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In another thread I mentioned I am looking at an 88 Montauk 17 footer with an Evinrude 90hp VRO motor.
What are the safety features inherent in a Boston Whaler such as this? I think I've read that these hulls are foam filled. Is this correct? What are the advantages to a foam filled hull? I presume it adds to the 'unsinkable' nature of the design.
Can someone walk me through these safety considerations with some explanations?
Yes, the hulls are foam filled basically just like a surfboard.
You can cut it into pieces and all the pieces will still float.
The boat or any of the pieces will NOT sink.
If you have ever been on a boat that sunk you will know that this is not a good situation especially if you are very far from shore.
The quality of a Boston Whaler boat is also hard to beat. Boston Whaler uses top quality parts and they put a lot of time on the finish.
There are other good boats but none in this particular size and class that I would own or trust the lives of my family and friends aboard with.
"Unibond" construction, (outer hull and inner hull are fused together with closed cell foam). Here's how I tell folk's to test a Whaler: Jump up and down on the floor of a "Whaler", it's like jumping up and down on the sidewalk, try this on another brand, you won't like the feeling, especially if it's in the water. Even the tiny but, "Mighty" 13' model is excellent as a "Rescue boat", that's why many "Fire Department's" here use "Whaler's" almost exclusively, they can "Count" on them. They'll also break through "ICE", or can go over it.
Look at what the professionals who use the boat every day are using. The Fireboats and Police Boats in Jax FL are Whalers. They operate in Brown water, Blue water and "Hot" water. They trust their lives to this boat because they go out in all weather, all conditions to save someone else. The company has been around for Fifty Years! My boat is thirty years old and still going. Try that with another brand. It is worth "more" now than what I paid for it in 1979. When I lived in New Jersey, I had the boat on a davit launch system. Connect it to the existing fastenings and no modifications were necessary!
The USCG had one at every station. I had to tow a 55' 13 ton shrimp boat against the 4-5 knot current of the St Johns river with the USCG 17'. Any other boat would have had the transom torn off. I did it with the 17'. That made me buy my own whaler.
