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We are trying to figure out what year the splashwell in the Montauks (or other 16' 7" models) changed.

Early models did not have the depth to accommodate the lower mounting bolts of the BIA configuration which forced using the "Blind Holes" in the motor mount bracket.

Later years changed the depth of the splashwell to accommodate the use of the BIA bolt pattern as seen in our article.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=82

So, who has the deeper splashwell that allows the "Red" holes to be drilled in their transom?
That would be 8 inch spacing from the upper holes which would put the holes approximated at 9 7/8" to 10" from the top of the transom.

Apparently, 1987 or 1988 models have the deeper splashwell but would like input from all of you Montauk owners.....
See other changes here to Montauk models from hinges, cabinet locks, consoles, etc.....
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=17

If there is anyone else with earlier models with deeper splashwells please let us know.
We would like to narrow this down on which year the deeper splashwell started....

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1975 16'7" Whaler, Hull #3A9604...I run a 1985 140 Evinrude Looper, The engine is mounted on the transom using the blind holes and the top mounting holes. I did not know/never knew that they change the depth of the splash well on the Whalers for mounting the outboards, I always wondered why the inside transom was so shallow, but because of the blind holes mountings I never gave it a second though...

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Joe - We have figured out that the smirked Montauk hull definitely underwent some subtle design changes. The earlier hulls, at least 1979 and earlier, had a little "droop" in the center of the Smirk, as well as the smaller bow locker cover. These boats had the shallower splashwell also. These boats had the two color gelcoat.

My best guess is that the splashwell was deepened at the same time the bow "droop'" was eliminated, when the bow locker cover was enlarged, and when the boats became all desert tan in color. That would be 1983 model years. But I cannot personally give you any proof. A good friend bought an '83 Montauk new, and it had the larger locker cover and no bow "droop". But I never checked out the splashwell at the time.

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Thanks Larry....

That is why I am asking as we don't know the facts yet until we hear from the owners of such year Montauks....

We have gone through the bow locker sizes but not the depth of the splashwell.
The locker size was changed in 1983/1984 if I remember correctly without looking. Now we want to get down to business on the depth of the splashwell year change.

rvshulz has a 1987 Montauk with the deeper well.
http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/vi...;pid=86225

Also look at his personal page.

So far we know the 1987 models and above have the deeper well......
Now we need to hear from anyone else with earlier models that have the deeper well....

Who has the standard BIA mounting holes on their Montauk?
This would mean that they also have the deeper well to accommodate the BIA mounting hole pattern given in one of my posts above.
Top holes, 1 7/8" to 2" down from top of transom.
Lower holes, 9 7/8" to 10" down from top of transom.
NOTE: the upper and lower holes are spaced 8 inches apart vertically on center.....

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I am not sure if it fits here Joe but I do notice what appears to be a substantial difference between the last 1976 Smirkless and the first 1976 Smirked hulls. The smirkless hulls had a single splash well drain in the center while the smirked hulls had two on either side of the mounting bracket and appear to be lower.

For the sake of this discussion we could have members measure inside from the top of the transom ledge to the center of the splash well drain tubes.

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Heads up My whaler is a 1975 and it was all desert tan inside...My splash well measures 9.25 inches in depth with one centered drain hole.

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Lgically, I would seem like the changes between the '82 and '83 years would be the time. This is when the console and colors changed also.

But that may not be the absolute case, since we know Whaler had more than one set of molds for the 17' hull. One at a time they may have been taken off the line for revisions, while others werel still in production.

So I would also say research the '82 -'84 period boats. I think the B.I.A. bolt pattern was officially adopted in 1984, so the boats would have needed to accomodate that requirement, especially since Mercury never used the OMC blind hole system. Mercury's 75's and 90's first came out with the BIA pattern in 1984 model year engines.

I would GUESS 1983 boats were the year of the hull modifications being made, with both old and new being found. Unless of course, they changed all mold sets at one time, such as during a summer recess.

I think figuring this out is an excellent idea, Joe.

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As I mentioned in another thread, we know that Chuck Bennett has indicated that Whaler ran a new and an old mold simultaneously in the late 1980s. He seemed to think the change occurred in 1988 but if rvshulz's 1987 has the deeper splashwell then that indicates the change occurred earlier. I do not believe it could be as old as 1984, however. But it also means that hulls made after 1987 do not necessarily have the deeper splashwell, some may others may not. It would depend what mold they came out of.

At any rate, what we are focusing on here is the splashwell depth which in the older hulls is, according to contender250, 9-1/4" deep. To accommodate the full BIA bolt pattern as Joe describes, the splashwell would have to be at least 11" deep. That is what we need Montauk owners to measure for us now.

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We also know that the earliest possible year for the splashwell depth increase is 1985.

As Larry correctly notes, 1984 was the year Mercury adopted the BIA bolt pattern and Whaler sent out a factory-to-dealer bulletin (Boston Whaler Dealer Bulletin 10-84) describing how to mount the Mercury motors on the shallow splashwell 17 foot models. That bulliten dates from April of 1984, the middle of the 1984 model year.

My suspicion is that dealers complained about the Mercury motors not having the auxiliary bolt holes so Whaler decided to accommodate them by increasing the depth of the splashwell.

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We would also like to get rvshulz HIN and Stencil numbers so we could add him to the Montauk list and state the first known deeper splashwell at this time....

Montauk list:
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=17

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The hull color change referred to above is the exterior hull color of the small Whalers which changed form Outrage Grey to Desert Tan for the 1984 model year. The interiors were all Desert Tan from 1972 on.

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The question is not really when did Whaler change the depth of the splash well the real question should be: Why did it take so long for Whaler to deepen the splash well? You would have though that after mounting the 1st large outboard on the transom the problem should of been noticed....

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The 16/17 hulls were rated for a max hp of 100......
We have no problem with that...
People overpower on their own for their own reason and we have no part or concern in that area other than to advise what the maximum HP is according to Boston Whaler.

We also have no problem why Whaler did what they did...
They did it because that's the way they did it...

Our question is what year they did it and that is what we want to know here...

What year did the splashwell depth change?

Still looking for anyone with positive evidence.
So far, 1987 is the earliest deeper splashwell...........

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Does this mean the recommended process during a repower of pre-1987 or pre-1988 Montauks that previously used the blind holes will not work? ie. keeping the top holes, plugging/patching the blind holes and redrilling the BIA pattern. If I'm understanding correctly the shallower splash well will not accomodate this process.

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Pete,

You are correct. You cannot drill the standard BIA bolt pattern with the shallower splashwell.
However, you can modify the BIA pattern slightly so any engine could be mounted in the future.
If you have the shallower splashwell, then you would need to drill new holes using this template.
http://www.whalercentral.com/articles...icle_id=82

The "Green" holes at 6 1/2 inch spacing or the "Yellow" holes at 7 1/4" spacing...
Yellow means caution so everyone needs to make sure there is room for these holes in the bottom of the splashwell along with using a washer that has been ground down slightly on one edge to the contour of the splashwell.

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Pete: The other way to go is use a bracket, You can use the engine bracket on the blind holes and the top holes. Once I did see someone use a long all thread (and come out to bolt it) on a shallow splash well, Obvious he did not know what he was doing/or did not care, and the boat was a beater anyway.

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On my shallow splashwell 1979 Montauk, I used a jackplate that came with two sets of BIA holes separated by 1" vertically. This allows for nice flexibility without having to drill the anodized aluminum bracket, preferably not done.

This allowed me to drill the BIA pattern holes in the boat on a 7" vertical spacing, using the lower top ones, and the upper lower ones.
Net result is that the bracket is installed about 1-1/2" higher than standard. This cleanly puts the bottom bolts into the splashwell and bings the top holes a little higher on the transom. I used a transom stiffener plate because of the higher holes. See here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v42...ic0013.jpg

But one can do exactly as Joe states without the need for a jackplate. Determine the location where the bottom bolts can come into the splashwell with a clean installation, then measure down from the top. 9-7/8" would put the engine all the way down (which you can't achieve), so subrtact the actual dimension you measue from that, and you will get the effective height at which the engine will be installed. It will usually be about 1-1/2" up, which is OK and now usually recommended anyway if you are using an engine 75HP and up and running a good SS prop. Then the top bolts can be either 6-1/2" or 7-1/4" above, depending on how close to the top you are comfortable drilling. In either case I think the transom stiffener bar is worth the $25 cost.

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Thanks for pointing out the bracket and jackplate option. When it's time to repower my 1984 Montauk - and it's getting close - I'll likely plug and patch the blind holes, redrill the lower holes and mount either 2, 3 or 4 holes up.

As I read this post this morning for some reason it sounded like the above method wouldln't work with the shallower splash well on my 1984. I should have read a bit closer before I jumped the gun, or at least finished my first cup of coffee.

Thanks all for clarifying.