How long will Ropelene last?????

[Jan from Humboldt]

Feejer, if you are looking to find the perfect boat before you buy one you will never own a boat as there is no such animal.

I've owned a fair number of boats, glass, wood, aluminum and now plastic and this plastic boat I have now is the best of the bunch for me.

Perfect it's not, but it sure is a pleasure to own and as far as the people bashing Triumphs on that other board (H. T. I'd be willing to bet) they've been known to stretch the truth a little and some pump out pure bilge water about these boats.

Mine is a 2005 and it stays outside 24/7 covered with a tarp and I've seen no signs of any kind of deterioation of the hull or any other plastic parts.

I'm sure that if Ropalene deteriorated under UV the folks who own these boats in the southwest where there is a lot of intense sunshine with super hot temps would be throwing a full on fit about cracking plastic but I have not heard a thing about it to date.

I'll tell you straight up that if there were problems with my boat I'd say so and I'd also allow my dealer and Triumph to make it right before I called foul.

My neighbor owns a 170-CC and he works it hard as does a guy out of Trinidad who fishes bottom fish commercially out of his most of the year and I've heard no complaints out of either person.

I own the 150-CC and have pounded it pretty good these last two years and about the only thing that I found wrong was I'd popped a couple of deck screws out right next to the console and those were an easy fix with the "Hot screw" trick.

I added two more screws on each side and no more problem this year... A hot screw will fix a lot of stuff come to think of it.

If you do buy a used one make sure you can get the warantee transfered it's well worth the $$$

The folks on this board won't pull any punches and they will tell you if they did have problems and they are also quick to tell you how happy they are with thier boats too.

Thanks for the info guys

I keep forgetting to ask, What is the "Hot Screw Trick"?

[Jim Jenkins]

Will follow this line of postings as owner's experience develops. My 2002 170 CC is stored inside in the dark when not being serviced/ cleaned befor or after use.

Have 220 hours on motor with a guess of 1200+ hours of outside daylight exposure. But for a scuff here or there (darn oyster bars S FLA) the boat looks close to new.

I hope to live long enough to have a complaint as those concerns voiced on this line of postings. Or better, move up to the 195 CC of my current wishes.

[NCangler]

You heat up a screw that is going to be inserted in Roplene somewhere then dip it in Roplene powder. Then screw it into hole. As the Roplene powder cools it forms a tight seal around the screw for a snug fit. Here is the description of the process from Dick at Merritt Marine for someone who wanted to reseat their seat base:

Heat the screw part of the base with a propane torch and dip it in some PE powder, push the molten globed screw into the stripped out hole. This will reform a firm anchor for the bottom of the base. reinstall the seat and go fishing. If your local dealer doesn't have any powder, give me a call, I'll send some.

You can order the powder from your local Triumph dealer or get it online from Dick at Merritt Marine.

Originally Posted by feejer

I keep forgetting to ask, What is the "Hot Screw Trick"?

[fridaysoff]

I, like Jan from Humboldt have owned quite a few boats and still looking for the perfect one. I've come pretty close with my 170CC Triumph. I have a friend with a very expensive yellow 22 bay boat (fiberglass). Someone dinged it at a dock one day.Scuffed up bad and a few gel coat cracks. He repaired it the best he could matching the yellow gel coat. You can see the ding from over 50 feet away. Maybe after a couple of years sitting in the sun it will eventually match. The whole boat will look like dull yellow powder. I've had my Triumph for three seasons.It still looks as good as it did when I purchased it. I usually rub it down with a "Armour All" type liquid in the Fall and Spring. I have a cover that fits real well and keep it on when not in use. If I owned another fiberglass boat (which I doubt) I would cover it down to the trailer. They cannot take the sun like this "plastic " boat can. I took it out today in Southeast NC and tried to catch a few trout. A 10 knot NE wind was blowing. Not one bit of spray came in the boat. I am so "glazed and amazed" at this sweet little "plastic" boat everytime I take it out. Feejer if you haven't decided to purchase a Triumph after reading all of the post from owners here on this site I doubt if you'll be able to pull the "trigger". I don't know if you'll find the perfect boat for you, but I know I've come as close as I'll ever get with my Triumph. Good luck with your mission. It's fun to search for and purchase a boat. It's also a pleasure to rig one and enjoy it when you use it.
John D.

[k9reno]

I have an 03 210cc . It is stored on its trailer in the sun when not in use, which is far more often then I would really like it to be. The boat the plastic and other parts are is as good a shape as when I got it new. I would bet these will hold up better in the long run then fiberglass.

[Mike in Maine]

How about putting a little sun block cream on the boat before each trip just like we do to protect our skin? Just a thought.

Happy New Year and Happy Fishing in "07"

M I M

[pirate pete]

MY LOGIC is 6yrs. old. It sits on a cradle in south west florida sun all the time. It still looks the same as when I bought it new. Hull is solid. PIRATE PETE

[Gearyg]

I just finished reading the threads on "the hull truth" about the life of Ropelene, it was compared to lawn furniture and some so called "expert" who works for a major manufacturer of plastics claims he knows all of the answers (most likely he works in the warehouse stocking the chemicals then repeats what he hears as most formulations are created by a team and the main "mr. know it all would legally not be at liberty to discuss it).

Never the less, not being an expert, lawn furniture does not feel like my boat. Being a finance professional, not someone who does data entry and claims to be a finance person (no offense to data entry...) it appears that we all mainly think with our pocket books. I know on my last fiberglass boat, the whole deck had to be replaced at 15 years(due to soft spots and rotting), and re-wired of course, and was ready for some fiberglass repair (cosmetic) along with a new gel coat job...it was 20 years old. In the end, I sold it for $5K. But the money that was spent on doing these repairs (up keep) was well over $5K. I don't see the deck on a Triumph ever having to be replaced, or it having to have a new gel coat job etc... I can understand that an enthusiast would want to restore a "classic" and the cost would be irrelevant in this case.

So even at a 15 or 20 year period, if a Triumph's hull would fail and you part the boat out, motor, trailer and all...lets say you would get $2.5K (if a T-top is involved, $2K w/o a T-top) that would only be $3K less (max) than a boat that floats. Not bad considering you did not have to replace the deck (which is hard by the way) and deal with fiberglass related up keep (all other maintenance equal), you still come out ahead in $$$$. Keep in mind, this is a "big picture" overview of costs, Fiberglass -vs- Ropelene. I probably forgot to include items like deck recoating etc.... I would really like to do a model including all of this, maintenance and repair costs -vs- residual value and will post it as soon as I am done.

However, to keep an open mind, I have been e-mailing Triumph to do a Hammer, Pendulum and Bubba test on a well used 400 hour +, 6 year +, 21ft Triumph that has been "independently" purchased from Florida or Texas....where the sun gets really hot, maybe even one that has been stored in a slip on the water (salt of course). No response yet....if there is anyone out there that has some connections to get Triumph to step up to the plate and prove that Roplene does not loose 50% of its strength (which I doubt or I would have sank already) I would greatly appreciate the help....this would be the ultimate test!!!

Technology naturally devalues product, a boat in this case, and if I had a choice to restore a boat instead of purchasing a new/used one, I would throw the old boat away (take a tax deduction) and purchase a new/used one...as the old saying goes, you never get the money back that you put into it.