Trojan Boat Forum

First off, thanks everyone who helped us id our Trojan. I'm working on getting it lifted off its trailer for now and we'll have it in the yard at the marina (I gave up on building the cradle in my yard, now I just have to get the trailer back out of our drive).

So, my name is Jason and I live in Hayes, VA with my wife Caitlin and son Noah. We just got the 1972 Sea Raider "N-2-The Mystic" from a guy down the way in Gloucester. It needs a good bit of work and I had to pump about 1000lbs of water out of the bilges but it is a good looking boat with a solid looking hull.

I'm new to boats as a whole so I'll be sure to hit everyone here up for advice. I'm looking forward to the project if I can ever spare the money.

If anyone in the Hampton Roads area is willing I'd love to have someone drop by and help me get more acquainted with the boat and maybe share some thoughts on what needs to be done.

Welcome!

I'm new here too but I've just taken possession of a Trojan this summer and have been lurking here a ton.

Welcome. I've been a member for a few years and found a lot of great information and tips on this site. You can scroll back several pages to see many older projects on 26s and 25s. You have a great boat with a great history and heritage. Some things to check will be the stringers (are they soft and punky), soft spots on the deck and any horizontal surface exposed to the weather, and those two will keep you busy for a few months or years, depending on your calendar and your wallet! You're buying a pasttime as well as a boat. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to ask questions.

I know I have some soft deck to replace, I'm hoping the stringers are okay but will get to them in time too. Having just siphoned out a load of water from te cabin, I'l be checking around down there too.

Are the 25 Sea Raider and the F25's basically the same boat? I can't find a lot here specifically about Sea Raider but there does seem to be plenty of F25 threads.

I think after giving her the once over to see where everything stands, my next task is to patch the transom. There are two holes (well a hole and a partial) that need to be done. Looking at it closely reveals that the transom is plywood with a thin layer of glass over top. What is the best way to plug this? Should I just grind it out on a bevel like with a glass hull and fill the hole with glass or does it need wood in first then a glass coat?

The Sea Raider and the F26 share some similarities, but they are different boats. As for the two holes in your transom.....any idea why they are there? I would plug them with epoxy. Make up a batch and thicken it to a stiff peanut-butter consistency. Sand or grind away some of the fiberglass on the inside of the hole and sand away some of the fiberglass on the outside. Use some fiberglas tape or fabric and bond that to the inside with some excess epoxy. You can make a smoother patch on the outside surface by tooling the excess epoxy smooth and then covering it with some saran wrap (make sure there are no wrinkles). That should give it a smooth, almost shiny surface when it cures. Then wet sand and paint to match. There are a ton of web sites that show you how to do patches and hold repair. Check out the one done by West Epoxy. There are others as well. A good source for boat repair tools and chemicals is Jamestown Distributors. I buy stuff from them and they are priced well and can help you out if you call them. http://www.jamestowndistributors.com, 1-800-423-0030. Take your time and ask a lot of questions of the people at the boatyard and fellow boat owners. Folks on this Forum will also be a big help....there's no job too big that some of them haven't tackled. There are plenty of things you can do for not a ton of money, if you take the time to learn and start to tackle small jobs.

Jason , what marina is it at ?

Jason,
Congratulations on your new boat, have fun with her. I'm new here myself, but a proud owner of a 1975 F-26 for 15yrs. I still have as much fun today as when I first got her. I had mine surveyed so I knew what needed to be repaired, and also so I could prioritize and plan out my repairs. I think I paid around $300, due to the age of my boat, my insurance carrier also required it. There's a ton of good information on here, I've enjoyed reading some of the old posts. You'll pick up a bunch of good knowledge just by doing that. I wish I had found this earlier.
Good luck,
Matt

Paul, it's going to go into Cooks Landing Marina, it's just down the road from us so I can walk down to it and I'm not too keen on towing it any further than I have to.

Matt, thanks for that, I'm sure I'll end up needing the same when I go about registering and getting insurance. What is your premium, if you don't mind me asking?

Welcome aboard to you and your family Jason, from our family of Trojan-ears, owners of the best boat ever.

I have the twin sister named Jezebel II, Bought mine in April.... promptly blew the engine... I've looked every day for months for another one...I know just about everything now... but not all... you'll have to keep in touch. I'm in Northern Virginia and I'll be coming your way.. BY WATER in the next month or two.... It's a lot of time & money but be patient.. you have a diamond in disguise! Jezebel is almost totally restored now... sweat, blood, money and time and DEDICATION... get in touch...

(304)237-6769
burnettejw@yahoo.com

John

Jason,
My insurance premium is around $450, the boat can only be in the water from April 1 through Nov 1. The hull is insured up to its value and I also have liability. I'm inusred by the same company that does my house and cars. I also belong to Sea Tow for peace of mind. Hope it helps,
take care,
Matt

Thanks Matt, fortunately I only had to get Liability for now.. but that gives me a ballpark.

Right, well now that she's securely blocked and identified (we think) I wated to start asking questions about some things as I look at them.

First up, the deck. We have the vinyl over plywood deck, it looks like it may have been a good look at one point in its life but now it's in trouble. There are a lof of tears in the vinyl and at least 50% of the wood appears to need replacing. The cockpit sole is springy and sagging.

So at some point in the future I am looking at a deck replacement. I know some models had teak decks and Im wondering if it wouldn't be sacrelidge to add one to ours. What I imagine will be done if I go that route is the deck will come up a thin layer of ply will go down and I will lay a teak deck over that. Details on top of the deck will be white oak or will be painted white to add some contrast.

for your forward deck, you have to check out these photos of an F25 restoration to get inspired.
http://www.picturetrail.com/sixbennetts The set labled finished complete will show you where you could go...

For the cockpit deck, here is a thread in this forum from a couple of years ago when I replaced mine. (this is a lot more practical)
http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... torder=asc


Chuck

That F25 is very similar to what I want to do, only the board that their railings sit on would be a bit lighter.

As for wood, I know teak is common, but I just came across Tigerwood online. Really nice looking wood and apparently very rot resistant. http://www.advantagelumber.com/tigerwood_decking.htm Seems like it'd be cheaper than teak too.

Took the foredeck photo into photoshop with a sample tigerwood photo and came out with this: