Trojan Boat Forum

I have a 1965 Wooden Trojan that the title says is 28'. Does anyone know the hull speed of this boat? I haven't been able to get her to more than 11 MPH -- I have the 327 Rambler motor (single).

Wow...so many factors come into play here.

Have no idea of condition of hull, weight, running gear, clean bottom, etc.
Perhaps modifications have been made over the years to effect this speed, prop change, etc...?

Perhaps a little more boat info and background and someone can offer some advise. I'm not too familiar with those older wooden boats and their speed expectations. But someone here is I'm sure! Sounds like a nice boat- good luck.

Thanks Striperman for your comeback. You must love to chase line sides as much as I do. I am taking the boat out of the water on the 4th of April to do an insurance survey. I bought the boat for $1200 from an old guy who was tired of her. I do know she weighs 7200# dry. She feels really heavy under throttle -- does not move around in the waves as much as some Chris's I've been on. I didn't have her surveyed for that price (figure I can't get hurt at all for the money). We are on the California Delta and regularly chase Stripers and Sturgeon. My daughter just caught a 20 pounder the other day, now she's hooked as well.

Chances are that it's been sitting in the water for quite awhile? Bottom growth will drastically impair a hull's speed through water. Just ask your surveyor!

Yes, my moniker says it all. Rockfish as we call them on the east coast is what I fish for. Gotta love two things. Fishing... and Trojans boats!

Keep us posted on your progress.

Hi jayfroman......where on the delta are you? I have a Trojan F30 that I berth at Holland Riverside Marina...............John

Don't know how much help this might be, but my father used to have a 28' 1969 'Sea Skiff' model (100% woodie). It's a bit newer than yours, but the hull dynamics might not be too different. For power he had a single Chrysler 383 (260hp I believe). At 2000 RPM it would do about 12knots; 15 knots at 2500, around 20 at 3000. We rarely took it beyond that, but I believe we did have it up to about 3600 RPM and 28 knots at one point (trying to make a bridge that only lifts every half hour).

Do you know how many horses that engine puts out ? You also don't say what RPMs you are running at.

If you maxing out at 11MPH though, the engine could be very tired, major propping issue, or issues with growth or the hull absorbing a LOT of water as per the other posts. At that speed, you would be just barely on plane, or fighting your way on... If you can only get 11 out of it, you would probably be better off running around 1500RPM (8 knots or so) - roughly hull speed - the engine wouldn't be working so hard, and you would save gobs on gas.

I dont think the rambler was the original engine in that boat. If its been repowered you may have thw wrong props for the engine size.

I agree with all possible suggestions for your lack of speed so far. A 327 Rambler? Only 327 (CID) I know is a chevy block and it puts out 210 horses. Lots of power to get you up to 20+ If it was a repower the other possibile issue could be the drive gear ratio. What kind of drives do you have? Paragon? Borg-Warner Velvet drives? Ratio? Could be someone dropped this drive train in and hoped for the best.

jimbo36 wrote:I agree with all possible suggestions for your lack of speed so far. A 327 Rambler? Only 327 (CID) I know is a chevy block and it puts out 210 horses. Lots of power to get you up to 20+ If it was a repower the other possibile issue could be the drive gear ratio. What kind of drives do you have? Paragon? Borg-Warner Velvet drives? Ratio? Could be someone dropped this drive train in and hoped for the best.

Rambler did make a 327 , nothing in common with a chevy , good luck finding parts .