Trophy owners: Do they ride well in a chop?

[wruebs]

I'm considering buying a 04 trophy pro 2002 WA. I had one guy tell me not to do it because they ride like a drum in a heavy chop. He claims the boat feel's like it wants to fall apart. Questionable stringers in his opinion. He had an 02 2002WA. The boat also has a 150 optimax motor. Is this enough power? I was ready to buy this untill I spoke with this guy. I'd like to hear from some others before I spend close to 19k for this. Thanks for all replies.

[paulywood]

Trophy had a lot of stringer problems for a while. However, they now have all fiberglass stringers. I can guarantee you that guys will get on here and badmouth Trophy's. However, most of the people who have owned one or been on one recently will tell you they are a decent boat. Not a Pursuit by any means, but a good boat for the price. 150 hp sounds a little small to me. Maybe not, I've never been on one with an outboard. That is one way that they keep the price of the boat down, smaller engines. I was recently on the same boat you're looking at but with a 4.3 I/O. The ride seemed fine to me in 2-3 footers, wasn't WOT, but 20-25 mph. Take it for a ride and see what you think.

[SabikiRig]

I'm considering buying a 04 trophy pro 2002 WA. I had one guy tell me not to do it because they ride like a drum in a heavy chop. He claims the boat feel's like it wants to fall apart. Questionable stringers in his opinion. He had an 02 2002WA. The boat also has a 150 optimax motor. Is this enough power? I was ready to buy this untill I spoke with this guy. I'd like to hear from some others before I spend close to 19k for this. Thanks for all replies.

I own a 1999' 2052 with a 3.0 I/O (135 hp) and have to disagree. (Bought new in April of 1999) :lol:

The boat rides exceptionally well in any weather. The boat is solid there is no delamination or gel-coat cracking from flex or "bad stringers".

As for the power question I think the boat would be fine with a 150. You could go up to a 175 but you may not be able to keep your trolling speed down (close to 1.0) for crawler harnesses without a trolling sock or plate.

[Blue Skeeter]

I was accually looking into the trophy boats for a while and test drove over ten of them. Most of them were 2352 or 2450s in the mid to last 90's. I thought they rode very well in 2-3. I ran them wide open with out a problem, not much water flying at all. Just to warn you the top sides are very, very thin and most of them will be cracked up pretty bad on the gunnels. The last boat i was in was a 2352wa with a 4.3 i/o it had tons of power. Mid to high 30's with 3 people. Look around before you purchase one theres alot of very good boats in that price range. When you go to look at them make sure you take a small pick with ya, to make sure there is nothing soft

[SalmonBum]

I have never seen a Trophy with stringer problems, and I have seen (and fished) alot. I just sold a 23', and have had an older 24 in the past. Don't let anyone scare you about the overall construction of a trophy. I have never seen one with structural damage due to craftmanship. Anyone that tells you they are junk doesn't have a cule and probably owns a Baha Cruiser :lol:

The ride is very different from the 20 to the 23. The 20 will handle the rough decent, but it will be a wet ride. At troll, they will be tippy. The 23 is much more stable at 2-3 mph and is a drier ride. This is the 23 WA, not the 2359 Alaskan. That boat ride like junk. Its almost like the hulls is round. The helm is too far fwd causeing you to feel every wave as if it was a 6 fter. The 2359 is very unstable at troll, as very scary at speed if people are walking around.

[paulywood]

I think they troll a lot better with a set of bags out. Really seemed to stabilize the 20' that I have been on. JMO

[javelin]

Oh boy, a TROPHY with an OPTIMAX. Mercury has had ongoing problems with the OPTI - especially in 2002. If you are going to get an outboard, try to find a Yamaha.

As someone else posted, you can find a lot of boats with a better reputation for the price you are looking to spend.

[SalmonBum]

Oh boy, a TROPHY with an OPTIMAX. Mercury has had ongoing problems with the OPTI - especially in 2002. If you are going to get an outboard, try to find a Yamaha.

As someone else posted, you can find a lot of boats with a better reputation for the price you are looking to spend.


Agree with the Opti statement. They did have alot of problems. Yammi all the way.

Disagree with finding a "better reputaion boat" statement. What is your opinion of a better reputation boat for the money? Baha? Sportcraft? Wellcraft? Junk......


As being somewhat knowledgeable of boats and not just posting an opinion of Here-say or what a boat looks like, Overall for the money there is not a better buy out there than a Trophy. They are an in-expensive way to get you on the water.