Trojan Boat Forum

Anyone on the forum with a 11 meter Sedan that can speak to the visibility while running at 22 knots from the lower helm. With the Delta-Conic hull is the stern up high enough and the bow low enough to make it possible to run from the lower helm. I am willing to risk the log I can't see, but need to see boats. How about any other lower helm Trojans? Thanks

I would expect seeing boats is no problem... logs not so much.
Based on my F32.

Ready 123, thanks for the post. I had one post on a different forum from a F36 boat owner saying no way from the lower helm. Hope some 11 meter SEDAN folks pop up.

fighterpilot wrote:Ready 123, thanks for the post. I had one post on a different forum from a F36 boat owner saying no way from the lower helm. Hope some 11 meter SEDAN folks pop up.

Let's not forget that we all have different comfort zones..... you can't see the water for maybe 20' ahead of you but if your comfortable with having seen it before you get to it then I see no major concern.
Of course speed of travel has something to do with comfort level.... I was not worried at 20 knots and it was raining hard....

This some thing you need to judge for yourself its a opinon not a yes or no answer . I never use my lower helm don't like it I see much better from the flybrige , I ever have radar at the lower helm . its for watching storms at ancor .

some othe folks here with the same boat (F36) love the lower helm and don't use the flybrige same goes for F32 owners

A sea trial is the only answer . and use of tgrim tabs can bring the bow way down to help you see better .

I bet you will like the boat .

Prowlersfish, it would seem that there is some visibility from the lower helm on some bosts. Comfort level is the determining factor. Thanks for adding that information.

visibility thats not ok with me my be fine with you or the other way around . how tall you are or how tall the seat is are all factors . trim tab use can change a can't see helm to one having great visibility . of course if you use and like a flybrige , nothing seems as good. Only You can decide . We all can tell you what we think but your the only one that decide for yourself

Since we don't have a upper helm our lower one works just fine. In rough water it is hard to see anything in the water that is almost submerged. We do have radar for anything of any size, like bouys and boats etc.
We came in a couple of weeks ago at night with atleast four foot waves. it was not a picnic but we could see ahead with the spot light and cruise at a pretty good speed. We did watch the radar and used the light to spot bouy's. I think it is something you have to get used to doing and sometimes it is just best not to try and get caught in bad conditions.
I think when it is pitch black out and bad weather it is no picnic for either a upper or lower helm. I do definately believe that a upper helm is the way to go.

Reelfishing, I assume you have the express version of the 11 meter boats, which probably does give you a little better look than a sedan with the lower helm. I'm going to have to get on one and have a look. What kind of cruise speed and rpm do you do with that boat? Your's has more HP than the one I am considering but it would be a reference point for me. Thanks for the post.

We do have the 11 meter international version. It does cruise at 22 knots at about 2000 rpm. We have 450 hp 671 Detroit Diesels that have been totally rebuilt with OEM parts only. My son usually pilots the boat while going out and in , while I pilot when fishing. I very seldom get up to cruising speed for any length of time. I did pilot in the other night and I did around 1800 rpm due to rough seas.
Questions? Are you going to be fishing from your boat? Are you looking for diesels? Here is the reason for the questions.
If you fish from the boat and you have diesels you will need "Trolling Valves if you are around the Chesapeake Bay or off shore here. Many boats that come from florida to this area do not have trolling valves. It really makes it hard to fish for Striper without trolling valves to reduce the speed to around 2 knots - 2.5 knots.
Also our boat can turn around on a dime which allows me to walk it around a piling at the CBBT and hold it real close so we can fish the pilings
for fishing. I keep the boat stern in to the pilings and can walk from piling to piling without ever using the steering. So diesels do have a pretty good function. OH the reason I can do that is, our boat will idle at 5 knots. That gives me the power to do the above with out hitting the throttle.

reelfishin, good point about the trolling valves. I hadn't thought of that since, up to now, we only bottom fish, but who knows what me might do in the future, expecially after my fishing crew gets retired and has more time to fish. Thanks

Fighterpilot, I wonder if you are from around the Hampton Roads area. I see being a fighter pilot you could be in this area. If you get Diesels you will definately need to know the idle speed of the boat. Maybe a different diesel than ours will allow one to get down to a slower speed. We had a boat next to us that had diesels and the person complained that he could not get down to the trolling speed he needed for Striper.
Another thing about diesels to keep in mind. Block heaters. There are two wattages a high and low wattage heaters. We use the lower one and it does just fine on our engines. They start very easy. We use them all year round. Now that is talking about our 671's Detroit Diesels.
I have not heard about the other diesel engines and how they do in cold weather for starting. Maybe someone can post on them.

I'm in the Pensacola area. I have had boats with the Yanmar 170 and the 240s in them and don't have to worry too much about the cold start capability. Trying to find a boat with Cummins engines, either Bs or Cs dpending upon boat displacement.

I had a tour of duty at Oceana in the late 50s, early 60s. Traveled back there to look at a boat a couple of years ago. Wow, how things have changed. We lived in Lynnhaven back then.

Now being in florida you might not need trolling valves. I would find out from the fisherman in your area what speed they troll at for fish. I would think in warmer water than we have the fish probably travel a little faster than here. Just like jigging , jig slower in cold water and a little faster in warmer water.
One thing I would also want in a fishing boat. That is a flybridge. Just talk to the people who have them and they will let you know that a flybridge is the way to go. My problem with them is, on the newer boats some of the flybridges do not let you have a good view around the boat itself. Maybe others can say more about this but the ones I went on at the boat show I could not see to back the boat in to a slip if I were doing it. Sure you can install camera's.
Our boat is set up for fishing even though it is a cruiser. Works for us.

I have been looking through my copies of Parker and McKnew's Powerboat guide for your boat. I find early and later versions of the 11 meter express but nothing with the word international in it. Is that a different version of the express? Also, have some concerns about the cored hull. Most articles I can find on the hull indicates Trojan did a pretty good job of keeping the cored sealed up. They were compromised only when subsequent boat owners drilled or mounted without the proper sealing materials. What are your thoughts on this. Also, with the delta conic hull does the boat ride a little flatter at cruise than the traditional other hulls? As far as trolling valves I wouldn't reject a boat just because engines didn't have trolling valves.