Mainship 34 models

Moonstruck wrote:*It was a full keel lobster styled hull that would cruise 17 knots with a 370 hp Yanmar.* All in all it was a good cruising boat.

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*Do you have some specs as to your fuel burn at different speeds or RPM's?

Thanks

*

Moonstruck wrote

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My Mainship 34 Pilot was good in a head sea.* Squirlly in a following sea, and wet until I added smart rails to deflect spray.* It was a full keel lobster styled hull that would cruise 17 knots with a 370 hp Yanmar.* All in all it was a good cruising boat.

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* * ** Having owned a Mainship Pilot 30, the 34 was at the top of my list when I decided I* needed a little more room. Being weak in character, I fell in love with the "Gourmet cruiser" at first sight and threw all my hard earned wisdom to the winds. Like a brazen hussy & a sailor on the beach, I picked her up and took her home. The Pilot 34, however, remains dear to my heart.

*

Pilot 34 (Not mine)


-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Sunday 17th of April 2011 09:36:22 AM

JD wrote:Moonstruck wrote:*It was a full keel lobster styled hull that would cruise 17 knots with a 370 hp Yanmar.* All in all it was a good cruising boat.

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*Do you have some specs as to your fuel burn at different speeds or RPM's?

Thanks

*

*JD, the meaningful fuel burn spec to me is the average on a long cruise.* Counting all engine hours on a long cruise, she averaged 1.86 statute miles per gal.* The miles are in statute because the miles are in statute on the ICW.* That gave accurate mileage between fuel stops.

Walt, the picture of the pilot 34 you put up was made it front of the Fort in St. Augustine, FL harbor.* Mine was like it only an antique white topsides.* She was often mistaken for a Hinckley by some of the dockmasters.* Even the one at St. Augustine Municipal Marina asked if she was a Hinckley.* I miss the boat, but needed the size of the current one.

*

Moonstruck wrote:JD wrote:Moonstruck wrote:*It was a full keel lobster styled hull that would cruise 17 knots with a 370 hp Yanmar.* All in all it was a good cruising boat.

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*Do you have some specs as to your fuel burn at different speeds or RPM's?

Thanks

*

*JD, the meaningful fuel burn spec to me is the average on a long cruise.* Counting all engine hours on a long cruise, she averaged 1.86 statute miles per gal.* The miles are in statute because the miles are in statute on the ICW.* That gave accurate mileage between fuel stops.

Walt, the picture of the pilot 34 you put up was made it front of the Fort in St. Augustine, FL harbor.* Mine was like it only an antique white topsides.* She was often mistaken for a Hinckley by some of the dockmasters.* Even the one at St. Augustine Municipal Marina asked if she was a Hinckley.* I miss the boat, but needed the size of the current one.

*

*Thanks Don.

*

Here's my 2004 Pilot 34 Sedan.* I really enjoyed that boat.

*

*

Don; I still love the Mainship 34 (as shown) & would highly recommend it to anyone.

SeaHorse II wrote:
Don; I still love the Mainship 34 (as shown) & would highly recommend it to anyone.

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*Except for the color of that one, of course.

dwhatty wrote:SeaHorse II wrote:
Don; I still love the Mainship 34 (as shown) & would highly recommend it to anyone.

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*Except for the color of that one, of course.

*Someone needs to Photoshop David's boat to show him how a dark hull would improve on*its good*looks.

dwhatty wrote:SeaHorse II wrote:
Don; I still love the Mainship 34 (as shown) & would highly recommend it to anyone.

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*Except for the color of that one, of course.

*Green might be better at that.

I am beginning to consider a Pilot 34. How noisy are they up on plane?

Doc wrote:
I am beginning to consider a Pilot 34. How noisy are they up on plane?

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*Doc, I can't give you levels in Dbs.* It was noisier than my Sabre.* You could talk while running, but it was not what I could call quiet.* Carpeting on the helmdeck helped.* Probably lead lined sound insulation would help.* I would still say that the boat was good to cruise.* We covered many, many miles in ours.* Sometimes the days were 10 hours long.* I loved the boat.* We had covered over 200 miles in a day in it.

Doc wrote:
I am beginning to consider a Pilot 34. How noisy are they up on plane?

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******* Doc:* I can't comment on the sound levels but I can comment on the rest of the boat. A dock mate (3 slips down from me) had a blue hulled Pilot 34 and I loved it! At that time I was driving a Pilot 30, hence my interest in the 34. If you go that route you won't be disappointed. You asked about the noise level while on plane.....think about it...you're on plane.!...who the hell cares!!!!!!!

Seahorse II...well put. I have not been on plane in some time.

Another couple of questions: 1. What is the most common brand and type of generator that comes in the boats and at what RPM do they run? I had a 3600 RPM gen set once and didn't like it. 1800 is much smoother.

2. Is a single engine better than twins in a 34?

Doc wrote:
Seahorse II...well put. I have not been on plane in some time.

Another couple of questions: 1. What is the most common brand and type of generator that comes in the boats and at what RPM do they run? I had a 3600 RPM gen set once and didn't like it. 1800 is much smoother.

2. Is a single engine better than twins in a 34?

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*Doc, the most common generator that is installed in the Pilots was the 3.5 KW Nesgen.* It runs at 2800 rpm with a belt drive to the generator end.* I would not take the boat until they agreed to install a 5 KW Nexgen.* It also runs at 2800 with belt drive.* The belt used is like the*timing belt on your car.* Now, I think they are using allot of those.* I had the hardtop version and installed a 16,000 btu reverse cycle air unit on the helm deck.* It expanded the boat immensly.* We could run comfortably in Florida in summer and Chesapeake Bay in December.

I*liked the single 370hp Yanmar with a bow thruster.* It had a full*keel and shoe under the prop.* The twin 240hp Yanmar boat is a 20 knot*boat, but no keel.* *


-- Edited by Moonstruck on Saturday 13th of August 2011 08:08:06 PM

I was on the Mainship Corp. website the other day.* They are now calling the old 34 Pilot model a 385 (I think).* The outside looks great with good lines.* Queen master with a second cabin.* Stall shower in the head.* The 380hp single is now a V drive giving more room for accomodations.* The only thing I am not too wild about is the galley on the helm deck, but it is sure an interesting layout.* I hope to see one at the boat shows this fall.

I talked to a fellow last night that had a 34 Pilot with a hardtop. He said that it was extremely noisy. Boats with a canvas top not so much so, he said.

Doc wrote:
I talked to a fellow last night that had a 34 Pilot with a hardtop. He said that it was extremely noisy. Boats with a canvas top not so much so, he said.

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*Doc, just my best considered advice.* Don't buy the soft top.* You are dealing with canvas and leaks.* The difference in sound is not that great, and some of it*can be handled by sound attenuation methods.* Mainship is a good but price boat.* They don't put much money in that kind of stuff.* I would buy a hardtop again without even considering a soft top, but that is only my choice.

Moonstruck wrote:
*Doc, just my best considered advice.* Don't buy the soft top.

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Ditto! The only piece of canvas I have on my boat is a little sun shade over the cockpit and even that is too much.

Where do you to see discussions about the Perkins 6-354?

hansondl said:

Where do you to see discussions about the Perkins 6-354?

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Here:

Power Systems - Trawler Forum


And if you are looking for a question to be answered, feel free to start a new thread ans ask your question.

Just to throw a little more information into the thread:

We own the first Mainship 34 ever built.

The original 34 as designed, was never meant to be a speed boat. Problems like chine walk and related come about in boats that were re-engined at a horsepower way above the original. I spoke with an owner once who had 300 hp in his Mark 1 and he said it scared him at speed.

Mine has a 210 hp Cummns now in place of the original 160 Perkins. When the boat is light and the bottom clean I can get to just over 14 knots. She will just start to plane at 12 knots. But: these boats are trawlers and were meant to cruise at 8 knots. Anything faster and the fuel consumption goes up rapidly and the boat gets harder to control - her rudder is fairly small. She doesn't like heavy following seas and you tend to roll the wheel back and forth to keep her straight.

One modification a few owners have made is to extend the hull, adding about 3 feet to the waterline length. This does make the boat more stable at higher speeds.

Looking forward to being part of the Trawler Forum.

Alan

MS 34 with extended transom

Alanm said "One modification a few owners have made is to extend the hull, adding about 3 feet to the waterline length. This does make the boat more stable at higher speeds."

This statement is exactly what I was thinking when I saw a MS 34 out of water in the boatyard. The hull needs to be extended 3 to 4' keeping the aft section flat, perhaps even concaving it slightly. Perhaps emulate the slight downturn towards the stern that the Shannon boats employ. I assume the engine and prop are kept in the their orignal position.

Thoughts on the matter?

Tim, HI I guess we strayed off your question a bit! I still own a 1981 MS1 for 10 yrs. now , and I still like her. More than I can say for some boats iv'e owned! I mine does have the 200 h.p. perkins. good motor ,but on a good day maybe ... 14 kts. downhill! But you don't buy this kind of boat to go fast. I run at 2000 r.p.m. about 9-10 kts. Iv'e seen some MS1's with trim tabs, probably not a bad idea if you buy one with much more than 200 h.p. I have heard they do get a little squirrely at 16+ kts. can't say. on the whole they are a good go slow,& kinda fast boat. They ride good, although a little light for 34 ft. ( but I did come from a 37 ft. wooden egg harbor.34,000#) To me the space is pretty well divided, I.E. forward, galley&head,salon,and aft deck. Could use a bit more storage though. Every boat is a compromise . smooth ride,deep V lots of power,but don't stop or you roll off. shallow V better at anchor , but pound your brains out. the MS1 is nice. as far as soft decks go,get a survey,or use the handle of a screw driver to tap around the base of the bridge ladder,& pretty much all over the rest of the boat. All horizontal surfaces are balsa cored. So anywhere a screw has been in should be suspect. Good Luck, Rich S

Horizontal surfaces areoddly plywood cored, the fly bridge deck is balsa.
The lower powered models DO benefit from trim tabs. I installed 42x12 tabs on mine and could get on plane at 9 knots.

Hello Jay, good to hear from you again.

Noise can be addressed in several ways, and there is extensive discussion at the yahoo Mainship site about this. One of the easiest ways to get some good reduction is with an acoustic carpet underlayment.

Steve Moyer

timjet said:

I am in the market for a used trawler/motor yacht and the early 80's 34 Mainship seems like an economical option. As described by Jack Horner in Boat US, Mainship built 3 models of the 34, Mark I, II, and III. Does anyone know the history of these models. According to Mr. Horner the Mark III had the most desirable Cabin/Cockpit characteristics. In looking over used boats on the internet, I can't determine when the Mark III was first built. It was my understanding Mainship ceased production of the I and II when the III was built.
Any information would be appreciated.
Tim

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Hi Tim I purchased a 1981 Mark 1 in Feb. and couldn't be happier with it. It has the 160 hp Perkins and at 1600 RPM cruises between 7 and 8 knots. It burns 1.5 gallons per hour and that includes the use of the diesel furnace and diesel gen set 4000 watts.

Larry

Replacement roof hatch

My cabin hatch has seen better days and is pretty much worn out on my 80 Mainship 34 ll.

I would like to replace it with a new hatch. Does anyone have the source and part number for a replacement hatch.

Thanks,
T

Looking For 34' Mainship Pilot Hardtop

I would like to get details and specs on these vessels that are in the age range of 2000 to 2003. mmarwood@mmarwood.com Thanks. Location has to be east coast area, preferably the Great Lakes.

Re the old discussion about deadrise as I recall (knot knowing a lot about MS models) these boats had/have a fine and narrow entry and their bottom warps aft to flat or straight at the transom.

This fully developed or warped hull usually is grand bucking head seas, especially w a bit of speed on. They are or appear to be quite appropriate hull at 10 knots and above but not ideal below. Also having a straight run aft they should be fully capable of planing at 20 knots and probably above. I would classify it as a planing hull but most here will give them the SD nod .. mostly because they are probably noticeably heavier than a planing boat of equal size and because most people run them at trawler speeds of 7-8 knots.

Anybody have a good picture of these boats that shows the hull shape midships aft to the transom?

Here is a side view of our pilot hibernating for the winter. Overall very pleased. As to speed we got it up to 22kts at trial but it it was screaming loud especially with the hard top. We cruise at 12 very comfortably.

Mmarwood- quick search shows a few pilots on line. Dock mate had his on the market in November but I do not see it listed any more. Hardtops are difficult our search lasted 9 months.