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1975 36' Trojan Tri-Cabin |
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Jim Payetta: So the Trojan Tri-Cabin was made from 1970 to 1987.Now the first few years that they started building this boat was the early days of fiberglass production for Trojan and these boats were certainly overbuilt.
Mike Burns: Exactly, the first couple of years the hulls were all solid fiberglass and they experimented with some teak deck. By '72, they went to an all fiberglass design, but the original models are built extremely solid. Now here we are on board a 1975 Trojan Tri-Cabin.
Like a lot of boats of this vintage, some of the previous owners have added their own personal touches to it. Now on this particular boat the owner has eliminated the back cockpit.
A lot of the earlier Trojans had problems with the cockpit, over the years, they would gather moisture and rot out. Now by eliminating the cockpit, it is actually been able to extend the bridge a little bit and gain some more space down below in the aft cabin.
Now the forward part of the bridge is pretty well laid out in the standard layout. There is a nice centre console with easy to reach controls and a great view all around. The thing I like about these layouts is that the captain can take part in all the entertainment while moving along.
Now down below, this is one of the finer examples of a Tri-Cabin that I have seen. They have done a lot of really nice woodwork with some refinishing of the sides and a nice custom piece of furniture it really suits the cabin.
Now below the cabin is where a lot of people would expect to find the engines. And a few models did have them here, but they were actually located back aft under the aft berths.
Down below you have easy access to the batteries, generator set and the fuel tanks are actually located to port and starboard. Up front there is a standard v-berth and with access to the head from both main salon and the forward cabin.
Now back aft in the master stateroom, still configured with a bed to port and a bed to starboard. However, because of the modifications that have been done to the boat, the beds have actually been raised up a bit and moved outward, creating two really good-sized berths.
The engines are still located below the berths, but again more space has been found with drawer space down over here. Now the standard configuration for the head and shower back here would have been a separate head and a separate shower stall.
However, they eliminated the shower stall, creating more room in the master stateroom. And what they have also done is removed the bowl from the head itself and converted that into a stand-alone shower, which I find is really ideal for long-range cruising or live-aboard purposes.
Ted Rankine: We took an unmodified Trojan Tri-Cabin out for a sea trial. At one point, Trojan was the third largest boat manufacturer in the world and was once owned by famous manufacturers like Bertram Yachts and Shepherd Boats.
The 350 Chris Craft gas engine has a reputation as a reliable workhorse and despite its age, parts are still fairly easy to get. In this boat, the twin aft-mounted engines, coupled with v-drives, powered us out of the hole with no hesitation and produced even acceleration throughout the entire power curve. Even at a comfortable cruising speed, the old engines left us with the confidence that there was still power in reserve and a commanding feeling at the helm.
Putting the Trojan 36 Tri-Cabin through our standard on the water test, we checked all the systems you would normally want to do when doing a sea trial on any used boat. Which included the trim tabs, the throttle linkages, the steering cables and the electronics. We listened to the engines at various rpms in an effort detect any potential problems and found everything running as it should be.
Priced in the mid 50s to lower 60s, it is easy to see why a used 36-foot Trojan Tri-Cabin is an often self-prescribed remedy for many boaters' foot-itis.
* taken from a transcript of our Footitis Used Boat Profiles on PowerBoat TV 2004 Episode 9 - Order A Copy of the Show
