About to pull the trigger....

bilomal · Post by **bilomal** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 3:24 pm

Hi All... I'm currently in the market for 36-40 foot semi-displacement boat with diesel power. I've looked at a lot of boats and have narrowed my search to a 1980 Trojan 36 Tri-Cabin or a Canoe Cove.

The Trojan is powered by twin Chrysler/Mitsubishi diesels. One with 200 hrs (was completely rebuilt in 2006) and one with 1300 hours. New props, new shafts, new hard top, full enclosure. The boat is in very nice shape, looks great and has great living space. I will be getting a survey done, however, before I place an offer, I want to go over it with a fine tooth comb. My question is: Are there any specific areas I need to look for in this model. I read on some posts that the aft deck on older models were a problem. Was this an issue for 1980 models? Any help would be appreciated.

Also, I'm located BC, Canada. Is it my imagination or are there very few Trojans in these parts? I would be interested in hearing from any other Pacific Northwest Trojan owners (especially 36 tri-cabins) to find out how this boat performs in our waters and weather conditions.

Many thanks ...

Bill

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 5:45 pm

hi bill, welcome to the forum. i grew up with the tri cabin as you can probably see from researching some of the threads i've posted here. i have a 1982 tri cabin and absolutely love her, as does my 'other half' who now actually enjoys boating somewhat. (he was sort of tossed into it hook line and sinker when i bought a f-32 in 2008) anyway, ask anyone on the forum that knows me, i'm sort of the defacto go to guy for the tri cabin. the only issue that i can think of are some of the basic trojan goof ups such as always drilling right into a deck and never putting epoxy around the hole (think anchor chain pass thru on the forward deck) and the usual soft spots in that area. check the underside backing plate of the windless and pulpit from the rope locker. go into the locker and look up. the condition of the wood backing plate should be sound and not mushy. also, trojan was notorious for having window tracks that did not hold up, but then again, no one at trojan thought these ladies would be around as long as they have been. look for soft areas on the deck towards the bottom of the forward cabin window tracks. if there was water intrusion there, it will have formed a soft spot near the forward seat port and starboard. be mindful of soft areas around the pump out deck plates and for leaking rail mounts. if your vessel has the engines mounted under the salon floor, chances are the forward stateroom and starboard hanging locker have vinyl covering that tends to sag and peel when there is water intrusion from the stanchion basese above and the starboard running light. once that is corrected, then the covering can be replaced. i am going to have mine done in either fabric or carpet like carver or silverton uses (older models).
look for a soft spot around the helm seat too. i actually looked at a tri cabin last year that had soft spots all over the helm area, this is very rare though.
i have a ton of suggestions so feel free to contact me here or via email.
regards.
aaron in baltimore

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:02 pm

Welcome to the forum & good luck with your new purchase. I, like Aaron, am partial to the tri-cabin, but either of the boats you are looking at is a great boat.

Keep us updated on your quest, even if you decide against the Trojan. If you get the tri-cabin please post photos for us to enjoy.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:00 pm

Welcome to the Forum .

The Tri cabin Is a very nice boat , But 2 things come to mind .one thing is getting parts and service for the engines Chrysler/Mitsubishi diesels are not real common at least around here . the second is your looking for a semi-displacement boat , the tri is really a planing hull .but it can be used at displacement speeds and many are .

bilomal · Post by **bilomal** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 10:03 pm

Thanks for the information Aaron. Funny that you should mention the window tracks. When the broker was showing me the boat, he made sure to mention to keep the tracks clean and check for ware or else they could become a problem. I will definitely pay close attention to the areas you mentioned. The current owners have owned the boat for 20+ years and it appears that they took very good care of it.

I may have some additional questions once I go through the boat more thoroughly. Hopefully this is OK.

I've been boating for about 5 years, mostly river boating with a 20ft welded aluminum with a 90 HP outboard. Great boat for the river and fishing, but my wife and I want to start cruising the BC coast. I'm a little nervous about cruising with a boat that is twice the size, but based on my research, Trojan's are very sea worthy and handle well in about anything that coastal waters can throw at you.

Tim, I will definitely post some pics once I get ownership (hoping!). She sure is a pretty boat.

Thanks again for your help

Bill

aaronbocknek · Post by **aaronbocknek** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:40 am

bilomal wrote:Thanks for the information Aaron. Funny that you should mention the window tracks. When the broker was showing me the boat, he made sure to mention to keep the tracks clean and check for ware or else they could become a problem. I will definitely pay close attention to the areas you mentioned. The current owners have owned the boat for 20+ years and it appears that they took very good care of it.

I may have some additional questions once I go through the boat more thoroughly. Hopefully this is OK.

I've been boating for about 5 years, mostly river boating with a 20ft welded aluminum with a 90 HP outboard. Great boat for the river and fishing, but my wife and I want to start cruising the BC coast. I'm a little nervous about cruising with a boat that is twice the size, but based on my research, Trojan's are very sea worthy and handle well in about anything that coastal waters can throw at you.

Tim, I will definitely post some pics once I get ownership (hoping!). She sure is a pretty boat.

Thanks again for your help

Bill

bill, is there a link to the boat you are looking at? i'd love to see what she looks like. also, i went to yachtworld.com this morning and looked at some canoe cove 41' tri cabins.... they are dead ringers for tolleycraft boats of that era. either that or the 'monk' design is common for your area.

regards.
tri cabin aaron

bilomal · Post by **bilomal** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:34 am

bill, is there a link to the boat you are looking at? i'd love to see what she looks like. also, i went to yachtworld.com this morning and looked at some canoe cove 41' tri cabins.... they are dead ringers for tolleycraft boats of that era. either that or the 'monk' design is common for your area.

Here is the link as requested:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1980/Tr ... ith/Canada

k9th · Post by **k9th** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:41 pm

Bill -

That is really a nice looking boat. It appears to have several custom features that were not standard from the factory like the hard top and the queen bed and all of the custom woodwork in the master stateroom. Later model tri-cabins had the queen berth but it was centered between port and starboard sides and facing forward. Yours appears to be turned 90 degrees.

I don't think the cabinet doors and drawers on the starboard side wall in the salon were standard either but they sure look great. I've also never seen all of that wood in the V-berth - it also looks great. Your refrigerator also seems to be up about 4 inches off of the salon floor unless that is just a facing plate to keep it in place.

It looks like she has been well cared for. The shine on the fiberglass will attest to that.

Aaron will be better able to speak to what was standard or offered as options, but with the ones I looked at before buying ours and the ones I have seen since, none have the items I mentioned above.

Looks like you found a great tri-cabin.

wowzer52 · Post by **wowzer52** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:15 pm

It would be interesting if you got hold of Bob at Beacon Marine and aquired the build sheet on that boat to see if it did come from the factory with all those extras. The diesels are nice.

bilomal · Post by **bilomal** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:59 pm

The broker mentioned that all of the salon teak woodwork, the reconfiguration and cabinetry of the aft stateroom was completed in a re-fit in 2006. This is when they hauled out the starboard engine for a complete re-build. Interesting side note. To get the engine out they cut out a 5x5 foot (approximately) piece of the salon ceiling/roof. Rather than re-sealing the salon the way it was after the engine was back in its place, he made a removable cover. So on nice days, you can have a sun roof in your salon. I thought it was a great idea. Should I buy the boat, I was thinking I could turn it into a removable moon roof and increase the ambient salon light.

The refrigerator is actually that size. It's a domestic LG refrigerator.