Tri-hull go or no go??

[drewmitch44]

Im thinking about buying a 80's trihull boat. Im going to use it on the delaware bay. Its a 19' boat that i can get locally for a good deal. Its been gerauge kept its whole life and and is in amazing shape for its age. Ive heard that tri-hull's are less stable than v hulls. My question is this being a 19' boat will i have a problem fishing the delaware bay with it? Ive went out pretty far in a 16' aluminum boat and seas turned rough and had to hall butt back. Was out a little far with a 15 horse motor. This 19' tri-hull is a bowrider with duel consoles and open floor in the back with outboard not i/o. Really clean and almost brand new looking. I cant believe how new it looks being from the early 80's. I just dont want to buy something that is unsafe for what im going to use it for which is the delaware bay.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

Contrary to what you have been told, tri-hulls are VERY stable boats. There drawback is their rough ride in choppy water. They don't have the ability to cut thru chop like a deeper V-hull does.

 

[DJ]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

tri-hulls are VERY stable boats. There drawback is their rough ride in choppy water.

Agreed.

 

[zuke1]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

hello.
i have owned an 80s trihull 18', and now i own a 88' semi-tri hull...

i have been in many different bodies of water, and after being many different styles of hulls, i would really suggest getting something other than a tri hull if you even think you will ever hit rough water... v hulls really just carve through the waves, where trihulls just seem to plow into them...

trihulls do seem to provide a very stable platform for fishing, and if there is just the right amount of chop ( small waves ) you can really get a smooth ride.

it seems that in the 80s the manufacturers really sold the idea that trihulls create this pocket of air under the boat, because of the shape of the hull, and that was supposed to be the smoothest ride ever... turns out they were wrong...


so back to the point... if you intend to hit rough water ever, you will not be able to exceed 5-7 knots... but if you are just staying in rivers, and just troll fish, then its ok.

and dont forget to check the transom for rot, and dont forget to look for any cracks in the keel/bow... any of that would make your tri hull very dangerous in rough waters.

hope i helped...

zuke

 

[Solittle]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

I ran a 19' Glastron tri hull in Biscayne Bay for years.They are fine when the water is relatively calm but will beat the snot out of you when the wind picks up. I run a V hull now and would never go back to a cathedral hull. Now I can go out on many days that I would have to leave the cathedral hull on the trailer.

The open bow can also be dangerous if there is even the remotest possibility of taking water over the bow - - as in going outside or comming or going in/out of cuts with high waves.

In calm water they are actually more stable than a
V hull.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

So would it be ok in delaware bay?? I mean This is a beautiful boat so it being a little rougher in choppy water is ok with me. I just want to know it will handle it. Im 25 years old so i can handle a rough ride. Just want to be safe! Thanks for your quick responces!

 

[zuke1]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

not if you are paying more than 1500$ for it... anything more than that for a 80s trihull would be a loss...

atleast here in az where you cant give them away...

 

[DJ]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

So would it be ok in delaware bay??

That is completely up to the operator. An inner tube is safe, in the right conditions.

 

[DJ]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

So would it be ok in delaware bay??

That is completely up to the operator. An inner tube is safe, in the right conditions.

Tri hulls are not inherently unsafe. As I recall, Boston Whalers are tri hulls.

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

This thing is still shinny new. Im thinking about buying it To collect it. If i buy it i have to post pics on here. This thing is amazingly new!!!! Its been stored indoors and in a humitidy controlled room. There isnt any scratches in it or any nicks. Its Yellow but the the seats look like they were just apulstered. The back of the boat is all open there is not those back to back seats. It looks like a center console back as far as the way the floor is laid out. There is sorage under the floors and all. I think i might get it. Its less than 1K.

 

[zuke1]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

less than a 1k???

any boat that goes is worth that!!!!

seriously though... i can stress this enough... if you are worried about safety... you must check for rot juice anywhere.... this is a black stain near the drain plug or anything that looks like black water left a stain... this is usually a precurser to a bad sign... it usually signifies rotten wood somewhere in the boat.... and if the transom is soft at all, and you try to go into moderately rough water you could be in trouble...

you can check this on the spot by having the motor trimmed all the way up, and putting weight on the motor... if this causes sounds, or even flexing in the transom... in that case i would run.

again, i dont know your boat buying experiance, but i have quite a bit of past experiance buying older boats, and have fixed up a few that allegedly didnt need any work...

so just make sure you check it over well,,,
also, any soft spots in the floor mean trouble as well, especially if it has under floor storage...

o, and check the spots under the trailer where the boat sits on the bunks/guides, sometimes you will see long stress fractures from a rough trailer ride... this could also mean trouble in rough waters...

let me know if you have any questions... i can tell you some more stuff to look out for before you buy the boat...

that is, if you need it...

hope i helped...

later
zuke

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

thanks zuke ill look for that stuff ill let u know if i find any. I might get back with you before i buy it. The guy im buying it from is verry verry old. He said he used it 2 times. There is those white turn off caps in a few places in the floor. When u take one off its like a 4 inch hole in the floor. I put a piece of 2" pvc into the foam and it was dry and not discolored at all. The guy said that he neaver had the plug out of the boat EVER. everything is in unbelievible shape. I dont really want a tri-hull but i cant believe the shape this thing is in. its been in a shop that is heated and is in 40 relitave humitidy for as long as the boats life. There isnt even any wear in the button for the motor. Like on the throttle control there isnt like those scratches on the plastic. You know what i mean. Like he never throttled it up at all.

 

[MRS]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

If you just want a curiser type fishing boat it is great I have a 1969 cathedrial hull 17ft. and it has way more room than any v-hull. But in rough water every body is right if you try to run to fast it will beat the c*%$ out of you but if you use your head and not the trottle you will be fine. Plus when you are anchored or drifting way smoother than a v-hull when other boats come by and make big wakes sounds like a sweet deal if it is as clean as you say. Good luck and show some photos if you get it......

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

For that price and in that condition i would buy it.
You could always sell it and get your money back..

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

In order to tell how rough the ride will be depends on its deadrise at the transom. This questions comes up from time to time, and the ride of a tri-hull really depends on its deadrise. Most tri-hulls were fairly flat at the transom, and that combined with the surface area up front really made for an uncomfortable ride in the rough. Other tri-hulls, like mine, have a lot of deadrise at the transom. Mine has about 22 degrees of deadrise. I have found that my boat is most comfortable at around 25 mph on rough water (2-3 foot chop). At speeds above that I end up just catching air. I have not felt any appreciable different between a V-hull of similar dimension and my tri-hull.

So you can click my link and find a shot of my transom, and look at how much V (deadrise) I have, and compare it to the boat you want to purchase. Plus, at 19 feet, your boat is going to ride better than a smaller lighter tri-hull...

 

[zuke1]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

well... you just let me know if you need any help, and you can post any pics of it you want, just be prepared to hear the bad news, no matter you post... these guys here ( including me now) can see stuff wrong with even the newest of used boats... if it can go wrong it will etc...

but take it from me, i bought my 86' tri hull took it out in seemingly calm waters... the wind picked up, and small chop turned into 2 1/2 to 3 foot swells... it was then i found out the transom was softer than the original owner let on... and when my boating buddy told me that it looked like the carpet was getting wet, i knew we were in trouble...
so i turned the bildge pump on, and oh boy it did its job...

as luck would have it, the transom held till we got the boat on the trailer, and started to haul it out of the water... it was then that the transom gave way to the weight of the motor, and the motor mounts pulled through the wood ( there was no washers to hold them in place) and it was hanging there by a safety chain...

it would have made a great photo... but cell phone cameras werent in my budget back then...

so, i cant stress it enough, you have got to check for rotten wood everywhere you can... it is of the utmost importance...

let me know if you need any help... i have bought a few lemons ( in 06' lol )

later
zuke

 

[tommays]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

I spent my summers on Broadkill Beach on a 12' homebuilt with a 5HP motor

I traveled to Lewis all the time to pich up supplys at 12 years old and other than a storm i lived through it and a lot of fun


Tommays

 

[ParallaxBill]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

I'd say go for it.
But I'm partial to tri-hulls. The one pictured here is my 2nd, my first was a 14' 71 Ebbtide bass boat. While it's very true they do ride rougher in choppy waters they are much more stable than most deep V hulls while fishing. They are not any more dangerous than most V hulls in rough water. Keep in mind if the waters are dangerous enough for an 18-20' boat they are dangerous for most all 18-20' boats.

BTW, the Glassmaster pictured with my handle is a 18' 73 Tarpon XED equipped with a 165 Mecruiser. The boat runs like new and is in really nice shape for it's age. Best thing about it is I got it for $500.

 

[zuke1]

Re: Tri-hull go or no go??

did you buy it ???

if so, did you take any pics?

if so, r u going to post them?

if so, cant wait to see em'...

lol


later
zuk