And The Survey Says: "No Trojan for me today"....PART II

[Warren]

Hello again.

Thanks again to: Aaron, P-Dogg, RWS, Hard Eight, and Todd, for your invaluable thoughts and suggestions to date.

Well as I reported in early Sept, the Trojan Tri-cabin that was on my "short list" was surveyed and some minor issues, as expected with any boat, were discovered. The major issue that was discovered by my surveyor, was a weak starboard inboard stringer.

Over the past several weeks, the owner has had the boat inspected my his own people, including a Carver rep. The consensus by the tech people involved, is that a stringer repair/replacement is doable and will be undertaken at the owners expense. Work will commence after our Canadian Thanksgiving, when the boat is hauled out in it's covered bay. It will involve : removing the roof and headliner, raising/removing the starboard engine, and moving the gen set out of the way.

I am still keeping an open mind on this particular 84 Trojan and will be interested to see the final result. If a second survey should result in a positive outcome, I may still consider it for purchase.

In the mean time while this work is taking place, I want to continue to educate myself on Trojan tri-cabin characteristics, and their idiosyncrasies. Some questions follow:
1) Exhaust System:
Trojan was apparently one of the first builders to incorporate "underwater exhaust". I've viewed the engine compartment on this boat and it appears that the twin V8 exhaust pipes in each engine terminate at a fiberglass type of coupling, from this coupling a vertical, black rubber type of baffle tubing, approx 4-5 inches in diameter extends from it's lower surface to the bottom of the inner hull. A second appendage off of this fiberglass coupling, extends horizontally and attaches to a second , flat, rectangular shaped fiberglass type of housing that then attaches to the side of the hull. How does this system work?.....does 75% of exhaust go through the bottom , and 25 % out through the side of the boat? It would appear to me that the condition of this vertical rubber tubing would be critical!!!! If this piece ever developed a rip or blemish....would it result in an immediate influx of sea water that could obviously sink the boat? Would it be considered an "Achilles heal" of the boat ?.....do other boat brands use this system? Are these vertical rubber units still available?

2) Prop Shaft:
Has anyone ever considered installing "drip-less" prop shaft couplings?....if so, how much of a job is it?

3) Canopy Framing:
Some later model tri-cabins have canvas tubing that is "white" in color, as opposed to the traditional stainless tubing. I've heard two different stories...the "white" tube is an "insulated" tube, that doesn't heat up like the stainless, therefore less chance of melting the clear plastic curtains if they should rub or rest against any of the framing. Another story is that the "white" tubing is just a cheaper material to accomplish the same job as the stainless.

Any thought on these questions would be much appreciated.
Warren

[prowlersfish]

I would get them to document w/photos every step of the stringer repair so you know its done right .

[ready123]

Rather than drip less couplings I have changed to drip less packing and stayed with the same setup. GTO packing used on pumps now used on marine shafts.
I don't know your budget but there is an F36 with Diesel engines and generator for sale in my marina.... It is in excellent condition likely go for the high 30's as the owner is under pressure from his wife due to his health issues.
I'm not sure if he has a broker yet... As he loves it so I believe his for sale style is to put a sign on the boat, if you know what I mean. I am away from the marina right now but I can look up the phone number on my return if you like. It is out of the water and in a storage shed for the winter already.

[The Dog House]

Rather than drip less couplings I have changed to drip less packing and stayed with the same setup. GTO packing used on pumps no used on marine shafts.

+1 on using the drip less packing. I repacked my stuffing box with Gore GFO packing and love it. It does not drip at all when the shaft is not turning. When the shaft is turning it drips 1 drop every 6 - 10 seconds. It works great and is a lot less complicated than the drip less couplings.

[P-Dogg]

I redid my underwater exhaust. There are bronze tubes inside of the rubber boots. The flat black rubber thing is the idle bypass for when the exhaust pressure is too low to get out of the bottom. Now that the teapartiers have cost me my job and embarrassed America, maybe I'll have time to make the long-awaited post Aaron has so wanted me to do. Good luck on the boat. I'll post more when I return to the states. In Tokyo when the government shut down, and I'm trying to get home first.

[P-Dogg]

I'm home now and unemployed. I can't get another job or even volunteer anywhere because I need approval from my agencies attorneys to do so, and they are not there! Instead of working, ill be collecting unemployment. Point is, now is a great time to ask me tricab questions.

About the rubber boots.... I was able to inspect them thoroughly when I pulled them off. They were fine. However. I replaced them with silicone boots from current stock. Let me know if you need sourcing info.

Regarding drip less packing .... I started to do this, but was advised against it by my mechanic, which also Aaron's mechanic, which is also the mechanic who does the Baltimore harbor water taxis. He recommended against it unless I was also going to replace the shafts. His concern was about any scoring that may already exist on that somewhat dated shaft. Replacing the packing was one thing that I had him do on my semi-major hull fitting refit. He used some gortex or Teflon product, and there is nary a drip. I often shoot the stuffing box with the ir thermometer after I shutdown in order see if it is hot because, well, thats the way i am. It is never hot. I can get the name of the product if you wish, or for faster service call blue water marine in Baltimore. Don't forget to use beacon when you can. Great guys, even if our opinion sometimes differ.

As for the white canvas bows, I can't help you--mine are stainless (appelation controlee Lancaster, vintage 1985) Aaron will probably answer you in about three hours.

If you decide to buy the boat, you will love the tricab. If you haven't done so already I'd consider reading the forum from the beginning. Took me a week of beers-before-bed when I did it about two years ago.