Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

[ocbinva]

All. I have the opportunity to buy a 1974 17' trihull, walk through with an 85hp outboard for $800. boat is kept indoors and new floor installed. boat has no rot and fires right up. I was going to purchase a newer bay boat but my college age kids and their vehicles wiped out the boat fund. LOL. SO I know my dream of a great bay boat will not happen this year but i was thinking of getting this one for river (brackish Water)and lakes. But I know nothing about trihulls. Any words of wisdom or insight on performance or safety? I will be in the lower York and James River here in Virginia. Some tidal current, rivers are 1 to 3 miles wide near me. Any insight is appreciated.

 

[smallboatlover]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

i own a tri hull i like it alot. they do take some waves hard. if you out in chop people say it's a rough ride but i've never experienced it. iv'e bin out in my 14' trihull in 1-2 white caps and wasn't bad at all. your on a lake so you should be fine with that. i'm in the bay 2 miles from the open ocean so i see worse waves with mine and it's not that bad. The trihull has more room in front than a v hull. The main this is with these boat the stability.

 

[ocbinva]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

WOW...I never really thought of taking it into the bay. The cheasapeak where I fish is shallow (12 - 20 foot). Like all shallow bays the waves are small and snappy. I figured it would beat me to death. Unlike where I grew up on the Oregon coast, all Big rolling swells...

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

"Beat you to death" comes down to speed. Drive slower and you'll be fine. Tri'hulls do have the advantage of stability at rest for fishing or just hanging out. Floor may or may not have been done right, but with an outboard that runs well $800 seems like a good deal. Take it out and see how you like it.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

Our Starcraft has a dihedral hull (Starcraft for tri-hull).
It is rougher in the chop than even the smaller SeaRay.
Our tri-hull will do mid-fifties but only in calm water.

For the money,though, it's worth a shot.
Stable platform with a good motor isn't a bad combo.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

boat has no rot . View attachment 85744

Says who? if the deck needed replacing, its 90% likely the stringers and transom do.
I have a 1974 tri hull and every peice of wood below deck was mush.
Its real simple to slap a deck on the problem.
Its priced about right for a project, if thats what you want.

The thing is, they rot from the hull up, not from the deck down.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

I'll say +1 to the guy above but not to say it's necessarily a bad deal. 800 for a boat that runs and you can get a season (or two) out of is ok inm y opinion. Not to say their aren't better deals but if you are on the water for less than a thousand, you're ok. And daninja mentions his tri-hull will do mid-fifties, but an 85hp is never coming close to that, calm water or not. But it'll get you where you are going.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

I'll say +1 to the guy above but not to say it's necessarily a bad deal. 800 for a boat that runs and you can get a season (or two) out of is ok inm y opinion. Not to say their aren't better deals but if you are on the water for less than a thousand, you're ok. And daninja mentions his tri-hull will do mid-fifties, but an 85hp is never coming close to that, calm water or not. But it'll get you where you are going.

I wasn't saying his boat would perform like that. I was just saying that our deck would perform as well as our little V, but only in the most calm waters.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Opinion Trihull purchase in Virginia

That's a fine boat for a starter where you are (I'm near by). When I was growing up on the river, that was the rig most of us teenagers used.
The good thing is--you will be able to handle safely some rough chop if you get caught in it, or need to make a short run around a point to sheltered water. You won't go out in the first place if it's rough, adn where you are, if it's blowing from one direction you can launch on the other side of the peninsula, and there are miles of smaller rivers. You can deal with shallow water, too. And it's an easy boat for someone to tow you home when it breaks down.

Around here, $800 is cheap for a running boat; often the motor will sell for close to that. So if you find that one of your components needs to be replaced (hull/motor/trailer) you can do so cheaply.

Just make sure the transom is solid (doesn't flex when you push down hard on the tilted motor). Other problems you can deal with later. I assume it's not self bailing so please upgrade your bilge pump first thing. Replace your fuel lines and baby your gas.

Great boat for skiing, flounder and croaker fishing, etc. You'll love Back River and can easily slide out into the Bay there. Get on Tidalfish.com and the "Virginia angler" forum and ask around.