1988 12 meter aft cabin

[rickalan35]

Hi,

I'd appreciate any comments regarding this model as I am considering moving in that direction. Thanks, Rick

[prowlersfish]

Nice boat , There is one person on here that has one .

[rickalan35]

Thanks, Prowler - hopefully there will be some interesting info that will pop up. The weather is too cold around here right now (no kidding) for a survey, but I've got one booked for as soon as weather allows. The broker is of the opinion that these hulls were not balsa cored and I've always liked my tricabin's solid hull. Heather and I have simply come to the conclusion that we have one more boat left in us. Our tricabin was purchased in '98 and has always been good to us. The diesels in this 12 meter and it's general layout are attractive to us. There aren't many around and I haven't been able to find much in the line of past reviews etc.

[comodave]

According to Powerboat Guide, the 12 meters are fully cored hulls.

[bigdave603]

I thought coring was done after 1984.

[prowlersfish]

I don't think the year maters , it the model . I am thinking the 12 meter is corded but don't know for sure

[rickalan35]

Hi,

After spending a couple of hours online, I still haven't found any documentation to indicate whether or not the 12 meter motor yacht was manufactured as completely cored hull or was possibly, only cored on the sides and deck (thus having a solid hull below the waterline)

I will say this though, many photos I have examined show a thick and continuous roving fiberglass filament on the freeboard near the engines that usually pertains to a solid hull. This leads me to believe that the hull itself may be solid.

I did indeed come across an article about an eleven meter whereby the author commented that he had drilled test holes through his bilge (while on the hard) and subsequently discovered that the entire hull was balsa cored.

All in all, I'm no further along in my search for information about this boat. I'm going to phone the marina where the boat is stored today and ask the owner if he has any idea about the hull in the twelve meter and whether or not it's cored.

[aaronbocknek]

why not put in a call to bob from beacon? i'm pretty sure he can give you all the info you need on this subject. just a suggestion.

[rickalan35]

Great idea, Aaron. This is why we pay you the big bucks. I'll do so on Monday.

Thanks,

Rick

[prowlersfish]

From what I consider a good source "all meter boats are cored except for the 10 and the original 10.8 " That's sound about right from what I remember

[rickalan35]

Well, re: coring - I will have the Surveyor understand my reticence about becoming involved with a moisture issue.

I have two boats booked for a survey at the end of March. One is a '99 Searay 37 aft cabin (bad word around here, I know) while the other is an '88 twelve meter Trojan motor yacht.

Both boats are located at the same marina, so we'll have the surveys done at the same time.

My heart of course is with the 40 foot Trojan, if it comes through the survey in good shape.

I have no plans to sell my Tricabin, simply because I wouldn't receive what I selfishly believe it to be worth after all the money i have poured into it and I have a warehouse that I can move it to. It's like an old friend.

Thanks, Prowler for getting that info for me. Much appreciated.

Rick

[rickalan35]

Hi

Spoke with Bob at Beacon. Turns out the bottoms and decks were cored in the 12 meters. The sides were not cored. Also, no coring around thru hulls in the bottom. Sounds good. Survey set for next Tuesday.

[rickalan35]

Survey booked for this coming Tuesday. I will be attending. Any advice or tidbits?

[P-Dogg]

Any advice or tidbits?

Ask questions about everything. Get their opinion about stuff that they might not put in the report. Ask what upgrades they would recommend. Make sure the owner doesn't start the engines before you get there. The surveyor will be looking for the amount of smoke present on first start-up. No boat is going to be perfect, so you need to know what you are prepared to deal with and what is a show-stopper. For me that was soft decks. All boats of the same age are likely going to have similar problems, so don't be too picky. You can spend a lot of time and effort looking for the "best" boat, but it may come down to finding the least worst. I looked at 11 1981-1985 tricabins from NJ to TN before I bought one in MD, where I live. It happened to be in premium condition, but I also looked at a bunch of crappy boats before I found my gem. If you haven't been there yet, there is a lot of info at http://www.yachtsurvey.com. Kinda late to buy and read the books about mid-size powerboats and surveying, but you can learn a lot from reading the site. Not everyone here cares for Mr. Pascoe, and he doesn't like Trojans (downright hates Searays -- me too). Then again, Trojan's and Vikings, which he does like, are at dissimilar price points.

I answered before I read all the posts. Being a prior boat owner gives you an advantage in that you probably already know what you're getting into. One question for you: Why move on from the tricab?

[prowlersfish]

Why move from a tri cabin ? well the 12 meter is a lot more boat , and about the same fuel burn

I keep looking at 40-45s footer myself


Rickland are you doing a full engine survey ? ($$$$ on a DD )