I would appreciates your thoughts on a Trojan I may purchase

[micah]

The vessel in question is a 1975 26' Trojan witha hardtop. I am an expirienced boater, but only in smaller alluminum boats with outboard motors. Hull number is 261 something something yadda yadda yadda.

Cost of the boat is $5000, it would be alot higher but I am a close relative of the seller. I'll tell you everything I know about the boat.

This boat has not been in the water for about 6 years. It has been sitting outside in wisconsin for most of that time. It may or may not have been brought indoors durring the winters. Prior to this 6 year period, the boat was used routinely and performed very well, I spent alot of time on this boat in the early '90s.
The engine is a single 233hp 351 which I believe to be original to the boat. There are 1650 hours on it. Also included is a 10hp kicker motor on the transom. I am certain that both motors will need a bit of work prior to recomitioning, but I am not too concerned about them. The big motor was filled with antifreeze before parking.
Fiberglass looks good to my eye, but I don't know too much about glass boats. There are numorous small spiderweb like cracks in the vesal, though I presume these are mostly surface fractures that paint will fix? They are not at high stress areas like the transom corners or anything. The hardtop appears to be two layers of fiberglass with wood inbetween covered by stainless trim. The trim is displaced in several areas, if I had to guess I would say that the wood got wet and the water frooze, forcing the trim off. The wood that remains is not strong enough to hold the trim screws, this will need fixing. The bottom needs paint, the entire boat needs presure washing.
The cabin is clean but looks like 1975, no issues here. It doesn't seem like the windows leaked much if at all.
The deck is teak. It is apparent when you walk on it that there are two support beams under it that run fore and aft, between and outside of the beams you can detect perhaps 1/2" of sag when you walk. It is not disconcerting, but it is something I would likely replace in a few years unless someone here thinks its a big issue.
Now the worst part, or at least the part I fear....upon opening the rear hatch, engine hatch and cabin hatch, I was greeted by water, probably 2" of it. This water has probably been there for years and likely came in through the deck from rain. I poked about with my knife at the few areas were I could find wood that was not covered by glass. My knife would enter about 1/4" then stop. My gut says that things are plenty strong, but my gut doesn't know fiberglass boats. Is there a surefire, easy way of determining weather the wood is good? I'm sure the water would pump out if there was a battery in the boat.
I do not wish to pay several hundred dollars for a boat tech to look at it (I know, I know...)

My questions:
Does the hardtop come apart easily for wood replacement?
How critical to safety are the wood stringers on a boat like this? Have there been documented instances of vesels sinking due to rotton stringers?
Has anyone here rescued an old 'glass Trojan? What suprises did you find?
If you have replaced the wood in your boat, please tell me about the project, how you got to the wood out to remove and reinstall it, etc.
This boat seems to be 9 1/2' wide, I thought F26s were like 10 1/2, is this boat an F26? It doesn't mention a name in the manual or have any model name on it.
Any replies are appreciated, I'm sorry to make my first post so long. Thanks in advance!

[chucka]

Michah,

You should go into this with your eyes wide open. You are asking the right questions. The $5,000 price doesn't sound to me like a super bargain. You will probably need to spend 2 to 3 times that to get the boat in good working order. (plus a lot of work)

The stringers need to be solid. They are the structural foundation of the hull and support the engine. Try putting a wrench on the engine mount bolts. Are they solid? If they feel stripped out, (you can rotate them easily without finding a point where they tighten up solid) that is a problem. You can't have the engine moving around underway. That can fail the stuffing box and sink the boat. There are epoxy fillers that can be used to restore the stringers, but that is a project in itself.

I would try do a compression test on the engine if you don't plan to replace it. If the compression is low- after 6 years of sitting you will be looking at a major expense. 1650 hours is a pretty full life for a marine engine. Look carfully at exhaust mainfolds and risers. These tend to rust out and can cause carbon monixide poisoning if exhaust is leaking into the engine compartment. Polk at any rusty spots on the manifold agressively with a screw driver. I had a ten year old Chrysler 318 with 400 hours FWC that I could polk holes in the mainifold.

The gas tank is another area of concern. If the tank is original, it may be rusted out around the fittings. The deck will probably have to come off to replace the tank.

Look for soft spots in the balsa core fore deck. If there are sags, that can mean moisture penetration that again can be fixed, but can require significant effort.

Here is a photo of the cockpit deck support structure of my 75 trojan F26 as I ripped out the orignal deck. This is the forward port corner of the cockpit. The teak deck was delaminated and water had deteriorated the frames and rotted the cabin bulkead. These are all fixable, but it takes time and money.

Good Luck,
Chuck

[micah]

Thanks Chuck! I need all the help I can get.

The floor is a job I think I can handle, I'm sure its a PITA but it looks doable. I am more worried about the fore to aft stringers, I have no idea how I would go about replacing these if I ever had to. I checked them out and they seemed pretty solid, but in your opinion am I in serious danger if I missed something? If they were completely rotten in one area, or even if the entire beams were rotton, what could I expect while underway, would the boat break up?

I'm thinking that just about everything below the deck is okay with the exception of the deck support beams and the midships bulkhead where it contacts the deck. The steering support board seems like day 1. Can I assume that wood inside of glass is solid or should I be drilling a hole every foot or so?

[Ian Parsons]

Yes you have your work cut out for you. Your analysis is pretty thorough. I have a 1974 F26 that was sound structurally, but needed a complete electrical mechanical re fit, including a new 300 HP Merc Horizon Engine, new fuel, water and hotwater tanks and new wiring, new steering. Much blood sweat tears and money later, a fine seaboat, worthy of the Trojan name.

Your hardtop will probably need replacing. Even in the temperate climate on the wet coast, constant exposure to wind and rain opened mine like a can opener opens a can. Everything inside was wet. The top layer came off, the frame was left to dry and the a new top layer of fibreglass was installed. In hindsight, I would have had a new top made, and would have extended it right to the rear of the boat, replacing the partial canvas roof. Then all you need is drop canvas for the windows.

It is a long arduous task restoring these older boats. If you can do some of the stuff yourself if reduces the money drain. In all honesty, I think if I realized what I was facing, I would not have taken on the task. However, I did this later in life, which certainly had an impact.

Good Luck to You,

Ian Parsons
MV Catherine Pearl
Vancouver Island BC Can.

[chucka]

Micah,

Here is a link for you. http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLmain.html

It gives some information about repairing water damaged fiberglass/wood boats.

Also check out West systems. The following publication is a good reference.
002-550 Fiberglass Boat Repair & Maintenance
Softcover-84 pages.
A complete, illustrated guide to most fiberglass boat repair problems. Includes detailed instructions on repairing rotted stringers and frames, delamination, keel damage. Also covers fairing keels, hardware bonding, finishing and installing teak veneers. Look under product info.
http://www.westsystem.com/

I would also advise you to look at some other boats, and work out a rough resoration budget before agreeing to the asking price.
Good luck,
Chuck

[randyp]

You have your work cut out for you. We bought a 1977 F-26 Hardtop in 1999. It was well cared for on the outside, but had a lot of mechanical and some structural problems that we've spent the past 7 years working on. We paid 12,000 for the boat and have spend about $5000 over the past 6 years. It's in great shape now, and I knew the boat when it was brand new, as well as the previous owners, so I know what I was getting into. Your $5000 price will most likely not include: (1) Jobs for the pros:
Repair/replace stringers, if rotten, replace gas tank (most likly original galv. metal and most likely rusted on the inside). (2) Jobs you can most likely tackle: deck repair/replacement - there are some really good prior posts on this site. I've used the ideas myself. Hardtop replacement - the balsa core is saturated with water and will need to be replaced by either cutting out the fg skin from the bottom, to preseve the non-skid molded surface on the top, or doing the job from the top and having to add a new fg top surface - again, some good posts on this site - go back to some topics about delaminating decks. Electrical - if you know what you're doing you can upgrade the system yourself, but this is something that can be done AFTER the major structural issues are taken care of.

Finally, I would weigh what you're possibly getting into with the cost of another, more sound F-26 that is in the water, not lying out in a field for the past years in winter weather (uncovered, and unprotected I guess).

Best,

Randy P
Blue Heron