Trojan Boat Forum

Honestly if it was me , I would care less if they were rebuilt or not . IF they run and sound good good oil pressure etc . I would rather have engines with 1500 hours on then ones with a fresh rebuilt of 50 hours or less . A poor rebuild may not last , and some folks conceder any major engine work like a valve job a rebuild . I have run into this a lot . They are not being dishonest in many cases , just clueless on this type of thing.

Are they fresh water cooled ?

Paul,
good point and guess a good engine survey would tell the condition,

yes they are fresh water cooled and the coolant was clean and green

prowlersfish wrote:...A poor rebuild may not last , and some folks conceder any major engine work like a valve job a rebuild...

Agreed. This is where it would be nice to have some paperwork on the job. Failing that, I agree with doing a few mechanical tests/checks. They can tell you a lot about the real condition of the engines. Oil and coolant analysis can tell you a lot as well.

Well, I'm certainly no expert and haven't owned an F32 so I can't speak to the comparison, but I CAN say that we love the hell out of the 1979 F36 that we just picked up last Labor Day weekend.

If the mechanics are relatively sound (good compression, oil pressure, etc) and the structural stuff you can incrementally bite off bit by bit......this could very easily end up being THE boat of your lifetime. Just sayin'.

Plus, it would certainly be nice to have another F36 owner out there. I think we're vastly outnumbered by the F32 contingent!

Either way, best of luck on your decision. I'm sure it will work out either way.

Hart,

thanks for the words of encouragement, I am still on the fence and have kind of lost steam in my entusiasm, however, your words are what keep going through my thought process. I have thought of popping for an engine survey just to see what kind of condition they are in, if good, then I would be more likely to move ahead, in spite of the condidtion of the rest of the boat. I really like the 6's and the engine compartment looks great, but I must admit, I did not plan on a repower on the 32, so I lost a lot of project and on the water time with the boat during that episode.

The 36 is a complete interior redo, new galley, new furniture, all new upholstery (top to bottom) new head and head system, electronics etc....

Hart wrote:I think we're vastly outnumbered by the F32 contingent!

Based on production numbers, its very likely to stay that way too. In case anyone hasn't noticed, its the F-32's and the rest of you, and we'd friggin' whoop y'all in a softball game.

it might be worth the 200-300 to get the engines looked over so at least if the are old and tired you can walk away and not wonder anymore. Also, a quick story, my 32 had fresh "rebuilds" when I bought her and the starboard engine failed on the sea trial. We adjusted the price and I had a rebuilt from first mate installed and that failed 20 hours later. Some times you just don't know with the rebuilds.

summer storm wrote:it might be worth the 200-300 to get the engines looked over so at least if the are old and tired you can walk away and not wonder anymore. Also, a quick story, my 32 had fresh "rebuilds" when I bought her and the starboard engine failed on the sea trial. We adjusted the price and I had a rebuilt from first mate installed and that failed 20 hours later. Some times you just don't know with the rebuilds.

kind of dittos what Paul said, and I am getting the same advice from my friend who is in the biz.

My wife and I were just talking about the 36 and believe it or not, she just said offer the guy 3500 and go no higher than 5000.....

what to do what to do....

What to do, what to do is offer the guy 3500 and walk away if he doesn't take it. You will always know you tried, even if he doesn't accept, but there is no need to increase your price by 45% if you aren't quite comfortble with the vessel in the first place. Maybe go to 4000, but 5 seems like a huge jump if you are only offering 3500 in the first place.

I wish you the best of luck no matter what you decide.

CP, understood, with an offer of 3500, I might get a feel for what he would be willing to sell it for and not anticipating he woudl actually take the low offer, if he did, great

gettaway wrote: The 36 is a complete interior redo, new galley, new furniture, all new upholstery (top to bottom) new head and head system, electronics etc....

You're in a different boat than my wife and I are in - so to speak. Other than my aft slider/bulkhead door and the custom woodwork surrounding it and custom teak hatch screens, my boat is pretty much stock. We plan on putting in new carpet, sure, and my forward cabin needs new hull covering, but everything else will pretty much stay the same. I don't eniterly detest this, not at all (Mrs. Hart is adamant about preserving the classic look of it all) but I would submit to you that there IS something very attractive in the idea of making that boat's interior entirely yours.

And if you got it for under 5K................? Whoa.

Again, best of luck.

CP: Once upon a time, I would have taken you up on that softball game...

Hart,

this 36 is much like the 32 when we bought it, the 32 was neglected because of the PO's financial situation, the 36 has been neglected because of the the owners age and I am guessing disinterest, but both have gotten to the stage, IMO, that a redo is is the best way to address the neglect. I'm not sure if you followed my progess on Lark, but one requirements my wife and I had was that everything we did to the boat as far as cosmetics,is that it remained a boat, not a home or condo. I updated the countertops, but used materials and colors found in newer boats and yachts. I saw the photos of your boat when you boat it and brought it home and I thought holy crap..... thats a barn find and it is beautiful, kind of an inspiration for me to pursue this boat....
thanks for the coments !

Aww, you're welcome, man.

It IS in really nice shape. It's got it's quirks here and there (oil pressure reads high on both gauges both up and down, I think I've got a clogged anti-siphon valve on my forward port tank, both aft gas gauges are on the blink, the fridge is original AND we discovered some interior water leaks from the port salon window frames just before we pulled in October) but all in all, if what the PO said about the engine hours are true (which I fully believe, considering the extensive correspondence we've shared - he's been consistent and on the up-and-up about everything) we're really happy with the boat. I never expected the boat to be entirely problem-free - I'm not new to this program. But my boat, I think, was exceptionally clean - a real barn find, as you mentioned.

But I'll tell you.............I've wanted an F36 for years. I used to be an environmental regulator here in Michigan, and one of my "responsible parties" was a boat dealer in Bay City. Great guy (named Brennan). Every time I saw him, I'd say "Tom, can you find me a clean F36?" (they were Trojan dealers at the time). And every time he'd say "you tell me when you're ready to pull the trigger, and I'll find you a boat". This was 20 years ago.

I finally got it. And my wife, who has never really boated in her life, is over the frickin' moon. She's taken to it like a duck to water.

We're actually thinking of heading over to Manistee this weekend to take a look, bring the batteries home to put them on the trickle charge, maybe take the old name off the transom.........we'll probably just set out chairs, bust a seal and drink a couple tumblers of bourbon and just........look at her!

And by "duck to water" (and I'm sure alot of you will appreciate this)....

I'm talking about a woman who intuitively knows not to bring long-stemmed wine glasses (glass ones) on the boat!

...............well?