1980 Mainship 34 Mark 1

[OceanFarm]

I am looking at a 1980 Mainship 34 trawler. The Perkins 6.354 engine oil pan on the starboard side is almost touching the fiberglass hull where it curves into the bulge. When I say touching I mean maybe 1/16" of an inch. It's hard to see if it's rubbed much from how dirty the bulge is there.

Any other mainship owners out there with such little clearance?

Thanks.

 

[Keysdisease]

Might be the 43 year old engine mounts have settled beyond specification. Is the close tolerance (starboard side) the side where the injection pump is? From leaks or bleeding the engine mount under the pump is often the one to fail from contamination from fuel.

Maybe?

 

[OceanFarm]

Keysdisease,

Thanks. I was thinking engine mounts as well as they worn and compressed hard. Injection pump I believe is on the port side of engine.

The clearance issue is only on the rear starboard side. It looks as though for side has maybe 3/4" or more clearance. The strings look and sound solid all around and metal brackets off stringer look ok as well.

I appreciate the help. Was just curious if this is a known issue that others have had.

Thanks.

 

[Larry M]

If the engine mounts are that old, check the carrier bearing between the running gear and stuffing box. This is a know weak point on this era Mainship.

 

[jleonard]

I owned a 1978 model 1 for 14 years. The problem you describe was not a common one.
I would tend to agree that the mounts are shot and the engine settled.
Which means the shaft alignment is off which will likely wear the cutlass bearing on an angle and stress the mid carrier bearing as mentioned above. ( that bearing is located on the rear side of the bulkhead under the salon door bolted to that bulkhead. Difficult to access and you’d have to remove the prop shaft to change it).
It can also cause the rear tranny seal to leak.
Those problems are not a death sentence rather strong negotiating points.
Best of luck!!

 

[Gdavid]

Mine has a similar clearance, probably closer to 1/4", but not much and my alignment is fine, I wouldn't be surprised if yours is straight with so little clearance