Compare Triumph to Trophy

[Downunder]

Hi All,
Still tring to decide between a Triumph 215CC and Trophy 2102.
The triumph dosen't seem to have a great deal of free board at the sterm for a rough ocean or large swell compared to the Trophy.
Can anyone tell me how they have found the Triumph in large swells. Do you get a great deal of water into the sterm????

Thanks

[TeriL]

Downunder,

I have a 215CC Tournament Edition and have never had water over the stern. In my book, there is no comparison between a fiberglass boat and a Triumph. It’s the sweetest ride you can get and no waxing!

[frankc]

Downunder, we have some pretty rough water out west here and water over the stern has never been an issue for us. I was a bit reluctant about the plastic at first but she has proven to be as smooth as she is tough.

Good luck!

[OspreyVic]

Downunder

If you are concerned about water coming in over the stern, maybe what we did would also help you.

On our 210 CC we installed the Raymarine optional high performance transom mount transducer kit. In order to install it correctly, we had to remove the starboard transom drain ball scupper.

Now you want to talk about leaving a hole for water to get in, well we created one.

To help our water problem we purchased two swimming pool winterizing 1 1/4 “ pipe plugs. These rubber expandable plugs are used for sealing fittings during winter shut-down. Simply push the properly sized plug into the hole and turn the wing nut clockwise. As you tighten this wing nut, the plug body will expand putting pressure between the plug and the hole. This pressure fit makes for a watertight application. They are inexpensive and work great. Make sure you purchase the correct size plug for the job.

Besides, to us this is a boat. Boats have water under them and usually in them. If we go from full throttle to a dead stop as fast as possible, there is still a possibility of getting water in over the stern. Maybe my family is odd, but we just do not worry about it.

In my opinion, if a wave hits you just right, there is always a chance of water coming in. If we have three big guys standing at the stern fishing, combined with the weight of our 150 four-stroke engine, that weight just increases the chances of water coming over the stern. It has just never been enough water for us to even start being concerned over.

To us the better questions might be; Will the water exit the boat, especially when the boat gets under way? AND If the engine can’t get going, will the boat sink or turn over with you, your friends and family, etc? In our opinion, our Triumph could fill with water, but the motor itself will still be above water. In our opinion, we just have a safer boat. Folks that tell me they never worry about hitting that floating object when they are miles from land, are just kidding themselves. We would much rather hit that object with our plastic boat than put a hole in a glass boat. We know that fiberglass can sink and our plastic floats.

Just our opinions. Good luck on your search.

[k9reno]

Due to lack of attention on my part I once took a breaker over the starboard aft quarter. It is a lot higher than the stern area around the motor. It was no problem though. I had about 6 inched of water in the rear half of the boat, but I throttled up and the water went out the back in short order. No problem.

[tylerderdan]

Hey downunder,

I personally happen to love the lower gunwale. I have had my triumph in absolute washing machine conditions and besides getting wet from the wind spray of 25 knots of wind and confused seas, I took no water over the sides. In my experience the lower gunwales make it easier to leader big fish such as sharks and marlin. Even washing your hands off is easier. I have fished an entire season of marlin on a fully pimped out trophy. They ride completely different as they don't have the soft landing in rough conditons of the triumph. I will say trophy has come a long way. For me the high gunwale and working over the side to release and leader fish from the trophy was kind of difficult. Either way, let us know what you decide. If you have any more questions, let me know. I used to own a 20' trophy also.

[cichlid]

I can't speak for the triumph as I do not own one, but I am very familiar with that trophy. My buddy and I fished on his every weekend for several years. In my opinion it was a very wet boat.

Also, after taking a look at several triumph's at a dealer near me, I would say the fit and finish is much better on the triumph's, just my opinion.

[tylerderdan]

Originally Posted by ILLOGICAL GGC

there was a time in the past that trophy was mostly chopped strand blown in rather than hand laid glass and i would not put my family in one. it was considered an inexpensive boat made inexpensively. things may have changed and i am speaking from past experience. the triumph will out last it 2 times over

Before you get too down on another manufacturer I would make sure you know what you are talking about. I have been out in some of the worst conditions around in trophy boats and they have held up just fine. They have come through some their earlier problems and actually build a solid boat now. They really don't still have a bad reputation, that is mostly from ignorance and people who refuse to stay current on boats and building trends. Trophy is actually starting offer a diesel in some of their boats also.

Someone posted about the trophy being a wet boat, they do tend to have a sneeze, but overall not too bad. I do really like the reverse chine of the 215cc to keep a nice dry ride, but when conditions are windy and rough both boats are going to be wet rides unless you have curtains or a full Eisenglass or something to that effect. The nicest thing about the triumph is how soft and smooth the ride is. Even in rough seas the boat does no slap. The hull is designed to be forgiving, and the roplene flexes to absorb shock. The combo seems to work well.

[ILLOGICAL GGC]

advice taken ---was speaking from the past and since i do not know the present i will withdraw the post ---glass is glass is glass

[Gearyg]

In rough seas doing about 12-18 knots, I had quite a bit of waves come over the rail near the stern on the windward side. Yes, the water disappears pretty quickly, almost insataneously and besides it also washes the deck for me. Never the less, even with a little higher freeboard, I think the waves would have still made it over, in order to avoid that you would be talking about a much much bigger boat (except for possibly the Seaswirl Stripers, but they are $$$$$) I never had waves come over while on drift or anchor though.

On the positive side, it is alot easier to land fish the closer to the water you are, especially when you are solo.