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hey everyone. i didn't know where to put this intro thread, so here it is.
i'm very familliar with how to use forums, but this is the first boat-related forum i've ever been on. i'm a college student with a 1988 boston whaler. its an 11 foot 4 inch sport with a 25hp 4 stroke on it. i got it from its origional owner (a friend of the family). he had it as a tender on the top of his GulfStar motoryacht. when he sank the Gulf Star in 1989, he and his wife took the whaler to safety. the little whaler had approximately ten hours on it.
he had such bad memories with that boat that he never took it out on the water again. the title was lost when his yacht sank, and he didn't want to go through the paperwork, so in his driveway the whaler sat. over the years the boat changed locations a few times, to different driveways, but ultimately wound up in my hands, for a mere $10. the cover had rotted and caved in, the hull was full of dead leaves that had turned to mud, and the wood was in horrible shape. i did all the work myself. http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/18...oatah2.jpg
i got it on a trailer (which was found with no serial number, abandoned on a friend's plot of land) that was far too large for the whaler. instead of buying a proper-sized trailer, i cut down the trailer it came with to make it fit in the garage. i took 24 inches off of each of the back framerails and about a foot off of the tongue. i moved the axle up, slid the bunks around, and moved the cuppler and winch assembly. i also installed new bearings, 1 hub, new wheels, tires, and rewired it. http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95...ndhelm.jpg http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95...erior2.jpg
i fixed the bottom of the console where the wood had split. http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95...repair.jpg
i had both carbs rebuilt (i wasn't going to try that myself) and it runs like a champ. i replaced the battery, running light switch, some wiring, put on new lights, and installed a bilge pump. i think its finally ready for the water, as soon as i get this whole title/registration thing sorted out. http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f95...odshot.jpg
this being a whaler forum, i look forward to doing a lot of reading and learning a lot about these boats. please tell me what you think of my project boat!
thank you for the kind words. this vessel has really been a labor of love, even if i havn't ever seen it float. i made a personal page as well, saying basically what i've said in this thread.
i brought the boat home declaring what a hell of a deal i got on it, paying only $10, but that $10 investment quickly turned into a good 30-40 hours of my labor, a couple hundred in parts, and about $500 with my mechanic. that's OK with me though, i've seen boats like mine go for four grand on ebay, so i'm still in good shape.
i plan on keeping this one. insurance will be cheap and it shouldn't cost much to tag every year. as long as i've got a place to keep it, it'll should be around for a long time
Great Job!! Lots of luck with it. Hope you can work out the paper work-Title issue. Always impressed to see a young person get into something and do was well as you did with the whaler. Says a lot about resourcefulness
You can also set up a personal web page in the photo gallery section, then we can all get updates on your whaler.
thanks! i am pretty resourceful. until i was about 15, i thought everyone was handy like i am. a project of mine in high school was restoring a 1964 lincoln continental by myself. i put a thousand hours into that project, made it look pretty good too.
i started a page of my own, but i don't think other people can see it. i need to contact a mod/admin and see what's going on. if anyone's got any slick tips, please PM me.
Wow, great work Dynamite. I love it's history too! I am just starting my search for one and may have to go with the same "do it yourself" route as well. Hey, if you are interested, I will double what you paid for her?
