Trophy Quality

[teamchachi]

We all know the reputation for poor quality that Trophy boats obtained in the 80s and 90s.

I'm interested in hearing from people who have bought a post-2000 Trophy and what your experience has been?

I ask because I have a friend who sells them and he swears they are a completely different boat now. According to him they have very satisfied customers and see far fewer issues/complaints than you would expect.

Anyone?

 

[Brisco]

Last year I almost bought a new 20 foot Trophy and heard the same story about how Bayliner no longer makes the boat ect.It was if the salesman was trying to sell me on that fact alone.I sea-tialed the Trophy,Campion,Seaswirl.Seaswirl had best ride period.It never ends because you will hear from the Grady owner how much better the fit and finish is on his boat than a Seaswirl.Buy the boat you like and enjoy it.

 

[teamchachi]

Yeah, I've been out on a few Grady Whites. I really like them. I would be very happy to have one in my driveway. I would also really like to drive a BMW 540, but I'm pretty happy with my Mazda 3!

Have you been on out a Grady 208? Can you compare the ride to the Seaswirl that you ended up buying?

I can get a great deal on a Trophy, but I'm not sure if I want to go through the next 5 years with a Trophy inferiority complex.

My other concern with the Trophy is the link to Mercury. You basically have no choice but to go with a big Verado...

Assuming that the newer Trophies are significantly higher quality than the old days, does the lingering reputation effect resale value of the newer boats? Will a Seaswirl hold its resale better?

 

[Brisco]

One of the magazines put the Seaswirl up against the same size Grady and the Seaswirl did well except for fit and finish.Seaswirl is also a hand laid hull,Trophy is chopper gun except for one layer.Regardless of how good a product Bayliner or Trophy put out for the near future resale value will be lower due to the stigma.

 

[Tailspin]

I went out in my buddies 06 2102 Striper yesterday and found the ride very comparable with my 02 trophy. Both have a 4.3 v6. I am looking at maybe getting a Osprey, Pursuit or a Grady in around 23- 24 feet for next year! In saying that, i have been very happy with my Trophy and am in no rush, regardless of the know it all "Trophy Bashers" out there. I do like the layout of the Trophy better than the Striper as well as the general finishing such as wider stiffer gunnels,bigger fish boxes, bigger cuddy, deeper walkaround.One major note is the amount of water on the windows in the seaswirl, the bow has no deflection. My boat rarley gets any spray on the windows. I also noticed the extra bow height with less flare on my buddies seaswirl catches the wind to the point where it would not turn while trolling on Saterday. Trophy is not choppered like mentioned above either. As far as resale, just look at what a mid 90s goes for. 18'000 is what my buddies 93 went for last Spring. He paid 18'500 for it 8 years prior.

All in all i think that it is personal preference.I am giving an honest oppinion of my observations If we all could afford a Grady, we would have one. Maybe by next season, i will, as for now , I am very happy with the Trophy and have been from Big Bank to Swifsure and numerous hours in Sooke and back Dozens of times in less than ideal weather and have not been wet yet!

 

[Monaro]

Take a good long look at the Scout Abaco line before you buy in that size range. They are rated as high as Grady for fit and finish, have a real nice ride and the layout is very fishable. There is a dealer in Sidney I think. Just go to http://www.scoutboats.com/ and use the dealer locater. These are really nice boats for the money.

 

[LittleG]

I purchased a new 2004 Trophy Cuddy Walkaround 2052 with the enclosed cockpit hardtop and drop curtain, 4.3 MPI I/O and all available options including Pro Pak, and heater. Trim tabs and washdown pump are included with Pro Pak, and they are a must. It has a Merc. 9.9 bigfoot kicker, with eze steer. I have used this boat in Victoria area, Barkeley Sound, Nootka Sound, Okanagan Lake, Kootenay Lake, Kinbasket Lake; in all kinds of weather, and often very rough conditions. I have been offshore up to 20 miles in rough seas. IT handle well, and the bow design moves water away from the windshield. I added the full Lowrance package including Radar, GPS, Sonar, this year, which helps in the bad weather. The Dealer is Dockside Marine in Kelowna, who continue to provide excellent service. Had a few initial minor warrantee items, which were quickly looked after.
I spoke to many boat owners and looked at all the diferent makes and models, before I picked the Trophy. All the Trophy owners I spoke to were happy with their choice. The only folks I could find who spoke against the Trophy were the other dealers, or folks who owned other makes, but had never had owned a Trophy. Got many opinions for Stern Drive vs outboard, and I am pleased I selected the Stern Drive. Motor runs well, plenty of power at 220 HP, is economical, easy to service, and the heater is a must for me. If I upgrade, I will look at another Trophy. I'm sure the other makes are just fine too.

 

[Whole in the Water]

Have you thought about getting one the toughest boats for the money with some the best re-sale value - a welded aluminum boat. I have a 20 ft SilverStreak Hardtop and fish oofshore all the time and I love it.[^]

 

[drcoho]

If you do ever buy a Grady get the sea2V hull. You can run a 20ft swell with 30knot winds and when you land the boat does not dig in and go sidewise. It is fairly easy to cross through the swells in heavy winds of Barkley Sound if you have to go through on a angle to get back to Ucluelet. I just brought a 1993 252GT Sailfish up from Fort Myers Florida. Gradys are plentifull on the east coast so the prices are more reasonable. Older Trophy and Campions will have stres cracks around the transum corners on older boats. Generally you will not see that on a Grady.
The Scout is so low on the sides you will get wes if you are landing a fish and turn across the waves. The Scout low sides are for calmer waters and Bigger fish than we have here (on average)IE: sailfish Tarpoon, marlin.A Scout is a exillent boat if you do not plan to fish of the west coast of the Island in the wind we have had this year. I was going to buy a Striper. The pursuit is also a excelent Boat but very pricey. I will be selling my grady next year if your interested( need $$$ to subdivide) and going to florida and getting another. http://www.gradywhite.com/customer/catalogs/PDFs/1993.pdf
Tournement 22 model is a nice bout aswell if you do not need a cuddy, just add a hard top.

 

[Rob Warren]

Well there you go.. I bought my Boston Whaler from Dockside in Kelowna too.. It has been nothing short of a nightmare dealing with them. After waiting for about 3 months after getting the boat to get the throttle cables fixed I finally said enough was enough and told them that I would be finding someone to fix it and will be sending them the bill. Keep in mind this boat was purchased to be a guide boat immediately! The guy I hired showed me that both of the throttle cables had been twisted during install, and that they would both need to be replaced called dockside about it and they basically told me that they didn't like the fact I got someone else to do the work and they would only cover the cost of 1 of the cables.
I had been using the boat up to this point with the ultra stiff throttles, but when the box the throttles sit in cracked I knew I had to get it fixed instead of waiting for them to do it.

With this problem not resolved satisfactory I went on a two week vacation, with the boat moored at a marina. When I got back I went down to check on her and to my dismay the bilge compartment had totally flooded out! There was no heavy rain during this period, so I knew it had to have come from the ocean.. I taste it.. sure enough salt water!! Along with the bilge there are also several other things located down in this hold, below the water line, including the batteries, the battery switches, the main fuses, electric motors for the various fish boxes and all sorts of other electronic goodies!!! So I haul the boat out. I phone Boston Whaler directly and get a hold of some guy named "John Smith" who is supposed to help me get it resolved. Along with a list of other items a mile long now. After waiting for them to "fit me in" to the dealer in Vancouver for about 4 more months with an increasing frequency of my calls as another guiding season was fast approaching. finally on July 25th they call me and tell me that there is no way they can "fit me in" and asked if I knew anyone over here that could do the work. So I brought the boat to BLUE PETER BOAT YARD in Nanaimo. He found the cause of the flood was an improperly installed plug that wasn't fastened correctly and the screw in the middle was missing. After inspecting the wiring he said it all needed to be replaced. He also found that the main ground running up to feed everything in the front was NOT CRIMPED and that the wire was basically free wheeling in and out of the screwed down wire connector. Explaining the blinking out of stereo equipment, GPS, and Sonar.
So after close to a $9000.00 refit at BLUE PETER BOAT YARD in Nanaimo and missing two charter seasons, I have to say the boat is now everything that I expected it would be to begin with! Way better than any trophy boats... I know I had one before.. Hats off to Freddy there at blue peter he really does know his stuff when it comes to boats! And thanks for making her the machine she was ment to be. Dockside on the other hand well... I would rather not say what I think about them on this board, I have too much respect for everyone here..lol

 

[teamchachi]

Do you live in Kelowna? Isn't that a pretty big hassle working in Barkley Sound and having a boat dealer in the Okanagan?

 

[Rob Warren]

Well the tax free option helped me to decide where to buy it from.

You know what the taxes would be on $144,000.00? lol

 

[salmonkiller01]

bayliner is made by brunswick corp and so is trophy. Great quality boats for the money.

 

[wolf]

Lets face it it all depends on what you want but last week did see 2 trophys sink one at the marina and one off of secretary the first one was man error he replaced a tranducer and the screw went all the way through the transom so in a week it filled up past the scuppers so it was almost going down if it wasnt for my buddies and Andy the owner of S.S. it would have sunk, the other one took a wave over some rough seas and came right in past the "false transom" until gary west rescued him very close to sinking!!!!!

The problem with them goes back from when the were first introduced like every thing in its first couple of years there going to be growing pains if your happy who really cares I personally wouldnt buy one of those earlier models,just do the homework and get a boat surveyed on any boat you buy better for your insurance anyways.


Good luck Wolf

 

[Tailspin]

Rob, I should hope your Whaler is "WAY BETTER THAN ANY TROPHY"as you say! especially at 144K. All i can say is that i did not miss two guiding seasons with my measley pathetic Trophy. I could buy a whole fleet for 144k.

Us little guys arn't in the same spending League as you, I am suspecting?

 

[scott craven]

right on maddog ! i like it !

 

[Brisco]

My info regarding chopper gun came from Olympic Boat salesman.My intention was not to bash Bayliner.Bayliner owners should not be so sensitive.

 

[fishwish]

Here it comes boys and girls.A positive post for a 1992 21' Trophy.

I bought it brand new from the Victoria Boat show in the spring of 1992, and have more than put it though its paces ever since, both guiding and for my own fishing pleasure. I think it is a great boat, especially for the money. I have changed lots of things on it. The most substantial things that I have done to it are I put a 140 Johnson 4 stroke on it (which works very well by the way), and this year put an arch on it. I try my best to look after it, and I think that it has more than looked after me. Heck, I am still using the original canvas top for it (thanks to 3m products and rainx for that).

It does pound in big seas, but I'm sure that most of that is because its light, and the fact that it is light lets me easily tow it up and down the island all summer with my half ton truck without a problem (knock on wood).

I love my boat (as I must with the amount I'm spending on it right now by building a shop for it in the back yard), but I can't say that it will be my last boat. I admit, the shop has been built so it will fit a 24 ' Silver Streak, but until I can afford that, I am more than happy with what I have.

Just my two cents.

Tight lines,

FishWish

 

[Rob Warren]

You pay for what you get.. Like I said I owned a trophy..Cost me more money in 1 year to maintain and fix than the total I have spent on my whaler in 3 yrs even with the problems I mentioned!.. I don't blame my boat, but just the way it was originally rigged, I still managed to get out to uki for one august and sept in the canal then port Renfrew for aug - oct last year. I know that even if my boat was filled with water completely, I could still park my F-350 on top of it and it wouldn't sink. I don't think any other boat could claim this!

Cost of boat 144k
Full lowrance electronics package $3500.00
Cost of rigging it properly (after whaler chipped in as well an insurance) $700.00 deductable.
The look on trophy owners' faces as I blow by them.... priceless.

 

[blueorca]

Not that I have fully formed an opinion after only 100 postings, but Rob, are you saying you took your boat into the dealer because the plug was leaking?
Maddog, let me know if you're selling the Trophy as I am selling my little boat and going a bit bigger for next year.