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1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Tue May 04, 2021 4:33 pm
by Jyagloski
good evening fellow trojan owners;

I am here for some advice from the trojan pros, i am currently looking at buying a 1995 trojan 390 Express, fresh water boat with twin 454's. I came here to get any advice and pointers to look into with this boat. is there any known issue with this particular boat? anything i should look for? obviously a survey, but just figured i'd ask maybe someone else owns or owned the same boat in the past and can pass some useful information along. I was told this boat uses no wood in the stringers (so that would be a good thing? i would assume) any pointers is appreciated! thanks!

Josh

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Wed May 05, 2021 7:30 am
by prowlersfish
Josh , Most on here have the Trojan-built Trojans. Yours is a Carver built and I think 2 or 3 of those on here. With that said They love them and Carver builds a good boat. I believe the 390 express is the only Carver Trojan that used a Trojan design. They usedthe 10.8 meter express and did some changes. They are a good boat and you should enjoy it. Please get a survey as you should with any boat .

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Mon May 24, 2021 4:50 pm
by CallMeIshmael
Josh, I bought the 1996 390 Express which was also built by Carver. I recently found severe wood rot of the elevated platform deck in the engine compartment on the port side. That is the narrow deck on which the batteries, exhaust silencer, and gas tank sit. The rot was hidden by a thick coat of white fiberlass and resin covering plywood. Apparently, the factory relied on the bonding between plywood and fiberglass resin to provide support since there is no bracing on the hull side of the platform. It is screwed to the stringer nearest the wall, with the plywood just forced into the hull for pressure tension before coating the top. The underside of the plywood was not sealed apparently. I don't know where the water came from to cause the damage, but it delaminated the plywood from the fiberglass, leaving piles of wood fragments below. It's hard to believe that they even used marine plywood. One thing I noticed was the small size of the drain hole in the furthest outside stringer near the transom. It was clogged with crud, which would explain water building up in the hidden channel below the platform between hull wall and stringer. The platform on the starboard side seems solid. I caught on to the damage first by noticing sagging of the platform below the batteries at the port aft area of the engine compartment. If anyone else has dealt with this, I sure would appreciate any advice on how to rectify the damage.

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Tue May 25, 2021 11:52 am
by rickalan35
CallMeIshmael - That's tough luck for sure with regard to that wood rot scenario. I'm assuming you will tear it out and replace the wood and build up the fiberglass around it from scratch and repair properly. Having a professional do it is probably your best move in the long run unless you have particular skills in this area. Absolutely a disappointing and pain in the ass scenario to be experiencing. Best of luck. Have you been satisfied with the rest of the boat?

Josh - I have now owned a 1994 370 (exactly the same as your's despite the name change to 390) for 7 years. It has been an exceptionally fine boat. No issues. Prior to purchase, I paid for two surveys. By the way, the boat's hull from the rub rail downward is solid fiberglass with NO coring which was a feature I had been searching for and favor. It makes these boats heavier but also makes them more bulletproof in my view. If you have particular questions that I might be able to help with, please ask or private message me. I have a very high regard for the manufacturing level of quality that Carver put into these boats. All the very best.

Rick

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:47 pm
by tricountytrail
1994 Trojan Express 370
1994 Trojan Express 370

Hello going to look at a 1994 Trojan Express 370 tomarrow.
Looking for any info you would like to share. Just joined this forum.
Looking for cruise speed rpms and mph and wot speed and mph.
It has the crusader xls in it and 6.5kw gen.

Any issues I should look for. Looks like a great boat 13.5' beam should have great room.
How have your engines held up how many hours? trannys ect?

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:37 am
by RWS
The Carver built Trojans were generally of decent quality.
Crusader 454's are good engines

MAINTENANCE & CARE ARE KEY TO IT ALL

As boats age, they may have issues - GET A FULL SURVEY !

RWS

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 5:58 pm
by todd brinkerhoff
The Trojan 370, 390, and 400 were based on the the newest platform produced by Trojan in 1990 called the 10.8 meter express. It was produced for less than a year before Trojan went bankrupt and was sold to Carver. There were a lot of innovative features on this new boat that never made it out of the gate unfortunately. The most prominent was a new hull that was a departure from the delta conic. I’m not sure how much of the design was kept be Carver. My understanding was the 10.8 was very expensive to build, and they were hoping the high quality would pay off in the Mediterranean market. Carver was much more frugal, hence their success.

For the 10.8, the gas option, as well as the diesel option (cat 3116) were way too underpowered for that hull. It’s way to much V and deep to be efficient. Boat is a slug. The designer was from Bertram, which always used high horsepower diesels for their platforms. I use mine like a trawler. It maxes out at 25-26 with full tabs. And guzzles and guzzles and guzzles. Under Biden maybe I’ll have an electric option soon.

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 6:05 pm
by rickalan35
Todd, I don't think this guy ever ended up getting past the initial visit. In fact I have now answered a series of questions about this model (because I own one) and not one of the people have ever responded to let us know what happened or what they did.

Rick

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 5:30 am
by todd brinkerhoff
These boats are pretty old and need a lot of attention and tlc…plus they aren’t a name brand. Not many young people are willing to put in the sweat and time to maintain them, and not many older people want the responsibility at this time if their life. This is a “turn a key and go” society, and if it don’t work get another. It’s a dead brand, and big old boats, especially without new, high tech engines, are a thing of the past. ***, in 10-15 years they may be illegal to drive these things.

I love mine, and it’s my mobile cottage. I love and respect the history of the brand and the build….but we’re rare. No dealer or broker is going to recommend one. They have no clue what it is.

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:47 pm
by WayWeGo
On the Chesapeake Bay, many folks know and respect the Trojan brand. There are still a fair number around here and some of them are in Bristol shape.

Re: '94 Trojan 370 Express and my boating storyline

Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 11:26 pm
by rickalan35
I was actually referring to the number of times someone has come to the forum looking for some information or an opinion and we've taken the time to type out a detailed reply, sometimes lengthy (we've all done it, (especially Prowler)) and then the person simply disappears.

Hard to believe I've been around this Forum since about 2006. Most of you have been around longer.

When it comes to Trojans, I agree we all love'em. In my case I bought a little pontoon houseboat in 1977 and kept it for thirty years. Just out of university and married at the time. We just wanted to be on the water.

Bitten by the bug, one-year later in 1978 we bought a 34 foot, 1955 Shepherd cruiser (mahogany carvel plank with 331 Chrysler hemi engines). Had it for ten years. Running my own business I made enough money to buy a cottage and we kept the houseboat there. But we berthed the Shepherd at a marina. Spent way too much money on those boats.

Then I went through my mahogany runabout phase where my wife and I restored five of them over about a ten year period. These boats ranged from 1936 to 1955.

Then sold everything and bought a 36 foot, 1974 Trojan tricabin. Back in those days, Trojan had purchased the old Shepherd Factory in Niagara On The Lake and as a result, I always considered the two manufacturers as one and the same. Interestingly enough, the old guy (anyone older than me) who now ploughs my laneway in the winter time (T.J. Bolton) worked in Niagara for both companies and was a member of the Trojan delivery crew that delivered the few big 50 footers that Trojan built. He says that some were not finished inside when they were delivered and had to be finished on-site by a special crew.

I owned the 36 foot Tricabin for sixteen years and sunk thousands into it because I loved it. It was a great boat. I made the change to my current Carver built 1994 Trojan 370 express because of the quality of the build. It has proven to this point to be a fantastic boat for the past seven years and will be our final one. I don't regret any of the time and money I've spent on my boating experience. Hope to have a few more. :)

Rick

Re: 1995 Trojan 390 Express

Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2021 6:19 am
by prowlersfish
WayWeGo wrote: Mon Aug 16, 2021 2:47 pm On the Chesapeake Bay, many folks know and respect the Trojan brand. There are still a fair number around here and some of them are in Bristol shape.
Very true I see them all over.