RESTORING first post... bought a '69 17 footer
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/24/07 - 8:01 PM
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When I was a teen, the coolest boat on the water, in my opinion, was a 17' Whaler. I grew up on Long Island, and now live in Northern Delaware. Finally got my 17-footer about 2 weeks ago, and she is a project. Aftermarket console, reversable seat/cooler, 1986 Yamaha 115 with trim setup missing. The hull is beat up, no rubrail, has original gelcoat topsides and bottom paint covered with who-knows-what beige enamel. The deck is painted too, in a baby blue (not Whaler blue).
Searched the Internet and came up with this site. Thanks so much for putting it together. It's amazing! Looking forward to getting to know some of you.
Took off the engine and all hardware (thankfully, what looks like original bow and side rails were included) and started sanding the bottom paint off. Did it in a day with circular sander and 16 grit, followed by 80 grit to gelcoat. Patched some small holes in the hull from the trailer (another project!) with West System epoxy and cloth.
I've been over-drilling all holes in the deck with a 5/16" drill, and found some wet foam and wet wood. Cut the deck open on both sides of the tunnel/ drainwell from the stern, about 24" forward and cut out the foam, which was pretty wet. I have about a 16" X 6" X 6" piece of the foam that I took out a couple of days ago from one of these holes, and I put it on a baby scale yesterday (after a day or so of drying.) It weighed 11 lbs 6 oz. Today it weighs 11 lbs, even.
Uncovered the hull number today -- 3A1120.
I plan on finishing the sanding and protecting the hull (including freeboard) with Interprotect two part primer, and then finish coating with Interlux 2 part Perfection (I'll be trailering the boat). The deck will get Interlux primer and 1-part Classic Yacht Enamel in white. After reading some more on the site, I've decided to drill some holes near the keel and transom and see if I get any water out of them. Going to get (2) 13' Whaler rubrail in white (will have a break at the bow light) and a full-length black insert for it.
Some questions: Is the Yamaha 115 too much power for the boat? Most boats have a plate with max HP, and loading weights/ # of persons.... Did Whaler do that in 1969? Has anyone used the product "Great Stuff" for replacing damaged/missing foam? Seems like it would work.
This boat won't be all original ever again, but it will be sweet enough for me to do a little fishing and crabbing in the Chesapeake, and maybe even a little offshore tuna fishing on a nice day!
Again, thanks for all your help. Picture is as-it-was in the seller's driveway. I've been taking pictures as the project progresses, and will post more soon.
Dan
DelawareDan attached the following image:
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Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 11:44 AM |
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/24/07 - 8:03 PM
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edited out
Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 3:35 PM |
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ioptfm |
Posted on 05/24/07 - 8:33 PM
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Congrats on your "New" Whaler. You will find that you can gather more help and tips from this site than you ever imagined. Ask a question and someone will have the answer. Often times many, many answers!
Tom
1979 Sport 15' |
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Joe Kriz |
Posted on 05/24/07 - 10:20 PM
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Welcome Aboard WhalerCentral Dan...
There are lots of things on this site you can do.
One of them is you can edit your original post instead of creating another post. Just hit the "Edit" button on any of your post you choose to edit...
One of many others is attaching photos or using a link to a photo you have somewhere else on the Internet. You might take a look at the members Personal Page section and find out how to shrink your photos down in size. Take a look at this post:
http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/vi...ead_id=120
A good pixel size for a photo is 640x480 and about 50 Kb in file size...
Most of the Classic 16'/17' foot models had a max hp size rating of 100....
Some people do put 115 hp on them but you don't have to use the extra hp.... However, check with your insurance company if you plan to insure the boat as many companies may charge more for overpowering...
Enjoy your project and your Whaler.
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sraab928 |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 3:11 AM
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Welcome Aboard Dan! It sounds like you are about to become a Whaler addict like the rest of us. We should probably form a support group and attend meetings...LOL
Congrats on your project... I think you will find the experience to be very rewarding. There is quite a sense of pride associated with completing a project like yours and enjoying it fishing and crabbing or whatever you chose to do with it.
As for the 115 - it is above the max hp recommendation but I have seen many boats powered with it so you know the boat can handle it. As Joe states make sure it wont cause insurance problems though.
Scott
1974 21' Revenge w Mercury 200 ProXS V8 |
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arthureld |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 4:25 AM
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Welcome Dan. I'm new here too. I live on Long Island and have a 1966 13 footer.
That little thing is a blast but I'm looking for a bigger Whaler.
Hope you get the pics figured out so we can see your before and after progress.
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 9:32 AM
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in the seller's driveway
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 10:56 AM
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(edited out
Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 12:57 PM |
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 10:57 AM
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here at home I've taken out the reversable seat, removed the motor, and aft siderails
DelawareDan attached the following image:
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Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 12:59 PM |
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 10:59 AM
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This picture is removing the trailer. The trailer is undersized for this boat. I thought about adding keel rollers to this so that the existing rollers just balance it, but I really need a bigger trailer.
DelawareDan attached the following image:
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Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 1:00 PM |
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:00 AM
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picture of starboard aft corner damage
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:02 AM
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thought a hairdryer might dry out the drain hole... there is no wall left in the drain hole, and one can feel the foam on all sides. Will either make a fiberglass tube myself or epoxy resin a one inch PVC pipe in there.
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:04 AM
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overdrilled all deck holes and rail holes with 5/16 drill. Chips often came out wet. Ground the surface of holes to accept epoxy filler. But that's not gonna get it. Too wet in there! Circular sander (not random orbit) makes quick work of heavy grinding. Used it with 16 grit to get the bottom paint off JUST till the gel coat was scratched. Followed up with 60 grit to get the hull to clean gelcoat. Going to coat the whole bottom below water line with thickened West System epoxy. Then Interprotect 2 part primer, and Interlux Perfection. Will paint using an HVLP sprayer. Deck will get semigloss white.
DelawareDan attached the following image:
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Edited by DelawareDan on 05/25/07 - 11:09 AM |
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:10 AM
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battle supplies (note coffee)
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:11 AM
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after each day, I button it up until the dew is off the cover
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:14 AM
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decided to open up the deck aft. Thought a RotoZip or a Dremel would be ideal, but it was difficult. Used a circular saw with a carborundum-type blade.
This blade is thinner than what you normally see... about 1/16th of an inch. I had it laying around. Worked great. Set it to cut 1/4 inch.
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:14 AM
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here's the saw and blade
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:15 AM
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prying the foam out
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:16 AM
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Used a cake spatula to loosen the bond to the hull. Worked great. (Liz wasn't home!)
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DelawareDan |
Posted on 05/25/07 - 11:18 AM
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On the port side, I took off more of the deck. Had to slice the foam in 6" strips to get it out, and it took a while. As I got further down the keel, I found standing water. It was probably displaced as I pried the foam. It was wet in there!
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