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Forgive my ignorance but I'm completely new to this...
I'm looking to get my first Boston Whaler (my first boat really, aside from an aluminum row boat I had as a kid). As tantalizing as the photos and videos look on the whaler.com site I'll be buying used this time around. This will be primarily for fishing in the NJ area so I'm thinking something in the 15-17' Montauk range.
What types of flaws should I be on the lookout for when shopping for an older Whaler? I've read about spider cracks and even though I've never seen them I'm think I can identify them - cracks that look like a spider web I imagine. But are they something to worry about, or is it just cosmetic? I've seen ads that say "no soft spots", which leads me to believe soft spots are something to be concerned about. What other worries are there?
I'm looking as far back as Whalers go - I have no problem buying a 40 year old boat - seaworthy is seaworthy and it seems that nobody does that better that Boston Whaler. What I don't want is a project boat. I know all boats need maintenance, and I like to maintain things, but I don't want to have to nurse anything back to health before I can get it in the water.
You may notice is cracks on the transom as shown in the attched photo and on my personal page (link below). This can be caused by water, trapped in the hull, freezing over the winter partiularly in the frozen north (like NH). The photo attached to this post shows a 1987 Montauk with significant cracking and some small blisters.
The photos on my personal page show the 1989 Montauk that I purchased and the repair to the cracks on the transom. This method was recommended by Boston Whaler; that is, grind down through the gelcoat to the fiberglas to make sure that the fiberglas is not damaged. Then recoat with new fiberglas and gelcoat. We drilled the small holes to see how much water might come out; none did. There were also some blisters in several areas of the hull that were repaired.
Also note that my personal page shows some wiring issues to look out for. Poke your head under the console and see what it looks like under there.
Take a look in the downloads section for inspection documents. This is a document Jeff put together that most of us use when we review boats for the whaler shoppers. Basically you want to look at the condition of the boat, how clean, equipment original or after market, did someone leave the boat with water standing in it in the middle of a field or did they take care of it. Once you get past those, look for screw holes that might have let water into the hull, cracks where someone either hit a dock, or dropped something on the deck.
Yes, soft spots in the deck are bad, especially in the 17 foot and smaller boats as that implies water in the foam.
if you find a hull that looks good, then look at the engine, newer power, does the owner have maintenance records? Get or do a compression check on the engine if your serious. Once that is settled, look at the trailer, will it tow the boat home or maybe not even make it out the sellers driveway.
Whalers command a good price because lots of folks take care of theirs and even after 30 years they still look like new. If you are handy, you can get a diamond in the ruff, but the hull has to be sound or your in for nothing but trouble. Anyone here will be happy to look at photo's and give you an opinion on your possible purchase.
Thanks, that's a very thorough document. I've been following some boats on eBay and on Craigslist. It seems like nobody is getting what they are asking, except those realistic enough to price things to sell. But since there's so much to look out for I'll probably stick to something local that I can inspect before I commit. It's definitely a buyer's market out there.
