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There aren't a lot of boats in this size range
that we would consider to be exceptionally well built, but the Bertram-Trojan
line of International Meter series certainly meets that criteria.
Designed by Fort Lauderdale designer Harry Schoell, the 10.8 meter
is one of the most well-built production line hulls around. And
to top it off the layout and systems engineering is nearly as good.
A near identical twin to the popular Trojan 10 meter, it is nearly
three feet longer. In fact, this review will apply equally well
to both the 10 and 12 meter models. This is one of the roomiest
convertible sedans around. And unlike a lot of other boats, it achieves
this without sacrificing basic integrity such as eliminating bulkheads.
Let's start with the fact that when I took my steel
surveying hammer to the bottom of this hull, it rang like the hull
was steel. Thick and dense. No dull "thunks" on the bottom
of this one, and no blisters or floppy hull sides either. Then we
counted three full size bulkheads, to which we add a deck that's
properly attached to the hull, good sized hull stringers and a deck
that's about as solid as walking on a concrete pier and we sum up
that this is one well-built boat. Surprisingly, this is not a heavy
boat, coming in at around 15,000 lbs. as compared to the Bertram
II 35' convertible at 23,000 lbs. Bertram-Trojan has managed to
keep the weight where its needed and cut it where its not.
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Looking forward toward galley and
large dinette that converts to a large double berth. Notice
the amount of light that the skylight lets in. The lamp
below it is NOT turned on, despite the appearance. No wide
angle lens used to take these photos so they are not distorted.
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The
galley down arrangement is separated from the salon by this
small bar top that can be utilized as shown here, or ignored
by placing another chair in front of it. The traffic pattern
is convenient from the aft door all the way forward. |
The deck has to be solid because, if you check
out the nearby photos you'll see that there's nothing supporting
the aft end. There is enough deflection right in way of the cabin
windshield that a bit of movement does cause the windows to leak
a bit, but the manner in which the frames were installed thoughtfully
includes a small coffer dam that prevents most of that water from
getting inside to do any damage (photo above right and at bottom
of page). It has top quality anodized window frames that, along
with the aft sliding doors, after ten years showed no corrosion
and only minor leakage. Also chalk that up to a heavily constructed
house and decks.
We liked the fiberglass head liner in the salon
as well. No need to worry about stains or tearing it open with fishing
rods and whatnot. And considering that the salon air conditioner
is on the bridge with the outlet in the overhead, you don't have
to worry about condensation stains either. The forward section has
an ultra suede headliner which, lacking any water stains means that
there were no leaks, even around the skylights or bow hatch.
The layout of this 35 footer is one of the best
we've seen and the interior has the feel of a much bigger boat.
That's mainly because of the openness between the salon, galley
and dinette area. And here's one designer that achieved that sense
of openness with sacrificing bulkheads like we find in most other
boats. There aren't many that you can get a sofa, large swivel chair
and two barstool type chairs in the salon, but this one handles
the furniture without forcing you to fall over it. On the other
hand, this is only a single stateroom boat, so it should be spacey.
On the 10 meter model, that's not quite the case. It comes with
a built in sofa with storage underneath and, although comfortable
the salon is noticeably smaller.
The dinette is lengthwise along the starboard side
so its not quite as convenient, but it makes up into a heck of a
large double berth. The galley doesn't have enough counter space,
but then what 35 footer does? This one makes good use of the available
space without feeling claustrophobic or cramped, and has lots of
nooks and crannies for storing stuff with adequate space for things
like pots and pans for the serious cruiser. One complaint is that
the double basin stainless sink must have been obtained in the land
of very little people because you can't lay down a dinner plate
or wash a pot in it. Its that small. Replacing with a single basin
would be a good idea here.
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| What
this galley lacks most is adequate counter space and a useable
sink. The small double basin job on this boat is nearly
useless. Otherwise, there is adequate storage. 10 years
old, the interior has held up well. |
Starboard
aft side of salon. With all the fabric upholstered panels
and valences, the fiberglass headliner is hardly noticeable.
There are lots of nice touches like the fire extinguisher
cove at right and handy shelving along the sides. |
The head is equally good sized with a stall shower
that can actually be used. The solid Lucite white skylights above
the head and dinette are a real nice touch, which makes both areas
light and airy. This survey model was a one-owner boat that, being
ten years old, we found it hard to believe that the owner said the
interior decor was all original. These boats come very nicely decorated
standard and the materials used holds up very well indeed. We grant
you that this was a very meticulous owner and the average boat probably
wouldn't look this good.
This would make a great sport fisherman because
the cockpit space is more than adequate, even with the optional
tackle center with bait freezer which is behind the bridge ladder,
not taking up valuable space. The deck is very solid and uncluttered
with good gutters around the hatches. If you like in-hatch bait,
fish or storage boxes, this one has them. The cockpit deck is quite
low so there's not a lot of storage space below. The center section
is completely taken up with the single 300 gallon fuel tank. You
can reach the steering gear fairly well, but that aft bilge pump
is nearly out of reach. This one had a bolt-on very wide swim platform
but its too bad there's no transom door.
The bridge is about as large as you'll get on this
size boat. We like the trade off of slightly cramped seating in
front of the helm console in favor of adequate room for swiveling
helm chairs behind it. The helm is in the center and a person can
actually get between the chairs and railing without making the operator
step out the way like getting into a center seat in a movie theater.
The wheel and controls are well-placed, although there's a shortage
of space to mount larger instruments. Probably the most out-of-place
item on this boat is the chintzy, thin, black plastic instrument
panel which on many other boats we've found to be cracked and faded.
This one had been kept covered up so it looked okay.
The bridge on the 10 meter, like just about every
33 footer, is cramped. As usual, the designer tries to put too much
up there so that the whole layout suffers. There's no space on the
helm console and there's no space even to bend over between the
helm chairs to reach for anything in the cabinets below. If a boat
ever needed an overhead cabinet on a pipe frame top, its this one.
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| This
view shows the treatment of the forward window frames which,
especially with the curved section, are prone to leakage.
Look closely and you can see the that the frame is in front
of the small raised coaming so that any leakage drains back
out, and not into the interior to cause damage. |
This
shot of the engine room is taken from the open center hatch.
Its shallow but your won't kill yourself trying to change
oil or check on things. Nearly everything is conveniently
located for servicing, including the strainers. Generator
is to the right in front of engines, easily serviced. |
The bridge coaming is very thin glass and on many
of these we've found it to be buckled and warped where its screwed
down around the base. This can be prevented by drilling oversize
holes and using Teflon washers under the screw heads so that expansion
and contraction during heating and cooling doesn't cause it to buckle.
Also, the access hatch cover on the bench beside the helm is not
properly sealed. It leaks and the water runs down the starboard
side house pilaster and may damage the air-conditioning controls,
as well as staining the interior fabric.
Unfortunately, the hull shape won't quite give
the performance of a Bertram or Blackfin, but its adequate in my
view to handle the moderate stuff. With 350 hp Crusader gas engines,
the speed is probably not what you'd like it to be as it tops out
at around 22 knots with a clean bottom. Another 50 hp would do wonders
- to the speed and the fuel bill. With these engines, there's adequate
space in the engine room. But with the optional 300 hp Detroit Diesels,
its badly cramped and the boat becomes grossly under powered to
boot. That's the one big-time drawback with this boat -- you got
all that wonderful interior space at the expense of engine room
space. And as near as I can tell, Cat 3208's will not fit in this
one.
Considering the 8,000 lb. difference in weight
with the Bertram 35, we're wondering where the loss of speed came
from because the B-35 will do about the same with those engines.
We'd have thought that she'd get up to at least 25 kn. at 4000 RPM
on engine rated at 4000 to 4400 RPM, and wondering about the 1.88:1
Borg-Warner gear boxes. Seems a lot of reduction for a 15,000 lb.
boat. Would it do better with 1.55:1?
With the gas engines and 7.5 kw Onan generator,
this engine room is intelligently laid out, and if you take the
hatches up (they weigh a ton and you gotta move the sofa out to
do that) there isn't anything down there that can't be easily reached.
A very nice touch for do-it-yourselfers. Hardware and systems are
all good quality and have held up well with good maintenance. The
electrical system is well engineered. The engine room ventilation
is not as good as it should be an was pulling a bit of a vacuum;
when we opened the hatch we got another 50 RPM.
The engine room on the 10 meter is just plain cramped.
To do any kind of maintenance you need to clear all the furniture
out an pull the hatches, a job for two people. Once that's done
you can reach most everything, sometimes with a bit more effort
than you'd like.
Another draw back is that the gel coat is not top
quality and this boat needed painting. The house sides and bridge
coaming were blotchy and discolored, possibly due to prior damage
repairs, or from original molding defect repairs. Hard to say which.
With a urethane paint job this boat would really shine and look
as good as new. No cheap, tacky hardware on this one, except for
the crummy feature stripe tape. They also had a molded plastic bezel
under that nice stainless grill over the engine room vents that
goes the way of the instrument panel. On this boat they had been
replaced with fiberglass upgrades and looked fine.
Overall, we would rate this as a truly great boat,
especially for family cruising or just partying. Another aspect
of great design is that one can move around freely without falling
over and banging into things. This one won't wear you out by the
end of the day. After ten years of heavy use (2000 hours) in Florida,
except for the oxidized gel coat this boat still looks great. We
rate it as a best buy.
Note: The Trojan 10,11 and 12 meter models
are all of equally good quality and are available in both the convertible
and express models. If you want better diesel performance, you'll
need to move up to the 11 or 12 meter model where Cat 375's or Detroit
Diesel 450's are available. The bigger diesels also fit in the express
models because of a higher deck. If you're a speed freak, you'll
like the express with 450's; its a screamer.
| These
are "reviews", not surveys, and bear no resemblance
to our survey reports.
We do not publish the results of the surveys that we perform.
Please note that the purpose of these reviews is educational,
to help you discern the differences in quality among boats generally.
They are not offered as a means to help you evaluate any particular
boat builder. We have no other reviews than those posted. |
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