Just bought a Fairline Turbo 36

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clivew05

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Good mornng/afternoon all.

I have just bought a 1985 Fairline Turbo 36 - my main use will be mostly river work but with the occasionl coastal trip (Medway to Orwell) or Medway to Broads (Lowestoft once a year) and up the Thames. I found her to be very roomy although dated but intend to modernise her over the coming months/years - she has 165hp Volvo Penta TAMD40s is there anything that I need to look out for in particular ? I am getting a survey carried out and getting my mechanic to do a thorough engine check and service - he is also looking at the gearboxes shafts etc before she goes in the water .... there are a few questions I have - but as I have onoly had a brief look around the interior im not sure where everything is in general .... I am told that you can make the saloon uyp to a double - but it appears that the seating is not moveable - there is a table which collapses down but does not match the height of the seats so would be uncomfortable? I am thinking that one of the seats must move across to the other side of the saloon but cant see how? I read the last survey in 2011 - and apparently the peformance was almost spot on - rev range was correct and also speed quoted by manufactuirer is 19knts and she reached 18knts (my current boat does not get on the plane till 15knots so a little surprised that this is a planing boat but only gets to 18knts is that correect for the 165HP - i usually go out in up to an F4 maybe that will have to change now?

Any way for all you Turbo 36 owners out there any suggestions / advice you can give would be very welcome

Thanks in advance
 
clivew05 said:
Good mornng/afternoon all.

I have just bought a 1985 Fairline Turbo 36 - my main use will be mostly river work but with the occasionl coastal trip (Medway to Orwell) or Medway to Broads (Lowestoft once a year) and up the Thames. I found her to be very roomy although dated but intend to modernise her over the coming months/years - she has 165hp Volvo Penta TAMD40s is there anything that I need to look out for in particular ? I am getting a survey carried out and getting my mechanic to do a thorough engine check and service - he is also looking at the gearboxes shafts etc before she goes in the water .... there are a few questions I have - but as I have onoly had a brief look around the interior im not sure where everything is in general .... I am told that you can make the saloon uyp to a double - but it appears that the seating is not moveable - there is a table which collapses down but does not match the height of the seats so would be uncomfortable? I am thinking that one of the seats must move across to the other side of the saloon but cant see how? I read the last survey in 2011 - and apparently the peformance was almost spot on - rev range was correct and also speed quoted by manufactuirer is 19knts and she reached 18knts (my current boat does not get on the plane till 15knots so a little surprised that this is a planing boat but only gets to 18knts is that correect for the 165HP - i usually go out in up to an F4 maybe that will have to change now?

Any way for all you Turbo 36 owners out there any suggestions / advice you can give would be very welcome

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I love the turbo 36s and they still look good. And won't age now I reckon, they look classic to my eyes.

They are small engines for a 36, and the speeds sound about right to me. 2x306 hp models do about 27 knots. Will be great for your use and easier access for servicing it is a bit tight with the bigger engines.

Enjoy!
 
Nice purchase. With the TMD40s her speed will be limited to about 18 knots and She will be very slow with a dirty bum. I have the 255's and She tops out at 22 knots with a clean bum. With a dirty bum and stiff cutlass bearing I struggled to get her past 14 knots.

I have loads of info on the boat and common equipment, including the Owners handbook. I will PM you links to these and various reports etc. I also have manuals for the TMD40 as my last boat had this engine.

You will find getting to the gearboxes can be difficult, but I have cut the floor panel at the base of the entrance steps to improve access for service. Working on the out board side of the engines is a challenge indeed.

You will likely need to learn how to lasso cleats as they are too high to simply hop off when coming alongside. They do carry a lot of windage, so if you have a bow thruster this is a major advantage (mine doesn't).

You might want to visit my blogsite (below in my tagline). This shows a history of the issues I have had over 3 years, but most of the more difficult issues have been VP cost of parts related. Changing cutlass bearings is the devil's work. Find out how old the shaft seals are and what type are fitted.

Worth also checking the state of the electrics cupboard in the forward heads compartment aft bulkhead, and the base of the fuel tanks for corrosion.
 
As ex owner of a 1985 Turbo 36, congratulations on your purchase. My boat (with 255hp engines) was superb, an excellent sea boat with an amazing amount of accommodation for it's size. I can't really add much to superheat6k's post and his superb blog only to say that as far as I remember, on our boat, the section of seating on the s/b side pulled out to create the infill on the port side. I'm sure you know that the Turbo 36 was offered with a variety of engines over the years with the TAMD40s in your boat being the lowest powered. My boat used to top out at around 26kts with a clean hull and a following wind so I'm not surprised if your boat tops out short of 20kts especially given the fact that the engines will be getting on a bit now and probably not giving their max rated power. For sure you'll have to keep the hull and sterngear clean if you want to achieve full planing performance at sea on those occasions you venture out.
Yes the Turbo 36 is a very capable sea boat and it will look after you superbly in poor sea conditions. We were quite inexperienced when we had our Turbo and twice found ourselves in near gale conditions off Brittany and crossing Lyme Bay and one particular Channel crossing will stick in my memory for ever. I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say that our Turbo 36 survived better than we did
 
Our Scand tops out at just above 21kts with a pair of 165hp TAMD40b's.

I can't see a larger heavier boat doing much more than16!?

Maybe I'm wrong!? Hope so :-)
 
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