TriCab aft deck replacement

[rcnorman]

Hello all,

I joined this forum a couple years ago, but have not really spent much time here until now. I have a 1975 TriCab with twin Chrysler 400s that I use on the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay. I bought her about four years ago from her owner in Essex, MD, and took two weekends to bring her down the bay. Other than replacing a water pump and spending an easy grand on gas, it was a great trip. I love this boat and the spaciousness of her interior and charm of her teak and great lines. She does require a lot of TLC and I enjoy working on old boats and learning more and more about them. This forum is great, and I've enjoyed going back and reading posts and learning lots. So thanks to all of you for making this a great community to share and learn.

My question today is on replacing the aft deck, which I understand is a common repair with these old TriCabs. There is rot and holes that I can almost stick my foot through. If anyone has done a replacement, did you replace with glass or teak to keep the authenticity of the boat? Not sure I want to tackle this project myself, but just looking for others who have gone through this and any tips or advice you might provide.

Thanks,

Rob

[k9th]

What year is your tri-cabin and can you post some pics of the area that needs repaired?

I've heard of this issue on the older models. Aaron Bocknek is one of the guys you need to talk to and he should be around sometime soon. He has an '82 tri-cabin but he grew up on a very early model tri-cabin that his dad bought new and is very knowledgeable.

[prowlersfish]

Off topic , where do you keep your boat ? I get up to the Rappahannock a few times a year, Carters creak ( tides in) and Urbana

[rcnorman]

Thanks. I will be down this weekend and will take some photos of the deck to post. Mine is a 1975 model with rear-mounted engines and V-drives. So far, I've had no issues with these.

I berth at Deltaville Yachting Center on Broad Creek right at Stingray Point (mouth of the Rappahannock). Carter's Creek is a nice little run for us, just 8 miles up river. The bridge is 7.

[aaronbocknek]

hi rob, aaron here. (thanks for the intro tim, appreciate it.) anyway, i grew up w/ a '72 tri and absolutely loved her, as did the entire family. dad had the aft cabin window bulkheads rebuilt twice in the time span that we owned her and the aft deck rebuilt just prior to her sale ( ) in 2008. at the time of the rebuild, she was in oceanside california, and had the boat yard do the work. everything from the aft bulkhead back was replaced, up to and including the deck supports that were spliced into the good wood. this was a big under taking, but the end result was a very solid and heavy back deck. since you are in deltaville, i cannot think of a better place to have this kind of work done. i know for a fact that the deltaville boatyard specializes in this very thing. they do everything from custom fiberglass fabrications to complete electrical upgrades. i know that you might want to tackle this as a DIY project, but when i saw what was involved when BUBALA 3's back deck was replaced, i'm glad dad called in a professional team to do it. have them take a look at it and give you an idea of just what is involved. if you are going to have the back deck redone, you might as well spring for the back bulkheads too with better sealing windows. this was the major weakness for this design, but then again, trojan never in a million years thought these boats would be around as long as they have. you have a great design, and well worth the investment if you are considering her as your 'keeper boat'.
get back to me if you have any questions. i'm happy to assist. like tim said, the tri cabin is my passion.

[Bob Giaier]

Hello Rob, I have a 73 Tri-Cabin, bought it almost 2 years ago. I do agree with Aaron, although if you have allot of time, a barn to store her, you like hard work and lastly, you like getting epoxy on you, I can step you thru what I did. I ended up replacing the aft deck with 3/4 marine plywood using allot of West System Epoxy. I also glassed the aft deck to the transom so it is unlikely water can get under the wood again to rot things. I replaced the aft cabin walls and rebuilt the rear windows. The whole project took a winter in a barn, but it was definitely well worth it. If you get a decent price from a reputable guy go for it though.

Our 73 tri cabin has been reworked in many places now besides the aft deck and now recently it's been redecorated. We love the boat, the ride and the size. The forum guys helped me thru many of the issues I've had along the way, so you're in good hands with them. They're great wise bunch.

[aaronbocknek]

Hello Rob, I have a 73 Tri-Cabin, bought it almost 2 years ago. I do agree with Aaron, although if you have allot of time, a barn to store her, you like hard work and lastly, you like getting epoxy on you, I can step you thru what I did. I ended up replacing the aft deck with 3/4 marine plywood using allot of West System Epoxy. I also glassed the aft deck to the transom so it is unlikely water can get under the wood again to rot things. I replaced the aft cabin walls and rebuilt the rear windows. The whole project took a winter in a barn, but it was definitely well worth it. If you get a decent price from a reputable guy go for it though.

Our 73 tri cabin has been reworked in many places now besides the aft deck and now recently it's been redecorated. We love the boat, the ride and the size. The forum guys helped me thru many of the issues I've had along the way, so you're in good hands with them. They're great wise bunch.

hey bob, tri cabin aaron here. i'd love to see some pics of your vessel as well as the rebuild of the bulkheads and deck.

tri cabin aaron in middle river, md.

[aaronbocknek]

Hello all,

I joined this forum a couple years ago, but have not really spent much time here until now. I have a 1975 TriCab with twin Chrysler 400s that I use on the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay. I bought her about four years ago from her owner in Essex, MD, and took two weekends to bring her down the bay. Other than replacing a water pump and spending an easy grand on gas, it was a great trip. I love this boat and the spaciousness of her interior and charm of her teak and great lines. She does require a lot of TLC and I enjoy working on old boats and learning more and more about them. This forum is great, and I've enjoyed going back and reading posts and learning lots. So thanks to all of you for making this a great community to share and learn.

My question today is on replacing the aft deck, which I understand is a common repair with these old TriCabs. There is rot and holes that I can almost stick my foot through. If anyone has done a replacement, did you replace with glass or teak to keep the authenticity of the boat? Not sure I want to tackle this project myself, but just looking for others who have gone through this and any tips or advice you might provide.

Thanks,

Rob

rob, i called dad yesterday and discussed at length the back bulkhead and deck rebuild of BUBALA 3. the yard that he had do the work used 1/2 inch coosa board for both projects. the coosa had glass matt that was then coated with resin then painted with imron. the new windows were made by diamond sea glaze with rounded corners. the seems at the bottom of the bulkhead/deck assembly were then fused together with resin infused matt, then the teak cover boards were reinstalled after a complete cleaning and the screw heads were bunged.

hope this assists you.

tri cabin aaron in middle river, md

[Bob Giaier]

Aaron, I spent some quality time setting up a photobucket account and loaded some pictures.

I realize now I don't have much on the interior. Like I mentioned it is all redone inside. The next time I'm at the boat I'll take the interior shots. It's all retro. It'll be interesting to hear the comments on that, but for now this is all I have.

Oh, the link http://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac354/Boo99_photos/

[prowlersfish]

Thanks. I will be down this weekend and will take some photos of the deck to post. Mine is a 1975 model with rear-mounted engines and V-drives. So far, I've had no issues with these.

I berth at Deltaville Yachting Center on Broad Creek right at Stingray Point (mouth of the Rappahannock). Carter's Creek is a nice little run for us, just 8 miles up river. The bridge is 7.

I was in Deltaville yesterday . Got to love Deltaville nice folks ,a ton of marinas and 2 west marines

[rcnorman]

Aaron and Bob, thanks so much for the great advice and tips on rebuilding/replacing the aft deck. I will be looking into this as a project for the fall or early next spring, and will likely have it done since I don't have a barn and a ton of time to invest myself. Bob, I'm curious how much of your boat, if any, was glass prior to your aft deck job? I didn't think Trojan switched over to glass until 1974.

BTW, Aaron, I bought my boat on Middle River at Sunset Harbor Marina on Norman Creek. I noticed you are located near there?

I had a guy come out this past weekend and give me a quote on upgrading my electrical panel with a new AC/DC Bluewater panel and running new wire to my two outlets on the aft deck. He estimated up to $5 grand, which seemed extremely pricey to me. I was thinking half that or less. If that's the case, I'll be sticking with the 1975 non-marine grade system for a while.

[rcnorman]

Agree about Deltaville being a great place. Wish I could figure out how to telecommute from there Having TWO West Marines is a bonus!

[rcnorman]

Bob, just looked at your Photobucket pics. Great looking vessel you have there. There isn't much difference that I could tell from the design/style of your 72 model and my 75 model. The pics of the aft deck project are very helpful....give me an idea of what I'll be dealing with once I take up the existing sole on mine. The powder coated white on your salon fore windows looks really nice. Did you repaint your entire boat? The gel coat looks great in the exterior shots from what I can tell. I have residue from old pin striping that I'm working on removing and then will try to compound and buff. A paint job is too far down the list right now.

[Bob Giaier]

Thanks. Mine was like Aaron described. Water leaks thru the back windows and rots the aft wall down to and including the aft deck.. Since the frame around the wondows and the support across the boat at the base of the aft wall is all teak, that should all be sound. Water also gets under the deck at the transom and rots the mohogany plate that is glassed into the transom, so you probaly have to cut that out and replace it.

The white powder coated window frames are really holding up well. I also did the front windows in the solon. Apparently allot of the tri-cabins from what i see don't have windows there, but mine does.

I was really lucky in that whoever had the boat before me took care of the fibre glass hull and kept it polished. We rubbed it out anyways with 3M rubbing compound and then waxed it. I'm still trying to get the cabin and above the rub rail glass rubbed out and waxed, but I haven't had time, plus I'm reallly trying to enjoy the boat at this point.

[rcnorman]

I also have the front salon windows and really like the extra natural light they provide. Yeah, I could easily spend all my time (and money) working on the boat, and never have time to enjoy her. Glad you are enjoying her now.