Trojan Boat Forum

Really want to learn more about the 36' Trojan 78'--88'. Is it a good trolling boat? what kind of fuel consumption at cruise w/ 454's? w/ 8.1 EFIs? Diesels?
Can the boat be realistically piloted from lower station? Good visibility while cruising from lower station? How do the transom and stringers hold up? What is the measurement from sliding door to transom?
Thank you in advance!

I assume you mean the F36 sedan?

The length of the cockpit is 7'5". The width is 9'10"

The F36 hulls are the same throughout the model years.
Great trolling boats.
Yes, you can drive from the lower helm but the view and visibility is better up top.- my opinion...

Not sure about the fuel consumption, depends on the condition of boat, engine conditions, sea conditions etc. Some of the folks here do have diesels and can chime in on their data.

Some share of stringer issues. Get a good surveyor to inspect.

just search and read the board,every question already answered 6 different ways

Striper Man is right - ditto his post. About the lower helm: I just refused to spend all that $$ enclosing the flybridge and putting all that fabric up there to catch the wind. So, when caught in a few boomers, I piloted from below and it was fine. The visibility was really very good. I put one of those cheap depthfinders in the dash down there just in case I was in skinny water in a storm.

Wide boat with a flatter bottom = good trolling boat.

Thank you for the responses. JuiceClark, what power do you have, and what has been your experience with fuel economy and cruise speeds/top end speed. Are you happy overall? I currently have a 30' bridge boat, and I completely agree about enclosing the bridge.

I have to disagree ,enclosing the fly bridge adds to the boat . you can run it from the top in any weather cold /hot rain or shine even snow . I have only run the boat from the lower helm once .

You can always unzip and open the windows. It is awfully nice on a cold day in the fall and winter to sit in a warm, sunny corner on my dad's flybridge with all the curtains on and enjoy a long cruise.

Just to put the 'debate' between Juice and Prowlersfish aside - the reality is driving from up top vs lower station is a personal preference.... so here are some of the considerations / pros / cons, and you can decide for yourself what works better for you.

Yes, up top the visibility is great, and if you decide to go with full enclosure you can be up there in wet or colder weather. But in very rough conditions you are also moving around a lot more, and the more weight you have up top the higher the center of gravity of the boat will be (so it will roll even more). With full enclosure you also have that much more windage, so cross-winds while docking will be more of a challenge to deal with.

Visibility when operating from down below is not as good as up top, but in rough conditions you feel far less motion and keep the center of gravity lower. You are also more 'in tune' with what the boat is doing - you can hear the engines better, you know if anything is rattling or bouncing around inside, and can tell easier / earlier if you are starting to pound.

Personally, I prefer to be up on top for the visibility. If I end up out in bad stuff, I close down up top and go inside. If weather is bad enough I would typically reduce speed, which lowers the bow, which improves the lower station visibility as well. I don't have a full enclosure up top, since I don't want to put that much constant strain on fasteners and framing (from wind as well as motion induced breezes), and prefer to minimize windage in close quarters manouvering.

It is personal preference ( and the cost) . the added windage is not that much and with the windows rolled up its next to nothing . In rough conditions I much rather be up top and I am more in tune with the boat (IMO) . My last boat had a open bridge , after having a enclosure on this boat I would never be with out it .

Don't knock it till you have tried it , the cons are very minor , in fact I see no cons ( other then the cost)

As far as constant strain on fasteners and framing ? If its built right thats not a factor ,

Like you said its a personal preference , but you don't see may folks buy a boat and remove the enclosure ( unless its damaged and they can't afford a new one and I sure can under stand that )

Biggest reason for me to drive up top is in water hazards of rocks in most of my boating area. Am able to judge acceptable depth to within a foot from the bridge.. below I have to rely 100% on my instruments, not something that makes me relaxed.

Prowlersfish, I see you have diesels, did your 36' come with them? What does yours cruise at? How many gph at cruise with the diesels? I see where you are located, do you have the trolling valves on them? Thank you in advance.

Everybody's got one; [an opinion]; prefer enclosed fly bridge for visibility purposes, ability to see those larger waves sets coming during rough water, especially beam on. However during electrical storms likely safer in the cabin. [Holding on to that nice stainless steel wheel.... always gives me the creeps]. As far as trolling goes would be species-dependent, with respect to speed [both engines,idle maybe 4 miles an hour, can slow it down with single-engine and tabs down. [4 miles an hour is a little fast for walleye, in my neck of the woods].

Rip wrote:Thank you for the responses. JuiceClark, what power do you have, and what has been your experience with fuel economy and cruise speeds/top end speed. Are you happy overall? I currently have a 30' bridge boat, and I completely agree about enclosing the bridge.

Hey...sorry it took so long to reply. First of all, piloting from the bridge is always the best. And living in FL, the only time I go below is for one of the hardcore thunderstorms that just don't last that long. So, a nice open bridge without eisenglass was right for my situation. If I lived further north and was running out in the Atlantic on chilly mornings, I'd have to enclose the bridge. You won't want to drive from down below nearly everytime you run out.
Also, you must cover the bridge helm well, if not enclosed, when not using the boat or everything will get trashed from the elements. So, you have to consider that expense vs. enclosing the entire bridge.

Also, I tinted the windows pretty dark to keep out the FL sun. If you're planning on driving from below often, you won't wanna tint those too much to inhibit visibility. I wouldn't drive from below at night because of the tinting.

I just have rebuilt big blocks in my boat. I'd rather, of course, have a couple diesels in there but got a deal on a couple as I was restoring the boat. The 2.5 to 1 trannies allow a bigger, 4 blade wheel which has made the gas engines palatable. The best cruise for me has been 3100 rpm at about 17 or 18 mph. I'm at about 700 hours now and will get diesels when the speed at that rpm starts to drop a little as the engines tire. It ain't broke yet...so, not going to fix yet.

I get about .8 mpg at cruise. Yeah, that's not great. But I only paid $2,500 for each engine with gears. So, I try to remember that when filling up the 300 gallon tank. I'd assume a nicely tuned diesel would double that mileage. When I go 100 miles out, I take the slow cruise at about 2700 rpm and 15 or so mph to get up towards 1mpg.

I really like the F-36. My wife and I have enjoyed it for weekends out. It's a great fishing boat too. I've had no issues with the boat's integrity. We've all said it in here a lot...but I can't imagine a better boat for the money. They're darn near free at this point! Best of all, everything is easy to access on the boat and work on...great for we do it ourself peeps.