I'm excited to be in contract to purchase a 2005 MS 34 Pilot. So many questions though...

[trawlerguyNY]

Hi All...I'm excited to be in contract to purchase a 2005 MS 34 Pilot. I've been looking for a couple of years now and the MS 34 Pilot seems like the best boat out there for what I want to do - fishing, working remotely, overnighting, and entertaining. I'm a little nervous with the purchase though because I'm moving up from a 22' center console so I have no experience with an inboard diesel, a head, generator, A/C, etc. This may sound like a stupid question but how did you learn about the basics of your Pilot? Like literally which switches need to be turned on/off when you get on board, what needs to be opened/closed when you leave the boat, etc.? Is it normal for the seller to go through the boat and go over everything? I'll be hiring a licensed captain to bring the boat back with me from MA to NY. Should he be able to explain all the basics to me? Is the process for using all the systems on the Pilot similar to every other boat that also has an inboard diesel, generator, head, A/C, etc.? Thanks!

 

[garmstro55]

1: Your surveyor should be able to educate you ( you do have a surveyor, right?)
2: Read every Mainship post on this forum
3: Trawler Fest usually offers a diesel engine class so catch the closest one to you.

 

[trawlerguyNY]

Yes - I'm having a survey done. Any trawlerfests in the NY/CT area? I'd love to check it out. Thanks.

 

[Duetto]

depends on how much experience you have with engines, mechanicals, electric. if you are light on these, i would say either 1) hire someone or 2) post your question here. also, google is your friend but beware of people who know nothing about what they are talking about.

good luck, ask away.

 

[Bacchus]

Many systems on our type of boats are common. Also boat mfg manuals are typically not all that helpful with maint, troubleshooting etc.
Ask if owner is willing to do acwalk through with you and be sure to make notes, recordings and photos for future reference. A delivery Capt should also be a useful resource. Id ask ahead if he is familiar with MS, Pilots, etc and willing to provide system & handling education along the way.

Start a list of major systems and Mfg Make, Model# and search online & TF threads & Resources for mfg manuals. A conglomerate of manuals will be much more useful. My Bacchus website has several links & articles that might be of interest.
TF thread searches and specific question posts will likely uncover info & assists.
Lastly, if you join a local chaper of America's Boating Club you gain an instant network of experienced boaters to query.

 

[rgano]

Welcome to the Mainship crowd. I came from a bigger boat down to this 30 Pilot I now own, BUT there was a still a learning curve for me with the turbo-charged engine and the NextGen generator as well as "switchology." The owner was there at sea trial and helped me to understand the basics, but once I owned the boat, I spent hours going through the manuals he left behind. Hopefully, you too will inherit the manuals. Even so, almost every manual is available online from the various manufacturers. Put them on a phone/tablet, whatever to have ready reference. You will eventually find that you develop a couple of modes for operating the boat and the switch/equipment settings will be pretty simple and intuitive. In truth, it's all simple enough. B the time you and your captain have delivered it, you will be well acquainted with the vessel, AND you have all of us here to help in any way we can.

 

[mainshipkeithcc]

rgano is spot on! I went from a 20ft well craft cc to a MS34. The 3 days I spent on the delivery trip from Bradenton Fl to Madisonville La was a crash course in all things diesels, a/c units , navagation etc. and a memory of a life time !!!!

 

[Cold Duck]

Welcome aboard. If you can, follow your surveyor with a video cam and video everything he does ande says. You will never remembeer it all without the video. Also, there will be things you may never know why or how they got there. Don't worry about it. Also video as much as you can if you go along with the delivery. You can learn a lot in a short time. Good luck.

 

[trawlerguyNY]

Welcome to the Mainship crowd. I came from a bigger boat down to this 30 Pilot I now own, BUT there was a still a learning curve for me with the turbo-charged engine and the NextGen generator as well as "switchology." The owner was there at sea trial and helped me to understand the basics, but once I owned the boat, I spent hours going through the manuals he left behind. Hopefully, you too will inherit the manuals. Even so, almost every manual is available online from the various manufacturers. Put them on a phone/tablet, whatever to have ready reference. You will eventually find that you develop a couple of modes for operating the boat and the switch/equipment settings will be pretty simple and intuitive. In truth, it's all simple enough. B the time you and your captain have delivered it, you will be well acquainted with the vessel, AND you have all of us here to help in any way we can.

Great info. Thanks. What was it about the turbo charged engine and NextGen generator that made them different for you?

 

[Mac2]

Some people use paint, blue tape, or the below pins to mark all those switches. It’s usually the DC breakers that are marked to turn off when you leave the boat, so you don’t run down your batteries down. Bilge pumps are always in the “auto” position. If you don’t have it already, get an anchor light that turns off automatically with daylight. Advise if you have a vacuflush head. Have the captain show you how to “goose” the boat in a circle. Very handy if it’s a single diesel with or without a bow thruster. Good luck.

 

[trawlerguyNY]

Some people use paint, blue tape, or the below pins to mark all those switches. It’s usually the DC breakers that are marked to turn off when you leave the boat, so you don’t run down your batteries down. Bilge pumps are always in the “auto” position. If you don’t have it already, get an anchor light that turns off automatically with daylight. Advise if you have a vacuflush head. Have the captain show you how to “goose” the boat in a circle. Very handy if it’s a single diesel with or without a bow thruster. Good luck.

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[bumpkin]

Yes - I'm having a survey done. Any trawlerfests in the NY/CT area? I'd love to check it out. Thanks.

As Garmstro55 said, your surveyor is a great source of information. Stick with him as he goes around your boat. If he is like the 3 I've used, he will be happy to answer your questions, give tips and mention the things he would do to the boat.

 

[Docktopus]

Great advice already. I’ll just add the recommendation — for the delivery you look for a captain that also does a lot of training. We did that with our delivery and were very clear that the delivery was part of our training (we also hired him for a couple days in the purchase location). It was probably the best money we spent when we moved up in size and complexity.

 

[Bacchus]

Some people use paint, blue tape, or the below pins to mark all those switches. It’s usually the DC breakers that are marked to turn off when you leave the boat, so you don’t run down your batteries down. Bilge pumps are always in the “auto” position. If you don’t have it already, get an anchor light that turns off automatically with daylight. Advise if you have a vacuflush head. Have the captain show you how to “goose” the boat in a circle. Very handy if it’s a single diesel with or without a bow thruster. Good luck.

Good point to mark breakers to shut off as well as leave on.
I have installed breaker covers than prevent unintended operation and think they are helpful to make sure I leave fridge (120 & 12V) batty charger. I also bubble / aerate my black tank and that runs 12/7 during the season.

 

[Symphony]

I had a 2007 hardtop. Great boat and easy to maintain. There is a strong tendency for stern swinging in following seas and pointing bow in an unanticipated direction. Bow Steer
Because of this the trim tabs (Bennet i think) had the range of motion limited because MS assumed skippers would forget they had the tabs deployed, causing terrible bow steer in following seas.
You can easily restore full range of trim tabs the next time boat is hauled. Lots of instructions on internet and YouTube.
Just don’t forget to slow and retract tabs in following seas.
Enjoy. Fun boat

 

[rgano]

Great info. Thanks. What was it about the turbo charged engine and NextGen generator that made them different for you?

The 315 HP, turbo-charged Yanmar engine is much more powerful and runs at about twice the RPM of the naturally aspirated 120HP Ford Lehman engines I left behind in the trawler, meaning things can go south much faster. You need to have an exhaust high temp alarm and/or a raw water flow alarm installed in such a beast as well as an exhaust gas temp gauge and a boost gauge to monitor proper operation of the engine - ALL of which I installed after I bought the Yanmar-equipped boat. The Yanmar is much noisier too. Access to the engine and generator in this 30-foot hull is almost impossible while the trawler offered adequate access. The Nextgen 3.5 KW I inherited had, unbeknownst to me, been installed with a rising exhaust hose from the engine to the muffler which allowed water to return down the hose after shutdown to corrode the valves and piston head, Previous owners simply did not use the genny, and my regular running of it just made it harder and harder to start due to the increased corrosion until there was NO compression. Replaced the generator and corrected the exhaust line making it a fairly reliable little unit. Unlike my previous boat with an Onan genny with direct drive generator end and a gear-driven raw water pump, the one-lunger 3.5 NG has a belt driving the raw water pump and another belt from engine to generator end. A sound shield over whatever genny you may have aboard is and essential IMO.

 

[rgano]

How is the purchase going?

 

[rgano]

While I am thinking about this, I looked carefully at the new-to-me, high-speed Yanmar which was ten yeans old when I bought it in 2015 trying to figure out what the critical threats to it lay. It only had 450 hours on it but the chronological age of the plastic timing belt, the probably never serviced intercooler, and the air heater coils in the engine air intake caused me some concern. A mechanic changed the timing belt and serviced the intercooler (it can be the source of seawater sucked into the cylinders), and I removed and blanked the air heaters. Why the air heaters? 1) They can corrode in time and possible get sucked into the zero-interference pistons ruining every thing. 2) Their only real function in life was to reduce cold weather startup smoke to satisfy some goofy EPA standard. Not being inside the cylinder where glow plugs live in sone engines like the Nextgen generator, they in NO WAY aided in starting the engine which smokes little at startup anyway. Later on, when one burst, I found out that I should have replaced any cooling hose I could access.