1991 Trojan 10.8 Meter Express

[prowlersfish]

Trojan by Bertram was more marketing then anything else .

[RWS]

Trojan by Bertram was more marketing then anything else .

+1

Jeep & Dodge both owned by Chrysler.....

not exactly the same but similar

RWS

[Struts and Rudders]

Here is the scoop....

From 1994-1996 SEF shipped Trojan running gear items for the Trojan 4410 to Hatteras Yachts in High Point NC.

From 1997-1999 SEF shipped Trojan running gear items for the Trojan 4410 to Carver Yachts in Pulaski WI.

Looks like we were making struts, rudders, tiller arms and few other items.

So it is TRUE...some Trojans were built at the Hatteras Plant in NC.
This would have been during the time that GENMAR owned both brands, actually some Larson boat and Wellcraft boats were also built there prior to GENMAR shutting down the plant totally.

Happy to provide this tidbit of Trojan history,

SRD
F36

[prowlersfish]

Carver/trojans were built there Trojans last year was 92 when the company name was sold to Carver

[CaptMike]

Yes, I have the exact model you have... Do you have any profile drawings?

[todd brinkerhoff]

CaptMike,

I don't have the profile drawings you're looking for...If you do find some let me know. What number boat do you have. Mine is 003. Apparently only about 14 or so of these boats were produced.

[CaptMike]

Hey that is interesting. I didn't know about just only 14 being made. My hull number is 360-1004. So is that 10 or 4. Pretty cool.

[Wes]

I don't know what hull number he has but Kent, the fellow running the "Official Trojan Boat Rendezvous" in July at Rock Hall in MD has a 10.8 also. Can we get some other 10.8's there too. We'll be there with the 1st 10 meter flybridge/aft cabin produced.

[todd brinkerhoff]

I've talked to Kent before and he seems to have quite a bit of good info on this boat. Let me know if you find any more good info. I find the history of this particular boat very interesting.

[ipspots]

I can attest that more than 14 10.8 boats were built in the Lancaster PA facility from 1990-1991. I can say this as I was working there at the time and had installed the underwater gear (struts rudders, and shaft logs etc...) on more than 14 of them. We were on a 3.5 day schedule meaning one every 3.5 days was built. I dont have the actual number of units built, but can tell you I built more than 25 for sure. If it was built in Lancaster, than I installed the underwater gear.

I remember when the prototype was finished, everyone was excited about it. All the workers were hand picked to start up the new line, It was a badge of honor to be asked to be part of the build crew. There was some new engineering in how the production line assembly was done on this boat. Some innovations that were different then we had ever done it before.

But unfortunately the company who owned Bertram/ Trojan raided all the money out of Trojan and then sold off what was left. (Common practice in the '80s) It was sad. Great boat, great compay ate up in the corporate raider world. I now work next to the old facility in Lancaster.

I had started working at Trojan in the mold room where I built decks. (Many models 10, 11 F36 etc..) Then worked on the 10 meter line installing all the electrical systems, wiring and fresh water and black water tanks and systems. As well as the sub flooring. From there I went to work on the NEW 10.8 meter, and then as the company started to lay off people I worked in the development shop till that work stopped. It was about 6 months after I left they shut the doors.

Anyway I loved the international series and always dreamed of owning one. Wife grew up boating and had more than her fill of it, so I guess I wont ever get the chance.

Enjoy, they were great boats.

Andy

[BobCT]

Andy,

Always great to hear from someone who was "there". So, I think what you're saying is that the 10m mid cabins are far superior to the Express models?

I don't want to put words in your mouth though

Actually, one of the few weak points on the mid cabins have been wet stringers around the limber hole cut outs which weren't very well sealed at the factory. Actually, any stringer to cross member joint is a potential area.

Knowing how they were built, is this issue overblown? A couple of people have said that the fiberglass was thick enough that the stringers were really just forms. One guy here who has a mid cabin had pretty extensive stringer rot and is replacing all of them.

I had about a 2' x 2' section of the engine room bulkhead which I had to replace last year in front of my Stb engine. It must have been from standing water wicking up over time. I try to keep the bilge as dry as possible now.


Bob

[ipspots]

Bob-
I can only attest to the ones built in the Lancaster plant, and those were built well. I have not seen any of the others.


Now I am no engineer and did not play one on tv either, so this is from my limited knowledge of how we built them and having been involved with some repairs here and there to older boats.

As far as stringers in general, Most of the international series built in Lancaster used Fiberglass stringers. These were handlaid on molds and then cut and trimmed and tabbed into the hulls. (Helped build many sets myself)

These obviously are far superior to a wood stringer which was fiberglassed over and tabbed into the hull. As the wood is prone to rot underneath the fiberglass. It really would depend on the model, and what and where the stringers are rotting, and of course how much glass was laid over etc. I know in most cases on the f model class boats built in Lancaster some substaintial layering with some very thick cloth was used to lay in the stringers. (I had tabbed in many sets of those as well) so the structural integrity is still there for the hull when the stringers do start to rot away. The real question becomes when something is attached to the stringer via the wood through the fiberglass, such as engine mounts.

I helped a gentlemen repair some stringers under his engine on a Chris Craft, and found that there was not much in the way of fiberglass over the stringers. We ended up laying more glass over the area, then fabricated some long stainless u shaped pieces that covered the top of the stringer, and through bolted them in to place for the engine mounts to sit on. This worked very well and according to my father and law who was an engineer by trade, we probably over built it

If you have the molded fiberglass stringers then this will never be an issue to you.


Interesting side note, there was a 9m model that was built in Lancaster in the late 80's that as I recall, we had to do some recall work on a few that went out the door before they were redeisgned. Apparantly the stringer structure design was not enough to take the pounding of an ocean sea, so we had foam filled some lower compartments between the subfloor and the hull in some specified areas as well as add some more fiberglass material. Not one of the better moments for sure. This added weight, but did take care of the issue. Still those are few and far between and were an interesting boat. I liked the design of those 9m which had some of the same styling cues as the 10.8, which came after the 9m.

I wonder how many of those are still around.

Andy

[ipspots]

Ohh one other thing about the holes cut into the stringers and the areas where they intersect, We used a gelcoat/fiberglass mixture to seal those up. It was hand painted on, usually thick. Much like any area being caulked, we were trained that it needed to be in excess, so the more caulk that squeezed out the better chances you had her sealed. We did not skimp on that kind of stuff.

Andy

[RWS]

Hi Andy,

THANKS for yopur contributions here.

Any chance you have some factory floor photos or any othe data that can be saved on this website or on

http://sites.google.com/site/trojaninternational/Home

Also,the Internationals builtd with the full liner system such as the initial run of express, sedan and af cabin models did in fact feature 4 hollow fore/at stringers The onlt woo here was a bit attached to the top underside of the motor mount area where the white ak blocks were attached wih lag bolts.

Th engine room to lazrette area bulkhead is wood and can be a source of issues, however this is easilyrepairable.

Please le us knowf you have anything we can save and we look forward to your contributions here.

RW

[ipspots]

Unfortunately I do not have much of anything from then. Some retirement plan stuff maybe a paycheck stub, w2, nothing of interest.

I actually found this site while I was looking for some brochure materials. The marketing crew came and took a picture of a wiring panel I had done on a 10m and used it in a brochure and I was trying to hunt one down. Would be neat to have a copy of my handy work.

My memory on some stuff is a little foggy, The 9M I spoke about above was the only model we built with I/O's and I cant remember that model designation right at the moment. I am sure it went by another name, not 9M. But then again in the factory we had different names for alot of the models than what was used to market them. Numbers such as 340, 360, etc.... for the 10-11 meter.

I will keep looking for vrochures form the late 80's and if I do find anything I will gladly post it on the site.

Andy