Trojan Boat Forum

alexander38, I ended up using the plywood because I read so many books that consistently said to use the exact same materials that you tore out. I was going to use engineered wood beams (p-lam) as it would have been stronger, cheaper and quicker than laminating the plywood but after reading the same thing over and over i decided to listen. I did use 3/4 inch marine grade plywood ($100 per sheet).
When I began this project 3 yrs ago I got a budget number from a marina to replace the two main stringers if I brought the boat to them with the engines removed. +- $40,000. Ironically I replaced the two main stringers as well as the two outboard stringers for $4800 and a ton of sweat equity. (part of the $4800 included $55 hr to a guy to teach me how to properly do the work)

RWS,
I like that second article. Never saw it before. Had read the first one a few weeks ago, Thanks

yorklyn wrote:RWS,
I can't tell you how many times i've thought of repowering with diesels!
Total rebuilds of my engines would be somewhere around 8-10k
Freshing up my existing engines 4-6k
brand new engines 26-29k.

when you talk about re powering with diesels you said something about replacing shafts and struts . using a high rpm diesel like yanmar and the right gear it may not be needed , as far as the struts if shaft size was changed the strut may fit another size shafts with a cutlass bearing change .

Reusing your old engines ,Freshing up my existing engines 4-6k ? you said they ran good and 1500-2000 is not a big deal if take care of . maybe go thru the sea water side raw water pump possible risers./ manifolds and clean the heat exchanger . 2k ? less ? I just don't see 4-6k . assuming your doing it your self .

prowlersfish,
For some reason I dont have alot of clearance between the hull and the prop. Don't think I could go much bigger without issues and not sure how much could be gained by changing the pitch and cup on the existing props. I would have to do more research but you may be correct. The manifolds and risers were only used for one season before I started the renovation so they should be ok. Althought I am very hands on and have a good background doing basic engine repairs I have never rebuilt an engine. I was planning on having new rings installed, heads machined and valve job and carbs updated for ethanol fuel. Not exactly sure what makes sense or not. Figured since both engines and trans are out and sitting on pallets I want to try to limit any issues for awhile after putting them back in. also thought about cleaning them up and selling them to offset some of the cost of diesels but that would still cost quite a bit more than i currently have right not. Any suggestions or insite would be appreciated

You mentioned heat exchanger. What is the recommended "replacement" of these? mine are origional. I "cooked" them out with acid a while back to remove build up and scale. I had a pin hole in one of the copper elbows, took it to a radiator shop to get it repaired and was told they couldn't fix it. after pricing out a new exchanger for over 1000 I examined the elbow, cut it off, replaced it with a copper elbow from the hardware store and soldered it on with high temp silver solder. The rest of the exchange seemed solid. This repair lasted for two seasons with no issues. Just was wondering if the exchangers should be treated like the manifolds and replaced every 5-6 years??

I was just showing my wife your pictures because she thinks I am excesive when it comes to projects on my boat. That is quite a big job but very impressive undertaking, since you have the interior out it would be a good time to reseal the bow rail, windshield, hatches, sky lights, port holes. I know this adds a lot of work but the interior needs to be out to get to the bolts and screws of most of the items mentioned. keep working at it you will love it when its all done. I would love to put diesels in my boat but have not been able to justify the cost, you can buy a lot of gas for $45,000.

Im planning on repainting the entire boat and would love to remove the bow rail. even with everything removed i'm still not sure if i can access every bolt. I am rebeding everything i can get too.
I hate the existing skylites/hatches. I have rebeded them 3 or 4 times in the past and they always leak. I would love to put a normal hatch in but its not a standard size and custom sizes are overpriced. The existing ones are nothing but a piece of 1/2 plexiglass thats caulked in place. Has anyone figured a solution to this??
Thanks

To get to all the bow rail bolts you will have to disassemble a little more but it will be worth it, I also have the solution to the sky lights, I have removed about 3 times to reseal but finaly talked to a guy that installed plane windshields and he gave me the process to do it right. They have been in for about 5 years with no leaks. I am leaving today for vacation but if you send me a private message with your phone number I will call you when I get back and give you the process and materials.

Todd,

Glad to see you back. Very sorry to hear about your father.

We removed and reinstalled the bow rail. Your certainly have enough exposed to do the job. Trojan ensured all of the bolts are acessible without dismantling the interior. We did have to remove the headliner tacking piece in the side lockers of the forward cabin, but that was no big deal. All of the other nuts are accessible inside lockers. When you do it check for any deck rot and if you have any, drill pout the hole, fill with thickened epoxy then redrill the corect size. For us the only areas we had a little rot were the aft most mount points and the ones closest to the Nav lights. (Probably form the Nav Lights).

I think my biggest issue with getting to the bow rail bolts is the fact i'm 6'2" and 240 lbs , I might need to enlist a few smaller friends to assist! Glad to hear you didn't have alot of rot. Although my decks seem solid, my stringers also sounded great with suvery hammer! your never know to you start digging. I always wanted to rebed all the bolts if i could get to them but since I pretty much decided to repaint everything The bow rail is comming off for that

I'm 6' 3" 260 I did have my wife help but mostly it was my long arms that helped the most.

gardnersf glad to see theres someone else who can relate to the "big guy in tight space" issues I have! LOL

Made great progress today. Had two of my workers help all day. Got the shafts and stuffing boxes removed as well as the second rudder :
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Also pulled the hynautic steering and ram as well as the trim tab pump from the stern.

both gas fills are out (before pic)
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Pulled the covers off the sides to expose the bilge hoses and started removing the rotted intake boxes
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[quote="RWS"]
With everything being done RIGHT, why not consider dropping in a couple of 4 or 6 cylinder diesels now?
Just got a Quote for Yanmar 4by-180 diesels with 2.5to1 trans. $21,500 each not including the wiring and controls or installation. Just engine and tranny.
Man I would love to have them but WOW!

45k for a new system on a 32? 10 metter is a 32 right? glad i bought a lil F-25 after all. ouch

yorklyn wrote:

RWS wrote: With everything being done RIGHT, why not consider dropping in a couple of 4 or 6 cylinder diesels now?
Just got a Quote for Yanmar 4by-180 diesels with 2.5to1 trans. $21,500 each not including the wiring and controls or installation. Just engine and tranny.
Man I would love to have them but WOW!

that buys alot of gas, have you checked in to a gasser up grade ? say 502's or going to injectors ?