Natchamp

Gents,

I would like to introduce you to my new project. It’s a 1985 Trojan 10 Meter Express Cruiser. I just had it delivered to my house so I can work on it there. Obviously it needs some substantial work! But I love the lines and design of the boat, it is exactly what I wanted.

My plan is to really fix the ole girl up, not just do the minimal it takes to get it back in the water. I will thank all of you profusely in advance for all the questions I am about to ask as I go through this project. I’ll post lots of pictures along the way to show my progress and hopefully help someone else down the road.

The first thing I’m going to do is a preliminary check on the motors and start them up. It has twin Crusader 454/350’s. You can probably tell by the pictures the boat has been sitting for a while so I have lots to do. I’ll by-pass the fuel tank for the initial start up as well as throw some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and crank it over until I get some oil pressure before actually firing them.

Below are some pics right after delivery as well as a youtube video of some of the transport.








Youtube: My Trojan going home

Mark "Project Trojan"

doughnut

excellent hull dsign and well built boat. Looks like a project!

Austin Williams

That's a damn fine looking boat! Can't wait to see what she's gonna look like all prettied up! Best of luck on the project, and hopefully you don't run into too many surprises!

What's the story behind this boat?

Buoy Scout

David Pascoe likes these boats. Check out yachtsurvey.com for his review. Good luck!

Flagstaff

What the heck is that wood doing sticking out the side of the hull?

glacierbaze

They are through hull bungs, but that is a lot of through hulls in a row. I would be afraid it would weaken that area. Be interesting to know what each is for.

Austin Williams

Not only that, they seem to be below the waterline.

bigjimmie

They are the exhaust. There is a large box inside the hull that the exhaust goes in and those are the outlets. Works when your running but when you idle its loud and throws up some water

bigtimewill

great hull and only us owners know how they ride. i did the same thing you are doing and make sure you have allot or Patience. are you going
with diesel ? there is a great forum on re power w yanmar . http://www.thehulltruth.com/boats-sa...nmar-315s.html here is a link to mine any question let me know dont mind helping might save you a buck

Seacat FL

Beautiful lines on that boat. I always liked them.

I remember the underwater exhaust on the hull sides. Unclear what the person who blugged it was trying to achieve. The exhaust must have been disconnected or re-routed altogether.

76 Stamas

I love these build threads. You will love it when its done. It's a very big undertaking to do it right, but well worth it. Keep us posted.

TumbleweedTim

should buff up just fine

Natchamp

Thanks guys, much appreciated. The story behind the boat is I first saw the boat at my friend’s marina a year ago. It was just sitting in the marina at a slip and obviously not getting any love. I loved the boat, the lines, and the wide beam! Go forward a year (about 3 weeks ago) and I went back to my friend’s marina cause the weather was starting to get nice around here. I saw the boat again just sitting there and it was obvious the boat had not moved since I last saw it.

My friend gave me the name of who I should talk to at the marina so I gave him a call. The marina owned the boat via a lien sale because the owner couldn’t/didn’t pay his slip fees. I feel sorry for the guy. I negotiated for a week and ended up buying it. My timing was right because the boat was leaking a little bit and the marina ended up pulling it out of the water during the time I was trying to buy it. I believe I got a very, very good deal considering the quality and potential of the boat and it’s exactly what I want. You can guess what I paid for it. The only way I could make financial sense of the deal was if I could have the boat at my house and work on it there to avoid paying working storage every month (not to mention the convenience of working on it right at my house). Since I will be doing the majority of the work myself I should be in this boat well below any market value of it.

Yes, all of those thru-hulls are indeed the exhaust. That area is where the boat was leaking. I’ve read about the exhaust and I know the basic layout is stock and suppose to be that way. What I don’t know is what the previous owner did to change it. I have a feeling he did something relative to where the exhaust exits the boat (where you see those plugs). Does anyone have any specific information or pictures of what the stock configuration is? I believe it would have to be specific to the Express Cruiser model, not the F series. I will be re-doing every single thru-hull on the boat including the sea-cocks, etc.

For power I will be staying with the Crusader 454/350’s. I know they are just “gassers” but they run forever, relatively cheap parts, and I can’t afford to go diesel. Yes I have been to boatdiesel.com. Spending 80k is not even remotely going to happen. I looked at, and read a ton, on doing some type of automotive marinization, using Cummins 6BTA’s, etc. But I’m being told even the 6BTA’s won’t fit (too tall).

Yesterday afternoon I got a chance to do some initial clean up (see below). I wanted to clear everything off the deck because I probably won’t be using any of it and I want good access to the engine room since the “mechanicals” are the first phase of the project. cheers

Mark

SleepTech

Looks like she is already starting to clean up nicely! I love these threads...

Keep us posted on the progress and include lots of pics.

oicu812

sweet! another build/restore thread. i'm subscribed.... curious to see the condition of the engines as well as the layout and condition of the cabin. keep posting pics bro!!

airbrush

Looks like "The Shadow" is overseeing the project.

Are you going to pull the power? How about the structure? sound? or will it require a major gutting?

Natchamp

Who's the "Shadow" ?

Currently, the plan is to utilize the existing Crusader 454/350's if they check out good. That's the first thing I'm going to do as it will drive/dictate the remainder of the project. The structure is very sound, these things are solid as helll. The cabin interior is good but I plan on re-doing most of it as well as the above deck seating and layout.

Mark

bigfish06460

I am a huge fan of the Internationals!

These boats carry a huge beam for thier size. I have been on a few gassers and they perform rather well in rough weather. A friend just bought a 12M with Detroits it performs pertty well also.

Good Luck!

bladenbullet

i fished one on a team in the lake ontario challenge cup...it slipped next ot my boat and was a constant source of envy for me...

the beam makes for a boat worthy of a dance party and can be fished with several on deck and nobody bumping into each other...shes stable as a rock in the worst weather and a comfortable ride back to port when the day is done...not so shabby in the cabin department either...

congratulations and enjoy...

IMPLiberty

Congrats on the boat. For the right price, and if the motors check our your well on your way. I will be keeping an eye on this thread for sure.