Mainship 34 - single screw docking?

[jrbauerjr]

I also owned a 34 Mainship for about 10 years.. It is a very stable boat backing into a slip. With a bit of practice you'll learn that it repeatably behaves the same way for a given power and rudder angle setting. We recently downsized from a 55 ft Chris to a 31 Silverton.. No keel, light weight, small props, and engines close together,,, The Mainship was much easier to dock..

Practice will make perfect..

Jim

 

[Stan Thompson]

I retrofit a bow thruster on my 1977 Mainship 34 and loved it. Hull # 11 if anyone knows where she is now.

 

[Capt Richard A.]

I have a trawler 50’ single screw. Yes it will be hard to put in any slip in the wind or current. Worse then a sailboat. Because of the structure above the water line.
When the weathers bad, put it to the end, on the “T” .
Bow thrusters ? You can have them put in. I don’t use them because I Captain a number ships/ boats. With and without. I have seen captains with a dead thruster have someone else put it in the slip. So, everyday I learn.
So, go put the boat in on a test run, before purchase. At least 3 times. Don’t pick a calm day. Then you will have your answer. “ remember you drive it in under power, not float it”
You will do fine.
Best to you.

 

[RickyD]

Or buy it, install a thruster, and get some pointers from someone who knows how to maneuver a single engine power boat.

Hey go crazy and put in bow and stern thrusters. Sterns are cheaper and you can run off the same batteries. You could parallel park in a tight spot with that setup. I had a guy slip into a spot at a fuel dock in Mexico single handed with a 65 Nordhaven. He had 3 feet off the bow to me and about another 3 to boat behind. Just pulled up, side slipped, and tossed us his lines. It was a thing of beauty. There was a nasty surge at the time as well.

I know there are plenty of you old salts out there yelling "sacrilege!!" at your computers. I have a buddy with a single screw CHB. Said he never needed a thruster since he learned his boat. Then we came into his slip after a trip and he banged and scraped on both sides. Oh well, stuff happens.

 

[Ws1c]

I had a single screw Chris Craft and learned how to back in a slip. Not easy, but can be done. Was docking a friends 32' Dutch canal boat, 20,000 steel with single and when halfway inn another friend said why don't you use the little lever- thruster. Now have a 31' with thrusters. Would add bow thruster to your 34. Wonderful thing.

 

[Monk36]

Consider having a thruster installed. I have a Single engine Monk 36 and depend on my stern thruster, especially in wind. Trawlers are one big sail.

 

[ghostrider454]

The OP stated that he sold the sailboat specifically due to difficulty in docking. Sounds like this issue is a deal breaker for him and something he won't able to work around. Or did I misread his post?

Either he stays on land or gets a twin of some kind. Seamanship course would be a waste of time for him

 

[Mark P]

While I don't have a Mainship, and they might be tougher to dock, I was struggling with my single engine 28 footer. I finally listened to my wife - I hired a captain to teach me the techniques of docking in currents, tides, & wind. What a difference that made. Do the same, well worth it. Now I look forward to windy days to see how close I can get it without touching the fenders! Other boaters at the marina appreciate it, too!

 

[syjos]

While I don't have a Mainship, and they might be tougher to dock, I was struggling with my single engine 28 footer. I finally listened to my wife - I hired a captain to teach me the techniques of docking in currents, tides, & wind. What a difference that made. Do the same, well worth it. Now I look forward to windy days to see how close I can get it without touching the fenders! Other boaters at the marina appreciate it, too!

Wise wife. And wise you for listening.

So many males refuse to get professional instruction to improve boat handling. Too macho, pig headed or cheap? So they pinball around the marina embarrassing themselves or their family and eventually spending more on docking damage than the instruction would have cost.

Or they get their "experienced" boater friends to give them a few tips which may end up picking up bad habits or missing some important tips that a trained boat driving instructor would have offered.

I don't understand the resistance. Men get instruction to fly, improve golf scores, performance driving, shoot better etc but boat driving instruction - no way!

 

[psneeld]

My wife was a real estate agent....


As a gift to new buyers, she would give a gift certificate out to boaters for me to give some lessons. (often with the spouses strong approval)



Guys didnt feel as insecure when they could say "hey, got this for free, might as well use it"

 

[Mersea]

I had a mainship 34 trawler with a single engine no thursters that I single handled quite a bit. I found the Mainship being a lighter boat very easy to dock. I used it a lot on the Columbia where docking often involves strong currents.
The only thing that I found difficult about it was in a fresh breeze. It had a flybridge enclosure that pretty much turned it into a sailboat in the wind. My current boat at significantly more weight and pronounced prop walk in reverse is a much bigger challenge. I got "Dockstar" thursters for it which are easy to install and makes docking the boat a breeze in any conditions

 

[syjos]

My wife was a real estate agent....


As a gift to new buyers, she would give a gift certificate out to boaters for me to give some lessons. (often with the spouses strong approval)



Guys didnt feel as insecure when they could say "hey, got this for free, might as well use it"

Good one!

I had female clients that bought boat handling instruction as gifts for their significant other. Very few men that actually made appointments for lessons. Some tried to get a refund but I offered partial refunds only.

Some of the wives chose to receive handling instruction themselves when their husbands refused and they didn't want the money to be wasted. I found women to be more receptive to instruction than men and some became better boat drivers than their spouse. Women listen better than men, have no previous experience or preconceived notions about docking and they leave their ego at home. A lot of men, depending on their profession or experience have a need to try to impress the instructor, disagree and argue or not do exactly as instructed.

Had many men reluctantly take instruction when their spouses became better at docking than them after receiving training.

 

[Lollygag1]

In laws had a ‘78 Mainship single screw. They said use patience and practice

 

[syjos]

The Mainship 34 was a lot easier to dock because of it's lighter weight than Sandpiper. The prop walk was more significant so the back end could be placed with plenty of throttle. But, because of it's light weight, maneuvers had to be done quickly before wind or current could push the boat around.

 

[jleonard]

I pretty much sucked at single inboard docking (pre Mainship) until I was fortunate enough to be asked to go fishing with an old timer who was in his 80s and had an older 35 Duffy hull.
Coming back into the dock I just stood in the center of the cockpit and felt what the boat was doing as he shifted and added power, back and fill, etc.
After that I went from sucky to pretty good from that one lesson that wasn't really a lesson (or was it? Maybe that's why he asked me along).

 

[ScottinMA]

Mainship34

We had a man ship 34 for 20 years. For 10 of those years we learned a lot about “prop effect”. When backing down the boat went to port and we learned how to back in with respect to tide and wind. After 10 years we decided to purchase a bow thruster. It was the most amazing experience! I still recall the first day that I backed in to a slip with it. It was amazing! We loved our 34 and now recently purchased a 390.

 

[backinblue]

We had a man ship 34 for 20 years. For 10 of those years we learned a lot about “prop effect”. When backing down the boat went to port and we learned how to back in with respect to tide and wind. After 10 years we decided to purchase a bow thruster. It was the most amazing experience! I still recall the first day that I backed in to a slip with it. It was amazing! We loved our 34 and now recently purchased a 390.

Exactly! Just like many pieces of equipment that make boating easier and more enjoyable. Not every piece of equipment on a boat is absolutely essential to go boating, but that doesn't mean they are not a great thing to have. I don't understand why some people here think that thrusters are a crutch and that a REAL boater doesn't need them. How many of those people are still using a compass, sextant, and paper charts and saying that GPS is not necessary? Not saying that you shouldn't carry them and know how to use them, but does that mean you are not a capable capt if you use GPS? Ever notice how often professional capts. of commercial vessels use thursters every day? Basically 100%.

 

[rgano]

Helpful..sure. But a MUST?? With my wheel turned hard to port, my prop walk still backs me to stbd. I pretty much turn hard to port and leave it there, then and bump and fill, with small bits of thruster as needed. Three turns has be me back at center.

I don't know which Mainship singles have their props shrouded in a tunnel, but compared to other singles I have operated without one, the tunnel on my 30-foot pilot all but eliminates the normal prop walk. my autopilot has a rudder angle indication, and I use it when approaching a mooring, along with the tiny rudder and bow thruster as needed. This boat will back relatively straight, and the rudder seems to have very little effect after the clutch is placed in neutral after gaining some sternway; enter the thruster which allows good directional control going astern.