Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

[Epitome]

A neighbor has a 1998 Center Console Trophy Boat for sale, about 21'-23' I would guess, but I will find out. The boat seems to be in very good condition and seems to be very well taken care of. Do Trophy Boats that are 10 years old have a reputation? Good or bad?


Thanks

 

[kawiski]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

You need to provide MUCH more info such as what kind of engine, hrs, options,etc. At least, exact model code. Even more so than the age of the boat, how it has been maintained, not just exterior but internal stuff as well, is a key to the reliability of the boat/engine.

 

[lyle]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

as far as the 2359 WA models.........NO

 

[Epitome]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

It's a model 2503 and has a Mercury Saltwater Series 225hp efi four stroke motor. The motor sits outside the boat on it's own platform. Boat appears to be in mint condition and was only ever used in freshwater. No hours meter on motor, but very clean and starts right up running clean and quiet with immediate cooling water coming out in a strong stream.

 

[kawiski]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

Sounds like the boat is in a real good condition. The EFI 4-stroke 4-cylinder engine is almost bulletproof in my experience. Check the prop and skeg for any sign of damage/wear. Test drive and see if you like it. Post some pics if you can. How much is he asking?

 

[Epitome]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

I made a mistake. It's a Mercury 225hp EFI Oil Injected 2 Stroke. The EFI Saltwater Series on the side of it confused me I guess. My understanding is that these are also pretty bulletproof. The boat honestly looks like it could be brand new. It has alsways been stored inside and has always been in freshwater. Heck, even the dual axel trailor looks new. Boat has a 150 gallon fuel tank (approx) and I know the boat can hit 50 mph or darned close on flat water. I wonder how quick it eats fuel?

 

[kawiski]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

I had a similar FICHT digital fuel injected 2-stroke engine on my now-gone boat and it gave me some engine related issues. The injectors they use is an extreme high pressure type, upto 2400 psi, using electromagnetic coil. That draws high amperage and the controller or ECU (that operates the injectors) would occasionally burn up, very expensive replacement cost. Maybe OptiMax from Mercury is much more reliable than the FICHT system. The fuel economy of digitally injected 2-stroke is comparable to that of 4-stroke engine with the advantage of being simple (mecanical wise) and light weight. The smoke issue is there but much less, about 70%, than the carbureted 2-stroke of same size engine. But obviously still not as clean as 4-strokers, 1 or 2 stars vs. 3 stars on emission rating.

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

A neighbor has a 1998 Center Console Trophy Boat for sale, about 21'-23' I would guess, but I will find out. The boat seems to be in very good condition and seems to be very well taken care of. Do Trophy Boats that are 10 years old have a reputation? Good or bad?


Thanks

Could be a pretty decent boat if it's looking that mint. How much is the million dollar question.??

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

as far as the 2359 WA models.........NO

Bad experience? What happened to your 2359?

Or what have you heard?

?

 

[RoyR]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

Why are you still asking....buy it!

 

[Epitome]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

Bought the boat It seems to be in almost new condition. 27' long Trophy model 2503, Mercury 225hp EFI two stroke, T-Top, 2 Mercury four stroke 15hp kicker motors (yes, 3 motors on the boat) and 2 Cannon electric downriggers. We are very happy, though we haven't actually taken it out yet. It trailored VERY easily with my Chevy Silverado Z71 1500, I was surprised.

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

sweet ride looks mint to me. how much again?

 

[frankie g]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

looks great! your gonna love it! more pic's

 

[Epitome]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

After selling one of the 2 15hp kickers, I paid 13k, this included 2 electric Cannon downriggers and a mint Venture trailer. It was a pretty good deal as the boat is almost new except for some very minor things, but hey, it's 10 years old lol. The 225hp EFI 2 stroke Merc not only looks and runs perfect, there isn't even a single mark on the skeg or prop. I took it out on a test run today and it runs great. Accelerates and planes quickly and at 5400 rpms (the most it will go at wide open throttle the way it is set up) the boat ran 52 mph. I need to find out if that rpm is about right as a max for that motor.

 

[lyle]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

Bad experience? What happened to your 2359?

Or what have you heard?

?

ghost chaser...no problems with the hull...only the power...finally got stranded 25 miles out and now have rebuilt or replaced everything...as with a lot of boats there is always something small to deal with...dont like the fish boxes or the small gas tank (87 gal. )...might be ok if powered by outboards, but the decision has been made to sell it...2nd problem with bayliner, there wont be a third...oh yeah- the nav lights on the bow stay broken because of the design and location...very hard to find replacements for that model...have to run down shorts in the wiring, been doing this since 2006 and it is a 2001 model...this is not a slam against all trophy products...just mine...oh yeah...tired of replacing pumps as well...now the livewell pump needs replacing also

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

ghost chaser...no problems with the hull...only the power...finally got stranded 25 miles out and now have rebuilt or replaced everything...as with a lot of boats there is always something small to deal with...dont like the fish boxes or the small gas tank (87 gal. )...might be ok if powered by outboards, but the decision has been made to sell it...2nd problem with bayliner, there wont be a third...oh yeah- the nav lights on the bow stay broken because of the design and location...very hard to find replacements for that model...have to run down shorts in the wiring, been doing this since 2006 and it is a 2001 model...this is not a slam against all trophy products...just mine...oh yeah...tired of replacing pumps as well...now the livewell pump needs replacing also

Lyle,

I hear you on all that stuff that happens to us boaters. Bought mine used in 2005 just a couple years old and I pretty much went through pretty much all the small stuff that sometimes feels like a boat plague cause it never ends. My Outboard has been pretty good in 450 hours with only maintenance and one bad air injector for 350 ouch. Same on the fish wells, pumps, nav lights, bow eye leak transom leak (bad transducer install, previous owner), trailer brakes, actuator, frozen steering cables and upgraded to hydraulic (pretty awesome upgrade), trim tab switch, trim tab brain (no fuse from factory)?, and now a trim tab actuator. All in all in retrospect and after reading and watching my friends with higher price and tier boats they pretty much went through similair stuff. My buddy with the inboard had to deal with exhaust manifolds and it just goes on. I have conluded that this is boating or Bill on another thousand. For all the bad times with the boat the good times have no doubt outshined the $ and elbow grease by far, not to mention the Tuna, white seabass, yellowtail, sharks and rockfish that have hit the deck of this boat. Now for my next boat. Would I buy another Trophy? I'm not bitter at the brand for what I've encountered and have asked my self if buying a 10 to 20 dollar more expensive boat is going to reduce all that happened to me on my trophy? It might but than again is avoiding a few maintenance items and even broken stuff may not amount to a value of 20 thousand additional dollars spent. Oh ya my factory bait tank really sucks with the leaking and the broken y valve that flooded my bilge once and ruined a tuna trip in San Diego that ended with a coast guard escort back to the dock. But I'm not bitter......... I'm pretty certain that 2004 or newer Trophy 2502 willend up in my driveway sometime soon. I like other boats but not for that much more money.

My two cents. Like to know what you buy to replace your sled.

Take care

 

[lyle]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

ghostchaser....I'm not bitter....just educated...these were starter boats and I knew they were not "GRADY-WHITE" quality, but now that I have found out for myself I wont go back to a trophy product and I know a lot of what you mentioned is to be expected during the course of boating....however, I feel a lot of it is just poor design or quality...I am going to lose mine and go back with a quality hull (contender, mako, grady, ect. ) with brand new outboards ...my main purpose is offshore fishing (serious offshore fishing ), not island hopping, cruising, partying, or just plain boating...and in my opinion trophy just doesn't fit that bill......there are different boats that fulfil different needs ... as stated before, it was not my intention to slam the product line, I just need a better (and bigger) boat ..... oh yeah - the price that a used trophy can muster isn't anywhere near the resale value of the boats I just mentioned

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

ghostchaser....I'm not bitter....just educated...these were starter boats and I knew they were not "GRADY-WHITE" quality, but now that I have found out for myself I wont go back to a trophy product and I know a lot of what you mentioned is to be expected during the course of boating....however, I feel a lot of it is just poor design or quality...I am going to lose mine and go back with a quality hull (contender, mako, grady, ect. ) with brand new outboards ...my main purpose is offshore fishing (serious offshore fishing ), not island hopping, cruising, partying, or just plain boating...and in my opinion trophy just doesn't fit that bill......there are different boats that fulfil different needs ... as stated before, it was not my intention to slam the product line, I just need a better (and bigger) boat ..... oh yeah - the price that a used trophy can muster isn't anywhere near the resale value of the boats I just mentioned

Lyle,

Well said and deserved. PLease enjoy that new boat and tell us about it here on the Trophy forum.

I totally agree with you 100%, I need a better bigger offshore boat as well,
but i'm not quite there on the discretionary income for that Grady White.

My goal is to have a GW for retirement at the very least. Until then I'm gonna upgrade my beginner boat and go with the bigger trophy.
Offshore trips I have taken have been maxed at 90 miles one way. If i could just get a little more range, I could hit that San Diego/ Mexican Tuna that much sooner in the season.

CYa Lyle!!

 

[Epitome]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

The 1998 Trophy 2503 I just got has a 150 gallon tank and the motor is a 1998 Mercury 225 2 stroke EFI Offshore. The size, speed and capacity is great, but any ideas what kind of range it will have? Or how fast it will burn the fuel? I had it out to try it out and it had 3/4 of a tank before I left. After cruising around a bit and some wot runs we went back in about 1.5 hours later and it was just under 3/4 of a tank. Now, that may be quite a bit of gas when it's a 150 gallon tank, but I have no clue lol

 

[Ghost Chaser]

Re: Are Trophy Boats Any Good?

hard to find specs like that. fish the net and see if anything comes up. Try the Hull Truth alot of helpful people on that site. I use to be able to get specs and range for my boat on the net but it is no longer available since it is an older boat now. If you have to have hard specs on your boat, try boat test.com but they charge for archived info.

A rough idea on my 135 hp opti and 22" boat I burn 8gph at 3500 rpm.

2-3 miles per gallon

I'll guess your 225 might burn around 10-11gph at cruise (3500 rpm)

let us know if you find anything on your boat. The range on your boat may surprise you. I'll guess 300 miles.