I had a Trophy 2002WA for 21 years…1992-2013…bought it new at the Victoria Boat Show at the Memorial Arena…had to wait until spring of that year for delivery, but loved it since the first day I put it in the water. Yes, we did have some issues with the stock Force 120, but it did last a good 10 years…definitely not a melon like other people had. Repowered with a Johnzuki 140 which was AWESOME…a "little" under powered coming up the backside of a big offshore swell especially loaded down with fish, but was great on fuel, and ran like a top!
Anyways, I really liked the hull itself. It had a few gelcoat voids that were easily filled but were really very minor…one in the motor well, and the other near the buddy door. Both were right in corners.
The fish wells and scupper location were a BAD design from the beginning. Any water that would end up in the cockpit ended up in the fish wells, and very little actually went out the self bailing scuppers. The pump for the fish well was also a bad design, and were constantly clogging with gunk from fish even though there was a filter. Ended up not ever using them, and instead put a large cooler across the top of the motor well which I bungied down…worked very well. The pump in the fish wells worked well if I didn't store fish in there.
The fact that the water from the entire deck of the boat ended up in the fish wells did stress me out she I left the boat moored at the dock, especially with heavy rain. My worry was that the fish wells would end up full, then the weight would force the scuppers under water and this would cause the boat to fill up with even more water, before there would even be a drop inside the bilge where the bilge pump was located. Once the water actually got into the bilge, it would be too late to save it, and would end up like the pic of the Trophy above. THis is not the first time that I had seen this happen to one.
The way that I easily dealt with this problem, is that I rigged up a small temporary bilge pump with a built in float switch that I could put into one of the fish wells (they were connected by piping). I then had the bilge hose run over the stern of the boat to drain and plugged the unit into one of my Scotty down rigger plugs. When enough water went into the fish wells, the pump would turn on and drain both of them because they were connected. Worked REALLY well…the only downfall is that I had to leave one of my batteries on. Definitely a piece of mind during heavy rainstorms in the spring.
Anyways…more about the boat. I did find the windshield to not be steep enough…made it difficult to see through when you were sitting at the helm. This problem was only in 1992, as they made the front glass bigger, and steeper in 1993 or 1994…can't remember exactly. Also, no windshield wiper…easy to put in though.
Did it pound in the chop…yes….was it a lot better when I put trim tabs on…DEFINITELY. It did always sound very solid when it did pound, and there was never any weird rattles, vibration noises or creaks from the hull. Just from the buddy door that rattled. I put Bennett Sport tabs on, as there was not really much room for anything else.
I never, ever got any more than normal water in the bilge at all. I think the only water I ever got in the bilge was through the motor cable boots at the back and that was very minimal…the automatic float switch on the bilge never tripped the entire 21 years I had the boat, and yes, I did test it yearly to make sure it functioned properly.
I put a radar arch on it, which was great, and it trolled very well with a Yamaha 9.9 HT, connected by EZ steer to the main. The factory canvas also lasted the entire time I had the boat, but it was going to need replacing…it helped that I kept her in a heated shop during the winter months
It was a GREAT boat for me and we fished it all over the place…both inside and offshore. It was hard to see her go. Lots of time and memories on that boat. Our family was just getting bigger, and we needed a bigger boat with more of a cabin.
Now I have a 22 foot Sea Sport Sportsman, with a 5.0 GI Volvo inboard with a duo prop. The ride in this boat is definitely better and smoother, especially in a close together chop. In my opinion, the new boat is the ultimate boat for me and my family It is everything that I could want in a fishing boat…other people might want bigger, but with bigger comes higher running costs and more difficult to trailer etc. Can't say enough good things about my Sea Sport, but that isn't for this thread
Just my 2 cents about my experiences with a Trophy…take it or leave it.
FishWish