one thing for sure , someone needs to buy this yacht !! too good to let her fall apart . come on buyers get busy , buy buy buy !

i saw her when she was in Brighton , lovely looking power-full yacht .

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SandS said..

yes you could try and sail around with a 90 percent jib but when the wind gets down to 10 or 12 knotts . you will be going no where.

and wishing you had the 135 percent heady on . you could run a furled headsail instead of changing sails .

Good point Sand S I forgot to mention you would also want a staysail on a furler so you can run both when it's light

MT has a V drive transmission, engine and gearbox are installed backwards then a jackshaft takes the drive to the Vdrive box then to the prop shaft. Vdrive box needs repair, engine has external rust.

I have been watching Mark Twain ever since she came on the market a couple of years ago. Condsidering she was originally for sale at around $115k and is now down to $42.5k she is remarkably cheap. Yes, to make her suitable fur cruising would take some work and quite a lot $$$ but given her pedigree, I have no doubt she is worth it.
I would love to be able to buy her and sort her out. I discussed with her owner done time ago about how readily a dodger could be installed. His view was that this should be relatively straight forward. However, installing a Bimini would be difficult due to the length of the boom. Internally, to make her comfortable, one would need to do quite a lot of refitting re berths, sorting out the v berth, a table, head, let alone the galley. Another aspect to consider is that asides thx large cabin top hatches there are no port lights so potentially she could be quite dark inside. Interestingly, the brokers keep saying she had a fibreglass hull, but both of the boat builders who constructed MT were timber boat specialists and on the Cruising Club of Australia website re Sydney to Hobart race stats MT is listed as a timber hulled boat. Assuming the latter is correct, asides that she would be dynal sheefed, hull osmosis shouldn't be an issue. It would be very interesting to see her for real and to know exactly what issues asides the obvious (deck woodwork needing stripping and polishing), winch relocation etc would need to be sorted out and likely cost. A thorough survey I think would be critical if one were to want to be serious on buying her.

If my circumstances were improved I would be very keen to check her out.

Oh oh and yes re Curlew, as a cruising S&S 39, from all I am aware of she is on very sound condition. I had quite extensive discussions were her previous owner as i was very interested in her. I have since discussed with her next owner about what he did in upgrading her. So whoever bought her, they should have bought a very sound boat.

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osca1600 said..
I have been watching Mark Twain ever since she came on the market a couple of years ago. Condsidering she was originally for sale at around $115k and is now down to $42.5k she is remarkably cheap. Yes, to make her suitable fur cruising would take some work and quite a lot $$$ but given her pedigree, I have no doubt she is worth it.
I would love to be able to buy her and sort her out. I discussed with her owner done time ago about how readily a dodger could be installed. His view was that this should be relatively straight forward. However, installing a Bimini would be difficult due to the length of the boom. Internally, to make her comfortable, one would need to do quite a lot of refitting re berths, sorting out the v berth, a table, head, let alone the galley. Another aspect to consider is that asides thx large cabin top hatches there are no port lights so potentially she could be quite dark inside. Interestingly, the brokers keep saying she had a fibreglass hull, but both of the boat builders who constructed MT were timber boat specialists and on the Cruising Club of Australia website re Sydney to Hobart race stats MT is listed as a timber hulled boat. Assuming the latter is correct, asides that she would be dynal sheefed, hull osmosis shouldn't be an issue. It would be very interesting to see her for real and to know exactly what issues asides the obvious (deck woodwork needing stripping and polishing), winch relocation etc would need to be sorted out and likely cost. A thorough survey I think would be critical if one were to want to be serious on buying her.

If my circumstances were improved I would be very keen to check her out.

Oh oh and yes re Curlew, as a cruising S&S 39, from all I am aware of she is on very sound condition. I had quite extensive discussions were her previous owner as i was very interested in her. I have since discussed with her next owner about what he did in upgrading her. So whoever bought her, they should have bought a very sound boat.

I knew Curlew under her previous owner. We met in COasters Retreat one time and stayed in touch until he sold. That is a lovely cruising S&S39.

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Sportsmancraft said..
MT has a V drive transmission, engine and gearbox are installed backwards then a jackshaft takes the drive to the Vdrive box then to the prop shaft. Vdrive box needs repair, engine has external rust.

The bloke that made these V drives is still operating out in the Blue mountains. All parts are still available. Full bearing kits are about $600.

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osca1600 said..
I have been watching Mark Twain ever since she came on the market a couple of years ago. Condsidering she was originally for sale at around $115k and is now down to $42.5k she is remarkably cheap. Yes, to make her suitable fur cruising would take some work and quite a lot $$$ but given her pedigree, I have no doubt she is worth it.
I would love to be able to buy her and sort her out. I discussed with her owner done time ago about how readily a dodger could be installed. His view was that this should be relatively straight forward. However, installing a Bimini would be difficult due to the length of the boom. Internally, to make her comfortable, one would need to do quite a lot of refitting re berths, sorting out the v berth, a table, head, let alone the galley. Another aspect to consider is that asides thx large cabin top hatches there are no port lights so potentially she could be quite dark inside. Interestingly, the brokers keep saying she had a fibreglass hull, but both of the boat builders who constructed MT were timber boat specialists and on the Cruising Club of Australia website re Sydney to Hobart race stats MT is listed as a timber hulled boat. Assuming the latter is correct, asides that she would be dynal sheefed, hull osmosis shouldn't be an issue. It would be very interesting to see her for real and to know exactly what issues asides the obvious (deck woodwork needing stripping and polishing), winch relocation etc would need to be sorted out and likely cost. A thorough survey I think would be critical if one were to want to be serious on buying her.

If my circumstances were improved I would be very keen to check her out.

Oh oh and yes re Curlew, as a cruising S&S 39, from all I am aware of she is on very sound condition. I had quite extensive discussions were her previous owner as i was very interested in her. I have since discussed with her next owner about what he did in upgrading her. So whoever bought her, they should have bought a very sound boat.

Looking at the interior photos, particularly the shot of the heads the hull certainly looks like fibreglass.

New price drop on Mark Twain, $39500 now

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Sportsmancraft said..
New price drop on Mark Twain, $39500 now

I'll mention it to the Missus!

I would turn it into a daysailer like this S&S. I can see myself sailing like this bloke but minus the white trousers!

Indeed, i noticed the further notice drop. At $39.5k she is one hell of a boat. A furler, electric anchor winch, dinghy plus all the other modifications people have discussed and I think you would have an awesome boat. Am beginning to think I might have to jump on a plane and check her out soon before someone else does. MT deserves to be loved and enjoyed. So much history in her.

Whatever Mark Twain sells for is not really the issue.

Whatever the current or next owner is prepared to spend on her is the main issue.

Mistresses come with a high maintenance factor. Always has been and always will be.

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MorningBird said..
S&S39 Mark Twain for sale for $55,000 on Boatsales. Bargain the price down bit.
Seems to be an excellent buy.

No denying a very nice boat with history but I think today a bit of a dinosaur. So sad. I hope a syndicate buys her/him and brings her/him back to her's/him's former glory.
P.s I am trying to be politically correct as per another post on this forum

New to this forum but I know the boat and have sailed a lot of miles on her. MT is a witch to windward in both light and heavy weather. Have sailed past many a modern production racer/cruiser pointing higher and going faster. Have sailed 2-up with her current owner - and not a huge challenge - but does require a bit of forethought and some experience with these sort of boats helps. She has been re-rigged, re-wired and re-plumbed in recent years but admittedly requires more investment and more work to make MT a comfortable cruiser. Apart from some rot in the deck - the hull itself is in good condition - very solid fibreglass construction. Helm is very balanced - some would say overly so - but an incredible boat to sail when she is powered up in a stiff breeze with a full main and 3#. She a thoroughbred from a previous era but deserves a good home. Would be great to see her restored to her former glory .. 25 Sydney to Hobart's is not a bad record - not too many modern boats would stand up to that punishment. Hoping she finds an owner her sees her for what she is - a classic!

Mark Twain has sold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now what am I to lust after.

This one!!