Trophy handling waves?

[ewong]

Fellow Trophy owners... have a question for you.

I'm looking into purchasing a used 23ft. Trophy 1990 with a 4cyliner inboard motor. My question is, is this engine strong enough to push this big of a boat through 3-4feet waves? Also, on a calm day with no winds, what is the top speed and cruising speed of the boat?

Thanks.

 

[gcboat]

Re: Trophy handling waves?

Fellow Trophy owners... have a question for you.

I'm looking into purchasing a used 23ft. Trophy 1990 with a 4cyliner inboard motor. My question is, is this engine strong enough to push this big of a boat through 3-4feet waves? Also, on a calm day with no winds, what is the top speed and cruising speed of the boat?

Thanks.

Well, that little 4 banger ain't no powerhouse but it should be adequate for that boat. As fas as " pushing" through 4 foot seas - I think you just might have your ideas a liitle off base. It will ride over top of them with no problem but I'm not all that certain I'd want to be on a 23 footer in 4 foot seas.
As far as your top speed is concerned - that is a loaded question. It will all boil down to a weight factor. How many bodies on board, how much fuel, how much other stuff?????? Probably with one body and a full tank
( 23 or so gallons ???? ) you might see 30 to 35 on a glass sea. Then there's the tune-up issue. Too many variables to make even a close guess. Oh yea, the proper prop pitch comes into play as well.
If you still have a choice then I'd definately steer clear of that engine a look at something with the 4.3 or possibly the 5.7. The 4.3's are damn near bulletproof ( if maintained properly ) and will give you that extra HP when needed.
My $.02

 

[Monterey10]

Re: Trophy handling waves?

Normally, the 23'ers come with a 5 liter V-8. That said, I've had a GM 3.0 140hp I/O in the 21 and was very pleased with it. A solid 3 mpg and plenty of power.

Regarding waves, you usually slow down in the slop anyway.

The one time we felt underpowered was when we were fishing dungeness crab off Davenport. The ocean was dark and currents were swirling the water. We finished pulling the pots and started to run for home. The boat felt like it was stuck to the bottom. In fact we were caught in a strong contrary current. Slowly but surely, we broke out and got on plane.

 

[Wingnutt]

Re: Trophy handling waves?

If your Trophy has the sequential lift hull, it should handle the waves pretty well. Bayliner used their hulls like leggos. They used the same hull on their Capri bow riders, the Trophy walk around and the Ciera series cuddies. I have an '88 2455 (24' Ceria cuddy) and it so far it has handled pretty much anything the upper Chesapeake has thrown at it.

You start to feel waves and wakes over 2' but you can stay on plane and skim over the tops. Most wind chop just feels like a bumpy road. You definatly feel 3' wakes but just slow down a bit and you can still take them on plane.

I have crossed some huge wakes (6'+) in mine and haven't burried the bow yet. The other week a HUGE yacht passed us and I'm estimating his wake was at least 7', we came off plane, turned into the wake and crossed it at a 45 degree angle. That time I dipped the bow pulpit on the last two waves, but we were less than 200 yds behind the yacht when we crossed his wake. As we crested the first wave in the wake and dropped into the trough I got butterflys in my stomach because we dropped down so far.

My only concern would be that 3L that's in it will make the boat a bit underpowered in snotty conditions. It's a great little engine, but that's a lot of boat for it to push. My 2455 has a 383 stroker in it, and there are times I was glad that I had the HP and torque that thing makes!