1987 11 Meter

[RWS]

MOTOR BOATING & SAILING – May 1981

By Peter Smyth


TROJAN’S NEW THOROUGHBRED

There isn’t much question that the new Trojan International 10 Meter was the most talked about powerboat at the 1981 Miami Boat Show in February. Not only is she the most radical boat Trojan has ever produced, but she represents a whole new school of thinking in bottom design, and in structure. Her promoters bill her as the greatest gift to boating since the advent of fiberglass. Her detractors say other things: “She’s so fat she’s gotta be a pig”; “That bottom has got to pound”; “Those flat chines will slap you silly”; “There’s nothing new about her.”

Well, they are welcome to their opinions even if they couldn’t be more wrong. While it can be truthfully said that no boat is perfect, I will also make the flat statement that the 10 Meter is the best riding, best handling, and most efficient planning hull to appear in many years. And the reason for this combination of qualities is called the DeltaConic – a bottom concept developed by Harry Schoell that was new and different enough a couple of years ago for the taste of the U.S. Patent bonded, and bolted together.

Other engineering details include: access panels to every part of the boat’s inner workings and hidden mechanisms; centralized and instantly accessible panels for the electrical systems; Schoell’s patented exhaust system that puts the exhaust into the water along the sides of the boat where it will be carried away instead of blowing back into the cockpit; space age control console that hinges open quickly for access to the wiring; molded-in air conditioning ducts to provide even cooling throughout the boat; specially developed portlights that open with a quarter turn of the fasteners, yet are leakproof when closed, and push button interior doors for the head and forward stateroom.

These last were the favorite toy of the Miami Boat Show and the doors on the display boat were probably operated more than 10 years of normal service. The instant question about them was: What do you do when they won’t work? The answer is just as quick: Push them open by hand. The electrical drive is designed to be over-ridden if needed.
They are the final fillip in luxury aboard a boat whose interior was created to be opulent and luxurious. In a total departure, Trojan abandoned the traditional and went to brushed aluminum, wine-red Formica, and silver-gray soft look fabrics throughout. Underneath the new look, however, lurks a standard six-berth arrangement with convertible dinette, a settee that converts into upper and lower berths, double berth stateroom forward, galley aft to port, with head to starboard.

The head is huge for a 33-ft boat, and is all molded for strength and to make it easy to keep clean. An outstanding feature is the stainless towel rack that doubles as a handrail for use in a seaway.

The galley is also very complete for a small boat. A new idea is the alcohol stove with an electric cooktop. Also new is the trash container hidden under the center of the L-shaped counter. The remainder is given over to storage for dishes and bottles, toaster oven, optional microwave and under-counter refrigerator.

All in all, very workable arrangement, as ought to be expected from a company that has been building cruisers for 30 years.

But the interior arrangement is about the only thing that betrays the boat’s heritage of family cruiser building. Trojans historically have been commodious livable boats that ran with reasonable efficiency (in wooden boat days they were very efficient), and acceptable comfort in quiet waters. They were not designed, nor were they noted for handling the great, rough waters of a transatlantic crossing. To a boat, the hull was of the modified-V design, with definite compromises between accommodations and seakeeping ability.

The 10-Meter is a total departure, and is one fine Trojan with truly outstanding seakeeping ability. Consider this: We took her out the first Sunday after her arrival in Florida. It was only her fourth day in the water and the second time she’d been in the ocean. The wind was honking out of the northeast at 20 to 30 knots and the Gulf Stream was near its worst. Seas were eight feet or better, with the top two or three feet frequently falling off as breakers. It was a thoroughly mean and nasty day. We went through the inlet at a conservative 2,700 rpm and then, as our courage stiffened, we winched the throttles up until we were highballing over, around and across the seas at 3,500 rpm or about 28 mph. We were airborne quite often. At no time did I feel threatened by a loss of control. At no time did we take more than spray aboard (and not very much of that), and at no time did the boat smash into a wave with the teeth loosening jar one might expect. Nor, did the chines slap or pound. Upwind or down, she handled positively. Her directional stability is uncanny. We let go of the wheel for periods that were quite extended under the circumstances and Schoell later reported running halfway to Miami (over 10 miles) without ever touching the wheel.

But, her most incredible quality is stability. Whereas deep-V will roll until you can barely stand up, the DeltaConic rolls hardly at all. To prove the point, we went dead in the water with great rolling and breaking seas on the beam. I stood in the cockpit with my feet together expecting momentarily to be thrown for a loss. Several minutes later, as the boat went up one wave and down the next, I was still standing without once having to reach for support. Amazing, truly amazing.

This quality, according to Schoell, comes from the boat’s forward end having a different rolling period than the stern. This transforms the desire to roll into a pitching motion. As the boat begins to roll, you can feel the stern lift, meet resistance and then give up the attempt. The result is a weirdly stable platform in the midst of a heaving sea.

The role of the boat’s incredibly wide beam of 13 feet in promoting stability is mixed. It plays a role, of course, but not as large as might be imagined. Wide boats with flat bottoms tend to have jerky rolls. Since much of the 10-Meter’s beam is in the wide chines that are often above the water, this jerkiness or quick rolling is subdued, with most of the stability coming, as mentioned, from the double axis of the boat.

Critics also made the statement that a boat this fat would be hard to push, and that would be so if it were all in the water. Since the chines just kiss the water at rest and rise above it on planning, the actual boat that runs in the water is much narrower and more easily driven. In fact, advancing the throttles and watching her slide up on a plane with hardly any hump is a joy.

And, once on a plane, the boat surely runs. Due partly to light weight of 12,000 pounds, and partly to the inherent efficiency of the DeltaConic, the boat topped out at 32.8 mph, while 3,000 cruising rpms produced 23.5 mph. This efficiency carries over to displacement speeds as well with the boat achieving 9.3 mph at 1,500 rpm using 5.6 gph.

Power installed in the test boat was a pair of 270-hp Cursaders. Trojan also offers a bewildering array of options ranging upwards from a pair of Mer-Cruiser 470’s (140 hp each). Although no boat has yet been built with these tiny power plants, Schoell predicts a top speed of close to 26 mph with them.

If that sped is achieved, Schoell and Trojan have indeed scored an outstanding accomplishment. Even if that mark is missed, the boat, as it stands, is accomplishment enough.

Perhaps the largest accomplishment is Don Seith’s, who somehow managed to convince the brass at Whittaker, the conglomerate of which Trojan is a division, that it was right and proper to abandon what they had been doing for thirty years and strike out boldly and expansively in a totally new direction.

The International 10-Meter is the first result of that new direction. Others will surely follow since, as of the close of the Miami Show, dealers had placed enough orders for every boat to be built this model year.

[RWS]

This article first appeared in the February 1987 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.

Trojan International 10 Meter
A gutsy, avant-garde original

Peter Bohr

If you’re 47 years old, drive a Mercedes or a Corvette, operate your own business, have a net worth greater than $1 million, and enjoy power boats, then it’s not a bad bet that you also own a Trojan International series boat, probably a 10 Meter.

That’s the profile of the typical Trojan owner these days, according to a marketing survey just completed by the company.

Any boat builder – or automobile manufacturer or pasta machine maker, for that matter – would love to have customer demographics like that. And Trojan can thank its 33-foot International 10 Meter model for attracting such an upscale group.

It seems like only yesterday that Trojan surprised the American power boat industry with its avant-garde 10 Meter. But the boat is now in its seventh year and Trojan has sold nearly 600 of them.

The 10 Meter was a gutsy move for a staid builder like Trojan. For some 35 years the folks at Trojan’s plant in Lancaster, PA had been quietly turning out nice, conservative family cruisers. “Boats built to a price,” is how several marine surveyors described older Trojans to me.

The early Trojans were of course constructed of wood. When the company switched to fiberglass in the late 1960s, the status of Trojan boats moved upward a notch. But despite the change of materials, the designs remained much the same, hardly distinguishable from Chris-Crafts, Owens or boats from a dozen other American builders.

Then around 1980, Trojan president Don Seith took a flier. Armed with the progressive ideas of naval architect Harry Schoell, he convinced Trojan’s parent company, Whittaker Corporation, that Trojan should build a trend setting, new kind of cruiser. Inspired by the ultra costly, ultra chic boats from Italian builder Riva, Schoell developed his own rendition of Riva’s “Med-style” boat.

The 10 Meter’s lines, inside and out, are excitingly different from most cruisers, as different as a Chevrolet Corvette from a Ford Country Squire. With its long, sleek, downward sloping foredeck, the boat resembles some wild beast ready to pounce on its prey. Below deck, the 10 Meter is filled with modernistic curved bulkheads that not only make the interior seem more like the cabin of a Lear Jet than a yacht, but are also very space efficient.

“The boat’s visual appeal initially catches the interest of buyers,” says George Rinderspacher of Pacific West Yachts in Newport Beach. “However, it’s the boat’s performance that finally grabs them.” George ought to know; he sold 24 new Trojans in 1986.

Indeed the 10 Meter’s success is based on more than sexy styling. Harry Schoell came up with an innovative hull to go with the 10 Meter’s innovative lines topside. The hull, called the “DeltaConic” design by Trojan, has unusual 18-inch wide, horizontal chines that run from bow to stern on either side. In between the chines is a more usual modified V-hull, one that’s quite deep at the bow but flattens out toward the stern.

What makes the 10 Meter truly different from other boats is its almost uncanny stability. The 10 Meter’s wide beam combined with the wide chines quickly stills any rolling motion. I’ve never been aboard a similar sized boat that felt as stable at dockside as this Trojan. Under way, the chines make the boats feel – to use an old car salesman’s cliché – like it corners on rails. Mind you, steering response isn’t especially quick. But the boat’s attitude is solid and secure as those chines lock in for the turn.

The 10 Meter’s standard twin 350 Crusader engines use a combined total of 18 gallons of gasoline per hour at a cruise speed of 28 to 30 miles per hour, according to George Rinderspacher. An AquaSonic muffler system that vents exhaust out the sides of the hull beneath the waterline is integrated into the hull during its layup. The system make the 10 Meter an unusually quiet power boat whether idling in the slip or running full bore.

The 10 Meter’s hull is solid fiberglass, but the decks and cabin side are cored with end grain balsa. My marine surveyor/advisors all commented that Trojan’s gelcoat work on the 10 Meter appeared to be of high quality.

Trojan also uses some innovative construction methods on the boat. For instance, the company vacuum bonds certain parts of the boat together. Liners are literally sucked against the hull by a vacuum pump until a resin and glass paste hardens. The technique gives a very uniform tight fit.

The 10 Meter comes in three versions. The Express, which made its debut at the Miami Boat Show in February 1981, came first. Like all the versions of the 10 Meter, the Express has a forward stateroom down below as well as a large galley, a dinette and a head. The helm and cockpit on the Express are essentially a single area, providing a huge arena for playing, partying or sun worshipping. And that’s exactly how most owners use their 10 Meters, according to the company’s survey.

The slightly more conventional-looking Sedan has a streamlined flying bridge, a saloon with a convertible sofa, and a severely abbreviated cockpit. A good configuration for cooler climes, the Sedan was introduced in early 1982.

The Mid-Cabin went into production in 1985. The exterior profile of this version is virtually identical to the Express. But the Mid-Cabin has a small sleeping area for two (with sitting headroom only) tucked under the helm.

Last year Trojan introduced a stretched version of the 10 Meter, called the 10.8 Meter (35 feet). It’s a 10 Meter Sedan with an extended cockpit and is aimed at the sportfishermen.

There have been no major changes in the basic 10 Meter design since its introduction in 1981. However, in one fell swoop in 1983, Trojan made some 200 detail changes. These included such things as upgraded interior fabrics, new instrumentation for the helm, and heavier stainless steel port lights. At the same time, Trojan abandoned what surely must have been one of the all-time worst gimmicks aboard a small yacht: electrically operated doors to the forward stateroom and head compartment. They were indeed attention getters at boat shows, but a marine environment is not exactly ideal for electric motors.

Don Seith’s gamble has obviously paid off handsomely for Trojan. The company still builds conventional cruisers (the “Classic” series), but their percentage of total sales has dwindled to 20 percent. Meanwhile, Harry Schoell’s 10 Meter has spawned a whole series of International boats, ranging from the 8.6 Meter (29 feet) to the 13 Meter (43 feet). Moreover, other American power boat manufacturers have fallen all over themselves to come up with Med-style boats of their own.

To be sure, a Trojan International 10 meter is not for everyone. But then neither is a Corvette.

This article first appeared in the February 1987 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.

[RWS]

ARTICLES







Cutting Edge Cruiser
________________________________________
by Peter Bohr

Trojan's 10 Meter Express has 'the look'

"Euro-style" or "Med-style" -- call it what you will. But peruse any harbor, and you'll see plenty of examples of "the look."

Low, sleek and powerful, the Euro-style boat is as different from the traditional boxy power cruiser as Hillary Clinton is from Rush Limbaugh.

It was Trojan Yachts, formerly of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that first brought the look to this country. When Trojan's 10 Meter International Series Express made its debut in 1981, it launched a new kind of family cruiser that's since been embraced by most American boat builders, from Bayliner to Tiara.

Besides giving the boat a sexy profile, the bold styling of Trojan's 10 Meter has several functional advantages over the usual flying bridge sedan cruiser of the day. The huge cockpit beneath the radar arch is the perfect place for sunning or partying.

And because the helm is in the cockpit -- not high above on the bridge -- the skipper isn't removed from any socializing in the cockpit. Nor does the skipper have to sprint up and down steps to handle lines, which makes dockside maneuvers much easier.

The Trojan 10 Meter's avant-garde look doesn't stop there. Belowdecks, the cabin is filled with modernistic curved surfaces and lush decor. On the earliest 10 Meters, the curved bulkhead door leading to the forward stateroom was even electrically operated, like something from the starship ,/Enterprise.

But once again, there is function in the form. Instead of unusable voids made by the sharp corners of square bulkheads, the 10 Meter's curved panels make for a more spacious and comfortable interior. "We didn't want people to get beat up by the corner of a table," said Harry Schoell, the 10 Meter's designer.

The boat's visual appeal alone might have made it a marketplace hit. But Schoell also came up with an innovative hull to go along with the 10 Meter's innovative lines topside.

Schoell's patented DeltaConic hull design has 18 inch wide horizontal chines that run from bow to stern on either side. In between the chines, the modified-V hull is deep at the bow and flatter toward the stern.

It all works remarkably well. The 10 Meter's wide body, combined with the wide chines, provides a remarkably stable and dry ride. Steering response isn't especially quick, but the boat feels solid and secure when those wide chines lock in for a turn.

With its standard twin 350 Crusader gasoline engines, the 10 Meter has a decent turn of speed -- though the boat isn't as fast as it looks to some people. The top speed is in the mid-30 mph range, and cruising speed is around 25 to 28 mph.

At cruising speed, the pair of Crusaders will burn about 20 gallons an hour combined. Diesels were an option, though never a popular one.

The original 10 Meter Express was eventually joined by a more conventional-looking 10 Meter flying bridge sedan (in 1982) and a 10 Meter midcabin design (in 1985). The latter model looks almost identical to the Express on the outside, but has a small sleeping area for two tucked under the helm.

The 10 Meter was not only a success in creating a whole new genre of cruiser in America, but it was a sales success for its builder. Between 1981 and 1989, Trojan sold more than 600 of these boats.

But alas, the company's fortunes were not all so sweet. After nearly 40 years of boat building, venerable Trojan entered bankruptcy. In 1992, the company's remains were purchased by Carver Boat Corp.

But happily for the owners -- and prospective owners -- of Trojan's 10 Meter Express, these boats are not orphans. Carver has retained a parts supply organization in Lancaster that can provide virtually anything for the 10 Meters (or almost any Trojan built since the late 1960s, for that matter) -- from radar arches to grabrails.

By all accounts, the 10 Meter hulls were stoutly constructed. Some boats built during 1985 and 1986 were afflicted with hull blisters, but most of these were permanently repaired under warranty by Trojan -- at a cost of about $10,000 a job.

In your search for a 10 Meter Express, keep in mind those acres of exposed cockpit. Though the earliest editions were rather sparsely outfitted, later boats had all manner of upholstered seats, wet bars and the like, which can deteriorate rapidly in the sun.

Moreover, according to surveyor Bunker Hill of Maritime Consultants in Newport Beach, these Trojans' interior cabinetry and fittings weren't especially durable. So you may have to perform some cabin refurbishing as well.

A new 10 Meter Express carried a base price of $74,500 in 1981,

and the price tag rose to just over $100,000 by the end of its production run. Today, expect to pay between $45,000 and $95,000.

~ High style

~ Smooth ride and seakindly handling

The Bad:

~ Not as fast as it looks

~ Somewhat high fuel consumption

~ The gimmicky, electrically operated sleeping compartment door, when it fails to work -- as they often do.



Trojan 10 Meter International Series Express


Specifications:

Length: 35 ft.

Beam: 13 ft.

Draft: 2 ft.

Weight: 11,250 lbs.

Fuel capacity: 242 gals.

Water capacity: 40 gals.

Standard power: twin 350 c.i.d. Crusader gasoline inboards

Years of production: 1981-1989
Prices:

New boat base price (1981): $74,500

Used boat asking prices: $45,000-$95,000


This article first appeared in the July 1994 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated.

[todd brinkerhoff]

Pascoe's 14 Meter Review

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/ ... _meter.htm

Pascoe's 10.8 Meter Review

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/ ... 8meter.htm

[todd brinkerhoff]

I want to go big....It's a sickness LOL. I an 6'8" tall so I like express cruisers so I am not ducking the whole time I am on my boat and I don't want to climb stairs either. For some reason I am drawn to the Trojan's there is a 10.8 Meter near me listed for $41,000.00 that keeps catching my eye too except for the green interior I really like the looks of them. The 11 and 12 meters have the bunks that I want in a boat (two boys and a girl) The 390 and 400 Sea Rays have a nice bunk layout too but I am liking the Trojan's (to be different?) I never thought buying a boat would be so hard. Yes I have to adjust to the different style but Lake Erie is always a change of conditions anyway, seems like we always cruise one leg of our trips in a three foot chop and the other leg in the calm. A three foot chop on my current 280 Rinker is no fun at all.

Is the 10.8 Meter an Express or Convertible (Sedan)? The reason I ask is that they are different designs.

[johnson260]

It's an express
http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1992/Tr ... ted-States

I did find another 12M with "rebuilt Detroits" near by. $60,0000.00 would buy that one. I may just hold out till next year and see If I can pick up one of the two 12M in the area for a better price. Really like the layouts of these.

[johnson260]

It's an express
http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1992/Tr ... ted-States

I did find another 12M with "rebuilt Detroits" near by. $60,0000.00 would buy that one. I may just hold out till next year and see If I can pick up one of the two 12M in the area for a better price. Really like the layouts of these.

[johnson260]

Very interesting articles on the 10 Meter. Loving the Trojans more and more....really like the 12M I may just go look at this one.

http://www.admiraltyyacht.com/Page.aspx ... s-400.aspx

My thinking is where am I going to get a diesel boat of this caliber for less than $60,000.00 (survey of course) anyone think I am crazy? Of course I will offer less.

[todd brinkerhoff]

The Trojan 10.8 Meter International Express was Trojan's newest International and was a complete departure in both design and engineering from previous Internationals. The hull in not a Harry Schoell designed Delta Conic, but rather a hull designed by Bertram Engineers. The topside was designed by Italian architect Fulvio DeSimoni. This boat was only produced for a year (1991-1992) and, from my understanding, fewer than 20 were made. If you have specific questions, I own that model. Below is some research I conducted.

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewtopic.php?t=5152

The 12 Meter Express you are looking at was a completely updated design by Trojan which was produced from 1990 to 1992. It is one of my favorite Trojan Internationals because it actually has a very "modern" look. The flow and design of the 12 Meter Express is very much like the "new" 10.8 meter, and may take some of its lines from Fulvio. However, the 12 Meter maintained the Schoell hull. Fulvio later designed the Carver Trojan 440 (1996), which sold for about $800,000 in its day.

I was told by a Trojan worker that the 12 Meter express with the 450 hp detroits was the fastest International made. He said the design and power plant matched up better than expected.

The only "newly' designed boats created by Trojan were the New 10.8 Meter Express and the redesigned 12 Meter Express, which both had their production from 1990 to 1992. In my opinion, both boats showed that Trojan was planning on catering to the European market, and were making plans of creating a new line of Internationals. My bet is the 11 Meter would have been discontinued.

[johnson260]

I boarded the 12M last night WOW what a beautiful and roomy boat I want one!!!!!! Boat has been updated and looked great, I could not get over how much room was inside of that thing and being 6'8" I could stand straight up in the cabin and under the canvas there are not too many boats I can do that on.