The boat was shipped by trailer over land with the top half of the bridge
uninstalled. The installation of the bridge was performed by the dealer.
When it arrived, as luck would have it, two other large boats,
one a 40+ foot Sabreline, arrived at the same time. I understand this caused
quite a traffic problem as the boats were maneuvered and off loaded from
the trucks. Good thing it was winter. The summer shore traffic would have
made it a mess.
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The first thing I noticed when the boat arrived in March 1999
was that it looked like the fly bridge was shipped with no protection
over the instrument panel. The "stop" buttons were already a well-faded
light pink instead of the red as in the lower helm. It is a minor
point, but I wanted things to look shipshape. I
located the OEM replacements a year later. In addition, both the
upper and lower helm 12 volt socket caps were dried and cracked.
The upper one broke off shortly after the boat was commissioned.
10/2/99 My dealer supplied two of them which I installed. The new ones have
remained crack free so far.
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During the week after the boat arrived, the weather was rainy and above
freezing during the afternoon and below freezing at night. When I checked
the boat that weekend, the teak and holly floor had a half frozen puddle
that ran from the sliding glass door to the starboard side. I picked up
the ice slab and removed it and dried the rest as best I could. I had
come for a closing not to work on the boat that day so it was a challenge
without basic gloves, mops and sponges.
My dealer said that the factory had not properly sealed one of the holes
on the bridge and that water was coming down through the A/C. He said that
when the rest of the bridge was installed and sealed up, this would go
away. It hasn't leaked since.
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I found that there was a large gap in the starboard material
under the fixed portion of the stern sliding door. A 3/4 inch by
6 inch section appeared to be missing. This was fixed by my dealer
prior to delivery by gluing a segment on to the other piece.
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During the inspection the week after the boat arrived, I also found
that the stern bilge in the generator room between each of the propeller
shaft humps and the inboard beam was full of ice and water. I cleaned the
water and ice out to prevent any freezing damage. The designers made
no provision for water to drain out of this area. The aft starboard and
port corners also tend to have a similar problem. Although I was concerned,
so far this area hasn't filled during rains because of the drains
on the hatches. The biggest issue is cleaning up the water after cleaning
the bilges in that area. Still, I would like to see a drainage port to the
keel and would have engineered the boat so that all water in the bilges
would drain to a bilge pump.
As a result of water accumulating just outside the inboard starboard stringer,
I later added about 1/4 in hole through the stringer using a right angle drill.
I then coated the inside of the hole with several layers of epoxy resin using
a long Q-tip.
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The keel, bilge pump and switch were also full of ice and water. The dealer
removed the plug and this and a warm day solved that problem.
Nothing was damaged. I would think a better approach would be for the
factory to ship the boat with the plug out.
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During shipment, the side window in the head was open and water ran down to
the floor and into the sump where it froze. My dealer filled this with
antifreeze to prevent any damage to the pump or the sump. It wasn't damaged.
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The drains for the top and cockpit empty into a box recessed into the side
of the boat, and there is an opening into the box from the side of the hull.
I found this box full of water and ice while the boat was on land. I'm
not sure if the freezing and thaw cycle of the fresh water that runs out these
ports will create any problems. The depth of the water may be low enough
for the fiberglass to withstand the pressures of ice. So far, I haven't
seen any problems with leaks here. The opening is just above the water line.
The port side had some cracks inside near one of the outputs, but I think
it may be a surface crack. It hasn't enlarged so far.
If I were designing this, I think I would run the outlets directly to
the side of the hull rather than to a box that then has another outlet
to the hull. If there is a purpose for the box, I cannot imagine it.
Perhaps it is a leftover from the underwater exhaust discharge before
regulations forced the switch back to surface exhaust.
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I found that every nook and cranny was full of fiberglass dust. On all the
used Mainship trawlers that I looked at, this would work its way to the
bilge where it could clog the bilge pump, especially in the bow and stern,
which could lead to pump failure and, Aaahh, sinking. So who you ya going
call, the "dust" busters? (like the ghost busters only for dust?)
On a mild day, I took brushes, towels, large and small vacuum cleaners and
spent all afternoon cleaning out every corner in the bilge, closets, and
every opening in the walls that I could get access to.
I also later found that the A/C compartment was part of the air return for
the forward A/C under the bow stateroom bunk. Operation of the A/C caused
nose and throat irritation for cabin occupants. The areas in A/C
compartment have had several cleanings as have the bilges near the
bilge pumps. Running an air filter also helped remove the fine particles.
Interestingly enough, so far the bilges have remained nearly bone dry. I
don't think I have ever heard the pumps run except when I clean them with
a hose.
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As I was crawling around in the bilges, I found an engine mounting bolt on
the outboard side of the engine was loose. Further investigation revealed
another one that was completely missing. The lunch bell must have rung when
they were doing engine mounts that day. My dealer fixed this prior to
delivery.
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The bilge floor in front of the starboard was full of transmission oil which
I cleaned up. My dealer said that it was probably spilled when the factory
installed the steering fluid. It hasn't reappeared.
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The twin Yanmar that I sea trialed in FL had a dipstick on the inboard
(port) side of the starboard engine. My boat, as delivered only had a plug
there. This would make doing daily engine checks very difficult. I gave my
dealer the parts information, and he installed
one for me.
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I found a loose ground wire on the through hull inlet near the sump.
I tightened this myself.
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I ordered the folding mast option so that I could get under 14' bridges
in the canal systems and a low bridge near my port. There were some plastic
washers that were too large that prevented a pin from sliding in and out
without getting hung up. I trimmed the washers for smoother operation. This
is one of the really useful options on the boat for getting under those
low bridges without needing an opening or for getting under the canal
bridges (that don't open).
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4/12/99 A crack and void appeared at the top of the steps to the bridge. The
dealer repaired this along with a crack in the swim platform and in the
rear of the fly bridge.
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5/15 You will need to specify the type and color of bottom
paint, and you will want a name painted or a name plaque on the stern and
perhaps the sides especially if the vessel is documented. In my case, either
my sign painter or a painter working on the next boat over was a bit sloppy
with the paint, and it must have been a windy day. The swim platform and the
side of the hull had to be cleaned and in some cases sanded to remove the
spray of drops.
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5/15 Now where did that antenna holder go? Some how, the antenna holder for
my boat got installed on someone else's boat.
For the first summer I ended up using a rope to hold up the antenna when it
was in the lower position. I finally obtained the part based on information
from my dealer and installed it 11/14/99. As it turned out, the antenna
holder is just an ordinary J hook.
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5/15 Following the launch of the boat, I visited and noticed deep
scratches in the railing on the port walkway. I found out from my
dealer that the marina requested that the dealer move the boat to a
different slip following a sea trial but the slip they gave them was too
narrow. My dealer found this out only after "committing" the boat to
this slip during a time of full tidal change in the river. My dealer
subsequently filed and sanded the marks out and then primed and painted
the railing to make things right. It looked good when finished, but
a week later the paint began flaking off. As we looked at the railing,
we also noticed that the railing on both sides extended beyond the rub
rail on the side of the boat near that aft section. This appears to be a
design mistake. What's the point of a rub rail if your railing hits the
pilings first?
Does anyone else have this problem? Yes? Sight down
from the fly bridge and see which sticks out the furthest.
I had heard that Mainship was going to replace this section
on both sides since it shouldn't extend over the edge. My dealer says
they have a new railing for the one side, but it hasn't been installed
yet pending scheduling. I don't know what happened to the other side.
My dealer said that they will have to cut an "inspection" hole into the
inside of the boat to access the bolts to replace that section.
I'll keep you posted on how it works out. :-(
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5/99 I was surprised to find that a Danforth anchor shipped with the boat
since all of the Mainships I had seen had CQR or plows. When the Danforth
is installed in the Windlass, the shank sticks up at a 45 degree angle
from the deck and the chain slopes back down to the windlass at another
45 degree angle running across the capstan diagonally before entering
the correct track on the aft side of the capstan. It looked peculiar,
but my dealer tells me that this is standard Mainship equipment.
8/99 I had my dealer order a CQR for me, and I installed it in the following
spring keeping the Danforth as a spare. With a 35 lb CQR specified for
this size boat, I have found that when the anchor is pulled up all the
way, it will not deploy without a push because of the chain and arm
weight on the deck and roller. Also, when raising it, the upward pull
of the arm when the anchor arm comes over the roller causes the
chain to wrap around the capstan above the proper track requiring
someone to keep it in place (without loosing their fingers) the last
6 inches. It looks to me as though the anchor platform and roller might
be made for the next smaller sized anchor. Is there no hope of remote
single person operation like on my old Luhrs?
Does anyone routinely
raise and lower their anchor on the 350/390 remotely?
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5/99 While touring a Mainship trawler at a boat show, I asked a salesman if
it came with a CD player. He said that it was standard. I looked for
the CD slot and all I could find was a hole for a tape. Had I known that
it wasn't standard equipment, I might have ordered the optional CD changer
instead of doing an installation myself the following year.
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5/23/99 The Yanmar user manual for the engines was missing. My dealer
supplied one prior to delivery.
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5/23/99 The manual for the Glendinning synchronizer was missing. My
dealer obtained one for me 10/1/99.
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5/23/99 The user manual for the Kohler genset was missing. I located a
distributer in July and after 3 attempts, they
finally, successfully sent me the user manual and two service manuals
that I ordered. I received them 10/6/99. We'll never know where those
other two shipments ended up. Maybe 3 years from now, they'll show up.
I now had the information to do the 50 hour service which was needed
following the 3 day July 6 power failure when we stayed on the boat
with the genset running.
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5/23/99 The belts on both engines were loose. My dealer tightened them
and after my
belt tensioner, item 1278-1VGA, from
Harborfreight.com
showed up, I tightened them further. It takes some maneuvering to slip
the tool in and to prevent binding when tightening it.