Mark Marine 23

[Jmess]

I just bought a MM23. Does anyone know about the boat or history

[pkrabbe]

The Mark Marine 23 was designed by Dr. John Letcher and were built by Mark Marine Inc., Route 101, Raymond, New Hampshire. It was featured in the Sail, February 1979. I believe only a handful were ever built.

He wanted to design a bluewater coastal cruiser. I believe Dr. Letcher is still connected with the design industry through Aerohydro (I base this on internet search, not actual confirmation).

http://aerohydro.com/

We purchased a 1979 version in 1994 and sailed it in the North Channel of the Great Lakes and in Lake Nipissing. It had previously been used in Florida, I acquired it at a very low cost due to the acute blistering which was subsequently repaired. We sold it in 1999 as the family outgrew it. I now see that it is up for sale in Barrie, Ontario. Our version was the OMC Saildrive version.

What we liked:
- the sturdy construction (stays, mast, hull all were oversized compared to other trailerables of same length)
- V-Berth access
- Galley and Head placement
- table which could be moved into the cockpit
- OMC Saildrive (once we got it running (year one) it was reliable in the larger waves of Lake Huron and Nipissing.
- 26" draft

What we did not like:
- OMC Saildrive ate up a lot of usable space and had a certain marine 2 stroke odor
- Extremely shallow bilge which required mopping (though after a few years we can really plugged the ingress points and it was less of an issue)
- centerboard thumping in light seas (would not stay down all the time)
- flat bottom pounded if motoring into the seas (avoided this)

Improvements we made (other than maintenance and cosmetics)
- Whisker pole helped downwind performance tremendously
- Replaced V-berth with Posturpedic mattress
- Foot pump for galley
- storage behind port and starbord settee (wasted space)
- rear swim ladder


I have kept three pages which may be of interest to you which I have attached.

1) Original Manufacturer's Specification Sheet
2) Sail Magazine article mentioned above
3) Niagara-on-the-Lake Yacht Brokers listing sheet (from whom we acquired).


Best regards and good luck with your Mark Marine.

[SkiprJohn]

Jmess,
Howe lucky for you that you found someone with a lot of info about your boat.
Hope you are still around.
kind regards,

[kclancy]

I'm looking at this boat now. How much headroom and what is the length of the v berth? I'm 6'3" and realize that smaller trailer sailers are a compromise, but some are more roomy than others. Thanks, Kevin.

[pkrabbe]

Forward vberth length - do not have exact but I was 5'11" and experienced no issues.

Head room. From memory it was 52". However if cooking or washing up at the galley you could stand erect since the hatch slid open. There was no issue with cabin height seated or when moving to the berth.

[gjordan]

Kclancy, I assume you are looking at the one in Kelseyville, but if not, there is one for sale here in Kelseyville.(Craigs list) I had never heard of one before so this thread is interesting. Not sure how one got to this side of the country, but interesting. Grant.

[kclancy]

Thanks for the info!

I might go up and look at the boat in Keleysville. I'm looking a for my first "real" sailboat. I am looking for a trailer sailed that doesn't cost too much and would be good to learn on. However, it needs to be comfortable for my girlfriend and I for weekending. I currently have a little Flying Junior.

Do you think this boat is worth a look?

[gjordan]

I really dont know anything about the boat. From the photos, it is in one of the many Marinas around the lake. It has been for sale for a while, so it might not be a fast mover when you go to sell it someday. As far as room, I have no idea. I would offer to go look, but I am swamped for the next several days. Maybe later in the week I could take a look. I recently bought a Catalina 22, and one of the reasons (other than a great deal) was that they are so well known that selling is fairly easy. There are so many boats for sale at low prices, that I dont think there is any need to rush in. Read up on things to look for in old boats, ie, bottoms of bulkheads, deck sag around the mast step, soft deck around any fitting. window leaking etc. I am several hundred dollars into getting the brakes working on my trailer, so that can be important. Maybe we can talk later in the week. PM me with a number if you want. ____Grant.

[kclancy]

Thanks Grant! I'll send you a private email. Once I figure out how to do that....