Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by dogfish on 10/18/08 - 6:27 AM

Hi all I am new to this site and would like to replace my fiberglass gunwales with the teak ones. Do this sound like something that can be done? If anyone has a link to the measurments that would be great. this is a great site. Thanks and by for now Dogfish

Posted by Joe Kriz on 10/18/08 - 11:49 AM

dogfish,

Yes, this can be done. It isn't that hard but it would be easier if you had a pattern from someone's original set of teak gunwales.

I don't know anyone offhand that would have the measurements but again, it would be much easier if you had a set of the old ones to copy from.

Let us know what you find. If you do make your own, please send us some photos of the project.

Posted by Blackduck on 10/20/08 - 9:57 AM

While teak looks great, in the real world, it is a pain to maintain. Those horizontal boards like to crack and turn black. The fiberglas gunwhales Bw put on these boats are great. Their practicality makes them things of beauty for me.

Posted by Barryg on 10/20/08 - 12:57 PM

Blackduck , I drove about 700 miles to pick up one with the wood gunwales. My view is the opposite as yours the wood is a thing of beauty. Different taste for all, thats what makes this country great. The wood is great in my situation because it stays in the garage which makes the up keep a little easier. BG

Posted by Blackduck on 10/20/08 - 1:34 PM

My big problem with teak and oil finishes is that where I am , the boat gets wet just about every night. Dew forms and black stuff grows in every crack. Even careful cleaning erodes the teak quickly. I don't like varnish on teak, and leaving it natural, no finish, isn't my cup of tea either. So a couple of teak console doors and a RPS are more than enough maintenance for me. I also think it's a shame to tear of perfectly good gunwhales for this reason, but I agree, to each his own.

Posted by Phil T on 10/20/08 - 3:00 PM

All good comments.

For those with teak gunnels. There is a boat in an anchorage near me who has installed canvas covers on his gunnels. They were not fancy but appeared to be a practical solution to protect the finish.

After showing the boat to my brother (has a 1984 13') he made up covers for his seats and console to protect his varnish.

Posted by dogfish on 10/27/08 - 3:49 PM

tHANKS GUYS I guess I'm going to chew on it for a while. sure would be nice to have a measured drawing. tHANKS DOGFISH

Posted by nbhs66 on 02/11/11 - 8:01 AM

I have an '86 18' Outrage and would trade my Teak gunnels for you Fiberglass if they fit.

Posted by whalerman on 02/11/11 - 12:05 PM

Hi, I had the fiberglass ones as well, still do on the shop floor. I had found that the plywood core had gone bad and was thinking of re-coring but gave that idea up as too time consuming. I went the other way and had alum. "blank" ones made from the guys that do the aluminum work for the CPD. All that was done was the bending of the inside combing and I did the rest of the fab work and painted to match the boat and put on gray 3M non-skid tape in a few areas.