Possible Trojan 36 Tri Cabin Noob Here Looking for Input

[Tuck]

hi all. stumbled across these forums this afternoon, and thought this would would be an excellent place to get some input.

with that...

i'm considering buying a '76 trojan 36 tri cabin. i'm driving to take a look at it this saturday, with my wife and a friend.

i've never had a boat such as this (only have had one, a thompson 27' cruiser), and in fact, i've only been into boating for one year. my questions are...

1. what are the pros/cons of a boat of this type? are there any known problems i should be on the look for?

2. are these boats manageable with one person aboard, or would i be wise to have someone else on board to take a boat like this thru locks, docking, etc?

3. any other advice/input?

i know these may be silly and/or vague questions, but i'm just wondering.

after buying the thompson last year, i suddently realized how much i liked boating, and basically lived on the thing up until winter. with that, i wanted something i could live on, if i wanted, and this seems like it has the room to do it.

hopefully, all will go well with the inspection and such, and by this time next week, i'll have taken delivery of the boat. (it's either going to be this one, or a chris craft 333 at my local marina for sure. leaning toward the trojan for simple size and looks.)

thanks in advance for any input!

[prowlersfish]

both boats are nice both are a different types/style one is a aft cabin ( trojan) the other is a sportfish/conv. ( chis.) if the trojan is your type and it checks out ok go for it ! now if you find the chis is more to your liking or style Then you may want to look at the Trojan F32 or the F36 conv. they may be to your liking (there my kind of trojan )


Thing to look for ? soft decks on both brands you need some one who knows boats to look at them then if you like get a survey

can you single handle them ? I can mine and a frends tri-cabin and I have single hande up to 55' with out any issues , but thats me can you ? Only you and people that know you can anwser that question . I find a big boat is as easy to dock as a small one in some cases easier .Once your over the fear factor .

With that said its always better to have some one else on board be it 10 foot or 100 foot .

[Second Mate]

I'm the fairly new owner of a 1970 tri-cabin (got it in April).

One of the things to look for (at least with my boat was an issue) is where the rear deck meets the back wall of the aft cabin. Not sure if the '76 has the back deck or not. From what I gather, water tends to collect right where the teak meets the wall typically under the windows.

I had this problem and actually am in the process of cleaning out the rot and repairing the hole. It was just a soft spot near the ladder and after doing some digging turned into a hole about 12" wide by 6" high.

Personally, I think the boat is too big to handle alone. I'm sure a very experienced captain would be OK alone but then again, an experienced captain wouldn't go out alone. Know What I mean?

I personally love my boat. Actually living aboard which is considerably cheaper than NYC rent! Plus I have amazing views (I'm on the jersey side of the Hudson).

Good luck with the survey. It took me looking at 3 tricabins before I settled on this one.

Remember, it's a buyers market right now so you should be able to get the boat for a sweet deal!

[mr elevman]

an old nasty salt tought me how to handle a twin screw boat trans and throtels if i toutched the wheal my hands were hit and i was screamed at now i can manuver my boat close corters like at the marina or just headding out the lagoon 7 s turns with out toutching the wheel

[reelfishin]

The trick in handling a big boat is speed. When coming into a slip or dock slow, slower and slower is best. My son walks the boat sideways to the dock. He does it all the time. Practice makes perfect. He practice's different ways of docking just incase he needs to use them in a tight situation. I bet it looks funny to someone seeing him come into a open dock and he walks the boat in.
I would be interested in the engines and transmissions. They are costly to rebuild or replace. Many of the mechanical things will be found by the surveyor. But most will not know engine condition. We had a mechanic check ours and he said they had rusted cylinders. They needed a rebuild but not right away. We did do a rebuild. Ours are diesels. Yours probably will be gas.
What kind of electronics on the boat? Does it work? Radar is nice but not all boats have it. We will not have a boat without it. Ofcourse one can install it and ours has been replaced with a new raymarine chart plotter which we had put in. How about automatic pilot? Nice to have. We use ours all the time. Just some things to look for.

[David Kane]

The standard canvas configuration on the tri-cabins left the cockpit area open to water. Have you checked out the back end thoroughly? Between the prior owner of mine and myself, a lot of my wood in the back end has been replaced. Even check out the wood backing plates for the propeller shaft struts. They sit under the engines in the bilge. Mine are rotted & I have to replace them this winter. Thinking of useing starboard, which is a synthetic wood substitute.

It's easy to skipper my tri-cabin alone, the problem is in casting off & docking. I was a 1st time skipper last year, and my more experienced dockmates were utterly amzed as how quickly I learned & how well I broght the boat into my berth. I attribute it to how well the boat maneuvers with twin screws. That having been said, I had to constantly make little corrections with the throttles, adjusting for wing and drift. If winds are going to push you away from your berth, I don't see how you can leave the helm to secure a line to the dock without the boat getting away from you. If you have dockmates waiting alongside to cast you off & catch you upon return-great. If you don't, you'll want someone onboard to help get a line or lines secured to the dock.

[Tuck]

tks for the input.

with all the mention of bad wood around the aft portion of the boat, it makes me think...

what about the transom?

the thompson i have now is apparently prone to bad transoms (it's an 86). are the tri cabins known to have any out of the ordinary concerns with transoms? especially being this old?

tks again, in advance!

[prowlersfish]

The transom is glass . What year are you looking at ? if its 72(?) or newer the cabin and deck would be glass not wood

[Tuck]

it's a 76.

on my current boat, a thompson, the transom consists of wood and fiberglass...wood inner-structure, with a glass coating, it appears.

am i correct in assuming that with a torjan, the transom is all glass, or does it have a wooden infrastructure as well? (i thought all boats had this. remember...i'm a noob.)

[aaronbocknek]

tuck, check your personal messges...... anyway, all trojans have SOLID fiberglass hulls. no balsa, no marine plywood, just layers and layers of resin,cloth,mat,and woven roving. you will find that not only are they strong, but provide a very stable, solid and dry ride.
aaron

[prowlersfish]

Tuck in most cases the only time you have a wood core in the transom is when the boat has or is made for outboards or a I/O . There is very liltle stress on a inboard transom so you some glass and thats about it . you may have a few glass over wood "ribs" on the transom . but thats over kill and would be no issue if the wood was bad .

[Tuck]

Tuck in most cases the only time you have a wood core in the transom is when the boat has or is made for outboards or a I/O . There is very liltle stress on a inboard transom so you some glass and thats about it . you may have a few glass over wood "ribs" on the transom . but thats over kill and would be no issue if the wood was bad .

aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

the i/o bit makes sense. the thompson i have now is exactly that. i didn't think about the trojan being an inboard and its relation to the transom.

that makes me feel better.

headed to alabama tomorrow morning to see the boat. 736pm here now. don't know if i'll be able to sleep tonight. hehe

you guys have been great with the responses! thanks!!

for funsies, here's a couple o' pics of the (hopefully) 'new' boat...

[LSP]

wow Tuck .... she is sweeeeeet. Keep us updated.

[jimbo36]

Tuck, Nice looking boat. I have owned many Chris Crafts, Great boats depending on the vintage. I can tell you from what you have said about what you want the boat for (live aboard) there is no doubt the Trojan is a better choice. By the way, the boat you are looking at is not a "tri cabin". It is a "tri fly" model with the 2 helm stations and split level bridge. I personally like my tri cabin model for looks but the tri fly has unique qualities. Have a good condition survey and separate mechanical evaluation including a wet/dry compression test and oil anayisis. A sea trial is a must. Check for oil leaks. Engines, transmissions and V-drives. Check to see if the propshaft turns when engines are running in neutral. If so, the transmission needs rebuilding. Engines look new in the photos and canvas looks good too. Good luck. Jimbo

[prowlersfish]

Tuck , Thats sweet ! Trojan called it the F36 Flybrige Tri-cabin ( I like Jimbo call it a tri-fly). I Have to disagree with Jimbo on the prop shafts spining in neutral a lot of boats do that with no proplems . if the shaft spins easy a slight amout of clutch drag will cause this . this is normal . go jack up your car and start it up in neutral there is a good chance (50/50) that the wheels will start spining .

Good luck it looks like a nice boat