Trojan Boat Forum

There is a high probability that I will be moving my F-32 from Lake Michigan to the Gulf. It will be wet-slipped and I have raw water cooling.

I have been doing some research and there seems to be 2 camps; Salt water will destroy a raw cooled boat in a matter of minutes and people have been running raw cooled boats in salt water for thousands of hours.....

With that being said, I am also been reading about engine flush kits where one can flush the motors with city water on the dock side. I am curious if anyone is doing this and which products they use.

The second is that I will probably need to zinc up the boat and I would like to know which points to hit.... I have one on the stern and one on each shaft. I have seen them on rudders, but I dont have any there at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

There is one schoold of thought that says that you cannot have too many zincs. I have mine in the gulf and at the moment I have a large one on the stern and one on each shaft. Make sure that your grounding system is in good shape and that all through hulls are properly grounded.

As to Fresh water cooling, salt water is just about the best corosive ever invented so with that there are a couple of fresh water conversion kits available. The main problem is the exhause risers and manifolds. if they crack from eing exposed to hot salt water they will pump a large amount of water into the engine and if not flushed immediately you are looking at a complete re-power.

I have had both and fresh water cooling is the way to go.

BTW where on the gulf are you movint to?

I have a huge zinc on the rear. It's something like 12" x 8". Although I am not sure it is actually zinc or magnesium.

I moved to the Houston area and I am looking at either Matagorda or Freeport to park the boat. It will be wet-slipped.

I have been reading about some in0line flush kits. Basically the idea is that you do a bit of plumbing and run dock-side fresh water through the motors when you dock for the day.

The one on the stern needs to be zinc. aluminum is used in fresh water, zinc is for salt water. The basic flush kit is to introduce fresh water instead of salt water. this can be accomplished by installing a T fitting in the line and closint the sea cock. Just remember to open the sea cock before leafing the dock. the fluxh kits accomplish the same thing but they may be a little more costly.

My 74 F32 has always been in salt water used only, salt water cooled, I have 8 zincs, 2 on each shaft, one on each rudder and one on each trim tab, my 1973 F32 was the same with one extra zinc on each trim tab and one motor was fresh water cooled, my 79 F32 had one shaft zinc each shaft, one on each rudder and one on each trim tab , that had fresh water cooled motors and a giant transom zinc which never seems to rott (the others did), that boat stays in the water for years at a time so the extra zinc is good, I see and have had no problems with raw cooled motors, I actually kind of like them due to their simplicity

K4282 wrote: my 79 F32 had fresh water cooled motors and a giant transom zinc which never seems to rott, that boat stays in the water for years at a time hence the extra zinc, I see and have had no problems with raw cooled motors, I actually prefer them

Yes, mine is a '78 and I have a giant block of some kind of metal on the back. It was always used in Lake Michigan, so I am not actually sure what it is. I'll replace it for good measure.

Good news on the raw water motors. How many hours have you ran them? Have you ever flushed them dockside?

That "block" should be a zinc and grounded to your battery. Electrolysis is different where you boat and the type of water your in. For example if your at a active marina with lots of power running you'll want the extra protection opposed to myself i'm in a secluded cove alone on a private dock. My current boat I purchased last fall from a guy who claimed as the hour meters state to have 550 ish on the rebuilt but original blocks from 1974 non of which he had paperwork for and prior to his purchase in 2007 and post sale i realized the meters were disconnected. I'm not sure what exactly was rebuilt. To the best of my understanding you don't rebuild used raw cooled motors, they will rott and water passages corrode and oxidize. For me at this point their used motors with a number of hours and I'll replace them when needed, no need to change what isnt broken. Everything i've read about converting them once they've raw is bad, the cost to convert, then the antifreeze releases things internally which isnt good. I've never flushed mine, I've run them pretty hard at times, everything works as she should pushing the 13,000 lbs in upwards of 30 mph. Raw cooled is less hoses and plumbing, no heat exchanges to clogged up, but you will have to do manifolds and risers every 6 years or so. I did mine this year out of preventative maintenance as as they were at least 8 years old. Using a temp laser gun my starboard motor ran ever so slightly warmer at the front of the motor, better safe then sorry, they were obviously on their way out. Pic Below changing old manifolds and post at steady 29 mph

Thanks!

Yes, I think that is my current plan.... run it till the rudders fall off...

This was a great boat for trolling Lake Michigan, but I am not sure it will be such a great platform for fishing the Gulf. I probably want an express with diesels or a CC with outboards. I prefer the former. Otherwise, I am not sure there is much value in re-powering her.

Depending on where you are on the gulf there are many different types of fishing. From chasing Cobia on the beach in March to bottom bumping for snapper and grouper or trolling for kings or sail or dolphin or wahoo. A F32 should be able to fish for most things, however if you are planning to take 20 or so people fishing at the same time, you might be a little short of room. Just where are you moving on the gulf. I have lived in most Gulf south state and have fished from the Chesapeake all the way around to Louisiana. I am currently in Panama City and actually I plan to fish a Tri cabin. There is enough room and I am not planning a 60 mile run in the fall for yellowfin. these old bones do not find that enjoyable any more.

I'm not worried about the number of people so much as I am my operating radius. I was running Salmon charters on Lake Michigan before moving down here. I could take 6 passengers maximum per USCG and that was enough. I was also spoiled that my operating radius was less than 10 miles.

I moved to the Houston area; Richmond to be exact. I am looking at either Matagorda or Freeport. Either one will be 6-8 miles just to get to open water. So I am looking at a 20 mile per-trip minimum. I have rear tank option, so I am holding 210 gals, but I am not real sure how far that will take me.

This is a whole new fishing and learning experience for me so starting out closer to home would be ideal. We like to eat fish in my house, so snapper and dorado are high on the list. Otherwise, C&R fun fishing will do.

I can understand your running radius issues. I also have a 258 Mako with twin thursty 175s. I would fish out of Destin and run out to about 80 miles in surch of the elusive yellow fin. I also fished out of Venice La and had to run about an hour down the river. The Mako has a 150 gal tank and is probably uses about the same amount of fuel.

After I get the Trojan running (one engine a complete rebuild) I am going to start on remodeling the mako. I want to close the transom andadd a bracket. Two new engines are in the plans as I am a happy boat owner with two boats with bad engines. the Trojan should be operational in about Feb or March, just in time for the Cobia season.

The only way you can be sure of your fuel comsumption is to run the boat. You can used either flow scans or have some extra fuel on board that you can use to fill the tanks after you run them dry. By having more than one tank you can determine your range with one and then switch to another. I have had a bad experience using multiple tanks. I was out fishing with a friend and he ran his main tank dry and then switched to one that had about 3 gal of water in the tank. We did get back but it was a fun experience.

horhay1946 wrote:A F32 should be able to fish for most things, however if you are planning to take 20 or so people fishing at the same time, you might be a little short of room.

Gotta weigh in on this piece of this one... I have had max of (I think it was) 16 people aboard my F32 to host a (near shore) offshore wedding ceremony. Never again. The boat sat 4-6" lower in the water, was extremely sluggish in handling (steering and gear / throttle control under 1500RPM / 8 knots), in FLAT water. Even with me having people 'safely' distributed - some low and inside at the dinette, some evenly distributed in the salon, some in the cockpit, and no more than 5 bodies total on the fly bridge.

Taking an F32 out with a 20 body load in any conditions with 2-6' waves or swells, would be foolish and essentially putting lives at risk. It's not the 'room', it's the safety factor.

The 20 people was to inject a little humor. Only a large party fishing boat of about 75 feet could hold that amount of people. Its not all about the weight its about the amount of room you have to walk around and fight a fish. I found the best number on my Mako was 3 or 4. Any more than that and there was no room to manuver.

horhay1946 wrote: The only way you can be sure of your fuel comsumption is to run the boat. You can used either flow scans or have some extra fuel on board that you can use to fill the tanks after you run them dry. By having more than one tank you can determine your range with one and then switch to another. I have had a bad experience using multiple tanks. I was out fishing with a friend and he ran his main tank dry and then switched to one that had about 3 gal of water in the tank. We did get back but it was a fun experience.

I've been looking at the Lowrance EP-60R for some time. I really could not justify the cost until now. My port motor burns a little more fuel than the other; so even if I get one, I can put it on the port motor.

I try to balance the usage between the front and rear tanks. I never let them get down to empty.... I'm afraid to know what is at the bottom of them...

Full or empty your always pulling from the bottom of the tank .