New Member, New Question?

JC3 · Post by **JC3** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:54 pm

Trojan Guys/Gals, Iam a new member as of today. I currently own a 1998 SeaRay 450DA. We love it, However we are thinking about early retirement. If so the big ole girl will have to go. Thinking about a early 70's Trojan 36 tri. We boat Florida Keys and Bahamas esp Exumas down to Georgetown. We would like to cruise at least 6 months of the year. Is the 1973-1978 36 Tri a good candidate for this type of boating? Thank Guys, JC

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:39 pm

Welcome , to the forum. Your thinking about going from a 45 foot 10 year old boat to a 30 year old 36 footer . and I assume from diesel to gas ?
Are you sure you could live with that ? The tri cabin is a nice boat but it is what it is. I don't think it would be the greatest boat to make the crossing (To the Bahamas), you would Reilly have to pick your days it would be no match for what you have know. A meter boat (international) would be better suited for this

JC3 · Post by **JC3** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:51 pm

Paul, Thanks for the reply. We will only sell our 450DA if we retire. The 45ODA is great but its alot of boat for two people. We have cruised the Bahamas alot. What attracted me to the 36 Tri was the shallow draft and its cabin layout. I have always wanted to semi restore an old boat. It may not be suitable for that type of crusing thats what Iam trying to find out. May have to go with something else. Again, We love our SR 450DA but we cant keep it if we semi retire. Thanks Again for your help. JC

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:37 pm

if you go with a tri, i'd look for an 80's boat better aft cabin layout and more engine and trans space due to the mid cabin placement of them

RWS · Post by **RWS** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:25 pm

I know of a 13 metr International (nice condition) fire sale at $60,000.

RWS

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 7:46 pm

Welcome to the forum JC3. This is a great place to get good information on all things Trojan.

I think a Tri-cabin is the perfect selection for your description of what you want to do. I have a '79 36 and love it. Not sure why others think it will not handle the waves well - it has always done very well for me and i am on Lake Michigan where the waves get pretty big. It also has a lot of room and a great cabin layout - one of the roomiest boats around. If you get the right one it will do what you want and do it comfortably.

My '79 has the engines under the mid-cabin with a very roomy aft-cabin that has a queen berth. It has two heads, two showers, plus the roomy V-berth in the bow along with the standard galley and salon arrangement. I plan on keeping mine for a long time.

JC3 · Post by **JC3** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:02 pm

k9th, Thats the information i need to know. When we cruise to Bahamas we are very weather alert. We sit until we are comfortable and move when weather is in our favor. We have XM Weather which is a great help. We are really studying our options about semi retirement. I would love to semi restore a 36tri. With the draft only 2 11 does it roll alot. How does it handle the rough stuff? Thanks jc

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 9:29 pm

JC -

It does not roll abnormally at all and is very stable in moderate seas. I have been in 7-10 foot seas that were breaking sharply throwing water over the bow and was not uncomfortable at all. I slowed from 18kts to about 12kts and she rode them out just fine. We didn't even put stuff down in the cabin and nothing was amiss or out of place. That is not my favorite kind of sea conditions and I don't do it on a regular basis but it is nice to know that you can if needed. I do 3-5 footers on a pretty regular basis.

I will be 62 in a couple of months so I know the discussion about semi-retirement. We plan to do the same thing on ours in a couple of years and spend our winters in the south and our summers cruising the great lakes making the transition up the Mississippi.

Tim

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 11:17 pm

Having the same BASIC hull shape I stand by my statement . nohing bad but its not a deep V hull so they will pound the waves more . they won't rock and roll like a deep V. like any hull they have there pros and cons

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:16 pm

I would sure prefer diesels if I was planing to live aboard. Much safer!

JC3 · Post by **JC3** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:53 pm

I would prefer Diesel as well. Thats what we have now. If we could make it work we would keep the 450DA as we love it. And we will if we donot Semi Retire. However if we do try and semi retire keeping the Big Gal will not work, thus the look at the 36 TriCabin. The Tojan 36T looks like an option at this point. ThankS, JC

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Fri Jan 01, 2010 2:56 pm

That makes sense