Flexing

guglielmo6160 · Post by **guglielmo6160** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:32 am

I was talking to a guy at the marina the other day and I was bragging about my new boat,
71 flybridge cruiser
and before I could even finish, he told me to and I quote "stay away from Trojan boats" that the boat wil flex so much that you can actually see it in the engine compartment during heavy seas,,
now, I really would like to think that this guy was out of his mind, and I havent heard anything to that effect from anyone
is there any truth to that statement,
being a logical person, I can say that everything has to have some flex
is this guy out of his mind or what??

jddens · Post by **jddens** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 11:31 am

Hi Bill, welcome to the forum. I have a 1972 30 foot flybridge cruiser and haven't notice any flex. I'm probably not one to talk about flex because all of my boating is in the inland waters of the calif delta. I have however, crossed some monster wakes with no issues. I think excessive flexing can be a sign of rotten stringers. Several on this forum have documented stringer repair and I'm sure they can talk more about flexing...........John

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:38 pm

Boats will flex. There's no two ways about it. How much a boat flexes depends on how it's built, the material it's made of, the condition it's in and the environment it's operating in. That being said, I've seen Trojans cruising effortlessly thru seas that looked like they would fold an acompanying Bayliner in half. I've also seen a Trojan with the bulkheads rotted away, where they are tabbed to the hull, shutter violently as it pounded thru rough water.

In my opinion, an old Trojan in good condition is one of the most solid boats on the water and in many cases better built than many new boats manufactured today.

Hope this helps,

ready123 · Post by **ready123** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 12:48 pm

Paul wrote: In my opinion, an old Trojan in good condition is one of the most solid boats on the water and in many cases better built than many new boats manufactured today.
Hope this helps,

I agree 100%... I've not seen many boats with hulls that have the thickness of glass as those on the F series.

The guy who made those comments probably has never really used a Trojan. Just like the Bayliner naysayers..... they often have not had one either.... not that I would trade my Trojan for a Bayliner.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:11 pm

I sure it will flexsome any boat will .Bet the guy owns a bertram or some other "pricey" boat some of these guys think that have the only boat there is to have . I will tell you that trojan hull will take more then you can . I have both mine thru hell I have slamed it burried the bow more times then you whant to know . I know my limits But I haven found the trojans yet !

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:31 pm

Imagine a boat as a shoebox. A shoebox is only as strong as it's lid. Without it, there is no support.

The deck on a boat is what holds the boat together and yes, all boats will flex to a degree.

Trojans are well built and very tough...I, like Prowlerfish and am sure others, can testify to just how strong they are, although I hope to never have to repeat it! If you have rotted stringers, it'll make things a whole lot worse. They along with bulkheads are the ribs which help hold the hull together.

The guy who made that statement to ya probably owns a Baylitter...

Mac32 · Post by **Mac32** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 1:49 pm

Ill add my 2cents of geekness to this. I believe the correct terms are Hedging and hogging when the hull is either cresting a wave or in the valley of a wave being supported by the stern and bow. (my company was actually contracted to do Stress plots on new hull designs a few years ago, what fun:D )

Now my practical knowledge of this applys here. ....My F32 had big flex issues when the middle was held up by a wave, so much so that the dinnette would push up at least 1" in big seas.

I thought this was normal until I poked a hole in the fiber glass wrap on the stringer, Guess what,

it was as solid as a bucket of saw dust. Hence my big stringer reapir job you may have seen in this forum.

Now for complete geekness come this spring I am going put a dial gage between the roof line and the floor near the dinette and see how much flex I have in 4-5 foot seas and see what I get with the new stringers in place......Yeah I know I need a different or new hobby.......

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 4:17 pm

Wow .... you guys really know how to bust a man's ego. I thought I was safe on this site owning a Bayliner along with my Trojan. Ouch....hahahaha

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:07 pm

LSP wrote:Wow .... you guys really know how to bust a man's ego. I thought I was safe on this site owning a Bayliner along with my Trojan. Ouch....hahahaha

The secret is...to not tell anyone that you have a Bayliner!!!

Just kiddin' with ya.

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:57 pm

Thanks Jamie .... I shoulda bit my tongue on that.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:31 pm

LSP wrote:Wow .... you guys really know how to bust a man's ego. I thought I was safe on this site owning a Bayliner along with my Trojan. Ouch....hahahaha

You tow the Bayliner as a garbage scow right ? Just don't tell us you have a Searay also .

Whos kidding

LOL

LSP · Post by **LSP** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:12 pm

Come on Paul .... does my Bayliner look like something that would haul garbage?

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:17 pm

Well ....... aaa well it is a nice color green LOL

JuiceClark · Post by **JuiceClark** » Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:36 pm

Flex? Really?? The stringers on my F-36 are so big and glassed twice over I can't imagine any flexing. I don't know how the new ones built by Carver were made.

Talk about garbage, did y'all see what somebody did to an F-36 on Ebay? Look at this poor girl:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-Tro ... ngQ5fBoats

thecode9000 · Post by **thecode9000** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 3:17 am

noob question... but what is flexing?

Trojan Boat Forum

Flexing

Flexing

no way