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greetings.. newb here, been reading up on the 16 SL.. wanted a super sport but decide on this one,.. bought my first whaler.. a 1993 SL 16 with a 2003 Yamaha 115 2 stroke.. great boat, altho i think it it was designed for lakes.. not the ocean.. at least nothing over 2 foot waves.

So.. i picked this sl up at a consignment dealer in key largo flordia in march.. have taken it out for about 12 hours.. lots of fun.. but has lots of little things wrong with it, mostly from the previous owner.. like wiring, leaving it in the flordia sun causing stress cracks, had to replace the scuppers and rebuild the carbs as it was a pain to start.. but once started ran great all day.

main issue was the steering cable.. the plastic cover had cracked on the bottom causing the outer cable to rust.. i put it off.. till i started to notice alot of slop and saw the cable flexing in that area..

sooo.. pulled it apart.. found the fuel tank seal had not held, and allowed water under the tank.. cursed about it.. i cant just leave it alone.. nore could i use my siphon pump to suck it out due to the foam being completely saturated.. anyway.. on the to the cable replacement..


i had to cut the old cable at the engine, as it would not come out due to the bend of the transom.. realized i had to remove the engine to install the new one.. did all that.. used 502? sealant on the bolt holes and little area for the top bolts (when i pulled the cover off it had water in it)

im also thinking this boat may be waterlogged due to not being sealed allowing water to get into the foam core.. but that is another story.

had a whale of a time getting the tank out.. used a small sawzall , and 4 inch blade to get the foam between the tank and boat, staying closer to the tank incase.. used a hand saw for cutting wood to get the deep spots.. then, well see pics for how i got it out..

anyway.... should i replace it as original? plan to pressure test the tank.. thoroughly clean the tank and tank compartment.. was thinking about using a 15 or so gallon plastic tank and add a bilge pump..

cant get over the foam idea.. with cruddy cocking type of sealer to keep water out, just seems dumb as eventually it will fail and let water in and cause issues.. pretty sure my tank has been replaced.. as it is aluminum..

and what a terrible smell..

any ideas or thoughts?? i originally wanted a 15 foot super sport.. with the tank and all on deck.. no compartments to cause these headaches but this was half the price or a 2005 or so ss and come with a 2 stroke that i like being a small engine and heavy equipment mechanic.. very easy to work on, for me..

ive been looking for a classic 13.. lots of them for under 4000 for the real shallows in the keys..

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I believe original tanks were aluminum--at least mine is, and it has never been replaced. You can get a replacement tank that is the same as the original. I think they're about $300, and you've already done the hard work of getting the old one out. Let me see if I can find the address of the tank supplier. With mine repowered with an E-TEC, if/when the tank goes bad I'll probably just use a 6gallon tank since the E-TEC uses so little fuel.

Although primarily a lake boat, I had mine out on the open ocean a few times, in 4-5 foot waves. With its v-hull the 16 SL is better than you think it will be, you just have to pick the right speed.

John K.

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He is also overpowered with that 115hp on that 16' SL.
Don't know if the 115hp weighs more then the 90 hp model or not so weight might not be an issue.

http://www.whalercentral.com/userphot...lbum_id=78

E-TEC 90hp weighs 320 pounds

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Well see how the tank looks after its cleaned.. I can always weld it.. pretty good at welding aluninum..



Yes its overweight..115 yamaha is 386 pounds. So 120 pounds heavier than it should be if I remember correctly. and sits a bit low in the water.. the bottom of the tilt trim is in the water about 3 inches when sitting, so leaving it in salt water is not something I do for more than a day or so... and it will pull the front up in the air if noone is sitting up front.. another concern I have.. but once on plane it really goes and flattens out..

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A fairly standard engine on the 16 SL was a Johnson or Evinrude 90 HP V4, which weighed something like 300 lbs. give or take. The three cylinder E-TEC 90 is 320 lbs., which sits very nicely. 390 lbs. is the weight of the E-TEC 90 HO, which I would agree is too much for the hull (but not 120 lbs. over a standard engine).

John K.

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I guess I needed to check again.. says the Yamaha is 335 pounds..

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Recommend you trailer it to a weigh station so you can get an accurate weight. I used our local landfill. It was free and I got a chance to get some of the junk out of my basement. :)

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Thanks for the input.. can anyone recommend something other than foam? Maybe some kind of padding under the tank and rubber chunks on the sides?

It looks like there was a carpet like material under it.. with a 1/8th inch peice of rubber on the very bottom flat part of the tank.. with some kind of cocking sealant at the top of the tank..

I want to put a rubber hose in there to suck up any water that may get in, in the years to come.. and be able to blow air down there to dry it out better..

I know if its sealed right it should not get any water between the tank and hull.. but salt water has it's way to eat at stuff.. and I really don't want to have to pull the panel and tank after each season just to be sure..