There is a basic joy in being afloat, related perhaps to some ancestral memory of the sea, that time in more or less direct proportional to the amount of time spent ashore. Boatmen experience it most keenly in the spring. Strangers to the water experience it the first time they go aboard a friend's boat or when they take a ferryboat ride; they are sometimes made uneasy by it. Like most joys, it fades with repetition, but it never entirely disappears.
The five senses, maybe because of this joy, are sharpest on the water. Aboard his boat the boatman sees more clearly and hears better than he does ashore He is alive to the smells of the water, quick to pick up the smell of smoke or gasoline fumes. His hands are sensitive to the feel of wheel, sheet, or throttle. His skin evaluates the direction, strength, and moisture content of the wind. And of course a simple meal of franks and beans aboard the boat is better than the fanciest food ashore.
Wood has always been kind to the senses, but not many wood boats are being built anymore. And for all its advantages, fiberglass doesn't have much intrinsic aesthetic appeal. Future poets may possibly rhapsodize about the smell of polyester resin the way past poets have sung of Stockholm tar - but at the moment it doesn't seem likely. And a broad expanse of fiberglass deck may not have to be caulked, but it isn't as good to look at, or lie on, as a wood deck.
The Trojan Boat Company held out in wood longer than most builders, and when they made the inevitable switch to fiberglass they did it with a decent respect for the senses - which is to say that from what we've seen there's a lot of very good wood on a Trojan fiberglass boat.
On our first look, the Trojan Sea Raider Express Cruiser 30 seemed to be an exceptionally well finished wood boat. The decks and cockpit sole are teak - not some vinyl imitation, but real teak, laid over plywood. The cabin bulkhead and helm console are mahogany, as are bulkheads and trim below. Enough wood to soothe the heart of a traditionalist - enough fiberglass to ease his maintenance worries. We arranged with Trojan president Jim McQueen, who is also president of the prestigious National Association of Engine and Boat Manufacturers, for a chance to test the boat.
Trojan's dealer in Dania, Fla., Nautical Yacht Basin, is a large, well-situated, efficiently operated marina and service yard, with the slogan "Let the Professionals Do It." We found the test boat ready and waiting at one of their slips entirely and attractively surrounded by floating water hyacinths. Nautical's Al Behrendt was embarrassed by this, and quickly moved her to another slip, explaining that some combination of rain and tide was responsible for the presence of these "weeds" and he hadn't yet had a chance to remove them. Wondering what he would think of some of the floating phenomena in New York waters, we went aboard for a close look at Trojan's teak-and-mahogany fiberglass cruiser.
Her cockpit is spacious 10' 3" long, and 8' 1" wide, and is surrounded by a handsome teak rail on stainless steel stanchions, with boarding gates port and starboard. Engine and aft access hatches are aluminum-trimmed teak, well insulated acoustically, and afford excellent access to the machinery. Helmsman and companion seats, extras at $85 each, are adjustable and comfortable, and no more than normally obstructive when engine hatch covers must be removed. The starboard side helm allows the helmsman an unobstructed view all around, and the mahogany instrument console - which Trojan persists in calling a "binnacle" - is well designed for visual and manual access.
In addition to the usual array of gauges and switches, the Trojan console has a button marked "Emergency Start." We learned later that both engines are started from one battery, and all auxiliary 12v electricity is supplied by the other battery. Should the starting battery not have sufficient current to start either or both engines, the helmsman may push this button, operating a solenoid switch that temporarily connects both batteries in parallel. A good feature, and standard equipment on twin-engine Sea Raiders.
Going forward from the cockpit would be a trifle precarious because of the narrow side decks, were it not for the excellent grab rails on the wheelhouse and cabin tops. The test boat was fitted with an enormous, but graceful, bow rail extending from the stem all the way back to the teak cockpit rail - a desirable $320 extra.
Forward, the 10" chromed centerline cleat with 8" chocks port and starboard serves well for anchoring and mooring to a dock, but owners who regularly use a bow spring will want to install additional cleats port and starboard to give the spring line a fairer lead. Her 10" chromed stern cleats, port and starboard, are well placed for both stern line and spring line service. A chromed chain pipe on the test boat's foredeck is, we discovered, an extra at $65, which includes anchor, deck chocks, and line, and it's worth it to be able to feed the anchor line directly down into the forepeak rope locker without dragging it through the fore hatch, dripping bottom mud on the V-berth.
Running lights are to the International Rule, with a bowlight/anchor-light combination fixture atop the hinged teak mast, wingtip type side lights high enough on the side of the wheelhouse to give maximum visibility, and a 12-pt stern light in the transom. Her single trumpet electric horn is standard equipment; as is her single 2 lb dry chemical fire extinguisher.
Sea Raider's two 50-gallon galvanized fuel tanks, under the cockpit sole aft, are filled through well-lipped and grounded chromed deck plates port and starboard. Shut-off valves are accessible through openings in the cockpit sole aft, and these openings are fitted with strong but incongruously crude metal covers. Additional shut-off valves are supplied near the engines - testimony, we assume, to McQueen's safety consciousness. This safety-mindedness doesn't prevail, however, when it comes to below-the-water-line through-hull fittings. Throughout the boat these are nice bronze castings, connected directly to rubber or plastic hoses. without benefit of seacocks or valves. Seacocks are available as extras, and it's a reasonable bet that only the most knowledgeable boatmen will insist on them. Perhaps it's quixotic to expect builders to supply seacocks if owners and insurance underwriters don't demand them, but some builders do supply them. The American Boat and Yacht Council's Safety Standards for Small Craft specifies seacocks on all below-the-waterline through-hull fittings, and ABYC is the standards-making body for the NAEBM. We had thought Trojan would be one builder who'd follow ABYC specifications to the letter.
Below, Sea Raider's layout is conventional, open, and pleasingly replete with mahogany brightwork. Forward, a comfortable 6' 3.5" V-berth is set off from the rest of the boat by a waist-high bulkhead to starboard, by the galley to port. Abaft the mahogany partial bulkhead an upholstered settee makes up into 6' 1.25" upper and lower bunks. Ample stowage for bedding and gear is provided by three jump-type drawers under the lower bunk, and stowage bins under the V-berth. Next aft to starboard is the enclosed head, with Raritan w/c, generous linen locker and a stainless steel wash basin in a counter that slides out of the way when not in use. The counter and the shelf above the space taken by the hanging locker are fitted with well-made mahogany sea rails.
Access to the hanging locker is from the companionway, and the locker is finished inside with varnished mahogany plywood. On the test boat this surface was just rough enough to snag a shirt, but when we reported this to the plant they indicated that the fault had been corrected on subsequent boats.
The galley is compact, but well designed, built over a neat two-door plastic ice chest. The 21" x 36" white Formica counter contains a small porcelain enamel sink with fitted wood cover and freshwater tap. Pressure is supplied by a PAR water pressure system. A two-burner alcohol stove secures into a rail at the forward end of the counter when it is needed; at other times it stows on a track in the locker above. By judicious use of space under the side decks, Trojan has provided this galley with an amazing amount of stowage space for provisions and dishes - the latter in wood racks.
Sensibly placed right abaft the galley, the dinette makes up into the usual double berth. Two drawers under the dinette are handy for bedding or clothing, and a locker door under the aft seat gives access to an emergency hand bilge pump—a safety feature so rare in new boats that Trojan's standard-equipment hand pump is the first we've encountered in the past four years of boat testing.
Sea Raider's 12 v lighting system includes fixtures over the settee, dinette, galley, forward bunk, and in the wheelhouse. The test boat also had a 110 v shore power system, with outlets in dinette, galley, and head—a $175 extra with connector and 50' dock line.
The perforated white vinyl overhead in the cabin and wheelhouse is both attractive and practical, and the soft blue carpet in the accommodation is a joy to bare feet. Sliding side windows give good ventilation and in the test boat side windows give good ventilation and in the test boat were fitted with screens, a $60 extra. Forward windows are fixed, and all - including the wheelhouse windshield - are 3/16" crystal double strength. We'd much prefer safety glass, particularly in forward-facing windows. Privacy below is enhanced by handsome blue and white curtains, sliding on aluminum track, all standard equipment.
After a break for lunch we turned on the blower in preparation for the afternoon's run. "Trojan includes the blower as standard equipment, and has sensibly installed it on a separate exhaust duct so it won't interfere with natural ventilation. Too many stock boats, if they have a blower at all, have them installed in the natural exhaust duct where, when they are not running, they obstruct the flow of air.
Leaving the slip and maneuvering around the marina, we noted that the Marmac double-lever controls are precise, and confidence-building. Sea Raider handles extremely well in docking situations, as any good 30-footer with opposite-rotating 225 hp engines should. Under way in the canal and in Port Everglades Harbor she developed her maximum running angle (5.5deg) at 2000 rpm, and at this angle the helmsman's vision is somewhat obstructed by a metal divider strip at the bottom of the windshield. Her mechanical steering system is excellent—no discernible torque in the wheel at any rpm. And this traditional spoked mahogany wheel is psychologically just right for this beteaked little yacht it feels good and it looks good.
Accompanied by Al Behrendt in his big sport-fisherman, we headed out for the moderate seas in the Gulf Stream. The Sea Raider is very comfortable in a light chop or even three to four foot seas, but she's wet. Time and again we plowed at full throttle into the ninth wave, or the camera boat's wake, and were rewarded with a shower of spray that covered the windshield and effectively blocked our vision until we turned the wiper on. The wiper, incidentally, is a $50 extra—and any owner who doesn't order one with the boat will soon find himself installing one!
Apart from this damp behavior the only other fault we could find in her handling was a perplexing, if slight, list to starboard in the upper rpm ranges. In a single-screw boat you expect some torque effect, but not in an opposite-rotating twin-screw boat. When we asked Trojan's people about this later, their best guess was that rudder angles were not properly adjusted. If we were buying this boat, we'd ask the dealer to adjust that slight list out of her.
Access to the hanging locker is from the companionway, and the locker is finished inside with varnished mahogany plywood. On the test boat this surface was just rough enough to snag a shirt, but when we reported this to the plant they indicated that the fault had been corrected on subsequent boats.
The galley is compact, but well designed, built over a neat two-door plastic ice chest. The 21" x 36" white Formica counter contains a small porcelain enamel sink with fitted wood cover and freshwater tap. Pressure is supplied by a PAR water pressure system. A two-burner alcohol stove secures into a rail at the forward end of the counter when it is needed; at other times it stows on a track in the locker above. By judicious use of space under the side decks, Trojan has provided this galley with an amazing amount of stowage space for provisions and dishes - the latter in wood racks.
Sensibly placed right abaft the galley, the dinette makes up into the usual double berth. Two drawers under the dinette are handy for bedding or clothing, and a locker door under the aft seat gives access to an emergency hand bilge pump—a safety feature so rare in new boats that Trojan's standard-equipment hand pump is the first we've encountered in the past four years of boat testing.
Sea Raider's 12 v lighting system includes fixtures over the settee, dinette, galley, forward bunk, and in the wheelhouse. The test boat also had a 110 v shore power system, with outlets in dinette, galley, and head—a $175 extra with connector and 50' dock line.
The perforated white vinyl overhead in the cabin and wheelhouse is both attractive and practical, and the soft blue carpet in the accommodation is a joy to bare feet. Sliding side windows give good ventilation and in the test boat side windows give good ventilation and in the test boat were fitted with screens, a $60 extra. Forward windows are fixed, and all - including the wheelhouse windshield - are 3/16" crystal double strength. We'd much prefer safety glass, particularly in forward-facing windows. Privacy below is enhanced by handsome blue and white curtains, sliding on aluminum track, all standard equipment.
After a break for lunch we turned on the blower in preparation for the afternoon's run. "Trojan includes the blower as standard equipment, and has sensibly installed it on a separate exhaust duct so it won't interfere with natural ventilation. Too many stock boats, if they have a blower at all, have them installed in the natural exhaust duct where, when they are not running, they obstruct the flow of air.
Leaving the slip and maneuvering around the marina, we noted that the Marmac double-lever controls are precise, and confidence-building. Sea Raider handles extremely well in docking situations, as any good 30-footer with opposite-rotating 225 hp engines should. Under way in the canal and in Port Everglades Harbor she developed her maximum running angle (5.5deg) at 2000 rpm, and at this angle the helmsman's vision is somewhat obstructed by a metal divider strip at the bottom of the windshield. Her mechanical steering system is excellent—no discernible torque in the wheel at any rpm. And this traditional spoked mahogany wheel is psychologically just right for this beteaked little yacht it feels good and it looks good.
Accompanied by Al Behrendt in his big sport-fisherman, we headed out for the moderate seas in the Gulf Stream. The Sea Raider is very comfortable in a light chop or even three to four foot seas, but she's wet. Time and again we plowed at full throttle into the ninth wave, or the camera boat's wake, and were rewarded with a shower of spray that covered the windshield and effectively blocked our vision until we turned the wiper on. The wiper, incidentally, is a $50 extra—and any owner who doesn't order one with the boat will soon find himself installing one!
Apart from this damp behavior the only other fault we could find in her handling was a perplexing, if slight, list to starboard in the upper rpm ranges. In a single-screw boat you expect some torque effect, but not in an opposite-rotating twin-screw boat. When we asked Trojan's people about this later, their best guess was that rudder angles were not properly adjusted. If we were buying this boat, we'd ask the dealer to adjust that slight list out of her.
| General Dimensions | |
| Overall length -- 30' | Freeboard forward -- 4' |
| Waterline length -- 25' 2" | Freeboard aft -- 3' 7" |
| Beam -- 11' | Bridge clearance** -- 9' 10" |
| Draft -- 2' 1" | Cabin headroom -- 6' 3.5" |
| ** Waterline to top of masthead light. | |
Hull Form: Modified V-bottom with 12° dead-rise aft.
Weight: Approx. 8500 lbs.
Accommodations: Sleeps six two in forward V-berths, two in convertible dinette, and two in upper and lower berths formed by settee. Fully equipped galley and enclosed head.
Standard Equipment: Complete International Rule navigation lights; GeM electric horn; Coast Guard-approved engine compartment ventilation system; electric bilge blower; RC Industries dry chemical fire extinguisher; hand bilge pump; teak deck and cockpit sole; 20" x 16" forward hatch; chrome-plated deck hardware includes 10" open base mooring cleat, two 8" base bow chocks, and two 10" quarter cleats; hinged teak mast; 12" high teak capped rail around cockpit; s.s. grab rails on trunk cabin-top and pilothouse sides; aluminum-framed ventilating double strength glass windshield and sliding side windows; fixed forward windows and sliding side windows in cabin; 22 1/2" dia, six-spoke mahogany wheel, 4 turns hard-over to hard-over; sprocket and chain steering system; Marmac double-lever controls; mahogany console with twin tachometers, ammeters, oil and water temperature gauges, and fuel gauges; usual array of switches for lights, blower, etc; glass fuse protected 12v electrical system; 12v dry charge battery; 50 gal galvanized steel fuel tank; 33gal vinyl fresh water tank; pressure water system; cradle.
Construction: Composite construction —Fiberglas hull with wooden decks and superstructure. Hull, hand and gun lay-up of Fabmat and chopped strand. Four-ply bottom, average thickness .332" (one layer of 1.5oz chopped strand, one of 24/15 Fabmat, one of 3oz chopped strand, and one of 24/15 Fabmat). Three-ply topsides, average thickness .166" (one layer of .75oz chopped strand, one of 1oz chopped strand, and one of 24/15 Fabmat). Side and bottom laminates interleaved along chine, which, with the addition of an additional layer of 24/15 Fabmat, brings the chine thickness up to about .560". Bottom plies lapped along keel and reinforced with two wide plies of 24/15 Fabmat brings thickness up to about .788". Bottom reinforced with four wooden longitudinals encapsulated with two plies of 24/15 Fabmat. Deck of 3/8" waterproof plywood overlayed with .25" thick teak planking. Deck supported by oak deck beams and mahogany sheer clamp. Superstructure of mahogany and waterproof plywood.
Propulsion and Performance: See chart.
Price: With above equipment and propulsion plant listed on chart, $13,950 FOB Lancaster, Pa. Test boat with s.s. bow rail, helm and companion seats, electric bilge pump and other extras had a retail value of about $17,210.
Designer: Trojan Boat Company
Builder: Trojan Boat Co., Lancaster, Pa. 17604.
