Trojan Boat Forum

I am getting ready to take the plunge. 1971 30 foot sea cruiser. with trailer. What is this boat worth? Hull is in great condition, motors need a little work. Interior and canvas are all new. Not sure what to give. Thanks in advance. -S

That is a very big question....it depends on you. A boat varies pending on what equiptment it has,upgrades,and condition. Now the big question is how much money do you have! If youre a broke joke well then any price could be bad.The main things I would look at is..... How much do you love boats? Are you going to keep it or are you gonna get rid of it in a few years? It is all based upon you. If the boat wasnt anymore than(ballpark) 3000k to 5000k and I am not going to sell/sale it then it is good. Ok.. let me try to spit this out quick. If you are going to sale after dumping alot of money into it without keeping it for many years (10yrs or more) then its a bad investment...unless you consider it schooling! whatever its worth


jon

The best numbers I got for an early 1970s Trojan 30 are from NADA which lists a low to avg retail of $5950 to $7150 for a 1974 Trojan 30' sea raider, the oldest year for which they list a 30 foot Trojan. This is based on a single 280 hp engine. You said you have twins so your milage may vary. That is 3 years newer, but with no trailer. Take it for what you may.

Now here's my story. Two years ago I bougt a 1975 Trojan F26 with a Chrysler 318 FWC with 800 hours for just under $5,000. The cockpit deck was rotted out. the Hull was and still is in amazing condition for her age. Stringers are solid, which is crucial. Two years later I've spent about another $10,000 on equipment lumber, fiberglass, electronics, marine hardware, and a rebuilt engine. I did almost all the work myself. I did pay a mechanic friend to help me with the rebuilt engine. My project list goes something like this:

2004
removed rotted cockpit deck and frames, rebuilt framing and replaced deck with mahogany planks over marine plywood. (added more & larger hatches for improved access below deck for engine maintenance)
rebuilt main cabin bulkhead below cockpit deck due to rot
Replaced water damaged cockpit liner (original was like formica on pressboard)
Installed new alternator & starter
Stripped and refinished teak cockpit trim & main cabin bulkhead.
Installed new aluminum fuel tank, fuel filler hose
Rebuilt fuel tank mounting bed.
added secondary fuse panel. Removed & replaced shoddy after market wiring installed by previous owners.
Removed original water tank to improve engine access
Installed new head, holding tank & all associated plumbing
Installed new 20 gal plastic water tank & replaced all hoses (relocated tank forward of original location under hanging locker) Included outlet for fresh water washdown.
Installed salt water washdown pump & outlet
Replaced 2 batteries (including new battery boxes)
New VHF radio
Replaced steering cable
Installed new bilge pump & float switch
Replaced engine cooling seacock & intake hoses
Reupholsterd captain and mate seats
Welded damaged swim platform mounting brackets. Stripped & refinished teak swim platform (new stainless mounting bolts).
Tightened up bimini cover frame & Fabric - replaced misc. hardware. Re-sticthed bad seams.

2005
Replaced engine (from 1986) with factory remanufactured 318 & new velet drive transmission. (rebuilt distributor and carburetor from previous engine)
Replaced rusted engine mounts.
New engine temperature guage and oil pressure guage.
Upgraded rudder & extended keel by 6" to improve tracking stabilty
Stripped 30+ years of bottom paint to gel coat.
Replaced propeller shaft
Reconditioned propeller
New depth sounder (with transom mounted transducer)
Replaced failed fresh water pressure pump.
Re-wired trim tabs
Upgraded transmission oil cooler

What I still have to go.....
The aluminum windsheild could use re-finishing.
The cabin floor has some sponginess and needs to be rebuilt in places.
Most of the interior teak is in good condition, but various hinges need replacing, the walls in the head need to be re-finished. They just have a coat of paint now.

What I have now, is a 30+ year old boat with most of its mechanical systems replaced, and still a fair amount of cosmetic improvements needed on the interior. It took me most of the summer to work out mechanical bugs with the rebuilt engine, which was a little more than I bargained for, but I'm looking forward to next season. Considering the time I put in, I don't think that I'm much ahead financially of where I would have been if I'd just spent a bit more on a newer boat, but I fel like I know every screw, wire, belt and hose with my eyes closed. With two kids in college, and another headed that way, spending $65-90K, on a newer boat that size is out of the question for me, but I've seen some pretty nice used rigs advertised for $20-30k.

Offshore dreams said if you don't keep it a long time, its a bad investment, but I don't quite agree with that. A boat is not an investment. It is an expense. If you want an investment, consider a mutual fund or real estate, not a boat. One more thought. I got my rebuilt engine running good late in the summer just a couple of weeks before marine fuel went over $4.00/gallon.

If you love being on the water, and don't mind crawling around in tight spaces trying to fix somthing that was installed before the deck was put in place, then there is nothing finer than simply messing around in boats.


Good Luck!

Chucka,

too funny.. your an engineer in RI restroring a Trojan. I'm an engineer in MA restoring an old Trojan. I like your pic.. didn't even know you could od that.

Jav,

Where are you in Ma? I keep the boat in Barrington, RI. Maybe I will see you on the water sometime if you are in southern MA.

These restoration projects depend a lot on what kind of maintenance was done before. I found that although the boat was moderately maintained, I had an awful lot of work just to catch up.

To add images to these posts, the photo has to be posted on the web somwhere (a photo sharing website, like webshots is ok) If you have the image on the web, right click on it to get the properties. That should list the photo's url. highlight the url, then copy it to the clipboard.

Click the Img button below the subject to create an img tag that looks like this
Note: for a real image, don't leave a space between the img tags and the url

If you click preveiw, you can verify that its right before submitting the post. If you don't see the image in the preview then something is wrong.
If you don't like the preveiw, you can scroll down and modify the post then preview it again. When you are happy, submit it.

Here is a sample from my webshots gallery.

Its Castle Hill Light in Newport, RI

I boat out of swansea... maybe we will see each other out on the water. Lets see if this pic thing works.

nope