About a month ago I bought a refurbished '68 13ft Whaler with a '97 2s Johnson 25hp. Haven’t been able to use it since the check ride until today. Not sure how many miles I covered but I burned about 4 gallons of gas. It used quite a bit more gas than I would have thought. I launched at Haigh Landing between Bluffton and Hilton Head about 8:30am on a very high tide.
I don’t remember ever launching, piloting, and retrieving a boat by myself. The last time I did it with some help was about 1982, so I was almost a total greenie today. My goals for today were to successfully launch and retrieve the boat, and to not hit anything. Scored an A+ on those. I was a bit nervous retrieving the boat. When I got back to the landing at 2:00pm it was almost low tide and the water was ripping across the ramp. I angled the trailer with the back end a bit downstream to make it a little easier and BINGO - ran it right up on the trailer on the first try. Only had to winch it about a foot or two.
The boat ran well, got on plane easily, and was trimmed out nicely. The 2 stroke is loud as the dickens, but it didn’t let me down…except once. I was up in a feeder creek off of Bull Creek. I was trying to float down but kept getting pushed into the bank so I decided to get it pointed downstream so I could motor out. At one point the motor died while idling as soon as I put it in gear. Then I couldn’t get it out of gear which meant I couldn’t start it. And I did not know how to fix that problem. So I started paddling out of the creek since the tide was going out and I didn’t want to get stuck back there. I made it back out to Bull Creek and was paddling downcurrent towards the May River when some gentlemen in a CC Scout pulled up to help. One of the guys said he knew how to fix that so he got on my boat and had the motor out of gear and running in about a minute. And he showed me how to turn the flywheel if that happens again. (I knew how to turn the flywheel but I didn’t know that was what I needed to do.) So I learned a little some
Sounds like a great first outing Surf! Your new boat looks great! Greg and I are jealous! The awesome thing about these classic Whalers is that if and when you get stuck, you get out, throw the dock line over your shoulder, and pull it off! Let me know when you want the Optiker-special trolling motor mount on her. It will be tough to drill holes in that beautiful hull though
Drill, baby, drill! I need to wait a bit before I drop any more hundreds of dollars, but a TM is on the list of must-haves. I knew I wanted one before today. I realized today that I need one with the way these tides rip.
Wish list is growing; TM, Depthfinder/GPS, handheld VHF…nothing that $1500 can’t cure. I figured out today that you never finish paying for a boat.
Already bought a couple of Tempress seats that I will mount on that pretty wood.
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Yes they are. God Bless the Johnson 2-stroke.
quote:Originally posted by SurfFishLife
…I need to get a tiller extension. It was pretty uncomfortable being twisted around for that long
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>I hesitate to tell any boater to get/use a tiller extension. They can be very dangerous. Sitting sideways is the natural position for tiller motors. If you do get an extension, get a short fixed one and get use to it before you get a longer one.
quote:Originally posted by SurfFishLife
…This was also the first time I have piloted a boat in water that moves so fast. When I was running straight into the current up Bull Creek I had to throttle down a bit because it seemed that the prop wasn’t biting very well. Does that make sense?..
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Could be a couple reasons. The prop will loose ‘bite’ when the water gets too disturbed. Water that is churning will cause the prop to loose bite. The motor set too high can cause the motor to loose bite. And the prop might be spinning under high strain. Take a permanent marker and put a mark on the prop and a correspondent mark on the prop nut. If after you feel the prop loosing grip you check the prop and nut and see that they no longer are aligned… then the prop needs to be replaced or repacked.
Finally, if that ain’t a boat dog then, I’ve never seen one. I think I had the same life vest for my dog.
Hope it went well, Pete! Thanks again. Glad y’all took time out of your fishing to help get me going.
Ty, I was thinking a 1 ft extension would be all I need just so I can face more forward. And I think I will order a new prop anyway and keep this one for a spare. Of the reasons you mentioned above, I don’t think it is set too high based on a visual check and it worked well 95% of the time. Just a few times it seemed to not be biting very well. Just for good measure, I will take it to an outboard shop and have them give the whole motor a once-over.
Next trip, I want to bring my Golden along with Forrest. He’s just a Golden…had to revoke his retriever credentials.
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
Great little boat, that thing looks incredible. One thing I would suggest getting that won’t break the bank is a stick-it anchor pin. Also, with the way the current rips around here there probably isn’t anything wrong with your motor, you just have to get used to it.
Those little whalers are great! I’ve got three buddies with the 11’ model and those boats have put a hurting on some fish. Perfect for 2 people, uncomfortable for three. As for your GPS/fishfinder, I just bought a new unit from these guys in CA and the prices are reeeeeeally hard to beat for a new unit. http://getfeetwet.com/
I couldn’t sell my fishing and traveling buddy (but just for grins, what are you offering? ).
I have thought about an anchor pin. It might be a good interim solution until I get a TM. I used my grapnel anchor with short anchor line on Saturday and it held better than I thought it would but I think I would prefer the stick it pin.
A gentleman named Joe Rivers from Hamlet, NC did the restoration. His son (InletFool) posted a link to the Craigslist ad for this boat on CF.com back in January, and when I saw it I decided I wanted it. He has restored other Whalers before and I think he said his next project was going to be a 17ft Montauk.
Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. Now, if you all would teach me how to FIND fish, I think I can figure out how to catch them. But that’s another thread… Hope to see y’all out on the water soon.
13ft Whaler with 25hp Johnson
If you’re lucky enough to be fishing, you’re lucky enough.
).