Major Projects

On this page you will find Major projects. These include:

Replacement of the old Canvas
Replacing the helm gauges and chart plotter
Windlass and anchor locker shelf rebuild

Scroll down for the photos to each or type Ctrl+F for a search bar

When we bought our boat the canvas, while intact, was in serious need of replacement. The plastic was so cloudy you could not see through it. And in some place it had cracked. In addition it was a slope back type and we wanted full camper type canvas. So one of the first things we did was get new canvas made. We used EZ2CY glass on the port and starboard side panels. Made a full camper back with screened back windows. Added in zippered side windows for ease of access and used a two layer canvas on top. The bottom side is gray while the top is white. Below are some before and after photos of the canvas.

The old canvas

And the new Canvas installed

Anchor Shelf and Windlass Rebuild

Another area that is prone to dry rot is the anchor locker windlass and anchor roller. On every Trojan 440 made. I removed the old dry rotted wood and glassed in the space. Then covered it with several layers of epoxy and finally several coats of bilge paint. Proper maintenance should make this area last longer than the boat now.

You can see in the before pictures that the area was saturated and still wet. It took several weeks for this to dry out before I could begin the repair. The rot was indicative of years of neglect. All it takes is a bit of cleaning and paint from time to time to keep this from happening.

After pictures

I cut and formed a piece of starboard on the bottom of the shelf and after cutting away the dry rotted area re-filled with large strand fiberglass. I also used the same fiberglass filler to build up the ridge at the back so it was higher than before. This would keep any water from wicking back an getting in the locker. After that I epoxied over the entire thing with three coats. Sanding between coats and the final coat. I finished by painting with several coats of white bilge paint. I also put a hard plastic cover on the floor of the anchor locker. It is porous and holds the chain up off the floor allowing better drainage.

Windlass Repair

There are plastic pieces inside of the windlass that it is recommend be replaced ever few years. The previous owner said he never did anything with it as he had not used the windlass. (see anchor locker) So I decided to take it apart as well. It had obviously never been touched since its install in 97. There was not even any gear oil left in it. So I completely dis-assembled it and put it back together using all new plastic pieces, filled the gear case with new oil and replaced it.

And After

Replacing the Gauges and Chartplotter

I was lucky enough to find a complete set of NOS gauges and even the panel they mount to. At the same time the chart plotter that came with the boat would intermittently cut out. I decided to replace both at the same time. The layout of the helm does not really lend itself to a good placement for the chart plotter. I decided to mount it in a line of sight place. It is capable of displaying radar overlay as well. The current radar is not compatible with that function and is still working so I have not replaced it.

This is what it looked like at purchase. As you see, the chart plotter obstructed the view of the gauges