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Our Whaler is tucked away in its winter storage shed. Spring is a long ways off. So maybe a pole will help pass the time.

No boat can do it all, but which classic (smirked) center console Whaler would you consider the most versatile with all-around capabilities? If you could have ONLY one, which model would you choose?

(For purposes of this poll, I eliminated some of the smaller and larger models, focussing on the mid-range.)

I'm sure this poll has been done before, but what is the current thinking?

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I would have to vote the 18 for inshore and near shore and the 22 for Ocean use.

I have been in a late 1980's 22 in serious s@3&t and figured that the Coasties would be sending the same boat to rescue us if all went bad.

My 22 replaced a 24 blackfin that is known for the rough water ride it provides.
I expected a let down, but was very impressed with the 22 Whaler ride, despite weighing 1/2 the Blackfin.

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I long-lined Halibut off Kodiak a few seasons and often ran an 18' outrage as support. She had twin outboards which I think were Evinrude though no clue on size. Though certainly one of the best jobs in the world for a young lad, line retrieval took precedence over the most terrifying conditions . . regardless how many times my Grandmother died. After soiling myself through the first SCAHS, I gained a true confidence in it's seaworthy design and construction.
For inshore/offshore diversity and overall performance, IMO, Outrage 18 is it.

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I cast my vote for the Montauk 17. The question is "classic", which gets at ... "quintessential", and I think the Montauk 17 and the Sport 13 are the boats that people identify as "Whalers". They also seem to be the most numerous.

That said, the 18 Outrage is the best boat in the poll. Something about that boat during those years was really special. I had occasion to use both boats, working for a Whaler dealer in the mid 1980s. The Outrage conquered the chop of Lake Erie ... the Montauk was a rougher ride by far.

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I'm actually surprised to see that the very first smirked center console, and very likely the most prized of classic Whalers isn't on the list.

Never-the-less, the 18 Outrage gets the nod. It's the only boat that can do it all. It's launchable and retrievable with one man. It's fast and nimble yet has incredible range, can mount twins, and can head 50 miles off shore in heavy seas. It can waterski, fish, cruise, and yet it can fit in the garage and you can tow it with a 4 cyl. toyota pickup. It rides great and dry in slop yet has shallow draft. It's beautiful to look at and even though it's 20+ years old, it's worth more than it was new and everybody wants to buy one.. why? because virtually everyone can afford one.. the 80's 18' outrage. This is the greatest boat under 20' ever.. and the best Whaler ever made.

Chris

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Yeah, I thought about including the banana hulls. Maybe I should have? While technically they have smirks, I tend to think of them as "transition" boats between the very early Whaler designs and the Dougherty line-up that we know from the mid-1970s through mid-1990s.

I grew up very near to the Whaler factory in Massachusetts. Whalers were very popular on our local waters, and we often watched from the shoreline as new models were test-run through the river mouth. To say the banana hulls were controversial and not very well-received by the locals, is an understatement. When the newer smirked Montauk and Outrage designs came-out later in the 1970s, they were much more readily accepted.

I didn't like the banana hulls back then, but I admit the Outrage 21 has grown on me with time.

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Small world. Me too. I'm actually in Weymouth as I write this. By the description, you either grew up in Marshfield or Scituate..

Chris

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I think the Outrage 18 is ... the best small boat ... ever? There's lots of agreement about this here ...

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Hey stop saying the Outrage 18 CC is it, because that will increase their value and I'm looking for an inexpensive one.
I don't want owners to see this thread and UP their price.

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Ha! You nailed it.




The Outrage 18/19 is definitely leading in the early returns.

I can certainly understand why -- it's small enough to trailer easily (without requiring a really large tow vehicle), yet large enough for some serious adventures, even in the ocean.

It seems to me the Outrage 20 would also fit this description, yet it has not garnered as many votes. Maybe the Outrage 18/19 just hits the sweet spot all around?

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My first experience with Boston Whaler boats was in the late 1960's. My parents bought a Sakonnet, which I learned to water ski behind. That model is not the list, but perhaps the best looking Whaler of all time. In 1983, they purchased a Montauk 17, replaced with a newer version in 1987. They still own that boat. My brother in law and I taught all three of his kids to water ski behind that boat on freshwater lakes in Maine. The Montauk 17 is perhaps the best lake boat for family fun. All that said, after owning a 1984 Outrage 18 for the last year and using it extensively in a salt water environment, all of the positive comments regarding that model of Whaler are accurate. I think the Classic Outrage 18 is Whaler's masterpiece.

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Outage 18. Owned one, loved it much more than to Montauk 17 that we had before. We towed kids on tubes, cruised the lake, and twice did 350 mile Salmon fishing trips with it, which included crossings of the open waters of Queen Charlotte Sound. We now have an Outrage 22 which better suits our primary usage, but the 18 is fondly missed.