1998 Mainship 40 Sedan Bridge

My wife & I are early on in "next boat" search - trawler or motor yacht. Been looking at classic trawlers, but then saw a 1998 Mainship 40 Sedan Bridge that looked stunning (okay at least the pictures).
I'm wondering how the quality/workmanship of the late-1990's Mainships compares with some of the older (say 1980s) mid-range classic trawlers (Albin, Defever, etc.).
Also, and perhaps more importantly, how is the ride of of this Mainship compared to a classic trawler? Planning to use the boat primarily in the Chesapeake Bay with forays into the ICW. Don't expect much ocean time.
I'd love to hear from current & past Sedan Bridge owners on their experiences.

It should be a decent choice. Most Mainships are plaining hulls which means the rear section of the hull bottom in flat or nearly flat. You should have a decent ride.

Mainships are sometimes referred to as "The Cream of the Crap". This is a pretty harsh summary, sometimes shared by Bayliner. I look at it as a backhanded compliment. The best of the low priced production boats.

I'll probably get slaughtered by the Mainship owners here on the forum. There are a LOT of them and they are a pretty loyal group. I guess that is because it is a pretty good boat, just not top tier.

pete

The 40sedan bridge is twin big block gas engines correct?
It will handle and burn fuel more like a Silverton than a trawler if that's your question.
Probably cruise just on plane at 14 knots or so.
There is one at my marina and I know another who has one.
They have some nice features. One sort of bad thing is that the bilge has a lot of floatation foam in it to make things quiet I assume. That makes working on and replacing many of the items a PIA. One of the guys I know tore it all out years ago so he could access the systems.
Hope this helps.

Is it gas or diesel??? I had a friend that owned one and it was gas. Nothing particularly wrong with the boat. And in typical Mainship fashion, it had a great use of space. I have owned a Mainship Pilot before and no real complaints as far as the overall boat goes. I don't know if it was my model or Mainships in general, but I found the overall engineering to be "basic". AN example was that the shower drained into the bilge versus a shower sump. I bought a Carver after the Mainship and was surprsied at how well the Carver was built and designed in comparison to the Mainship. I guess I had low expectations of the Carver and they were exceeded significantly. Anyway, again, nothing really wrong with the boats. I like that you are looking at other options instead of having your search "narrowed" by a trawler only search. Those Mainship/Carver/Sea Ray/Meridian/etc can provide the same experinece at a great value. And in many cases, a better experience....as in Brunswick and Carver are still around and offer support. It is nice when you can call someone and they can usually point you in the direction of a part if not provide it outright.
Anyway, good luck with your search. Very exciting times. ANd if you can find the boat in diesel, I highly recommend it.

I believe they were built with gas or Diesel engines. I would not want to pay for the fuel if it is a gasser if you are going to do much long distance cruising. If you are doing short cruises then it would not be so bad. The Mainships are a decent built boat. They are not a Fleming but they are not bad either. They are a solid boat. Check the decks carefully for wet and rotted coring in all the decks. Not necessarily a Mainship issue but rather an issue with that vintage boats in general. If you proceed have a good surveyor do a thorough survey. Don’t let the listing broker pick the surveyor, get referrals from local people that have used a surveyor. Good luck with however you go.

Thanks for info. This particular one has twin Yanmar diesels. We’re moving up from a Carver and are very familiar with their quality.

Has it been repowered? Is this the model that has the walkthrough from the bridge to the bow deck?

Comodave said:

Has it neen repowered? If so it could be really nice...

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It doesn’t appear to be as the engines are also listed as 1998. Hoping to see it this weekend.

I like that boats layout. Could be really nice.

We have a 2003 390. In general, Mainships are pretty good mass produced boats at a fairly reasonable price. Mainship was part of the Luhrs group which consisted of Luhrs for fishing boats, Mainship for trawlers, Silverton for motor yachts and Hunter for sailboats. A lot of the stuff onboard was used on all their brands so they purchased in bulk for everything from fiberglass to hatches, engines, transmissions, plumbing, etc.
John

TomAnderson20619 said:

Thanks for info. This particular one has twin Yanmar diesels. We’re moving up from a Carver and are very familiar with their quality.

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That is a very good thing. Are they the 6 cylinder 315hp(ish) engines? Regardless, it should move the boat along quite nicely and fairly efficiently. I do like the way they are laid out!!

Well today we saw the boat. The swim platform was spongy in areas and there was a LOT of water in the bilge. Something is leaking. In addition, the sanitation hose(s) may have permeated. The bilge was pretty odiferous.
Liked the layout and feel of the model, just don't think this particular boat is for us. Let the hunt continue....

Well good luck going forward!!! You have to love the boat to buy it!!