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I have a 1989 montauk 17 with a sit down all wood console and bench seat. It is rather unqiue, at least i have never seen one with this style of console in 17ft model. I love to fish alot and the way the boat is currently setup it is hard to fish well. So i have coontemplated for a few years to convert it to a center console. Well it is in my Garage completly and dissassemled for the change. I will be buying the center console for along with everything else to completely change it.
I would appreciate any suggestions about how the most affordable way to do it but keep it in the whaler class of boats. I am searching for a center console and i am having a hard time locating the manufactures, i understand that boston builds them, but they are very expensive, is there something out there of the same quality and but more affordaable?
The next thing i thought today that i could offset some of my cost by restoring and finishing the present console to sell it, I am sure there are people out there that have a center console and would like to make it a sit down style? Does anyone have an idea as to what it may be worth either finish or as is?
I sure would appreciate any sugestions about this current project i am undertaking, i would like to do it the right way since I have owned this boat since it was new, it has been a great boat.
thanks,
greg

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Get ahold of a BW Commercial Division catalog, it has many of the current consoles avail.

Best bet would be to keep an eye on eBay and the CW classifieds for a used console. Either way its going to be more than you would expect.

Finally you could get a Carolina Skiff console, which may look nice but will not look factory at all, it depends on what you want

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Greg,

Sounds like your boat is a 17' supersport not a Montauk. They are the same hulls though. I would keep an eye out on Ebay for a center console. They come up every 3-4 months and most of them are in Texas.

If you go to frmarine.com and look under fiberglass parts / consoles they have had a console that could be made to look like a late 70's console with ease. The images on there website do not always show thier entire stock.

Other than that check with Sue Lodel at www.twincitiesmarine.com for an OEM console.

As for you wood interior. I would sell it as is on ebay. The 17 supersports are rare but most people would rather have the Montauk interior for a boat of that size. So I am sure someone would want it however it might not bring top dollar.

Here is an Image from my 1984 catalog of the 17' supersport.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/jeff_rohlfing/Misc/17ss.jpg[/IMG]

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Jeff,
thanks for the info on the sites that build these consoles. I will check em out. I had never seen a supersport for sale, have you? I wonder about there Values.

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Yes,

They come around every couple months on boattrader.com. They have been listed for a little less than what most Montauks are listed at that are in the same condition.

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Thought this might help

[color=brown]Removed Dead Link[/color]

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tood makes a good center console try looking under the boaters world or west marine website they are exspensive tho then pick urself up a swing back/ coller pilot seat . i have thinkin of doin exactly what u are doing to my 15 super sport and i sucessfully have . however i built my console out of wood the project came out beutiful i was able to put a shelf for my fishing gear and batter and below it mounted to the deck my gas tank hope this helps