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Well Guys,
Took a small break from laying slate tiles from my line of duties;
And this; prior to getting back to my favorite project;
"My Girl" an increasingly very proud Classic Outrage 19.
Beside the nuts and bolts aspects,
And the resurfacing and repairs of blisters and fissures within the gel structures
AND
The obvious need for parts and sought advises on shopping for "that" special Whaler;
What would be your personal take on owning YOUR own personal Whaler?
For me,
The ownership, care and refitting of Whalers has taken a very important place with the day to day mundanities that have made life what is is here in our Pacific North West Hemisphere.
I am curious to see if I may be part of a dying past or that just possibly;
My feel, appreciation for the Classic and newest Whaler hulls and brand is still very well spread within our..influences.
It is to be noted that I attended the last day of a very upscale tenth year aniversary sailing rendez vous in Nanaimo yesterday
And upon chatting with some of the owners of those state of the art one masted fifty footers
They were all smiles upon hearing of my Whaler choice of hull and anteed up with comments like;
Yes I do have a Whaler as my tender or tow along for ship to shore duties.
All comments were sympathetic to the name.
Candid moments from some Serious sailors yesterday afternoon on the wharfs of the Nanaimo harbor.

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Whalers and me go way back, and we come way forward :)

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Ritzyrags:

Sometimes when I cover my 1960 13 Sport after a day of wondering what to do about the transom cracks, custom steering mount I have to make, and the not-so-great gell coat my nephew applied I ask myself why the heck I am doing this! But within a day or two I can't wait to pull off the cover again and figure out what to do next. I,ve fished out of lots of Whalers, but owning my own, and doing what I can to preserve her really is an important part of who I am. The craftsmanship, the history, and the beauty of her lines just make me happy. And when I finally get to dump her in the wet, and power her across the glassy surface of some sound as the sun is about to set, I smile all over. What a life: simple, elegant, beautiful. And like you, knowing that there is a whole community of owners, some of whom feel the same way I do about Whalers and "messin' about in small boats" in general, allows me to feel sane about it. WC, of course, is an important part that community. What a great escape from the mundane and tedious playing with my Whaler is. Thanks for getting me started, Plato. But now I've got to go uncover her and get her ready for our trip to Hatteras!

Charing

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Here is what owning a whaler means to me:

First off this is my first whaler, but my third boat. She isn't the nicest,(gelcoat bumps and bruises) but I am doing everything I can to make her better than before. I am at the marina today getting my outboard serviced. I am sandwiched between two huge boats costing 10 times what my little montauk does. While the mechanic is working on it, everyone who walked by stopped to take a look. They all admired what I did on the inside, and they all had a story about a whaler. They either knew someone with one or they have been out on one. Even though my little 17 footer was being dwarfed, it was nice to see the look on everyones faces. They all told me how nice she was. It reminded me of harley davidson fanatics! She may not be worth a fortune, but I sure felt like I had an expensive boat today.

Another way my whaler means to me:

I was driving on lake eufaula one night in Alabama. I was with my wife and her parents and the chop was unbelievable. It was raining with lots of lighting. The only thing I worried about was the lightning. I knew that boat would handle the waves just fine and weather the storm at the dock till morning. I feel like I am driving a little tank on the water. That feeling is what I am sure we all share. Good times!!!

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Good to see that I am far from alone with this "feel good" comfort zone..
Would love to be able to work exclusively on what makes me smile and appreciate the mementos from the old Whaler boat yard.
I still do remember of the old black and white Whaler commercial with the thirteen being cut in two and still floating with two people in each part of the hull.
That is when I did fall for this pesky little boat.

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Ritz.
WHALERITES should be a religious sect, and with your zen for writing flowery prose, you should write our bible. We will pray to our god, Dick Fisher and his only begotten son Ray Hunt.

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Well thank you for the vote of confidence Bink...
I would actually be more inclined to be the "Publicist" for the brand.
If the wise heads from the Head Office would contract me out;
I could just possibly put some GRRRR! in the WHALER name again.
On a more serious tone..
A lot of us get a lot of great information when spending time on this site..
And for this we will give thanks to Joe for letting it be.
Whaler owners and list correspondents will for the most part be
A truly great bunch of guys that may never have gotten to share a word but for their favorite boats.
To find a solution to a Whaler related question without going to a contractor will be seen as a real and positive mentality.
I do remember having met a lot of you online, buying and trading boat parts and having discussion about what was to be done next in our various refits.
Thanks for keeping it real and decent.

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Looking back and still present
I am still having a ton of fun with this Whaler thing.
May it never get stale and end up being just a "Brand Name".
Some of us will specialize into knowing of how many fasteners and hardware options will be found on most models.
The point of this thread will be seen today as
What has happened with the Whaler lately.

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Ritz, you are not alone.