Helmsman Mariner 35 Seville Express

[Ran]

We are looking at a Mariner 35 Seville Express for purchase. It is our understanding that Mariner is or was acquired by Helmsman. It is a beautiful boat but we can’t find much info about it?
Doesn’t appear many were made. Does anyone have any knowledge about these boats? Thanks Ran

 

[Ran]

No comments. That’s a bit scary

 

[Nocanvas]

We are looking at a Mariner 35 Seville Express for purchase. It is our understanding that Mariner is or was acquired by Helmsman. It is a beautiful boat but we can’t find much info about it?
Doesn’t appear many were made. Does anyone have any knowledge about these boats? Thanks Ran

I have a. Mariner Seville Pilothouse 37 for sale. Ask Scott Helker 2069150276

M/V Navigator location Gulf Shores AL

 

[Helmsman]

Hi there. Welcome to the forum! Best to give the request a bit of time. The boats have changed over the years with the continuous improvement process that Helmsman incorporates into their build process. But the base boat is pretty much the same. They rarely come up for sale very often and stay in demand.

They are capable coastal cruisers, and have many trips to Alaska, the Bahamas, and the Great Loop under their “belt”. I echo NoCanvas’ comment. Give Scott Helker a call. He owns the Helmsman brand and can provide good information for you on the older version of the Helmsman Trawler.

 

[Blissboat]

We are looking at a Mariner 35 Seville Express for purchase. It is our understanding that Mariner is or was acquired by Helmsman. It is a beautiful boat but we can’t find much info about it?
Doesn’t appear many were made. Does anyone have any knowledge about these boats? Thanks Ran

You are right about Helmsman being the successor to Mariner. Last year I found a Mariner 35 Seville Express for sale - the very same boat that I had been admiring from afar. Excited that what I imagined as my ideal boat was on the market, I did a deep dive into the boat's origin story, and set up an inspection with the broker. I wanted to like the boat, and was ready to pull the trigger on a full-price offer with contingencies. After three hours of crawling through every compartment, asking probing questions and having my own surveyor help me decode a five-year old pre-purchase survey, I reluctantly gave the boat a hard pass.

The bottom line IMO is that these were very lightly built boats. I saw abundant gelcoat crazing, stress cracks at or near deck / bulkhead joints, separation at the deckhouse rooftop, and hull sides where, in certain places I could make out daylight through on a cloudy day. The factory hardware was cheap Chinese no-name equipment - even the stainless steel anchor (reportedly original to the boat) was impossible to identify. The best thing aboard was the single 480 hp Cummins QSB 5.9. But even that had me scratching my head - the broker shared with me that during a sea trial it had inexplicably dropped back to idle and wouldn't respond at all to throttle or shifter inputs. He showed me the receipts for what took weeks to diagnose and fix - a replacement control module from Mercruiser, which marinizes the Cummins QSB line. $6K for parts alone. Understandably that prospective buyer had walked away.

That particular Seville Express had accumulated a lot of deferred maintenance, and several years of neglect by its owner was obvious. I could easily see $100K + of my money going into making the boat something I wouldn't have to apologize or make excuses for. But even then I could see that I was going to be constantly wary of it. The listing took many months and successive price reductions before it finally disappeared from the market.

In my view, if you're going to accept the challenge of a boat's accumulated list of needs, it's better to start with something that was a solid product when came out of the builder's yard. It's easy enough to get in over your head, even then.

 

[amxr39]

It may have some stress cracks in the gel coat. But it’s not lightly built. The new counterpart weighs 30,000 lbs dry.

 

[Blissboat]

It may have some stress cracks in the gel coat. But it’s not lightly built. The new counterpart weighs 30,000 lbs dry.

I believe that by "new counterpart" you mean Helmsman, yes? If so, then we're talking about two different boat builders' products that happen to be based on the same hull design. Perhaps I should have clarified that in my original post. I cannot speak to Helmsman's quality from firsthand observation, though from all I have read and heard their build quality and equipage are first class.

 

[Jim Cooper]

It seems folks are confusing two different models - The Mariner Seville 35 was an express sedan cruiser and the Mariner 37/Helmsman 38 are pilothouse trawlers - two very different animals. Helmsman also produces a 37/38 Europa styled trawler.
The Mariner Seville 35 has not been in production for many years and Scott Helker indicated to me that Helmsman has no plans to resurrect that model.

 

[Blissboat]

It seems folks are confusing two different models - The Mariner Seville 35 was an express sedan cruiser and the Mariner 37/Helmsman 38 are pilothouse trawlers - two very different animals. Helmsman also produces a 37/38 Europa styled trawler.
The Mariner Seville 35 has not been in production for many years and Scott Helker indicated to me that Helmsman has no plans to resurrect that model.

Correct. The boat I described was branded "Mariner Yachts International 35 Seville Express." The hulls were built in China, and appears nearly identical to the later Helmsman products, also built in China. But as Jim Cooper says, they are very different boats. My understanding, though I can't swear to it, is that Helmsman somehow acquired certain assets of Mariner Yachts.

Too bad that Helmsman omits the 35 Express from its product line. It was a nifty design and if produced with Helmsman's quality, would be a competitive product, IMO.

 

[Jim Cooper]

I pleaded with Scott to build the express, even enlarge it to 38 feet but he wished to remain dedicated to the semi-displacement trawler line of boats. I can't fault him, he has become very successful at fulfilling that niche market and strives to put out a quality product. Staying true to your vision is a valuable attribute.

 

[grnelson98]

I agree with the above comments related to the Express vs Trawler. I have a 2010 37 pilot house and would not consider it to be a lightly built boat at 30,000+ pounds. The gelcoat has been baking in the FL sun for 14 years, and there are a few stress cracks in the gelcoat here and there in the topsides, but minor stuff on a 14 year old boat. I will comment on the QSB issue for anyone else who may have a QSB of 2010 vintage. There is a known issue with the coolant sensor connector on the 2010 QSB which will fail in a way to allow coolant to get pushed back into the cable harness and if not caught in time end up in the ECM, as crazy as that may sound. The harness will get to the point that the ECM cannot communicate with the rest of the SmartCraft system and it will force the engine into "limp mode" at 600 rpm, normally with a J1939 data error on the SmartCraft helm display. If you have one of these engines, periodically pull the coolant sensor and look at it to see if you see coolant, if so, you need to address it immediately before it takes out the entire harness and ECM.

 

[HeadedToTexas]

If you have one of these engines, periodically pull the coolant sensor and look at it to see if you see coolant, if so, you need to address it immediately before it takes out the entire harness and ECM.

Where is that coolant sensor? Thanks GR.

 

[grnelson98]

GR see attached, this is the coolant level sensor at the aft end of the top coolant tank. Here is a another link from the gurus at Seaboard Marine which I found after the fact.

Cummins Marine Coolant Level Sensor Leakage Issues

www.sbmar.com

 

[HeadedToTexas]

Outstanding! Thank you.

 

[FWT]

“Express” cruisers are built for speed and therefore kept light weight. The Mariner express cruiser has a very different hull, and appears to be a planing hull.

The current Helmsman's are semi-displacement and built like a tank. Not built for speed.

 

[Nocanvas]

For the Helmsman / American Tug owners

I have a new Cummins turbo available for a 2007 5.9 QSB 480HP Cummins and new injectors.

Reach out if you need something kristikt7@gmail.com

I’ll sell them at my cost plus shipping

 

[Nocanvas]

I agree with the above comments related to the Express vs Trawler. I have a 2010 37 pilot house and would not consider it to be a lightly built boat at 30,000+ pounds. The gelcoat has been baking in the FL sun for 14 years, and there are a few stress cracks in the gelcoat here and there in the topsides, but minor stuff on a 14 year old boat. I will comment on the QSB issue for anyone else who may have a QSB of 2010 vintage. There is a known issue with the coolant sensor connector on the 2010 QSB which will fail in a way to allow coolant to get pushed back into the cable harness and if not caught in time end up in the ECM, as crazy as that may sound. The harness will get to the point that the ECM cannot communicate with the rest of the SmartCraft system and it will force the engine into "limp mode" at 600 rpm, normally with a J1939 data error on the SmartCraft helm display. If you have one of these engines, periodically pull the coolant sensor and look at it to see if you see coolant, if so, you need to address it immediately before it takes out the entire harness and ECM.

Thank you for sharing that tidbit.