Trojan Boat Forum

In order from the beginning -

11' Snark - made of sytrofoam and had a big Kool cig. sail. My grandfather had to smoke like 50 cartons to get it free.

12' Sears Gamefisher - don't laugh, used it to lobster about 25 traps when I was in high school...

16' Glastron with a great 40 HP Mercury - that would fly..

30' Pearson (again don't laugh - yep - a sailboat!)

17' Open Seaway

34' Silverton

24' Slickcraft

2858 Bayliner Command Bridge (1988)

Now onto my current boat - 1980 Tri-Cabin. Bought in August 2011 - wife says that's it... sure....

I actually still have the old Snark. Had a new sail made about 15 years ago - just can't seem to taeke it to the dump.

In June of 1960, the year of the rat as my brother likes to remind me, I was born. Two weeks later, I was boating on my Dad's 25' plywood beauty. I figure it would have been sooner, but mom had to recover from the birth! (I was a biggun)


Later in 1964, Dad bought the sherriff of Mobile's 31' Higgins. We actually pilotted her from NW Fl. thru the Okechobee to Miami and back in '67. That was a nice boat, but not as "yachty" as our next boat.


In 1968 he moved up to a 38' Owens flush deck motoryacht. With no rear stateroom, we had the largest stowage area of almost any boat I have seen. Ten tons of beautiful mahogany, she was a pretty boat. We thought we had a big boat till we took her to Biloxi's Broadwater Hotel and Marina with all the superyachts docked there. .

In 1974, me, my Dad and his best buddy took a week off to drive his 46' Chris Craft Aquahome (houseboat) from Marathon in the Keys to Destin, Fl., (near Pensacola). 2 hour shifts at the helm for 12-14 hours a day wasn't a pleasure cruise.


Lastly in 1978 he had a trawler made in Taipei, Taiwan. Beautiful diesel powered, and seaworthy, he and mom went on many long range cruises once they got me out of the house!



Fast forward to 1985 when my wife and I returned from Italy, I inherited one of my Dad's old Sears aluminum skiffs with a 5 hp Ted Williams motor. It was so loud and slow people would stop and watch us go by.

Then in '89 my wife and I went to the boat show and I was speechless when she said we could get a new 17' bowrider. ( A Bayliner if you must know.) WE put a zillion hours on that boat, but, I was so happy to be rid of that boat four years later. It was beginning to fall apart.

Driving around on my job a few weeks before I was rid of the B- boat, I came across a '78 Ash Craft 14' skiff. I bought a new 25hp Johnson and put a coupla thousand hours over the next 15 years. It has been all over Florida and is built like pour Trojans!



Finally, in '08 while looking for a Chris Craft cabin cruiser I came across Trojans and lucked into getting mine.



Last winter you guys all know I refurbished a '78 Snug Harbor dinghy.




Sorry so long winded, I did not start out to write a book.

that was a very neat share, thanks, love the pics!

god i love the story in pics... thanks for the share. i too was born in 1960. october 1960 to be exact. a true blue libra. year of the rat eh? hmmmmm
tri cabin aaron

well I almost have a 1979 f26 we can say for sure as its still a work in progress. I do have a 14ft checkmate with a 70hp outboard and a 23.5 hunter sailboat http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index. ... el&mn=23.5
yes I know but even if it has sails its still a "boat" I spent the last 4yrs sailing looking at all these cruiser going by and wondering how the hell can they enjoy that ride when the money is being sucked right outa the wallet for fuel? guess I'm gonna find out soon enough huh ?

trojanmanXS wrote:well I almost have a 1979 f26 we can say for sure as its still a work in progress. I do have a 14ft checkmate with a 70hp outboard and a 23.5 hunter sailboat http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/index. ... el&mn=23.5
yes I know but even if it has sails its still a "boat" I spent the last 4yrs sailing looking at all these cruiser going by and wondering how the hell can they enjoy that ride when the money is being sucked right outa the wallet for fuel? guess I'm gonna find out soon enough huh ?

X1

I grew up on the water. My dad built a cedar strip canoe in the basement one winter when I was about 6. We had all sorts of fishing boats and pontoon boats. The first pontoon boat was in the early 70s, Bascially a wood deck with 50 gal barrels welded togeather and strapped on the bottom.

My collection of boats are as follows:
1. Milk Carton Boat. Really built from carboard milk cartons dipped in wax.
2. 14' 1961 Thompson lapstrake. Transom was rotted. Grandpa and I cut off 2' and made it a 12' Thompson. Rebuilt a 50s Johnson 5hp with grandpa also. I was probably 10.
3. Monarch Canoe. Bought new at the Firestone Tire Store with money from a paper route. I still 40 yrs later, I still have the canoe.
4. 15' Gruman Alum Bass Boat.
5. 1974 Crestliner Nordsman.
6. 1991 Thompson Carrera. Bought new. Paid Cash, Still have it.
7. 1978 29' Chris Craft Catalina. This was areal project boat. Someone dropped 1962 GM 283s in it,not wired. It was a real scow. Bought cheap, took 4 yrs to rebuild. Sold and made $8K profit (not counting my time).
8. Polaris 650 Jetski
9. 15' Scout Backwater.
10. 1973 Trojan F36.
11. 2006 Yamaha Waverunner