Trojan International info please

[K4282]

I've been considering moving up to a Trojan International 10.8 meter I believe I want. At a asking price of $10,000 I saw advertised a Trojan international sport fisherman (as advertised) in great condition in Quincy Mass. She needed some carpet in the salon and maybe a cushion or two inside. As pleased as I was with the boat overall it was not what I expected or wanted. She was in beautiful condition, solid, ran great but the salon was closed off from the galley, I did not like that all. It felt so small and not as suitable for entertaining. The helm on the bidge I also did not care for, it seemed too big and youd have to crawl around to get to the front seat, my F32 is roomier up there, im looking for more space not less. The cockpit was good size for I believe a 33ft. What I really want is the salon that is open into the galley, what model is that? I think they come in 33 and 35ft sizes? or maybe 31 and 35, I want to larger aft deck I know that. Do any come with lower helms, not sure if I wasnt to give up not having a lower helm. Also whats the theory behind the weird exhaust?

[RWS]

lots of info here:


www.trojanboat.com


RWS

[prowlersfish]

The 10.8 is basically a 10 meter with .8 added on . a 10 meter is basically 33' the 10. is 35.5' . To get what you want on a international I would look at the 11 meter ( its a lot more boat) or even a 12 meter . Of course you could look at a F36 , it could have what you want and need and you would still have the timeless and classic lines .

[K4282]

the F36 is on my list, i just missed one with Diesels for sale too. I think the 12 meter is a little big for me as I store in my driveway and I believe the beam is bigger.Thanks for the link with information, the one i looked at looked like your express with the port windows and hull design only with a bridge and seemingly small although probably comparable salon which like I said was closed off and seemed as if it didn't even belong. Felt like a boat that should have been an express only and the salon and bridge were an afterthought

[K4282]

that link seems to be mostly express models, im not interested in an express just fly bridge models, also any ideas on the weird exhaust. the exhaust doesn't make or break the deal I just find it unusual

[RWS]

the patented side exhaust system features a built into the hull liner fiberglass muffler and is designed to reduce or eliminate the station wagon effect.

My 10 meter has diesels.

The only time you can notice the fumes is at idle.

RWS

[RWS]

some additional info:

RWS
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BOAT TEST NO. 299

We loved her lines on paper. Now the question was: Would the actual boat measure up?
BY JEFF HAMMMOND

One of the problems of editing a boating magazine is keeping things in proper perspective. It goes without saying that people who write about boats, like boats. It is natural and easy when taking a boat out for a day to become enthusiastic about what the builder has tried to accomplish, then wax a little too enthusiastic about it all on the printed page.
As a result, I find myself going through reports written by the BOATING staff and contributors and making little question marks along the margins. “Was it really that good? That fast? Can’t you find some more negative things to say about the boat – after all, every boat is a compromise!”
This process is designed to separate temporary infatuation from true love, the latter being more enduring, one hopes. The devil’s advocate approach is also a reaction to the Will Rogers school of nautical journalism. (Never met a boat I didn’t like.”) And there are more caveats: “Yes, the joinerwork looks like it was done by Columbo, but is the price commensurately low? What was the boat really designed to do – and will it?” etc.
Having gone through that ritual, the editor says, “Now, if you are really excited about the boat, then say so!” The editor usually says that after reading three or four reports that are so objective, so measured in tone, and so emotionally controlled, that he’s afraid he’s doing the boat a disservice, rather than the reader. Having edited, in one capacity or another, boating magazines for 12 years, I can tell you that there is no universally accepted happy medium.
This little preamble is my long-winded way of saying that when I saw the drawings last year for the new Trojan 10 Meter, and found myself being very enthusiastic about it, I said to myself, “What the hell, let her rip.” Which I did in February (“Trojan 10 Meter,” p. 56).
There’s one little foot note that goes with the “let her rip” approach. Namely: you’d better be right.
The boat was unveiled in mid-Februaury. I spent the better part of two days paoking around on the two 10 Meters in Miami, and took one from Fort Lauderdale down to Miami.
BOATING Associate Editor Doug Schryver also spent a day on the new design after the Miami Boat Show and ran a full set of tests (see p. 172).
Our conclusion is: the boat is every bit as good as we thought she would be. In fact, there were a number of important aspects of the boat that turned out to be better than we thought. There was only one major disappointment, and that was a result of Trojan’s optimism rather than a failing of the boat.
The Trojan 10 Meter is designed to be a family cruiser and convertible. The Express version is the one we tested, other models will be launched just as soon as Trojan can tool them.
The boat’s Italian styling is the finest thing that hits you. You either like it or you don’t. There’s no middle ground. While other American builders have incorporated Italian styling here and there, Trojan let her rip. I guess that’s why I like it.
I’m not suggesting you should, too, but I am saying that if you don’t like the interior, I know how you feel. But I believe familiarity will breed appreciation.

Remarkable Stability
So much for the boat as a piece of art. How does she perform? That’s the important question, and it is here that the 10 Meter surprised even Trojan.
First, she tracks in a beam sea like a boat three times her length. That sounds like so much hyperbole, but in this case it isn’t. Coming south from Fort Lauderdale, I set a course of 180* - in four-to seven-foot beam seas.
Second, in following seas she tracks as straight as an arrow. Coming into Baker’s Haulover we surfed a few times down six- to eight-foot seas without the first untoward motion. The bow did not want to dig in, and the stern gave not the slightest indication of wanting to come around.
Third, docking and close-quarters maneuvering are actually easier than on most twin-screw inboards because the shafts are six to eight inches farther outboard than they normally would be on a boat this size, or on larger deep-Vs. As a result, she’s quite maneuverable.
Fourth, she’s as stable as Trojan claimed she would be. At rest in a beam sea, the boat reacts exactly as promised. Now follow this: she rolls from port to starboard to port (exactly one cycle in about three seconds on a stopwatch), then she pitches aft, then forward, then she’s motionless. Incredible. At trolling speeds in a beam sea the boat gently rides up and over as the sea slides under. No need for calisthenics. No gut-rolling snap. It’s a delight.
The reason for this incredibly defined behavior is, of course, the “Delta-Conic” hull designed and perfected by Harry Schoell. On the Trojan 10 Meter this underwater shape (described fully in February) is superb in the conditions I encountered.
Running the boat is fun. She feels massive, far bigger than her 33’ LOA. She moves over seas with the authority of a much larger boat. The rudder shafts are right at the transom, which makes the boat more maneuverable in reverse, and probably also helps her track so well. The boat is responsive, easy to control, and, as I keep saying, remarkably stable.

Italian Pedigree
Below decks, the unusual styling is practical. The curving companionway works. That is to say it’s wide enough for my 210-lb. frame, with ample headroom (at least 6’1”) going down the stairs.
The galley to port is well designed with a countertop range, refrigerator, sink, toaster oven, and integral trash bin all in a compact area. There’s not much counter surface, though. The dinette actually seats four adults and the settee is comfortable.
There’s a double berth in the forward cabin, but it is a trifle high. Trojan has notched a step in the glass liner under the berth to make it easier to climb onto. I have only two minor criticisms of the forward cabin: 1) There isn’t much “bend-over-and-put-your-pants-on” room between the door and the berth. It’s tight. But remember she’s a 33 footer. 2) Stowage is minimal.
The head compartment is large and well executed with the shower stall (with teak grate and deep sump), toilet and sink are arranged to fit harmoniously. Here, there is room to bend over and pull your pants up.
The numerous oval port lights, translucent deck hatches, indirect lighting, and light-colored interior fabrics, make the 10 Meter bright and inviting below. Trojan installed a series of port and starboard air conditioning vents in the overhead, and they do a good job of spreading cool air evenly around the cabin. Since cold air sinks, the vents are in the right place. The “power doors” closing off the forward compartment and the head are a novel touch. Like power windows in your car, you merely push a button and the doors slide open or closed. Some people will call it a gimmick. But it’s fun, so why not?
The cockpit in the Express model is large enough to hold a square dance. At the helm there is a raised pedestal seat for two. The wheel is mounted vertically on the bulkhead, and I found it comfortable and preferable to a canted installation.
Access hatches to the engines are large. Aft there are two clever “bin” compartments molded into gunwales which are handy for line stowage. A convenient rack for four rods is located to port and out of the way. Port and starboard steps make it easy to climb out of the cockpit, and the sidedecks are wide so there’s no obstacle course to negotiate when going forward.
The foredeck has molded in non-slip, but most notable here is a clever anchor stowage compartment. (The one on the 10 Meter is the best design I’ve seen, with a V-bracket at the top to hold the stock of a Danforth anchor and a deep well below for the shank and rode.

The Problems of Prototypes
Since it’s well established that I like the boat, let me run through a list of things where she falls short. First, Trojan’s estimates of her top speed with twin 250-hp Crusaders proved to be over-optimistic. The company thought she would go nearly 40 mph, wide open. When Associate Editor Doug Schryver tested her (see Performance Table) with a half load of water and fuel, five people aboard (plus generator, air conditioners, etc.) she ran 33.4 mph, top. Granted, she was heavier than the stock boat, and her foredeck layup was 300 lbs. heavier than it should have been (or will be in the future). Still, the boat will not do 40 mph with the Crusaders.
That top speed was probably too much to expect in the first place. The stock, production Express should do about 35 mph (30 knots) and that’s not bad for a pair of 250-hp engines. Bigger engines should push her to 40 mph.
Secondly, the prototype, as tested, was on the noisy side. There was only one strip of sound absorption material in the engine room because the job wasn’t done by Miami showtime. Trojan stated they planned to add more, which should help measurably.
The grey gel coat on the prototype was a bit dark. It’s amazing how the color of the hull would appear lighter or darker, depending on the ambient light. In bright sunlight she seemed fine, but with an overcast sky she appeared to be battleship gray. Fine if you’d like to picture yourself running a patrol boat. Trojan noticed the problem as soon as they landed the first boat and have already reformulated the color to a lighter gray – more Riva-like.
There was a number of little details that are forgivable in a prototype, particularly one that was rushed to completion. (Tooling didn’t even begin until last summer.) The oval portlights are nice but they leak. A different gasket design is probably the solution. The sliding companionway hatch is well-executed, but there needs to be a slight ridge around the opening to keep out driving rain.
Finally, and most noticeable, the interior and exterior fabrics and colors can be greatly improved upon. While this is a cosmetic problem, it is nonetheless real for a boat that plays so strongly to aesthetics. Trojan admits these materials were chosen hastily and they will be taken care of.
All things considered, Trojan has delivered what I feel to be one of the most outstanding boats in years. At the Miami Boat Show there were crowds around her constantly. Every naval architect and boatbuilder in the country has taken notice. She’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but she does make life interesting. And, isn’t that what it’s all about?



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.