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Let me start by saying I enjoy this forum and the information you can gather here. As you might surmise from my past posts I own a Proline. I plan to keep it for a season or two more before I move on but in the meantime, I constantly scan the posts for owner opinions on their boats. I realize there is another site dedicated to BW, but I'm kind of bewildered by the lack of reference made to BW on this site. With all the Scout enthusiasts, I thought there would be more comparisons, discussions, or even references to the Whaler line. Seems to me considering the quality and history of Boston Whaler there would be more discussions about or including their boats. I know I can go to "the other site" but I feel that since that site is purely dedicated to Boston Whaler you're going to get a biased (although informative) opinion on their boats. Any explanation?
You will note that there isn't very much discussion about Bayliners either. So we equally discriminate against both ends of the quality spectrum.
Seriously, Whaler's are excellent boats..in the top echelon. I guess there just aren't vocal grady owners or they cling together on their own group.
Just so you don't think we don't even consider whalers...I did. While I liked the concept of a non sinkable 24/25' boat, I also like the concept of being able to fix and easily install things. On a whaler, you don't just fix because what's broken may well be under all that foam. That, along with the price and Whaler did not come out on top for me.
Actually there have been lots of threads regarding whalers in the past. Usually, the anti-whalers claim that BWs are overpriced and sport cheap hardware. Oh yeah, they “pound in a chop”. A peek in the archives should confirm this.
I had a 22 ft whaler, mid-80s vintage (my first boat) from ’93 ‘till 97. It was a great boat, IMO the best for a first boat. I also rented from a fleet of a dozen or so before I bought mine.
They are very solid, and I’m a big fan of the construction technique where the foam is bonded to the glass. I could back down on a fish and take waves over the transom with no worries ‘cause they are ‘unsinkable’. I don’t see why the new ones have eurotransoms.
One problem the old boats had was the consoles tended to come loose from the deck (these boats were left in the water 24/7). I built two consoles for mine and fastened them to the deck with about 50 #12 wood screws and that fixed that ( the plywood in the first one delaminated ‘cause it was exposed to salt spray before I bought it). I disagree with the previous post regarding access to the hull. I pulled the deck several times, it’s heavy but simple to do.
Another problem is water can get into the foam. This happened to mine when the brass through-hull drains corroded. It made the boat stern heavy, but the glass and glass-foam bond stayed sound.
I don’t own a power boat now, but when I get one mid-80s BWs will be at the top of my list. Hope this helps.
I have 3 Whaler presently,also other boats- 2 Bertrams and a Mako.So i feel like i can speak from both sides.In general most guy's don't like to hear stories about their wife or their boat.
To lighten the discussion up a little bit before it turns the other way, Lets tell a few jokes.
We all have heard stories about Saab Drivers (Which i am one,all the wayback to their 2 stroke days).How does it go; What's the difference between a Porkupine and a Saab driver-NOT MUCH:Except-one has pricks on the outside ,the other there inside and most likely driving. How about;Whats the diference between a BMW,and a BW-ONLY the M in the boat owner's mine.!!!
Enough,jokes.The other site their noses are a tad longer,and they tend to look down at others brands as lesser than.What makes a Whaler so special is the??- FOAM, unsinkable they say(is it because they can't swim??) What is/can be a Whaler fault??-OH! it's the Foam again!!
A / The swear word over at the Whaler site is - Water Logged,almost unspeakable for them.
But as a Whaler owner it must be foremost in your mind if you live with realality,and not with myths. Every hole in a whaler hull is a point of entry for water into the hull which can if left alone result in one heavy,water logged hull.You really can't have any loose hardware,open screwholes,loose bow eye,ect.,on a Whaler.Everything must be beded properly and water tight.The worst case is if you hole a hull and keep using the boat and then the water is force in the foam. I purchased a Heavy/Water Logged Whaler it looked perfect,I had my head up my ASS and in the CLOUDS,not ME-I could tell a bad Hull just by looking at it. WRONG,again old fish face!!!You don't have to weight it,OH! YES you DO!!!
Like the above POST ABOVE SAYS "Friends don't let Friends by Whalers" I add must add "yes you can but PLEASE,take time to RUN THEM ACROSS A SCALE AND GET A WEIGHT" !!!!
Dealers won't take a trade before a weght,and be burned.I SWEAR that's way most used Whalers are private sales.........
This site is dominated by Scout and Grady White fans. That's okay with me. I'm just not interrested in debating the relative merits.
I have been boating for about 60 years and tried a lot of boats before I got my first Whaler (1966). I have owned 7, and will probably never own anything else.
EDIT: Some folks took the tone of this to be hostile. No hostility intended. I just tried to answer why I don't get into Ford/Chevy (or should it be Mercedes/Cadillac?) debates. I like my boat and I'm glad others like theirs.
Red sky at night. . .
JB
[This message was edited by J.B. Cornwell on 02-18-03 at 09:54 AM.]
Location: On My 340B SeaVee With Very Big Verados!
Posts: 5,138
Where's Boston Whaler?
J.B.
maybe the lack of reference stems from the fact that it's just not foremost or for that matter rearmost on anybodys mind. I've had 3 whalers in the last 7-8 years and have purchased a fourth, just no big deal, waterlogging no issue, other designs have their own issue. I think it's just that the other vendors may be more popular today.
After all it's just a boat, not my first and certainly not the last!
Of course Whalers are great boats. It's just that in some areas Grady owners have their own little club. Also, in our area Parker owners have their own little club. we have summer rendezvous in different places, and just have fun great together.
We KID each other, but that's the extent of it.
We boat owners are a pretty congenial bunch, you know...
Tuna1, the vast majority of your older Whalers aren't waterlogged. Sorry you got a lemon. They can be dried out relatively easily as they are closed cell. And, you must be referring to Blue Water with the BW referenceas the older Whalers were Willis' or Hummers, not Beemers.
Truth is, there are some older Whaler (the boat I mean) owners on this site but the hard cores are on continouswave.
Most used Whaler sales are private sales because the seller already has a list of people who have asked them to buy their boat if they ever decide to sell it. No need for a dealer or ads.
[This message was edited by Shag on 02-17-03 at 06:33 PM.]
Just read my "Stand up and be counted" thread. We'll eventually convert the boyz scouts and the Grady Hypes on this forum. Please exuse my Mike Tyson approach, but I find that the direct approach works best. It doesn't leave much for the imagination. Just like when I proposed to my husband...I said "baby get down on the knee you won't get any for free"!!!
So......"Float on the best and don't sink with the rest" go whaler!!!!!!
Thanks guys for the responses. That's why I enjoy this site as well as the classic whaler forum. If you're even remotely interested in whalers you couldn't ask for a better site dedicated solely to BW. JimH does a great job over there, just like Wiley does a great job over here. Do members post problems with there whalers on the classic whaler forum?Yes, but usually those who defend BW over there greatly outnumber those who are willing to site problems with their whalers asyou would expect on a site that is kind of a club. I'm sure whalers deserve the status they achieved but I really believe that alot of it is was achieved during the 70's and 80's. Brunswick seems to have finally picked up on this with their new 19' Nantucket ( Miami boat show- no mention here though?). Next time around I want to make an informed decision on my boat purchase and I really consider the information here as a valuable tool in making the right decision. Thanks again and sorry for the rambling this blizzard and NY winter have really given me a bad dose of cabin fever!!!
Here's my "Whale Tale" it's true! I bought a 1970 13' Whaler in 1970...used! The original owner bought it without his wifes permission. He figured she would fall in love with it as soon as he took her out on it. She didn't! "Too small" she said. So while scanning the want adds in the local paper I saw an add which read something like this: Brand new 13' BW only used twice.40hp Evinrude/Lark engine,Full bow railings,custom made canvas boat cover,trailer,(2) 6 gallon fuel tanks,(4) life jackets, anchor....$1500.00 firm! Well with the help from my dad, we talked him down to $1400.00!..... Still got it! In 1975 I bought a 40hp Merc to replace the crude Rude and that Merc still works fine....only replaced the sparkplugs every year!My brother-in-law re-habbed the woodwork last year and uses the boat now and it looks as new as the day I bought it! I forgot to add,I wish my 1966 Chevy Caprice held up like the Whaler!
To look at every BW i come across,and have come to IMHO the aged/damaged foam thats used for floatation is NOT a closed cell wall product.It's indead a allmost sponge open cell wall product.
Before my dry suit diveing days. We used a premium blown neopreene rubber material wet suit .The rubber manufacturer claimed it was non interconnecting pore product. BULLSHIT!! My buddy and i went diving off my small 14'boat on a bright sunny no wind day in january for some Bugs(NE lobsters). We did 3 dives each,and did good. After the last dive,sat in the boat had something to drink and eat,and decided to change back on shore rather than in the boat because we were warm at the time.We had a 5 miles run into the ramp/beach.We became hypothermic on the way in because the so called "NON-interconnecting" SPONGE rubber acted like indeed a SPONGE and the water evaporating out of the rubber cooled off and lowered our core temperature. When we reached beach everything was a funny joke,and we had slow re-actions and speach. Our3/8"neoprene wetsuit might as well have been a soaking wet wool blanket we wore on the trip in.The effect was so slow it was not noticed until we got to the dive shop to get the tanks Jammed and the owner made us go take a hot shower for 1/2 an hour.We did not think anything was wrong until he had told us.
It's not just a Whaler problem, all the foams appear to develop the problem,Bertrams,Mako's,Seacraft,ect all can develop wet foam.2 weeks ago on "Ship Shape" TV program,John the host was retanking a older boat. When he installed the gas tank he foam it in place with the mix your own 50% A/50% B - 4lb/ ft density stuff and after it had blown he cut it down for looks.He stated you must seal the cut surface to seal it against water pickup. So it a well knowned problem just not talked about.
If you go to the manfs.Websites most say unless controlled closely to a 50/50% mixture one part can pickup water if not mixed and blown properly.
I wonder if BW locked together hull process in blowing the foam yeilds unreacted byproducts in the hull??? I don't know.Two of the Whalers i have are water jet powered Rages,we use for flats fishing stripers. The 1st one(the Dry ONE) was a rehashed repair with epoxy/glass work under the bottom paint.I was able to tear the epoxy repairs off when it sat in the summer sun,i had turn the boat over to remove the bottom paint.
I would never repair a polyester resin/glass composite boat with anybodys epoxy system after seeing how just the heat of the sun softens the epoxy bonds.Epoxy has no chemical bonds to the polyester resin it relies only on a mechcanical bond to the surface due to roughness developed during grinding the surface for prep.
The 2nd Rage i purchased because i wanted a "good Hull with no repairs".I found it at a Whaler dealer in January.I did normal inspection proceedures,hull sounding all the hull it sounded excellent.No soft delamination spots at all.YeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH!!! come warm weather - DRIP,DRIP from a thur hull then the story goes on............. Wet to the bow eye. 500 LBS of water and over a year to dryout.
I hate to cry in my BEER,but I need one NOW!!!
OFF TO THE cooler,see ya.
There once was a 27' CC Whaler that got a little to close to a rip. Backwards it went, until it was full of water. The motors were still runnig and they drove out of it. Didn't sink or roll over. This happened at 'Old Mans Rip' on the backside of Nantucket one September day. Can't remember the year, early 90s at a Whaler get together in Edgertown. There was a Nor'easter the whole weekend that year. Another Whaler fan, with a 25' Outrage diesel, Carl Slack, drove through it from Falmouth to Edgertown by himself at dusk...no problem. He didn't think it was a big deal. Sorry to this day, I passed on that ride. They are there when you need'em. If you ever looked at the older Whalers from the side...you'll note that the powerhead is higher than the gunwale. That's just one story. There are 100 more like it! Then there was the time... When the weather turns on you, you'll be glad you have a Whaler. Does this sound like an ad?
"Never enough time to do it right; ALWAYS enough time to do it over." Boston Whaler, "MUMBLER", 24' Outrage (1996), twin 175 HP Evinrude Ocean Pros. Snowball, the cat...
As a person who can say I've never lit down into a Boston Whaler, ever, there is some mystique appended to the brand.
Perhaps it was the picture our fathers saw in Life magazine, the advertisement of the guy riding around in the cut-in-half whaler, or maybe it was a neighbor who owned one and ranted and raved for days and weeks about its goodness.
Truthfully, the Whaler has a formidable reputation, perhaps marketing, but more likely a boat that stood out in a crowd of inferiors of the day, a boat that couldn't be sunk. A hull that commanded respect. In some ways this phenonmemon could be a parallel to that of Toyota automoblies. The Toyota car, while many will say it is japanese, foreign, rice-burner, etc., it is hard to find a person who will say it is not a good car. It's reputation precedes it.
Today I believe many boats approach or equal a Whaler's seaworthiness. Still, the Whaler demands a hefty purse. This is because there are people who demand this design and are willing to lay out the dollars to have it. Could this be marketing? Maybe, but most people with that kind of cash are discriminating in their tastes. They want to be rewarded with their purchase, not burdened. If the product failed to deliver, even for the marketing success of a campaign two decades in the offing, they would take their cash elsewhere and bring their friends with them. Bottom line, the product delivers.
And that also highlights the unusual binary of Whaler customers. Almost no company builds a 13 foot skiff of note that so many kids have cut their teeth on, and with their progenitor's confidence that they would not perish due to equipment failure. The very existence of the BW 13 was a ticket to freedom for so many adolescents. Their dads were confident in the equipment, so the boys and girls went off to fish. Those boys and girls are now holding the cash, and when they buy, well, there's at least one old brand that kind of beckons to them.
The classic progression is complete when the kid who floated a 13 foot skiff is at the boatyard and buys an Outrage or even a Montauk. The connection is made between the quality of the most simple of vessels, a 13 foot flat bottomed skiff, and a high-tech, computer designed and modernly manufactured multiple outboard boat of considerable financial consequence.
I'm not a Whaler fan, because I've never even boarded one, but I know their reputation. Even for technical problems like that of water intrusion, seems the saavy Whaler buyer would check that out before writing the check. As far as that goes, the average cat buying any boat has alot of things to check out before they buy their boat: rotten stringers, rotten transom, delamination, spider-cracked gel coat, stress fractures, leaking fuel cells, you get the picutre.
For the Whaler's few pecadillos, it remains an icon in American small-craft manufacturing.
As a Whaler owner (22' Outrage) and Whaler Lover, I will be the first to say that Whaler owners tend to be somewhat close minded and a little arrogant.
More so than Grady owners, that I don't know.
The www.continuouswave.com site is really the "go to" site for Whaler folks. It is definetly outdated, as you can't even post photos, but it will give you plenty of Whaler info. that you can't get on other sites.
Where's Boston Whaler? 
THT sponsor
Does this sound like an ad? 
"Never enough time to do it right; ALWAYS enough time to do it over." Boston Whaler, "MUMBLER", 24' Outrage (1996), twin 175 HP Evinrude Ocean Pros. 
Snowball, the cat... 
