. I would look for a design that mounted in more than one contact point (rail and bulkhead) if I were going to put any weight on it. JMO

Pete Meisinger said:

With a "ToDo" list like you have, when do you plan on enjoying the boat?

Seriously, my boat is larger and older than yours and probably in poorer condition but if I was to compile a list nearly as comprehensive as yours I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Mine is just an old plastic boat, basically a cousin to leisure suits and old bleach bottles. It will never be perfect but it sure does get used!

P.S. I know fiberglass is not akin to polyester or plastic but you get the idea..

pete

Click to expand...

Yo Pete, my list daunts even me when I look at it now, but you have to understand that just two weeks before I bought this Pilot in July 2015 I had just sold a GB42 I had spent 29 years getting squared away. When I picked this boat up after its lift had been installed here at home, the batteries were dead, and there was only the one bank of two Group 34s. The boat had never been upgraded nor updated from the production craft that Mainship threw out the door in 2005, and we all know that boats off the factory floor are seldom set up optimally. It was a barn-kept boat in like new condition, but unreliable from several points of view. This being an unacceptable situation, I immediately began a reliability improvement program which included rip out of the Micro-Commander shifter and replacement with Morse system, the diode-based isolater, installation of a house bank and ACR with major rewiring, and new battery charger before I ever got the boat underway a second time after arriving home with it. All the other projects took place over the last four years and have tapered off to about zero now. Plenty of enjoyment of the boat, both as a "messing about" hobby as well as underway has been had in the meanwhile. Being retired with no other hobby and with a boat just hanging there out my back door, whatdaya expect me to do?

I have two empty slips beside the lifted Pilot, and since it no longer needs any improvement................ Maybe you should drop by with your boat so we can spend some of your money messing about with it.

Doug, agree completely. Just wondered if anyone on here had tried it. Surprised to see that big handle on Amazon.

On to plan "B".


Rich - "Mess'in About & Spending $$" - Should be forum topic - all its own!

Hi Rich, Thats an offer I can't refuse, I'll be there Tuesday. Clear your schedule for the next four months. We should have my boat looking great by Spring.

Just kidding, my boat is on the hard about 2,000 river miles from you and covered and surrounded by about 3 feet of snow. But I could start a list from home...

pete

Mainship Pilot 30 II upgrades

I purchased my 2001 Mainship (292 hours on engine) in August 3 years ago. The first thing I did was make a new rudder that was airfoil shaped with a 5:1 leading edge ratio and 1-1/2 times the surface area of the original spade rudder . I had very limited steerage under 5 knots with the spade rudder, even with using the bow thruster. The 2nd upgrade was a fresh water flush system for both the main engine and generator. This extends the life of the heat exchangers on the engine tremendously, and gives you extended life on the engine zincs. Cosmetically, I built a new mahogany swim platform and added mahogany trim on the cabin sides that is fastened on with Velcro. I just pull it off in the fall at haulout and I have the whole winter to put a maintenance coat of varnish on it in the warm shop. I have done many other upgrades too numerous to mention, which hopefully has added some value to the boat. I have numerous pictures of all my upgrades however being new to this forum I am not sure how to attach them.

Hi Charlie, good to meet another MS Pilot Owner. I'm learning more & more about these little boats every day here on the Trawler Forum. Really want to know more about the mods and improvements you've made to your boat and certainly welcome your contribution. Tremendous amount of knowledge and experience on the forum with MS and a wide array of other power and sail boats. I think I have the photo thing figured out. Be happy to help you with that - if I can.
Very interested in your rudder mod.

Update and Happy Holidays to all.

Thanks to all who took the time to offer suggestions and information on my Mainship Pilot project - STARLITE. The "to do" list is long enough to keep me busy till Spring and beyond. The bottom job has taken a little longer than normal due to cold and wet weather in Pensacola. As it stands today most of the yard work will finish up this week. Should be back in the water shortly after the first of the year. First order of business will be troubleshooting & repair or the windlass and ground tackle, thorough inspection of the Engine spaces (can't call it an engine room), and overhaul of the Nav/Com systems.

Cruise plan for the new year includes a few day trips and overnights between Apalachicola and Biloxi, a run up the Tenn-Tom to our home port of Guntersville, ending the season with Fall Color cruises on the upper Tennessee.

Thanks again, hoping for a great 2020 boating season for all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the crew of STARLITE.

Larry,
The construction barge is now at my pier to correct all the Hurricane Michael damage. Should have my guest slips ready in a week or two. We can even put you on the lift if need be. So feel free to drop in at 30-17.146N 085-38.758W.

MS P34 owner here. I sought to avoid cluttering my gunwales with rodholders too. I built a custom rocket launcher style rod holder that mounts on a removable pedestal. By rotating the deck hatch in which the pedestal receiver is mounted I can position the pedestal in two different locations. The rod holder platform is easily removed and the pedestal converts to quickly mount my bbq grill. I position the pedestal dead center in the aft cockpit for fishing and then, rotate it toward the transom for grilling.


Jim

Hi Jim,

First, I see you just joined the forum and this was your first post - with pictures no less! Fantastic!

Welcome and thanks for sharing your MS 34 Pilot with the group. I really like that particular model - and your ideas for keeping the gunnels clean!!

I've about decided to do something similar. No rod holders in the gunnels - but a couple of flush mounted, pop up cleats for fenders on the aft quarter panels. Maybe a custom table top or two for use on the aft deck.

I'm adding an Atlantic Towers Radar Arch primarily to provide some handholds when boarding from a fixed dock (over the side). May put a couple of rocket launchers on the arch to get any rods up and out of the way when fishing.

Thanks again for the photos. Tell us more about yourself and your boat.

Happy Holidays,
Larry

Hi Larry,

Thank you for the warm welcome! I have been lurking around this Mainship TF for a while ...I made the move over here after the Mainship Yahoo Group recently shut down. Finally decided to register on TF and join in the valued discussions.


I purchased my 2001 MS Pilot 34 in 2017. My third boat, first with a diesel (single 350 HP Yanmar 6LY-STE). Our home port is Tonawanda Island, in the Niagara River. For now we cruise and fish the river and Lake Erie. My wife and I will be retiring in a few years and intend to head across the Erie Canal, cruise the ICW south, and winter in Florida with the other snowbirds. In addition to mandatory routine maintenance I have completed a few projects that have improved her creature comforts.


To offer even more flexibility of use for my rod launcher/grill pedestal, I added a receiver to the underside of a small round teak table top and can mount that on top of the pedestal, when needed, in the aft cockpit too.

I was fortunate that the PO had stainless grab rails attached to the bimini frame, both vertically and horizontally. They have been incredibly useful when boarding and walking to the bow. A couple of photos show the grab rails below.


Merry Christmas to you and all of the forum members-
Jim

Jim
Welcome aboard TF.
We are just a way East in the Finger Lakes.
We get West periodically but have only gone as far as Buffalo once.
Let me know if you cruise this way.

Handholds as part of the Bimini

Nice looking set up Jim, thanks for the photos. I thought about something like that, just not sure the bimini would carry the load if I really leaned on it. The arch will solve the boarding over the side problem for now. Getting up to bow is another issue.


Buffalo locks and the Erie Canal are on my bucket list. Hope I can make it up there before too much longer.


I grew up spending summers in PENSACOLA and when not on the Gulf coast, I was on the Tennessee River. Have always had a boat of some kind. Started with a 15' canoe when I was a kid and now the MS. Before the MS I had a 27ft Sea Ray Amberjack Cuddy Cabin for 15 years - same layout but slightly smaller. "SeaBiscuit" is still in the barn for now - but that's a whole different story.


Have a great holiday. Fingers are crossed for some good weather around the first. Hope to put STARLITE back in the water a get upgrades started.

Well, phase one of Starlite's rehab is complete .... splashed her yesterday after a month on the yard, with new bottom paint and a buffing and waxing job that revealed the pearl I thought she might be. Played the radio (FM) during our hi intensity flash light inspection per Dave ... so I fully expected her not to start when we dropped her in the bayou. Ran thru the pre start check list ... flipped the start switch for the little genset which fired up on the second rev. After a short warm up I brought the battery charger on line to top off the mains. With all numbers in the green, the Yanmar roared on the first compression stroke - a really sweet running little engine!

The bottom prep went well, no blisters or other hull issues found. Scrapped and ground down 15 years of PO paint jobs. Fortunately the hull had not been neglected as far as we could tell. I drilled the holes for her new thru hull transducer - oh boy was that bottom hard as a rock - sealed her up with some 4200 - ready for connecting to her new NMEA 2K buss.


Local shop showed up on cue with replacement cushions for the cock pit - I love it when a plan comes together With a little canvas work and windlass repair, she should be ready for some early spring sight seeing on Santa Rosa Sound.



PS - My new TF gold and red burgee looks great against shinny decks and rails -- photos to follow soonest!

Olebird
Congats! Nice when a plan comes together well.

I like your refit. I dunno, but there was just something too utilitarian about the armrests on those pilot seats. So I rebuilt them in a more aesthetically pleasing teak. Pier rebuild here has hit a couple week snag. Hope to be done before you head eastward.

Good Morning - Rich and Don & all, thanks for the comments and continuing interest. A little breezy up here on Sand Mountain this morning, but 70 deg - 60 mph gust tomorrow & tornadoes.

Rich, I agree with you on the helm chairs - there's just something not right with the proportions. Not made for 6 footer +++ Ok for now, but longer term - may have to make a few modifications as well.

Dan, glad I picked Pensacola for the initial rehab efforts. Folks at Pelican's Perch and the contractors they have recommended have been outstanding in keeping to a schedule and demonstrating basic competence. (no interest in PP)

Not the least expensive on the Gulf Coast, but affordable.

Anyone want to suggest how to clean helm chair back springs, seat pedestals post, and throttle quadrant. The Detailers got the worst of the corrosion off, but some stubborn spots still need work. I think the springs are an Aluminum alloy - the throttle housing looks like chrome plated, cast something? Heavier than pot metal!

Rich, on Starlite there are what look like AC vents under the helm seat facing the bow, visible in photo. I think they are courtesy lights, but haven't opened them up yet to see. Do you have something like that on "Frolic"? Hope they are lights. Cockpit is a little short on lighting - neighbors think I've been too deep in the Ripple Jug when the sun goes down and I start stumbling around. Or maybe I have - don't remember!

Next trip down in a couple of weeks to install the "tower in a box". Think I'll start a new thread to describe my experience with that - starting out not so good - minor bending issue with freight company got to remember to take the port-a-power - Also got to reread Rich's post on routing cables.

Rich, last question - the gen set coolant over flow container came off the side of gen set case and wound up laying in the bilge. I noticed signs of antifreeze in the bilge. Shop Vac'ed it out before pumps put it overboard (god only knows what kind of toxic soup it might make when mixed with all the other crap in Bayou Chico) The container was empty.

Is it likely it siphoned or leaked a significant portion of the coolant from the gen set? That bracket is easily bent by a new owner who is way too big to be squirming around down into the engine compartment - ref helm chair issues above ... LOL!!

PS. Break out the WG&C (whip, gun and chair) on that dock. Shooting for 2/15/20 to drop in and check out Frolic.

Regards
Big L

Q1 - Corrosion on the throttle quadrant - I handled that on my trawler by removing it and sanding it to accept a metal primer and silver-colored overcoat sprayed on by a friend who was using the stuff to coat his steel hull. You could remove prep and have the chair parts powder coated, but based on some experiences I have had with that process, I recommend painting as a lower cost alternative.

Q2 - That is a vent under the chair pedestal facing front. If you look carefully at the extremer right edge of the photo, you will see the edge of one of the courtesy lights facing inboard on the side of the bench. I think Frolic has four. Flipping on the courtesy light switch on the power panel lights these as well as the couple down in the cabin. Up on my helm console there is a switch for the cockpit lights. I changed out the colored cockpit incandescent lights for bright LEDs and actually added an extra set of LEDS for a really well-lighted cockpit. In my hardtop, I have six additional dome lights run from two switches on the console, the forward two red LEDs and the after four white.

Q3 - The only way the coolant is coming out of the generator is when there is enough pressure to push the spring of the radiator cap up allowing coolant to flow. When the pressure is reduced, the spring reseats the cap's seal. In a double acting cap like we are discussing here, the engine draws that expelled coolant back in as the engine cools, unless some duck-footed six footer knocked the coolant recovery bottle into the bilge allowing air to be ingested back into the cooling engine instead of coolant. Moral of this story is ensure the cooled genny is full under the radiator cap before resetting the coolant recovery bottle in place with fluid in it to the half full level to ensure the bottom of the pickup tube is always below the level of the coolant. Oh, and I have found that the Nextgen really does cool best in the hot summer waters here with 30% ethylene glycol (green Prestone) and 70% water. The 50/50 red stuff I use in the Yanmar was not right for the genny.

2/15 should be doable, at least to get the guest slip cleared of the new pilings the contractor has floating in there. Cannot guarantee my boat will be in its lift by then, but hope so.