F25 Renovation Inside & Out

[drudodson]

When I bought her last May while going Covid-crazy, I told my wife that at least we're not buying a project boat. She ran and looked good for an old boat. HA! We both fell in love with her and her spot on Lake Ouachita near Hot Springs, Arkansas. So the improvements began. We got a good case of the "might as wells" - "you know, since we did that then we MIGHT AS WELL do this other thing." First slip work on her covered dock. Then dejunking 45+ years, the previous owner was meticulous with records and good with maintenance but kept every old part. Then degreasing the bilge which is open from stem to stern, and had decades of oil and grease caked in it. Then freeze plugs started spewing. Eight months later she's now on a trailer with the marina mechanic, the engine pulled, and getting some much needed mechanical improvements. I'll attach a few early pictures and will add some more in future to document the project up to date.

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[prowlersfish]

Please keep u up dated Good looking boat

[AwayOnBusine$$]

Gotta love old boats. But hey that's why we're her. It's the TROJAN family.

[drudodson]

The old '70's green formica on galley and table is still there, the green wall covering in the head is original, the previous owner at some point had recovered the cushions and backrest in mud brown, though the cushion for the table top was still the original green plaid upholstery like in the ad below. The frig was shot which I knew when I bought her, and the original head (!) had been rebuilt with a kit at some point, but was not pumping consistently. Previous owner had converted the head from direct discharge and installed small black tank. I immediately ripped out the original gold shag carpet and the brown upholstery which helped with the mustiness. But the real "boat smell" was coming from 40+ years of grease/oil in the forward bilge.

[prowlersfish]

Its always good to see someone put time and $$ in our old boats . They are timeless unlike most things these days .

[rickalan35]

This F25 was adopted by a good family.

We've mostly all been there, Dru

I spent 16 years with my previous Trojan (Tricabin)..... ripping out and replacing, improving etc.

Great work. Looking forward to seeing photos of your progress. What's your plan for the head??

Rick

[Boppy]

Good for you! You’re bringing this sweet old girl back to life. Like you, we bought our 1977 F26 HT in 1999 and have spent the past 22 years loving every bit of her. I keep up with the mechanicals and electricals as well as the structurals as best as I can but these old Trojans were built to last.

[drudodson]

Rick asked about the plan for the head. While I would like the simplicity of a new manual head, we're on a lake with no extended cruising and lots of landlubber guests so we're going to go for a nice electric head. The old black tank was shoehorned in and is small. Since we've pulled the engine, we're installing a much larger black tank and all new hoses. Should be a nice comfort upgrade. A few more pics of the forward bilge cleaned up and painted, engine in the hold, and the old gas tank which is going to be replaced. I had started an engine tuneup, rebuilt distributor, carb cleanup, new filters etc. We'll finish that up now after freeze plugs and drain petcocks are replaced and engine is back in.

[drudodson]

A few more pics of forward bilge and hold cleaned and painted . . .

[Moderator]

Nice work sir .

[RWS]

OMG !

RWS

[drudodson]

Right before we pulled her out in November, I ripped out the stapled-in cabin wall liner. I hate that stuff for some reason. I did leave the headliner alone for now. So was starting to play with putting up a plywood wall over the fiberglass, with the idea of doing a lapstrake look in the cabin. That's on hold while she's at the mechanic. I also took out the cockpit bench seat previous owner had built, and of course the sole needs refinishing. A few pics.

[JB@TO]

This is a very interesting post. Thanks. Please continue posting pics on your progress.
I am looking forward to get my hands on our first Trojan, a 1973 F25 Cruiser, come Spring up here in Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada so now trying to plan what I can to upgrade or restore it soon even if it a turnkey.

[drudodson]

JB@TO, while this is my second Trojan, I've had boats forever. Even a "turnkey" is still a boat right? I took a test ride in this boat and looked through the meticulous service records. It was obvious it needed a tuneup, as it would start and run great up to a little over 2000 rpm then begin to stall/lose power. So obviously needed a tuneup and gas filter/line attention. I also just assumed that I would eventually need to pull the engine and go through the boat's systems as it's nearly 50 years old. Thought I'd do that after a year or two of running her as is. What I didn't count on was the freeze plugs beginning to spew about 3 or 4 months after I bought her. So just to say, I hope you get your F25, we love ours! And be prepared even if it's "turnkey"!

[JB@TO]

Drodudson, Thanks for that retrospect and sharing your foresight. I'll keep my fingers crossed. And thanks for the well wishing. I hope that your project will go smoothly and I m looking forward to see more pics of it here in the near future. Cheers!