Trojan Boat Forum

My wife finally said of her own volition, go out and buy a boat. Well, I guess to keep my marriage together, I'll comply. Expect my level of postings to increase as I plea for your assistance. I believe in setting goals to help me move forward, so my next goal is to graduate to Sporadic User! I look forward to eventually being able to answer more questions than I ask. In the meantime....

How much does it cost to have a helm enclosure made for something the size of a tricab?

How much does it cost to rebuild a 350ish gas engine?

How long do FWC gas engines last (on the Chesapeake)?

How troublesome are the underwater exhausts on the mid-engine tricabs?

How often do gas engine risers need to be replaced?

What is your favorite online boat supply store?

What do you think of this boat, and what is a reasonable price to offer: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1985/Tr ... ted-States

and this one: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1987/Tr ... ted-States

and this one: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1981/Tr ... ted-States

and this one: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1983/Tr ... ted-States


Any other words of wisdom are also encouraged. Thanks, Perry

How much does it cost to have a helm enclosure made for something the size of a tricab? varies on the qualty of what you want and your area . On my f36 conv it cost me 4k use first class materals .

How much does it cost to rebuild a 350ish gas engine?
Will very greatly depending on what needs to be done .

How long do FWC gas engines last (on the Chesapeake)?

Taken care of 2500 hours or more can be done . taken care of is the key not taken care of there hour can be few.

How troublesome are the underwater exhausts on the mid-engine tricabs?

I have been on this site for years and have not heard of any issues .

How often do gas engine risers need to be replaced?

varies on the amount of salt and the care taken . But say 5 years add for brackish or fresh water and ones that are flushed . time not hours are a factor here , in fact high hours may help keep them clean .

What is your favorite on line boat supply store?
I buy most boating supply's off line but I wound say Beacon Marine , and maybe defender ?



Any other words of wisdom are also encouraged. Thanks, Perry

do it now before she says no.

Sorry I can't give better answers but there are no cut and dry answers , I am sure others will give there opinions also

If you can swing it, the '87 is the way to go!! You'd love it! But the first one looks like a great deal, especialy with less than 500 hrs and radar arch and radar.

Enclosures can be very expensive depending on what materials, like strato-glass. But the more you spend now it should last much longer. My canvas guys tells me the cheaper canvas will start to go in a few years. The Canvas I have should go about 10, with re-stitching every 4 years (i just had mine done last year)

Rebuilding an engine? are you thinking about the future? 2000+ hrs at least. But since you'll only put 50-100 hrs a year on her you can see how many (approx) years you might have left with good mantanence.

I love my underwater exhaust.... we can hold a normal conversation at near WOT

you should get atleast 4 yrs out of new risers, but not gauranteed. I've noticed Crusader risers seem to last a little longer than Merc

You're on the right track Perry, and I know all to well the bug that's inside of you now

Ron

I can't speak to most of the mechanical questions since I'm not a mechanic, but I agree with Ron, I love the underwater exhaust and have never had an issue. I have them inspected every year when I put it in the water.

I love my tri-cabin and any of the ones you listed look like good boats. I agree with Paul, make a decision and pull the trigger before she changes her mind. A good survey and sea trial should help you decide.

don't worry about the Engines so much worry about the risers and raw water pumps those kill the engine find out when work was done on those things. What kind of head system ? The older boats lay out aren't that good in the aft-cabin one Queen is the way to go. And the under water exhaust works, wish I had it..

The first one has my interest the most the arch is a big plus the 87 also look great but the Price is a lot higher . I would look at them both .

And is you get the first one and don't like the arch Ron knows someone that will help you remove it .

The first one looks like it has been well cared for. The engines and engine room looked grteat. Oh and No one said Survey!

Can't speak to the tri-cabin but had a merc 350 rebuilt last year to the tune of $6500......I didn't do any of the work and had to replace the block....price includes hauling the boat, removing and replacing canvas...oh, and bottom painting....engine alone was $5000..............John

Re the 'any other words of wisdom' question ... Rule #1 about buying a boat : figure out how and where you want to use it, and make sure you are looking at models that support what you want to do with it.

You seem to be focusing on the tricabin - don't want to throw any monkey wrenches into the works, but think about :
- where you want to use it?
- cruising, or sitting at the docks?
- day trips, or longer (1-2 week), or longer still (2-3 month) trips?
- live aboard?
- just you and the wife, or kids too?
- want to have guests over night?
- relatively calm, or possibly rough water?
- fishing?
- do you want to travel fast, or slow?
- any restrictions on draft (due to water depth) where you want to go?
- any restrictions on length, or beam, because of docking available?
- do you want to trailer so you can move to different bodies of water easier?
- etc...

Every boat is perfect for certain kinds of uses, but may not work for uses it wasn't intended to service....

Whether the tricab is the right boat for you or not, hope you find what works best! Good luck!

Personaly, and not to offend any of the Tri guys that have them, I won't have an aluminum radar arch on my boat. I just don't like the look for my boat.
My thinking is.... I'm going to put a hardtop on!
It eliminates the need for canvas, for ever, and gives me more room for mounting stuff

Ron

rbcool wrote:Personaly, and not to offend any of the Tri guys that have them, I won't have an aluminum radar arch on my boat. I just don't like the look for my boat.
My thinking is.... I'm going to put a hardtop on!
It eliminates the need for canvas, for ever, and gives me more room for mounting stuff

Ron

I have seriously thought about doing this also but so far have not even researched prices. I am like you Ron in that I don't like the look of the aluminum radar arch - my own personal choice.

I am thinking it would be quite pricey, but at $5k a pop for new canvas and glass, it would probably pay for itself within 5-7 years. If you ever get any pricing please pass it along.

Having a hard top won't save but so much on the cost of canvas , I still spent 4k on it with the hard top . I do like the look of the radar arch my self but definitely like the hard top a lot more .


I think I have hijacked this . back to the OP

On the surface #1 looks like the best deal But its what you like that counts .

Other than being a dock sitter the yearly running costs of a gas boat (of that style) can very quickly make all those major costs you asked about seem small. You should budget for a minimum of say $3K in fuel per year


Boating is not a cheap pastime.... but if one were on the golf course/ski hill for the same amount of time it is less expensive.
Just saying..... see too many people jump in to a Trojan because they easily cover the price of admission (around $13/15K) and then get scared off by the true costs of running a boat of that type.

As Captainmaniac said you should think about what kind of boating you want to do... then decide if diesel, trawler, planing or displacement hull is the best way to go.... size boat for how many on board regularly etc:

"Words of wisdom"

Keep in mind that the cost of the boat is only a portion of the cost of boating.

BOAT = Break Out Another Thousand. Repeatedly

Don't want to scare you however thought you should know this.

The cheapest thing you'll ever do is buy the boat; owning it is what's expensive.

I have paid 3 times the cost of my boat in slip fees alone over the past 6 years. Kind of scary when you think about it.