Trojan Boat Forum

Hello everyone, I'm in the final strokes of purchasing a 1984 Tri-cabin Trojan. It will be replacing my Carver Riviera. I wanted a boat with more room down below to work on the engines and related below deck equipment without having to stand on my head!!! I've looked at several examples her in Ontario, and along the St. Lawrence in upper New York. I'm happy with what I see so far in this particular example. My next visit to further inspect the boat is scheduled for next week.

This is my first post , of I'm sure many more to come. Can someone tell me where to find the main hull drains? Are they easily accessible for haul-out procedures, as I do my own winterizing and bilge washing/cleaning.

thanks in advance
Warren
Ivy Lea, Ontario

The Trojan I'm considering, has not had it's deck stanchions re-bedded for several year, if ever. It's stored under cover 12 months of the year, so there could be deck leaks from dried out sealant, but no one would know, unless it got caught in a heavy rain. If I purchase this boat, the first job would be to re-bed everything as a proactive action. The interior fabric and all wood trim is original and absolutely immaculate. It would involve removing a fair amount of side trim to access the base of each stanchion, but it must be done....I don't want to find a leak two years from now, that I could have prevented today. I'm assuming each stanchion must be fastened through the deck to some sort of a backing plate, probably a bolt and nut arrangement, that would require holding a wrench on the nut on the underside....am I correct?

Has anyone ever completed this task? What are the worst locations to access? Are their any tricks? What sealant would be recommended ?

I'm a new member and possible new Trojan owner, so any help from others would be much appreciated.
Warren

Are you having her surveyed as part of your purchase requirement? If not you should and the surveyor will check for wet decks and stringers..... Among the key things to be checked on this type of boat....... They are the most expensive items to fix correctly.
The stanchion rebidding is a two person job..... There are backing plates and nuts below the deck and behind the interior finish, not too difficult to get at.
Personally I am partial to butyl rubber for bedding the stanchions.
There are several Tri owners here who can help with the work involved in getting access to the stanchion nuts.

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have a copy of the most recent survey. The owner had it done for sales purposes. All stanchions are secure except for one that shows minor moisture at it's base. I didn't want to go climbing through the bilge looking for the drains, without some idea where to look.
Warren

Warren wrote:Thank you for your prompt reply. I have a copy of the most recent survey. The owner had it done for sales purposes. All stanchions are secure except for one that shows minor moisture at it's base. I didn't want to go climbing through the bilge looking for the drains, without some idea where to look.
Warren

Has this become the norm now for the seller to get the survey, this is not the first time I'm seeing this?
I rather trust my surveyor who would be focused on the buyers protection......
What about the deck area which is away from the stanchions? Like near pulpit, windlass and hatches?

In my 1977, there is one hull drain and it's under the floor in the v-birth.

Geeez, only one drain plug? Even my 28ft Carver has two brass " T "- handle drains: one at stern, one in the mid engine compartment.

Hi Warren,

I'm located 30 miles north of you on the Rideau and I also drive a Tri-Cabin that I purchased in '98. Mine is an older model (1974) but I have 2 hull drains. One in the bottom centre of the transom and the second one at virtually the lowest point of the bow (under the v-bunks). Good luck, Rick

Hi Rick,
Thanks for the tip on the drain locations of your boat. I will keep that in mind for next week when I return to do a more thorough inspection of my potential purchase.
Warren
ps if I decide on this boat....next summer is a planned trip up the Rideau from here in Gananoque.

[/quote]Has this become the norm now for the seller to get the survey, this is not the first time I'm seeing this?
I rather trust my surveyor who would be focused on the buyers protection......
What about the deck area which is away from the stanchions? Like near pulpit, windlass and hatches?[/quote]

You really shouldn't trust a sellers survey. Also, a insurance survey and a purchase survey are two completely different things. Does the survey say "purchase" at the top or "condition and valuation" at the top, are all the pages there? For example, a insurance survey would list a older Bimini top as serviceable and take its condition into consideration for the boats overall value but a purchase survey will tell you it needs to be replaced and let you know it will cost you 3K to replace it. Information that is useful when you buy the boat.

Even if it is a purchase survey, I would look the boat over real close, talk to the surveyor, and have a engine survey done. The cost of a new repower for these old boats can exceed 50% of the purchase price and a lot of headache.

The advantage of a survey always goes to the guy paying for it, always!

Thank you all for your thoughts on surveys. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't get a survey done by someone "I was paying for".

Regardless of how thorough the sellers survey was or how current it is, I'm still planning on a FRESH survey for next Monday Sept 9. The owner has been very co-operative and more than flexible, so that in itself indicates to me, that as far as he is aware, there is nothing to hide, and there should be few if any surprises or issues that we are not already aware of.

Thanks again everyone. As a "new-be" your thoughts, and suggestions and answers to some of my "pretty dumb" questions have been most helpful in teaching me what to look for . I've looked for some time to find a decent tri-cabin and have looked at several. Most have had a bit too much in the way of extra stuff....multiple radios, gps's, etc, or were requiring a bit too much work for my liking. I just want a clean, decent, stock, boat, so Monday's survey will make or break the deal.

Regards
Warren

Welcome Warren. Regarding re-bedding stanchions, they are (were) through bolted. Trojan used what appear to be zinc or aluminum tee-nut-like contraptions. When you poke around the bilge, if you do it thoroughly, you will probably find washers that are about 14mm square, with a ratty hole in the center. These have fallen off of the remainder of the nut, which is still threaded to the bolt.

I have not done all of my stanchions, but I have done all of them on the aft part of the boat -- everything with railings and not lifelines. Among the hardest was in the bathtub area. When you get to a tight spot, hold the new fender washer in place with a dab of sealant, and hot-melt the new nut to a wooden paint stirrer. The sealant (I recommend 3M 4200) will keep the washer from falling down before you get the nut on. Have the outside person screw into the nut while the inside person steers the nut onto the bolt. Once it gets started, the glue breaks off of the metal. I was always able to then get a flat wrench on the nut to tighten up.

I also replaced both of my underwater exhausts and my water tank. I'll eventually get around to starting a thread on those. I have an '85 Tri on the Chesapeake. I looked at 10 others before I bought this one. The best value on maintenance that you can get is spent on a survey that keeps you from buying junk. I spent $2000 to not buy a boat once...... Make sure that you attend the survey, and get an engine survey done too (they are different). Borescope, compression test, etc. A one-time oil sample analysis will be of limited value, unless it detects coolant or something else that you don't need to have an established trend to evaluate. Good luck on the purchase!

Thank you P-Dogg
Warren

P-Dogg, do all the stanchions have through botls? I am pretty sure that I will need to rebed all mine and effect a couple of small repairs to some fibreglass in one or two spots. What all is inviolved in getting these off, and then bolted back in place?