Good hull design, 30ft express, and 32ft Trojans....>?

[Weldingrod]

Looking at two trojans, one is 30ft express, the other is a 32ft, not alot of detail in the ad's. Are these decent hulls? any known issues?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1889810864.html
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1894102238.html

I'll be on open water in the great lakes, and prefer a sea-worth hull and length of boat. I'm not sure if dual 360's and a 13ft beam will be a little much on fuel costs for me so I'm somewhat leaning towards the 30ft lenght.

Thanks for any info!

[k9th]

First of all - welcome to the forum.

I tried to look at the listings and only one was available as the second one said it was deleted by the owner.

The first one struck me as odd since the guy says he owned the boat since 2002 and has actively used it for five years if my math is correct. He says it has a displacement hull. The F-32 has a planing hull not a displacement hull and I can't imagine anybody who owns a boat not knowing the difference. He also says the port engine "spun the "cam"" - whatever that means. I am assuming it does not work for whatever reason. He also does not say what year the boat is or how many hours it has on the engines - not that the hours are super critical.

Myself, I would be leery of this deal. Get a survey done if you are serious about it - that will tell the story if it is done correctly.

Good luck!

[turtlem1969]

What he is probably referring to as "spun cam" is the bearings for the cams have spun, meaning a complete rebuild is in order, also a sign that proper maintenance wasn't done on it.

[Weldingrod]

Hey I really appreciate you chiming in, and I appreciate your advice.

The second boat has been for sale for a little while, and the latest add had the price lowered. Here is the earlier ad.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1845088728.html
It is a 30ft boat with twin 351's. Oddly they don't list the year either!!! lol

Luckily it is local to me so I can go look at it if it is still available.

In general are their good length or year ranges of Trojan boats that are known solid, and with good seaworthy hull?

I'm a big fan of the chriscraft commanders the older 60-70's hulls are supposed to be quite seaworthy! Thanks!

I'm not familiar with the term displacement hull vs. planing hull, but logic tells me it's like comparing a troller to a speed boat.

Lastly, a spun cam bearing means that the bearing wore too much, and now the cam bearing is spinning with the cam, in turn wearing the cam bore. This is something I know how to fix, and if the damage is too extensive I can get an alternate engine block. but certainly this adds cost, which I must consider with the purchase price. Likely better to pursue a boat in the 10-15k range with low hours fault free motors. I was hoping to bid that guy down to a lower price and fix the motor myself.

I don't want to buy a boat that has a bad hull design, or known issues, they all need a bit of regular maintenance, work, and upgrades......given I know zero about Trojans I do sincerely appreciate your insight!

The main usage for me is both a second apartment on the water, and of course, fishing, and open water cruising. Mostly fishing on Lake St. Clair, and some overnight trips to Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Erie, and down to put-in bay on the Ohio side of lake Erie. So being caught out in a big storm with big waves on open water is highly likely. I also plan to put radar and auto pilot on the boat (along with full GPS, side imaging fish finder etc).

Thanks again!

[Weldingrod]

What he is probably referring to as "spun cam" is the bearings for the cams have spun, meaning a complete rebuild is in order, also a sign that proper maintenance wasn't done on it.

Yes unfortunately there is usually collateral damage so a complete motor inspection is a bare minimum and if your going that far, I'd do all new bearings, clean-up, honing at minimum, etc. I have access to a complete second block for that anyway.

[Weldingrod]

hmm,


http://lansing.craigslist.org/boa/1891137310.html

http://sandusky.craigslist.org/boa/1865202664.html

http://centralmich.craigslist.org/boa/1818927975.html
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/boa/1888134305.html
http://nmi.craigslist.org/boa/1878471185.html
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/1863555958.html

Just brain storming here... haha. If I found the deal of the century for 8-10k I'd scoop one up, if not I'll wait till spring and maybe spend the same or a little more.

I missed a deal on a 36 ft CC-commander for $6k just needed some interior work and regular maintenance ugg....

[prowlersfish]

the 1970 Trojan f31 is not a F31 it is a wood boat that looks in poor shape F boats are Fiberglass

[Weldingrod]

Thanks for the tip, I want a glass boat. BTW, dual cummins diesels? nice upgrade, I hope to do that one day, but I'll be content with gas engines for a few seasons. Any impression on the fuel savings?

[k9th]

The main difference between a planing hull and a displacement hull is that the bow and front half or more of the boat of a planing hull comes up out of the water at speed at a distinct angle and rides on the tops of the waves. The displacement hull simply pushes through the water and remains level thus displacing the water in front of it as it moves.

You can generally tell by looking at the bow of the boat as it sits in the water whether it is a planing hull or a displacement hull.

[turtlem1969]

It's amazing how many of them "rare" boats you found on craigslist, all within a fairly relatively close area.

[prowlersfish]

Thanks for the tip, I want a glass boat. BTW, dual cummins diesels? nice upgrade, I hope to do that one day, but I'll be content with gas engines for a few seasons. Any impression on the fuel savings?

at cruse 50% plus improvement plus your doing it at a higher cruse speed .

[Weldingrod]

Ok so they updated the add for this one and added the year, and it is a 1975 Trojan Flybridge 30ft, in a nice harbor, from an original owner...
I guess I'll go check it out, maybe it's good to just look at the stringers in the engine bay or wherever accessible visually;
I know jack about the capabilities of these boats for handling waves and lower speed cruising to your favorite fishing spot. are these known good / seaworthy hulls? I'm guessing it would be something like an 11ft beam for a 30ft Flybridge? Thanks for any insight on this vintage Trojan.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/boa/1896948689.html

[Weldingrod]

Thanks for the tip, I want a glass boat. BTW, dual cummins diesels? nice upgrade, I hope to do that one day, but I'll be content with gas engines for a few seasons. Any impression on the fuel savings?

at cruse 50% plus improvement plus your doing it at a higher cruse speed .

that makes sense, I imagine you could keep the thing cruising near peak engine torque and get nice fuel economy, and even more torque output!
Once I go to a 30ft boat, I'm not going to be able to trailer it anyway, it will be on a slip, so a 32 or 36 is sounding more attractive for space / sleeping accomodations, not sure how much more the fuel is impacted by increasing from a 30 to 32, or 36ft. I'd guess the larger beam, and weight will affect this if comparing the same cruising speed/engines for each.... mainly thinking about fuel to putz out to the local fishing hole / before setting up for very low speed trolling....

[Weldingrod]

It's amazing how many of them "rare" boats you found on craigslist, all within a fairly relatively close area.

If they are super rare, it was pure luck, I used searchtempest.com to scan all of the craigslist's within a selected mile range.

[Nancy]

>>So being caught out in a big storm with big waves on open water is highly likely. <<

I'll be honest. This is not my favorite situation in an F-32. Yes, the boat will take it, but she's hard to handle in a beam or following sea.