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I'm shopping for a used Outrage or Montauk for use in the ocean around Long Island NY. And I really enjoyed reading the Montauk vs Outrage thread.
One thing that caught my attention was the fact that the new models don't have any wood. Joe said he bought an older one because he wanted wood. I like wood too.

Anyway, I'm hoping you guys can point out some of the things that make certain year versions better than others. I wouldn't mind doing some more maintenance to have nicer looking boat. But I don't want a money pit. And I do want a dependable ocean worthy boat.

Does anyone have input about which years are nicer than others? If there are pictures around that point out the differences, it would be very helpful for me to make my decision for the coolest ocean worthy Whaler. Also, I'm hoping to keep the price less than $30,000. I'm leaning toward the Outrage, but I will be looking at Montauks too.

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Arthur,

Lots of different things to look at....

The hulls are mostly the same during the Classic years.
The railings and the amount of wood changes through the years especially on the Montauk.

I would start off by considering the type of console. See this article:
http://www.whalercentral.com/readarti...icle_id=58
As you can see, many people think that the 1986 to 1989 standard console is the best.
In 1989, the Montauks changed from a Teak Bow Locker to a fiberglass one.

In 1988/1989, the railings for the Outrages changed from sectional to all welded. Some people like this and some don't. For the Outrages, there were two versions of gunwales; Teak or Fiberglass. Do you want wood or fiberglass gunwales?

That's just a start on many of the changes. I'm sure others here will tell you more.
One last note: NO boat is perfect.... It all comes down to what you can find and what suits your needs. Don't buy the first thing that comes along unless it is right for you. It takes time to find the right Whaler. It's not like going down to your local car dealer and driving home a new vehicle of your choice unfortunately.

Good Luck

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That's very helpful Joe. I'm not sure about the gunwales. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to see both versions. Off the top of my head, I'd say wood will look better to me. I'm quite sure the Boston Whaler is made of fiberglass to cut down on maintenance and weight and I like that. But the wood accents look nice to me.

I am very much into classic american design. I am not going to rush this. I have our 13' to play with for now.

Time to go shopping. This is going to be fun. B)

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Joe, I checked out your boats. Damn you have good taste. B)
I really like all the wood on your 18 and the canvis you have in the front really looks good.
I'm pretty sure my gf would appreciate a cuddy though.

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do you knoe if over the years they changed the wood backing plate for the screw down areas?