Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Mr Mike on 10/20/20 - 6:04 PM

I have a Harpoon 4.6 (15 ft) that I recently acquired. For those not familiar, this sailboat was only made for a few years back in the late seventies. I do not know much about them other than If fixed it up and it sails nicely. A stable boat, reasonably fast and can handle three maybe four people. I sail it single handed. Here's my question: I weighed the boat and it is about 50 pounds overweight at around 500 lbs.. I drilled a few holes in it and while water inside just drips out, the foam (open cell) is saturated. I repaired the the bailer wells where the water was obviously getting inside. This boat, I guess like other Whalers has no bilge. It is laminated construction and foam filled. Is there a preferred method to get the water out. On some of my other boasts I drilled a hole, inserted a vacuum hose, warmed the intake and forced air through it for about a week and dried out the boat. I am sure this has been a problem for other models of BW. Maybe this has been addressed elsewhere in this site.

Any help appreciated.

Mr Mike

Posted by Mr Mike on 10/21/20 - 1:49 PM

I don't think the foam and plywood will ever dry out unless I can get some air flowing through there. I have a Force]5 that was wet and I cut a hole topside about midship and let a vacuum cleaner blow warm air in and out an access hole I put near the transom and it driedout real good. Don't know if that's possible with the laminated construction of BW's

Mr Mike

Posted by Mr Mike on 10/24/20 - 6:40 AM

Every FG boat I ever owned had a bilge which made access to the insides possible whether it needed structural repairs or just keeping it dry. BW is a different animal. They are stiff, rugged and drying out the foam is likely not going to happen. The down side of this is the plywood laminates on the inside also get wet and eventually rot. Deck fittings are lagged because the cannot be thru bolted with backing plates. On a sailboat many deck fittings are under great stress. I have had to rebuilt the mountings for the ratchet block, the centerboard hardware and the mast step. This hardware is under significant stress when sailing.

I am not complaining....after all I only gave $500 for the boat so I should expect to have some work to do. For a small boat it has a big boat feel and is stable even in brisk winds. That's what I need for my winter time sailing.

Mr Mike

Posted by rayner1 on 12/07/20 - 6:32 AM

I recently acquired a 5.2, which had been hit by a tree.

Damage to the quarter-deck, transom, caprail, and mast.

I also trying to find the deck gelcoat color?

and maybe a mast.

Posted by pemakari on 08/12/23 - 5:57 AM

Hello Harpoon friends! I have had my 4.6 for three summers and purchased it from the sole previous owner. I like it very much and sail it off of Cleveland, OH on Lake Erie. It gets a lot of looks, as many people here do not know that BW made a sailboat! It's a good conversation starter at the shore front/boat ramp.

What is your experience in heeling angle? How far over can it heel before flipping? I sail single-handed and haven't pushed it too far.