How to find Trojan Model - dealing with rain leaks

kevbo · Post by **kevbo** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:48 am

Greetings all trojan boat owners and helpers! I must say this place seems to be a good resource and I thank all in advance for taking the time to share your advice, wisdom and knowledge with everyone else!
I'll try to keep things brief for now so as to not bore anyone!

I recently acquired a 1970's 42 foot? trojan boat - wood hull. As it did not come with an official title, I'm trying to find out what it is officially called or referred to and what year it is exactly so I can better search the forum for information. I have several manual type items from manufacturer and possible serial number(s) etc. It has an aft cabin (bed), main cabin, and a V-berth up front. It has a fly bridge as well. It has a full bath in the aft cabin, and a sort of half bath near the vberth. (shower handle attached with floor drain but not a separate shower.)

The boat currently sits in the water and is tight below the water line. I'm dealing with a vast number of water leaks from rain which seem to be coming from various possible sources, suspects include mechanical type fasteners at deck hardware mounts, windshield gaskets, etc. The headliner will be coming down to better pinpoint and track these down.

So for now, can anyone point me to where on the boat I can find the actual serial number / and or how to figure out exactly what the boat is?

Thanks all!

jakevr · Post by **jakevr** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:00 pm

post a picture

kevbo · Post by **kevbo** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:09 pm

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:41 pm

Do you know what the last name on the boat was? Chances are, since I don't see state registration numbers on it, that it may have been documented. Find the previous vessel name, go here and look it up, maybe you'll find a match. It'll have the HIN number as part of it's documentation.

http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGu ... yName.html

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:24 pm

Kevbo........that's quite a rocket. Congrats. I Love it. You'll get the leaks straightened out. Had some myself this summer from faulty window seals. Always something I guess. Good luck.

chucka · Post by **chucka** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:35 pm

here's a 42 for sale in NY described as a 1973 Trojan Flush Deck

full ad here with more photos:
http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1973- ... k-88321334

Here is another

described as a 1973 Trojan Tri-cabin Flybridge the second ad is here.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/1973- ... e-88631954

My last one for today is a Sea Voyager 1972 42 foot trojan flushdeck motoryacht.

http://www.domesticsale.com/Classifieds/179471.html

1967 seavoyager · Post by **1967 seavoyager** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:06 pm

It's a 42' Sea Voyager flush deck flying bridge motor yacht. looks to be early seventies. the decks were the worst problem on that model. when the water passed through the teak the plywood that was bonded to the teak rotted & made it worse. seal the decks real good & seal around the windows. Don't West System the teak, it'll peel off in the sun. it makes a mess.

jddens · Post by **jddens** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:52 am

chucka....that last picture is in my marina. My boat is berthed about 15 slips down....small world!

kevbo · Post by **kevbo** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:08 am

Stripermann: Unfortunately, no name anywhere and no state numbers on the boat. I will have to examine a coast guard sticker on a window more closely to see if it reveals something. Thanks for the link!

rickalan35: Thanks. If I can resolve the leaks before winter, we're hoping to at least enjoy the comfort on it - there is so much space!

chucka: Thanks as well. I too came across many of those photos using the "Google machine" and found various names for very similar looking vessels. I though "Tri-Cabin Flybridge" made sense and I've been told by others its a "flush deck motoryacht" and so on. The interior photos of the "1973 Trojan Flush Deck" look nearly 100% matching. At least now I have enough keywords to continue searching the forums for help in resolving the leaks. The at least give me some ideas on how to renovate the inside to brighten it up. It's so "dark" in there now.

Seavoyager: From what you're describing, I'm thinking you are correct as well. And your post has shed some light on a possible "do it right" solutiofor me. What you are saying is that the original exterior deck on the boat was teak? Now that I look at various photos on the web, I'm seeing that that does seem to be the case. Assuming that is true for this boat, someone has applied a thin, sheet type product over the deck (hopefully the teak), probably in an inexpensive attempt to stop the leaks which seem so prevalent with this model. The perimeter deck is a white "sheet type" material (I can tell by where it flexes in some areas), and has a bit of anti slip texture to it (sand-like). If that is the case, I may have to consider removing that and hopefully have a chance of restoring the teak underneath. It certainly would look a lot nicer that way but could be a whole ton of work. The bridge deck appears to have some issues as well. That deck however is teak with rubber gasket type material between each board. (Sorry if my terms are off - I'm a woodworker by trade). I'll have to search the forums to see if there are any posts on how to restore / repair / fix this type of deck system. I've built many decks to homes, zero for boats, however this "in between" gasket material makes sense to me from an expansion and contraction standpoint with the goal to have no water passing through it.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:26 am

Kevbo,
Also if it is documented, there has to be a plaque inside the hull mounted permantly to a bulkhead with the documentation numbers. Sometimes they are a simple piece of wood with the numbers routed out on it.

If you find this plaque, you can run the numbers on that site.

kevbo · Post by **kevbo** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:57 am

Stripermann, I saw that plaque for the first time the other day while "sitting out" the tropical storm, chasing leaks. It is indeed a piece of wood with what seems to be hand cut numbers in it. Very cool I thought. Wouldn't find that in todays boats!

I will grab those digits and give that an inquiry on the site.
Thanks!

Stripermann2 wrote:Kevbo,
Also if it is documented, there has to be a plaque inside the hull mounted permantly to a bulkhead with the documentation numbers. Sometimes they are a simple piece of wood with the numbers routed out on it.

If you find this plaque, you can run the numbers on that site.

rickalan35 · Post by **rickalan35** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:13 am

Kevbo, I believe that is "GROUTING" that you are terming as a rubber gasket material. Mine is a black grouting whereas on some boats (although not many Trojans) the grouting is white. Grouting is purchased at your nearest chandlery and come in a tube.

Re: Grouting - I dig out the old grouting with a sharp instrument (pulling it back towards myself) and by the way, this is usually done in conjunction with sanding the deck (but doesn't have to be) and then to apply the new grouting I mask along the edge of each teak board so that only the "groove" is visible. I squeeze out the grouting the length of the board and smooth it off with a small putty knife. Then I carefully pull off the masking tape.

In my particular case, I use Cetol as a coating for my teak decks. rails and swim platform. It's waterproof and easy to work with. Hard for even me to screw up.

After sanding the decks down:
1. I put two coats of "semi gloss" cetol on them.
2. Then I put the grouting into the grooves with the method described above.
3. Then I put one more coat of cetol down over everything (teak and grouting).
Thereafter, I put one coat of cetol down on all exterior teak during the first week of August and also one coat on all exterior teak each spring.

This form of teak maintenance works for me. I seldom have to start from scratch and only if I've failed to put the interim cetol coats down. When and if the sun manages to bake thru the cetol I'm screwed and have to sand the whole thing down again if I don't want a "patchy" look.

Best of luck with your Motoryacht and the grouting.

Cheers

Rick

1967 seavoyager · Post by **1967 seavoyager** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:23 pm

Trojan lit says solid teak. kinda. it's really solid teak bonded to plywood. mine is 1/4" glued to 1/4". yours is i think 3/8" glued to 1/4". the plywood rots & deck gets mushy. teak is tough stuff! you have to peel the plywood off underneath & glue new back on. i had a 1 foot patch to do on mine. my buddy has a 68 42"fdmy with really bad decks. he has rotten stringers too. in the master berth they are 4 layers of white oak. also forward head & locker. other deck stringers are solid white oak. you got your work cut out for you. you should find your hull # plate near your breakers/ shore power switch.

1967 seavoyager · Post by **1967 seavoyager** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 11:51 pm

I found a shot of the 68. i dropped my camera in the river last week so i can't show the pictures of when we broke the 68 when we launched it. you learn a lot about them when they open up at the front of the trunk cabin.

http://www.photobucket.com/restless the picture is titled "midget underway"

jwrape · Post by **jwrape** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:53 pm

That one ^ looks like my 74' but mine is fiberglass.

Trojan Boat Forum

How to find Trojan Model - dealing with rain leaks

How to find Trojan Model - dealing with rain leaks

Photos

Thanks....

I know that plaque