New Member says HI, Seeks advice on '36 Tri-Cabin

Dakota Joe · Post by **Dakota Joe** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:19 pm

I just thought I'd intoduce myself as I just discovered this board. I currently own a 1985 Bayliner 2450 that I have owned since '05. The admiral and I have discovered since then that boating is by far our favorite thing to do in life. I have a daughter and a 4 month old baby boy.
With this new addition to our family I have been researching boats. The admiral and I go back and forth between express and sedan bridge. We like sedans, but with small children the ladder is a concern. We also like to entertain the in-laws occasionally and a sedan could get cramped on the bridge.
To make a long story short here I have discovered through my internet research that the trojan 36 tri cabin seems like a great compromise. Plenty room up top to entertain up top with no steep ladder like an express. Lots of room down below like a sedan, even an aft cabin without a cramped split bridge. Seems like the best of both worlds. Why don't they have layouts like this on newer boats?? Just seems like the layout we have been looking for. Of course I have never seen one in person or boarded one so I can just go by all the pictures I have looked at online.
I'am here in search of some general input on this paritcualr model. Looks like it had quite a lengthy production run.
Are there any inherant problems this model??
Does the aft cabin make this a tough model to dock, handle lines?
How does this model handle waves??
Are some model years and engines better than others??

Looking for any and all input on the '36 tri-cabin. Thanks in advance for any info and advice.

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 2:07 pm

First of all welcome to the forum and you'll find many friendly people and helpful advice here - I know I have.

The Tri-cabin is a great choice since it has all that you have listed and much more. It is great in rough water, gets up on plane very quickly, and has tons of living and storage space. I have ten grandkids between the ages of three and nine and we have them aboard often in the summer. It is a great platform for families since you have two full cabins, two full-sized heads, and two stand-up showers. The salon is huge compared to many other boats. The galley area is quite adequate and as you pointed out the bridge area is very spacious and no steep ladders.

Mine is a 1979 and has the engines under the salon floor with the fuel and water tanks under the aft-cabin floor. I am not sure where the changeover occurred, but earlier models have the engines under the aft-cabin floor and the fuel and water tanks under the salon floor. Mine has no cockpit area in the back from which to fish while the earlier models did have that cockpit area. The ones with the cockpit area have an entrance door from there that enters directly into to aft-cabin. Mine has two twin berths in the aft-cabin while the newer models have a queen berth in the aft-cabin.

It is a great boat for travelling and I know several people who live aboard year-round. It came with several engine packages over the years. Mine has twin 255HP Mercruisers and I burn about 25GPH at 2,900 RPM and about 18kts.

Right now I wouldn't trade her for anything and my wife and I enjoy time on here as much as we can.
If you have anything specific I will be glad to address those items too.

Allen Sr · Post by **Allen Sr** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:20 pm

I think the one to answer this post is Aaron in Baltimore. Mr. Tricabin himself!

JGedridge · Post by **JGedridge** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:44 pm

Hi there!

I am a new Tri Cabin owner as well. So far it runs good with 270 Crusaders in her! I was very impressed for a boat its size. I am a hardcore Pacemaker and Sea Ray person and I can honestly say that I am thrilled with this Trojan so far.

I bought my boat because it was a good deal. I paid 9,500 for it! The guy wanted to just GET OUT of it and wanted it gone....

Through the survey and sea trial, some minor things, but stringers and the decks were fine in it. In mine, my surveyor said they were solid mahogany stringers! I was also thrilled with the deck readings.

I am in the stage of gutting it and now putting back together and I gotta say that its going to be nice. I don't have a family, i just throw wild parties!

Joe

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:00 pm

Time to look at one , they do have 2 layouts I believe plus a tri fly

Geoff R · Post by **Geoff R** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 7:53 pm

I have had my tri cabin for many years and have looked at changing a couple times. I have not found anything to beat the tricabin layout. My family and I will spend weeks at a time away no problems. ( There is no boat made big enough for two kids on a rainy day !) Near the keel the hull is 1" thick solid fiberglass and the deck is cored with Mahogany board. sure they are heavy but that makes them very well mannered all around. we luv her

aweimer · Post by **aweimer** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:23 pm

Welcome!

I have the 1975 model with the aft deck. My wife and I prefered this model due to the low deck making it safer for the little ones. Engines are under the aft bunks. We love her. It's a great layout and had tons of classic teak and space inside. She cruises great at 2800-3000 rpm on the 255hp 350ci mercs. Trimmed out she also rides very nicely down around 2000. I'm on lake Erie Ohio, she handles very well. Suprizing how easy it is to steer.

The one thing with my model is it has only one ac unit, it's under the salon couch. It's cools the front cabin and salon well but struggles on hot days with handling the aft cabin. This summer I'm installing a portable ac unit under the aft steps.

Enjoy the photos in my photo bucket link.

risctaker · Post by **risctaker** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:06 am

Welcome to the forum. I'm a new Tri-Cabin owner as well and today is your lucky day! I only paid $930 for mine a couple of weeks ago but I'm in a good mood today so you can have her and all the work that it will require to restore her, for a measely $10K. PayPal, cash Money Order or certified funds accepted.

Welcome!
Steve (risctaker)

rbcool · Post by **rbcool** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 7:28 am

Welcome to the forum.
We will probably never own a different type of boat in this size range. We love her!!! The reason we gave up on the express style cruisers was the need for more space and comfort for guests. As for fishing, which I'm addicted to, the huge bow area is great and where we do most of the fishing. Trolling for big "Rocks" is a little more difficult, but I figured it out. You just can't beat this layout for all around comfort

Check out my pics

Ron

jon_e_quest · Post by **jon_e_quest** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:55 pm

Welcome to the forum!

There were a few models of Tri-Cabins produced. The original Model 440 was introduced in 1970 and lasted two years. It has a fiberglass hull, and wood deck and cabin structure. Trojan introduced an improved version in '72 that has FG main decks and cabin structure. The sun deck and aft cockpit remained wood, however. In 1975, Trojan introduced the Tri-Cabin Flybridge (Tri-Fly) which has an enlarged sun deck, utilizing the saloon's cabin top for the flybridge. In 1977, a major redesign included a true all-FG deck and cabin structure. The aft cockpit was eliminated. And the engines traded places with the fuel tanks. Of course, there were many more detail changes throughout the production run.

The Tri-Cabin is similar to any older boat, in that anything made of wood is subject to decay. No mechanical issues to speak of. Some early boats have structural vulnerabilities in the stringers just aft of the saloon.

Have fun shopping! Be sure to have a survey completed on any boat you plan to buy.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Fri Feb 25, 2011 9:34 pm

Welcome aboard - only Trojan owner on the site from South Dakota I believe.

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:02 am

welcome to the forum. my folks owned a 1972 f-36 tri cabin (custom ordered and deliverd fresh from the factory in canada) until 2008 so i grew up with the design. my partner phil and i (and the dog) purchased a 1982 tri cabin in october 2010, having moved up from a 1976 f-32, which we bought in 2008.

ask anyone on here, and they will tell you no one is as crazy wild about this boat and design than i am. i'm happy to assist anyway i can. i might add that if you have a dog or a cat this is absolutely one of the best designs out there because they can be part of the action too and not have to navigate high and open ladders. the decks are nice and wide and they can easily go from bow to stern without any problems. maccabbe (our boston terrier) loves to do the great loop once he gets onboad making sure all is okay onboard.
regards.
aaron in baltimore

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:06 am

aweimer wrote:Welcome!

I have the 1975 model with the aft deck. ....
Enjoy the photos in my photo bucket link.

NIce boat Aweiner, the decks are gleaming. Are they varnished? She sure is roomy.

foofer b · Post by **foofer b** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 7:12 am

Rbcool, Did your cabin come like that or did you redo it. Man it looks like it's on a multi-million dollar super yacht.

rbcool · Post by **rbcool** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:17 am

Thanks foofer

That's how we got her, glad we didn't have to spend that kinda money

I have made some changes since those pics though. Took out the little crappy TV and am mounting a 42" flat screen there on a swivel mount. Working on taking that huge hole where the TV was and turning it into more cabinet space with a 3' slide out shelf and a new cabinet door

Ron