Well Rapchizzle and TripleTrouble inspired me to post my project boat and progress. I am super-excited because she’s pretty much ready for a sea-trial.
Background: I was looking for a creek boat, and in a conversation with Chris V decided on an old Boston Whaler due to their stable and ‘unsinkable’ reputation and the fact that my kids will use it eventually. Also, we had a similar one when I was a kid and there is a certain nostalgia involved.
I found this one (1966 13’) on Craigslist in Daytona FL with a 25 Merc 4 stroke that is a '06 bought new in '08. Almost brand new. Got a fair deal on the package and brought it home (in the snowstorm!)
Here is what the transom looked like for starters. Lots of holes.
Some immediate items to address were a puncture in the transom where an old motor mount washer was crushed through the glass.
Also the Norman Pin on one side was torn away from its hole.
The transom holes were filled with dowels coated in epoxy and filled in with fairing material. The crushed portion of the transom was ground down and repaired with a hefty stack of fiberglass layers.
Also the Norman pin was removed and the glass was repaired and filled and faired.
Along the way, I also replaced all the thru hull drains with PVC, incl. transom, bulkhead, and 3 in the bow locker.
Since I am just trying to get the boat ready for a few years of use, I chose to paint with EasyPoxy, or rather the West Marine knockoff of it. Despite its name, its not epoxy but rather urethane paint. Its a
Man those little Whalers are great. We had on when I was a teenager. Used to load it up and go out past the jetties to fish. Doesn’t do too well in rough seas at fast speed though…thats why we nicknamed the boat the “Fractured Ass”. Really do miss that boat.
I just picked up a 67 Whaler myself and am in the process of repainting the bottom. Any tips would be GREAT! This is my first project and I am extremely eager to get it finished!
GregRo - PM reply sent!
BTW the motor is a 25 4 stroke. A bit heavy (165#) but I was very happy with its performance. The motor came with the boat when I bought it.
Check this out, I looked through some old family photo albums to see what model the Whaler from my childhood was, and found these. What’s cool is the Whaler was a Sport 13, which is the same model as I have…
My Mom on foreground, and my Uncle at the wheel (from 1965)
My Dad in foreground, with me in the little plastic boat (pic probably 1971)
Both my parents are deceased, so its kinda cool to see these.
I didnt know either until I asked about the cleats through the rear bulkhead and was corrected by the Whaler afficionados. Proper name is “Norman Pins”
