-
5/23 There were 6 black screws missing from the windshield. My dealer
later sent over some replacements, but they were not countersunk screws
and several didn't fit because they were too short. The OEM manufacturer
told the dealer they didn't use flat heads when the dealer called them
back. Eventually, 10/6/99, the right screws were secured by my dealer
and installed.
-
5/23 I opened the genset cover and the center rubber stopper stuck to the
cover leaving a bare screw behind. I tried finding a replacement locally
but was unsuccessful. The corner stops held the cover while my dealer
located the correct part. Eventually, the part arrived, and I installed it
and it hasn't stuck to the genset cover since.
-
5/23 Cracks started forming under the hand rails in both forward corners of
the fly bridge. My dealer filled them and gelcoated them. 11/25 I wet sanded,
compounded, and waxed them, and it looked good. However, once it got dirty
the patch became visible. I think I need to use a finer grit sand paper
and compound and wax the area again. One problem is that the gelcoat is
a bit thin in one corner of one of the patches, and it could use an
additional gelcoat application to build it up more.
I had this regelcoated by a professional fiberglass person. Unfortunatly,
it is still quite noticeable and still needs something.
-
5/23 This one simple item frustrated me the most. On the stateroom hatch,
the shaft of the hatch adjuster was missing the pressfit pin that stops
the shaft from coming all the way out of the adjuster. Not knowing this,
the first time I opened the hatch full open (vertical), it kept right
on going. CRASH! There was the cover laying 180 degrees over with a
scratch on it.
Mid summer, my dealer obtained a replacement for it and
went to install it, but it was setup for the starboard side while I
had a port side adjuster. I suggested just removing the pin and putting
it in the old one, they said they would get the right one.
Later, my dealer sent an adjuster over, and I went to install it but
found that although everything looked like it was in the right place
for a port side mounting, the press fit pin was sticking out of the
wrong side of the shaft so it wouldn't engage with the slot in the
plastic tightener. At this point, I took my own suggestion. In a vise,
I tapped the pressfit pin out of the shaft; flipped the shaft to the
other side, and tapped the pin back in. I reinstalled the opener in
the hatch and haven't had any more CRASHES. Now, anyone have
any scratch remover?
-
5/23 The A/C outlet grill in the salon was missing 1 large brass-tinted screw
for the outer rim and 1 smaller brass-tinted screw for the inner rim. The
smaller screw was used in the outer rim because it needed all 4 screws to
hold the assembly in place. The inner rim was screwless but had enough
friction to hold itself together without screws. 11/26 My dealer sent the
screws over and I installed them. The grill now looks complete.
-
5/23 The sliding glass door in the stern had some gouges in the end of the
metal frame near the top in the fixed door. I filed and sanded the metal
until the gouges were smooth. I then spray painted the area white to match
the rest of the door and it is barely noticeable.
-
5/23 The sliding screen door in the stern did not slide freely. In fact, the
adjusters were fully unscrewed. As I went to adjust them, I found that
the screen slid easiest when they were most of the way out. The lower
port adjuster had to be all the way out. When screwed down, it just
engaged directly with the rail below scraping metal on metal. I thought
that the manufacturer must have drilled the hole in the wrong place
missing the roller which was over further.
8/99 Later in the summer while traveling up the Connecticut River, my son
and the closed screen had a accident. I now had a bent screen lying
on my salon floor, but this turned out to be fortuitous.
After a few minutes of bending the screen back into its correct shape
and checking that the screen material was still securely fastened
to the screen frame, I investigated the lower port side roller.
The reason that
the roller was not being engaged by the screw was that it had slid
towards the starboard and completely missed the adjuster screw. The
roller is mounted on the end of a U shaped spring. The top of the
spring has a hole in it that the screw was supposed to go through
to hold the roller in the correct position. By sliding the roller
and spring over and aligning the two holes, I could screw the
adjuster screw part way in and lock the roller in place.
The last two steps were to reinstall the screen without breaking it
and to try to adjust it. Since it came out by bending, I took a
chance on that method since removing the top or bottom tracks
was not something I wanted to attempt while on a week cruise. Is
there any other way anyway? The plan was to just flex the frame
enough to install it without bending it out of shape.
With one person pushing out to the
stern on the top, another pushing in towards the bow in the center,
and myself pushing out on the bottom and using a screwdriver to
align the wheels on the track, the door slipped right into place.
After playing with the four adjusters, I found a setting that
worked quite well. In fact, it was better than that door had
ever worked in its lifetime! Another major irritation falls.
It has worked well ever since.
=== adjuster screw
\
\
---------------\---------------------- top of frame
\
___________\ __ spring
/ \
| `
\___#__ spring
_#_
/ # \
-----|--#--|-------------------------- bottom of frame
\___/ roller wheel
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ track
-
5/23 The screen window over the galley stove was so stiff, that my spouse
has been unable to open and close it. 9/99 I spent several hours looking
at it, and I still couldn't trace the exact cause. No bending or prying seemed
to help. I lubricated all sides of the rails with Teflon grease and that
helped. Others can open the screen now, but it is still stiffer than all
the other sliding screens.
-
6/99 The starboard side of the swim platform sags and the water does not
run off the drain port in the corner. I noticed this even while the boat
was sitting in the yard. This has been another of those
major irritations for me. I normally dock on the starboard side, and it is very
convenient to enter and exit boat through the stern door and the starboard
swim platform. After a rain or after running at 8 knots or above, the
platform gets wet and forms a puddle in this spot. The other side just
drains off and drys quickly. With the puddle there most of the time,
anyone entering the boat gets wet shoes that drop dirt marks all over
the rest of the boat making it impossible to keep clean. It also creates
a slipping hazard for entering and exiting the boat.
Mainship told my dealer that they had a fix. Drill a hole into the top,
add foam mix and then close the hole back up. The fiberglass guy for my
dealer refused to touch this job. Other ideas include trying to build it
up somehow. Any ideas? Does
your 350/390 have this problem?
-
6/99 At the dealer's yard, we always used line 1 and a parallel breaker
configuration for the line 2 loads.
Plugging in shore power line 2 for the first time yielded another surprise.
It didn't work. The power made it through the cable and the front line 2
worked so the problem was between the line 2 stern jack and the bow stern
breakers on the electrical panel. Opening the electrical panel, it was clear
that the problem was at the other end. Opening the socket and checking that,
it worked correctly. The only thing left was the breakers located by the
sockets. Removing them, I found them white with thick fiberglass dust.
I cleaned and blew out the breakers and reinstalled them. Line 2 has
worked correctly since.
-
6/99 The molding on both side seats on the fly bridge were buckling under
pressure
and the starboard side popped a screw. My dealer said that this starboard
material used to make the molding expanded and contracted at different
rates from the fiberglass material it was fastened to during the heating
and cooling cycles of the day and night. The dealer said that it should be
reinstalled so that it can give. The dealer completed this during the summer
and it now looks much better and no screws have popped since.
-
6/99 The port stereo speaker in the salon was very distorted. The stateroom
was fine. I removed the speaker and found a pile of drilling debris inside.
I cleaned the inside of the ceiling and the speaker of dust and debris and
reinstalled it. That cured the distortion.
-
6/99 During the sea trial, I had noticed that the gauges on the fly bridge
for the two engines didn't agree very closely. I also noticed that one
engine warmed up more quickly than the other and the oil pressure was slow
to come up. One night while falling asleep, I had a flash. If the temp and
pressure gauges were swapped but had similar sensors, this might account
for the readings. The next day, I started the engines and watch the
gauges on both side at both the upper and lower stations. The pressure
on the port rose gradually like the temperature on the starboard engine.
The temperature on the port matched the pressure on the starboard side.
Turning the engine switch on when the engine was already warm engine gave
an instant pressure reading on the port side even before the engine was
started. It seemed clear that the pressure and temperature leads were
reversed. The lower station showed everything working correctly, so the
wires were reversed between the lower and upper stations.
Looking under the upper station, I found the port pressure and temperature
gauges had a blue and a brown wire running to them. I checked the starboard
side and they also had the same color wires and the wires were connected
by lugs to the same gauges as the port side. They were not swapped as
you might have expected. I tested my theory anyway and swapped the leads
on the port gauges. The port gauges read normally and agreed closely with
the starboard gauges.
Always a person to believe in root cause analysis, I traced from the
Y connector in the lower station to the wall and from the bridge wire duct
to the connector and to the bridge gauges. All was wired correctly based on
color. I didn't open the starboard window where the wires run, but I checked
with my dealer who had. They said that they didn't have to cut any of those
wires while pulling wires for the electronics. If this is the case, I can
only conclude that somewhere in the wall, Mainship wired a blue wire to
a brown wire and a brown wire to a blue wire. Perhaps at a connector
buried somewhere. The blue and brown lugs on my port gauges will have
to stay swapped for now.
-
6/99 Turning on the fresh water would produce a VERY pungent smell. Filling and
emptying the tanks twice cured the problem but took a long time by the time
all three tanks and the hot water tank were finished.
-
6/99 The port engine has continually leaked antifreeze. It began with the
drain cock on the front of the engine. It turned out, it was actually leaking
from the outside. I called Mack Boring,
a Yanmar Distributor, and they suggested tightening the small nut on the back
of the valve's T handle. I did this and it helped.
This showed up another antifreeze leak that was contributing to the same
puddle. This one was on the outboard side of the engine. Playing the
mad contortionist with a leg here and an arm there, I found a loose hose
clamp on the heat exchanger that was dribbling from it's mouth. I tightened
it and discovered that all of the other clamps were quite loose also. I
tightened the other hose clamps escaping the sweltering maze of hoses and
wires and only bashing my head 3 or 4 times. This mostly cured the problems
for the season.
7/00 Next season, the drain cock began dribbling again and couldn't be tightened
further. A replacement drain cock seems to have cured that problem
only to show up a leak on the heat exchanger hose again. I tightened that further,
somehow navigating the maze without bashing my head, and it seems to have
stopped the leak.
-
7/99 The down position of the windless switch on the fly bridge worked
but not the
up position. Both the down and the up switches on the deck worked correctly.
Tracing the wire, I found that the common lead for the windless was connected
to side leg of the switch and the down lead was connected to the common
center of the switch. Reversing the two pull lugs cured this problem and
the windless goes both ways from the bridge. Of course, you cannot single
hand the anchor from the bridge anyway because the line doesn't feed well
in either direction, so it is not clear what this gained me.
-
7/99 The port running light keeps failing. I bent the contact which helps
but I tend to have to rotate the light counter clockwise as though I am
removing the bulb to get it started each time I turn the running lights on.
I finally called the manufacturer and they sent me a replacement at no
cost. This cured the problem.
-
6/99 Although at one point, I had seen the galley light work, I couldn't
get it to turn on. I opened the fixture and found a loose connection,
but that still didn't fix the problem. I pulled out the microwave and followed
the wire up into the ceiling before figuring out that the overhead light
had to be turned on to get the galley light to go on. I wonder how many
other people had trouble figuring this one out. I don't think it is
written anywhere that both switches are wired in series. What were
they thinking on this one?
9/19/99 I find overhead fluorescent lights harsh on the eyes, but
lower mounted fluorescent lights are not as bad. I rewired the light
to a separate circuit that runs back to the electrical panel. Both lights
can now be operated independently. Another owner came up with an easier
approach, he installed an on/off switch in the overhead light. You still
need the wall switch and the galley light switch on, but at least you
can turn off the overhead and save power.
-
7/4/99 With the boat partly debugged, we invited our first guests out
in the 95+ degree weather. With genset and A/C running, we were all set
to enjoy a nice dinner "on the hook". The chef pops a dish into the
microwave and punches up 15 minutes. When it's done, the first dish
came out and the next went in. Suddenly, before hitting "Start", there's
"no picture no sound." The microwave was completely dead, but the breaker
was on.
Out came the phillips head, the screws, the microwave and the
cover. It was hot behind the microwave, but man was that klystron HOT!
I traced out some wires and found the main power went through a thermal
switch mounted on the klystron heatsink. An ohm meter check showed an
open, so I took the guts of the microwave and set it out on the cabin
in the 95 degree heat and light wind which was surely cooler than that
klystron.
Later, I measured the thermal switch and it was closed again. I reassembled
and reinstalled the microwave and it actually showed the time and worked
again.
Later, I installed an extra vent matching the one on the galley side
to help circulate the air behind the refrigerator. These
vents are available from Marine Air Systems.
You will need to coat it with Teak Oil to match.
I don't know if that will solve the problem since this
summer has been much cooler. I also found, while installing wiring for
the galley light, that there is a direct path
for the heat from the engine room to enter the back of the refrigerator
and stove area by circulating under the port walkway. I think perhaps
that air path should be closed off.
-
Having had our disaster for the day, we left
Sandy Hook and headed to
NY Harbor for the Macy's day fireworks. In the middle of NY Harbor,
I suddenly didn't like the feel of the steering and it rapidly went
downhill from there. With a million boats all headed towards
Governor's Island at top speed, it was a challenge to stay pointed
in one direction with a guest on the gear shifters and guess who in
the bilge.
Yep, that pile of red stuff under the rudder cylinder
was not a pretty sight. Two screws laying in the oil (I wonder
if it was the toxic or the nontoxic stuff.) and a third barely
holding a plate on the end of the cylinder and the problem
was clear. I reassembled the plate and the screws to keep
the rest of the fluid from leaking all the while, the wakes from
the boats were crashing over the swim platform and under the
stern door and into the bilge were I was working, now in the dark.
Somewhere we anchored as the mad rush slowed.
Next, "a fun time was had by all" as we located a small funnel and
one or two quarts of ATF on board. Working the wheel back and forth
while slowly pouring the ATF in the steering fluid filler hole
we got the system to drink all fluid we had all to the back drop
of fireworks. Unfortunately, it was still thirsty, but it would
have to do. By cleanup, the fireworks were almost finished so
we watched the rest of them. We tested the steering when they
were finished. The fly bridge was useless, but the lower helm
was usable, barely. Four turns would move the rudder a little
one way, and 4 the other way would move it back.
No doubt other boaters were convinced that the captain of this
boat had had a bit too much to drink that night. With the steering,
we had to crawl back at about 6 knots. It was tough on the captain
trying to steer from below in the dark with large wakes. At 3 AM
he was back on the bridge docking with only the transmissions.
The next day, additional ATF cured the steering problems for
the rest of the season but not before frying in the 95+ degree
heat and being sprayed by a burp of ATF.
- 7/16 and before.
After every outing, I found the cover that goes around the base of the
Vacuflush head laying on the floor. Each time, I picked it up and snapped
it back in place, but it kept falling off.
I called the Vacuflush people and they explained that it should be hinged
with the back half with small plastic tabs which in my case were broken.
They sent me a new cover and with quite a bit of juggling, I was able to find
a way to rotate it into place without too much interference from the slopped
wall behind the head.
-
7/16/99 While expecting guests that I hadn't met before for an all day sailing
outing in NY, my Vacuflush stopped sealing. The seal would not hold after
use and the vacuum pump
would run continuously. Spending a sweltering morning in the head, I opened
the valve and flipped and realigned the rubber to see if it help. It helped
somewhat, but it still tended not to seal after a flush. I could see that
the half sphere valve rotated too far closed and this caused a hump in
the surface to hit the rubber seal and deform it. When the valve rotated open,
this hump would snag on the seal and bend it again.
After I returned to my home port, I called Vacuflush
and explained their design problem to them. The person I spoke to
immediately knew about the problem and sent me replacement seals and valve
spring assembly to replace the spring and separate parts at no cost.
8/9/99 Since installation, I haven't had any more trouble with the seal when
the head was properly operated.
-
After filling one of the fuel tanks, I removed the nozzle from the opening.
Out with the nozzle came the end of the chain that held the cover. With the
sloped side of the filling ports, the cover has to hang over the side.
Needless to say, it was gone - straight to the bottom of the drink.
Good thing it didn't rain that day before I could get a replacement.
I was able to purchase a new one in West Marine, but there was no way to
reattach a chain that I could see. That just may be for the better as long
as it is opened carefully. The cap can be placed inside the boat where it's safe.
One down, one to go. I'm just waiting for the other side to take the plunge.
-
8/4 Following a major power brownout (60 volts) by GPU energy, I found
the two main stern line breakers open. When I reset them, the A/C breaker
opened showing that the A/C unit was shorted out. A local Marine Air
A/C repair person removed the unit and repaired it in the shop. He
came back and reinstalled it and found that it was still shorted. He
removed it again and sent it to directly to Marine Air. 9/14/99 It
was reinstalled and works again. Now, I think twice about leaving
it running all the time in dehumidify or any other mode opting to
leave it off most of the time.
-
8/6 The windlass was not operable from the remote bridge switches without
someone to tend the rope in the locker. It basically had to be operated
from the bow. The chain wouldn't fit properly in the grooves of the windlass
requiring special care to prevent jamming. The line would also slip if
someone wasn't holding the line in the locker taut when hauling the anchor in.
My dealer and I identified the problem as an incorrect line and chain size
for the windlass. The manufacturer had apparently sent the anchor for a pilot
30. This solved the line slipping and the chain jam problem, but operation
from the bridge was still not possible because the line would kink inside
the locker during deployment and would snag when hauling causing a jam
in the windlass.
8/15 I removed the locker partition so that the rope would have more room
to lay. I also removed a portion of the chain bracket that the rope catches
on when hauling. Finally, I fully removed the line and removed all twists
and reloaded the locker again. This improved matters and the anchor can usually
be deployed remotely if needed. Hauling it in is still a problem because it
snags on the hooks in the locker. If the door is open, lowering and raising
it will usually clear the problem if it is caught early. In my prior boat,
the anchor could be raised and lowered from the bridge allowing simple
single-handed operation of the boat. This would be possible on the Mainship
if the chain fasteners were located further down or on the back wall of the
rope locker.
-
8/99 As we passed through the Throggs Neck Bridge into Long Island Sound,
we faced some short steep East wind generated waves. A trip down to the
cabin showed that the glass pot in the coffee maker had taken flying lessons.
It must have had a good pilot because it had landed, to our amazement,
all in one piece on the hard wood floors and was taxiing around between the
lower station and the couch when we found it.
4/00 None of the family drinks coffee, so I ordered a left cabinet door
matching the one over the TV and replaced the coffee maker with the door
to make an extra closet. I added teak tape to the opening and it looks like
it was built this way, and the coffee pot has been permanently grounded and
placed on shore leave.
-
8/99 My son was resting an elbow on the sink cover when the cover and the
forward rail fell into the sink. It looked like the rail was held onto the
top with some kind of clear ceramic glue. I reglued it with 5200 and it
appears to be holding.
-
9/21 The adjustable height table worked well when the boat was first delivered.
However, as time went on, it became more an more touchy. It was getting
to the point that you could look at it, and it would pop up launching
everything on the table into orbit around the cabin.
For a while, my spouse was afraid the leave the cabin for fear that
something else would become airborne. This fear wasn't ungrounded - see coffee
maker above. One day while working on the engines, I was eye level
with the beast. When I saw the two Allen screws, I knew it could be
tamed and the table would launch no more . . . until next year when
they had to be tightened again. And again.
-
On one particularly rocky day, a tall director's chair from Pier One Imports,
which is where Mainship gets them also, decided to tango with the table.
The table now sports a white bubble to show for its waltz with the chair.
-
9/21 Two voids opened up, one along the port walkway midships and another
over the port window. My dealer repaired the first, and I finished it
by wet sanding, compounding and waxing. The second must have been overlooked
by the dealer. I later hired a fiberglass person to repair this and several
other voids and gelcoat scars.
-
10/9/99 Two screws on the stern sliding glass door loosened up. I tightened them and
lubricated the door with Teflon grease.
-
While at a marine store, I asked if the plastic drains like the ones in
the stern floor were safe for freezing water. A knowledgeable person
at the store explained that none of them were rated for freezing
water. I asked this because the hose that runs from the drains to the
scupper holes runs from the drains up to the bottom of the floor and
back down to the hole on the side and there is always standing water
trapped in the drain as well as the hose especially after a rain.
When I asked Mainship about the problem they said:
Our warranty/customer service rep. says the drain hose should either
and/or be cut or rerouted to take out the rise to the thru hull fitting.
Let us know if you need more information.
Best regards,
Rose Lowe, Customer Service Liaison
I cut the cable ties holding the pipe, but it didn't budge. So for the
winter, I wedged a 2x4 above the pipe. This lowered the water level so
that it was below the level of the plastic drain. What were they thinking?
(Yes, I know, warm weather like all year round in St. Augustine FL.)
Has anyone cracked one yet?
I may have found out why the drain hoses are routed this way. This creates
a trap when full of water which can prevent carbon monoxide gas from entering
the boat from the outside - as long as the water doesn't dry out.
-
5/8/00 Two days following a severe thunder storm, I found the charger
circuit breaker tripped. When I reset it, it tripped again. The Charles
Industries charger had been fried. Two weeks and $300, and it had a
new circuit board and was operational again. I guess it is prudent to
leave both the A/C and the charger off to prevent electrical damage
when leaving the boat.
-
7/12/00 One of the screws holding the railing on the fly bridge, apparently
during installation, poked through the fiberglass ceiling just aft
of the sliding glass door. I sealed it with clear silicon sealer on
hand, but replaced it with some white 5200 to make it more
sightly.
-
7/14/00 Cleaned bad contacts on the starboard stern salon light and the
generator bilge light. Both lights work again after cleaning and bending
contacts.
-
7/30/00 While flushing the holding tank following emptying, the macerater pump
overheated and blew the breaker. Opening the pump, I found it was not clogged.
I concluded that the windings on the motor had shorted out from the heat.
I called Jabsco ITT and they claim that their motor should work continuous
duty (1/2 hour). Personally, I don't believe their claim for a second! I had
the same model go in my prior boat in similar circumstances. I think they
have to be babied and cooled making flushing a long project. Why can't
they just build these things to be robust? ITT sent a replacement pump
but said that it wasn't really a warranty replacement. I notice in the
instructions that it has a maximum "on" duty cycle of 15 minutes. It
doesn't state how long to wait for it to cool before restarting it. It
could take half and hour to an hour, I would think.
-
8/12/00 I found that the tip and ring wires, what the home owner knows as
red and green, on the phone jacks on the boat were wired to the R and Gr
connections on the shore phone line connection jack under the cover in the
stern. I would have expected them to be wired to the T and R connections with
the Gr used as a ground, perhaps for lightning protection. You can remove
two screws, (Mainship went cheap on the other two screws and left them out
figuring two would do), and slip off the rubber boot in the back if you
want to check your wiring. I would be interested to know if anyone had
it plug and play into a dock with the current wiring or knows why this
might be wired this way.
Send your thoughts in email.
The way I think it should be wired:
+--------------------> Tip
|
| to wall jacks in boat
| T R
+-------( * )--------> Ring
|
Gr|
+---------X no connect (Ground: not used on the boat side)
The way Mainship wired it:
T R
X-------( * )--------> Ring
no connect |
Gr| to wall jacks in boat
|
+----------> Tip
I rewired the Mainship end to match the dock.