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I saw this in person last sunday/monday, i was leaving out of there on an overnight trip.
Great job, the boat looks awesome.
Wish my 18' looked that good
Dear Silentpartner,
Youve built the nicest older whaler Ive ever seen. Congratulations on an heirloom ! Its incredible, looks like factory new, and im sure , better than. to be able to find the right people to undertake this is no small effort for sure. Very impressive, sea trial must be the best..I love the yammy..Good For you !! enjoy it to the max ! Bob
ps, thanx for showing it
camowhaler, Thanks for the compliments! I am convinced that anyone can do this with time and money, and a vision, to create a modern version of utility in a small classic Whaler. It only costs about the same as it would cost to buy a new bayboat with comparable features, even with the initial purchase of a suitable for restoration hull.
The cost in time is the biggest hurdle! It took 3 years on mine, but knowing what I know now, I think it could be done reasonably in a year.
bob camire, thank you so much! :) I really tried to maintain the vision that you see looking at the boat now throughout the project, and I went through some real trials during the project. That boat was reassembled twice, I rejected the first assembly due to some details that were overlooked such as door colors on the custom leaning post tackle center that were still the old white color. I wanted everything on the boat to be the same classic desert tan, and this led to automotive finish professionals that were able to get the color I needed on the tackle center doors to be durable. Time will tell if I was successful in my endeavors to insure a very long-lasting restoration.
It means a LOT to me that this boat be 100% useable while maintaining the show-room classic look. The Outrage I have was not chopped up in order to achieve this. This boat was a custom that was ordered from the factory to actually BE a custom 1986 model of the Outrage from its inception. I think a lot of folks don't understand that back in 1986, you could choose to order a boat WITHOUT optional accessories and then add what you wanted to the hull you purchased after it arrived!
We ascertained, to our satisfaction at least, that this had to have been what happened with this boat, and that the story I had pieced together from research with folks like Chuck Bennet and the original owners was historically accurate, as far as it is provable. When we tore this boat apart, all the history was reinforced.
This one had the Super Console on a hull without rails. The dealer added the SS T-Top, the custom manufactured leaning-post and rigged the motor with batteries under the console. The very new revolutionary Troll Tabs were installed as well in 1986. Everything we disassembled was circa 1986, even the custom accessories!
I am proud to have been able to organize this project, but it is important to remember that it was not just me involved in it. I am indebted to the numerous craftsmen that made my vision come true with this project. The Tran family was absolutely invaluable. Tommy's ability with fiberglass and gelcoat is fantastic! Even Stennett at Nautical Marine contributed, but he made an enemy of me in the process :( The promises that he made me pay in advance to get were never actually completely satisfied. I am certain that without assistance that I was able to solicit from Sue Lodel at Twin Cities Marine, I would STILL be waiting on the wood parts that I did eventually get from him.
Stennett's work is un-impeachable, it is as fine as can be done by any craftsman in the world, but his word is meaningless, so I recommend that buyers of his services be VERY wary! A Tran family member was forced to do 1/3 of the work Stennet had promised, including finishing the gunnel caps and manufacturing the fire extinguisher box, and I have still not received my original gunnels from him that were to be returned to me after he used them for a pattern!
I did get the motor rigging worked out last weekend, I have no interference now with the 2 engines, no matter what position I have the 9.9 in while steering, and throughout the entire range of tilt and trim on both engines. I re-drilled the 9.9 steering bracket pivot hole about 1/2 inch from it's original position and was able to keep the factory Yamaha steering link. A standard dual engine link that fits the Yamaha 115 will work, you just have to modify the bracket that comes with the kit to fit the application of a smaller motor.
I should mention that I really am a proponent of putting batteries in the console on this model and length of Whaler. I have a total of 4 batteries under there now, and I could not be more pleased with the ride of this boat! Even in chop, it rides and handles like our Whaler 27!
I know that many here on the site disagree with moving batteries, and I have not actually done that, only added a couple more to the under-console location, but I am pretty certain that the ride and handling of the boat is affected when the added weight of the new 4 strokes over the circa 1980's engines is left without sufficient counter-balance in the center of these hulls. The fuel tank holds a LOT of fuel, (63 gals), and I am certain that the amount of fuel carried affects these attributes of operating this boat from direct experience, even with the original 2-stroke Johnson that we replaced. I will never need 63 gals of fuel to operate this boat again, but that huge tank is still there :)
The boat never actually needed trim tabs and this is certainly proven as a fact now, as I have removed them from the boat completely. The Yamaha 115 pushes this boat immediately onto plane without trimming! I just trim the motor all the way in, accelerate, and within 6 seconds I am on plane! It's no speed boat, but it works for me :)
I have read a lot of comments regarding how quiet the mid-range 4-strokes are in comparison with the old 2 strokes, and they are quieter, especially at idle. At WOT, however, they are still loud :) I have noticed that my 300's on the Whaler 27 seem to be REMARKABLY quieter than the original 200 2-strokes at WOT, but the 115 is less remarkably quieter at WOT than the old Johnson 140. I am sure it IS quieter, just not as remarkably so. You can't hear the new 115 running at idle though, and this IS remarkably quieter than the Johnson 140:) The 300's are the same way at idle, and MUCH quieter than the original Yamaha 200's on that same boat at WOT.
Put the first fish on the deck of the renewed Whaler last weekend as well, a Speckled Seatrout! I am really enjoying this boat already :)
I am humbled and honored by all of your approvals of the refit, thanks to all again for the kind comments :)
HAPPY WHALERIN' :)
Awesome writeup..truly enjoyed all of it..especially the technical details of how it performs and balancing etc, my dauntless holds 45 gallons and for a small craft its weighted and cuts the chop well..always exceeding my expectations..thanks for sharing in depth..your hard work is inspirational to us whalerites..thank you..these truly are great boats
