Boat test for the 2006 Mainship 43 Trawler including boat specifications, photo galleries, boat videos, boat layout diagrams, boat test numbers, boat test results, and boat speed graphs. Also includes pricing, engine test reviews, ratings, standard features, and gear for the 2006 Mainship 43 Trawler.

The galley has tricks of its own. U-shape for safety and open to the main deck, it has facing pairs of stainless steel drawers, two refrigerators, and two freezers. No, they aren't those famous-name ones, but these can run off either 12 or 120 volts. There's also a double stainless steel sink, lots of Corian counter space, cutlery and dish stowage, a pantry, in-sole dry stowage, and an outboard compartment with two trash receptacles, one for regular trash, one for recyclables. An eating bar with two stools separates the galley from the saloon; it's the right height for the cook, but I found it too low to sit at comfortably.

The neatest things about the lower station are the door to the starboard side deck, making this a great short-handed boat, and the three huge 3'x4' windshields. Combined with the adjustable Devine Industries helm chair, you get great visibility on all points. Our interior sole was covered in an optional ($5,707) glossy, teak-like laminate called Everwear, reportedly more durable than teak and holly.

The cockpit, at 4'7" long, is tight for a table and chairs. Personally, I'd wait for the Pilot version, with a saloon bulkhead about a foot and a half forward and a saloon smaller than the Trawler's 11-foot-long one. My boat's cockpit sole was covered in an optional tan plastic material called FlexiTeak. It's durable, can be sanded, and has good nonskid properties, but no one will confuse it with teak. The entire cockpit sole can be removed relatively easily for major work, but most of the time you'll access the lazarette and engine room via a 2'x3' cockpit hatch. Inside there's great access to everything, even the outside of the engines, thanks to that beam, and headroom's not bad: 4'6". Seacocks on the port and starboard raw-water pickups allow the engines to draw from the bilge in an emergency. (There's also a 4,000-gallon bilge pump and alarm activated by high water.) A Racor fuel-polishing system is standard (!), as is a sight gauge on the 830-gallon fuel tank forward of the engines—although that could change.

Which brings me to performance. Perhaps the 43's most noticeable running characteristic is her bow-high attitude. I measured a maximum of seven degrees at 2000 rpm, enough that you need to run with the tabs halfway down—not a good thing. I suspect this attitude results from Mainship using the same hull as its 43 Aft Cabin, which has straight inboards. The Trawler, being a V-drive, has a center of balance considerably farther aft. Mainship intends to remedy the problem by shifting some gear forward and dividing that single fuel tank into three—two forward of the engines that will gravity-feed a centerline main tank—which is why that sight gauge will need to be rethought.

The 43's other noticeable running characteristic is her steering: slow and heavy, it takes a lot of fun out of what proved to be a fine hull on test day, easily chewing up four-footers.

Neither the steering nor the running angle was a problem at displacement speeds, where the 43 handled flawlessly without a bow thruster. Which made me think that maybe deep beneath her shiny fiberglass there really beats the heart of a trawler—that's with a small t.

Mainship
(800) 578-0852

PAGES:

1

2