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Old 06-25-2020, 04:46 PM   #42
ljk
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City: Fort Myers FL
Vessel Name: Hobie Kayak
Vessel Model: Passport 12.0, 34 Mainship Pilot, Mako 24,32 Regal Commodore, PT-41 Trawler, 33 Chris Craft Cavalier
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 285
34 Mainship Pilot

Quote:
Originally Posted by timb7734 View Post
I had a 2001 Pilot 34, I sea trialed both the single and the twin, chose the twin for shallower draft, operated the boat in south Florida. Twin Engine with hardtop, NextGen generator, hard windows, cockpit air as well as cabin, Isenglas partition in cockpit that could be rolled up.

Great little cruiser, good in anchorages. I found the single engine to be very loud underway, single had two speeds, 8 mph or 14, and it labored to get on semi plane at 14, threw a huge wake. Twins went just enough faster to cruise easily at 16 and were quieter with a lower wake IMO. Also had a bow thruster.

Galley is great for cooking light meals and breakfast, fridge is a bit small, and the wet head was tight. Our boat was a sea water head flush, but that can be dealt with through using a non permeated hose and draining it before leaving for a while. Ran a simple awning from the hard top to the transom to provide shade and that helped with the a/c in the cockpit. I think the boat would have been a little cramped without cockpit a/c in the Florida heat, but we also had a dark green hull.

I have owned my twin engine 2005 Mainship 34 Pilot with hardtop for 5 years and love it for the reasons in the above post.

The prior owner overcame the tight engine room 'cons" with fittings so that fluid checks are easily done from the walkway in the center of the engine room and an Oil X Changer for easy oil changes. When I bought my boat, I too was concerned about access to the engines, so I had my 5ft 10 inch 200 lb engine surveyor go all around each engine. It was tight, but he did it!

If you really want to do your own "heavy" maintenance and are any bigger than my guy, then I would avoid the twins. Otherwise, the benefits far outweigh the bad.

My boat is on Yachtworld right now, BTW. When we priced it, we figured a $10,000 premium for the twins v. single.
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