Trojan Boat Forum

I'm driving a few hours to go see a Trojan F32 sedan tomorrow. Boats a 1973. The boat has been used for years as a charter boat on lake michigan. Recent repower with 350ci 300hp motors and rebuilt trans. He said in the past he repaired some bad stringers and recently the back deck.

Anything in particular I should look for? I'm going to use it for chartering so solid and reliable is very important.
Being used as a charter boat in pictures it looks to be in pretty good shape. Nothing fantastic but average from the other boats I have seen.

What kind of cruise speed should I expect with twin 300hp motors and what MPG or GPH would be a estimate.

I have been looking for a F32 or a F36 but the 36's seem to be much more money. Where is the extra 4'. Is the back deck bigger on the 36?

Been a long time fan of Trojans. and excited to move up to one. Price is pretty good on this one and with the repower I feel maybe it might be more reliable and 300hp seems to be more then the others I have seen online. My typical daily runs are 10 miles each way and slow trolling for 4-6 hours.

I also am planning to remove the fly bridge. Is it just screwed on?

Any other advise is appreciated. If it looks good to me I will likely put money down with a contract for a sea trial and inspection when the boats ready to go in. The guy has a fleet of 5 or 6 Trojans but the others are all F36s I think.

BTW. thanks everyone for your posts on this site. Been doing a lot of reading and its great to have a forum like this to educate me.

on the F36 vs F32 about 2' longer cockpit ( back deck) the other 2 foot in inside its also wider in the back I believe . The 36 has higher gunnels too the 32 is 12000 lbs the 36 is 16000 (dry)

You may get 1 mpg at cruse on the 32 . Bridge is screwed on .

I do not own a F32, but have spent a considerable amount of time onboard and assisting with maintaince.

The F32 with the stock Chrysler small blocks will cruise around 16 knots (18mph). With the beefed up 5.7L blocks she should cruise around 18-19 knots. Fuel consumption on my carbureated 5.0L blocks was around 20-22gph combined at the top edge of my cruise speed on a similar weight express cruiser. I would imagine it would be similar on this boat. Electric fuel pumps will help.

As Prowler mentioned the F32 has a smaller rear deck and the gunnels are much lower. Trojan used a railing to make up the loss of height. They are easier to get in and out of as a result, unless you have a very tall pier. Fish room wise, three people is about it on the deck with an occasional forth for a quad hookup fight. We usually left the salon open and people would move back and forth between the salon and deck as comfortable.

The original pickup tubes in the saddle F32 fuel tanks are rubber. They have a habit of breaking down over time. Changing them out is fairly straightforward. The screw-in assembly that holds the hoses sometimes cracks and requires welding. If you find the engines dying from lack of fuel, but the tanks still have fuel, check the pickups.

Our friends have been very happy with their F32. It is a stable and dry platform for whatever activities your day may bring. They are very responsive in tight quarters. In following seas the tail will walk the bow. In a beam sea they will rock like a pendulum if several people are on the flybridge. Not as bad as a Bertram, but worse than an express cruiser.

Good luck with your search!

We had a 1978 F32. Not sure exactly what is different on a 1973, but from what I have seen in general, the big 3 things that go wrong with F series boats are soft decks in the bow and gunnel areas, rusting original fuel tanks and rotted stringers. You can fix all of these if you are willing to spend the money and/or the time. Our F32 had soft decks in the bow due to the original improper installation of the deck pipe and anchor chocks. They were just drilled and caulked in place. Over the years the caulking failed and water intruded into the balsa core. Cut the deck out and replace the core and then reglass the deck. Our F32 had already had the fuel tanks replaced with aluminum tanks in the lazarette. No tanks in the engine room which made access much better around the outboard side of the engines. Ours had solid stringers so that was not an issue.

Of course there are many more possible problems, but these 3 are very common. Good luck with yours. We had 318's in ours. If yours has new engines that is a big deal.

Thanks for the responses.

I check it out today and pulled the trigger pending a sea trial and inspection when spring comes. The boat seemed to be solid. He had replaced one of the stringers under the motor as it had some rod in the screw holes. The front seemed fine. The gunnels also. Interior not bad but has some interesting wiring that needs to be redone. The only thing I didn't like is the back deck I guess was soft so 2 years ago they pulled it out and put some sort of plastic board in its place. I serves it purpose but doesn't look very good. the motors have under 200 hours and are 2 years old. They look brand new. Big external fuel pump. Big edelbrock carb. Has some random old electronics including radar.

The speeds he was claiming seemed to be a little fast to me. The motors are 350's bored out so it gets 300hp. With that at 2800rpms he said you are at 22-24kts. WOT at 4400-4500rpms was 34kts.

He had another F32 and currently few F36's and was comparing numbers to them.

All in all the back deck is odd but functional. otherwise seems like a solid boat and if it runs as good as I hope it seems like a good deal at 7k. Really all it needs to fish is a autopilot and he has switched to Hydro steering so that will be easy.

I'm really excited. I think its a great step into the Trojan family. I'm hoping this will get me a few years until I can move up to a F36.

A survey was done on the boat in 2013 after he put the motors in and repaired the stringers. Only a few small issues but nothing mechanical or structural.

Always get your own survey . and look real close at the engines for non marine parts , like the big carb and fuel pump .

Original specs from Trojan suggest those speeds at those RPMs, but once a boat gets loaded up with stuff and at its age, unlikely to hit that. At 2800 you will be closer to 18kn, and WOT will be around 26kn. On mine (Chrysler 360s) I average about 1.1mpg (across regular mix of idle and cruise speeds).

If the back deck is white is could be King Starboard - basically a marine plastic replacement for plywood.

And +1 on getting your own survey. You don't know how good or bad the surveyor he used was, or if they were a 'buddy' who gave him a nice survey so he could get insurance. Always hire your own guy, and find someone who is reputable.

One thing to think about : repowered 2 years ago and rebuilt both transmissions... and selling for 7K. I would think the repower and rebuilds would probably have cost more than that... is that a flag?

captainmaniac wrote: One thing to think about : repowered 2 years ago and rebuilt both transmissions... and selling for 7K. I would think the repower and rebuilds would probably have cost more than that... is that a flag?

A Big Red One!!!!!

captainmaniac wrote: And +1 on getting your own survey. You don't know how good or bad the surveyor he used was, or if they were a 'buddy' who gave him a nice survey so he could get insurance. Always hire your own guy, and find someone who is reputable.

One thing to think about : repowered 2 years ago and rebuilt both transmissions... and selling for 7K. I would think the repower and rebuilds would probably have cost more than that... is that a flag?

I have called several surveyors in the area and got some pricing but more or less to talk with them and see what type of equipment and methods they use but it has to be above freezing for a few days to do any testing. One guy even uses a thermal camera to see moisture in the hull...

He said the motors were a little over 8k. He had it on ebay last winter and it didn't sell so he chartered it this summer and put it back on the market a month and half ago. He says he is downsizing his fleet. I hope the 7k is not a big red flag but rather a blue light special. Might be a few months before I can get a survey done. Sad that a survey for a 7k boat costs almost $600. Either way to insure as a charter boat I need the survey.

Is there wood in the transom? I read the hull is all fiberglass but wasn't sure about the transom.