Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by gld1203 on 04/23/08 - 8:00 AM

Sue at Twin Cities referred me to this company as a source for fire extinguisher boxes for Whalers. I called and placed an order for one ($140). The check cleared >30 days ago, and they have told me "it's going out tomorrow" for the last 3 weeks. Has anyone had any dealings or experience with these guys?

Posted by rlkramer on 04/23/08 - 5:06 PM

My story with him is the same. But BE SURE TO ASK if all hardware is included and if the wood is finished. After waiting way too much extra time, my louvered door and frame arrived with no finish and no hardware. I was a "little" angry. I had to track down hinges and spend a few days varnishing, sanding, varnishing, sanding, etc.

All in all I was eventually happy, but not immediately happy.

Posted by gld1203 on 04/25/08 - 1:22 PM

#11

OK. The box arrived. The workmanship of the box is very good. The dimensions of the box may be a problem... if the extinguisher is 3 inches in diameter, it ain't gonna fit. The opening is 4 5/8" x 15 5/8". But he only gave me 3" of depth inside the box. I don't know if this is of any use at all. My boat's down at the beach, so I can't try to fit the extinguisher, but I really don't think this is going to work. Anyone know the diameter of the smallest extinguishers?

Posted by Jeff on 04/25/08 - 1:30 PM

#12

GLD,

Here are what the factory boxes Dimension out to.

Front
[img]http://www.whalercentral.com/images/photoalbum/album_1/photo_55.jpg[/img]

Side
[img]http://www.whalercentral.com/images/photoalbum/album_1/photo_56.jpg[/img]

The box in these images is 5" deep not 3". This box was from my outrage and the one on out Montauk was the same size. Do they take returns?

Edited by Jeff on 04/25/08 - 1:35 PM

Posted by gld1203 on 04/25/08 - 1:48 PM

#13

Where your box measures 5" outside, mine measures 3 7/8". Inside the box, I've got 3". I might be able to store a can of spray deodorant, or a couple of beers, but I don't think I can use it for much else. Great.

I guess I'll have to call Gil about changing it, and hope I can get it back in time for Summer 2009.

Posted by Joe Kriz on 04/25/08 - 2:35 PM

#14

gld,

I have a suggestion for you and anyone else wanting to add a Fire Extinguisher Pocket to their Whaler.

Purchase an SSI plastic box and either make or have someone else make the teak frame for you.
The drawings for the frame are in the downloads section here:
http://www.whalercentral.com/download...?cat_id=13

The instructions for installing an SSI pocket along with the teak frame is in the article section here:
http://www.whalercentral.com/readarti...icle_id=32

Around 1988 Whaler replaced the teak plywood box with the plastic box from SSI. I never really liked the wood version as it seemed to always look or stay dirty, was hard to even try to clean, and they came apart due to the elements. I much prefer the SSI plastic box myself.
http://www.ssicustomplastics.com/fire...ishers.htm

One other nice thing about the SSI is that a person can go ahead and mount the pocket without even having the teak frame. You can always add the teak frame later when you get around to it. Many of he newer model Whalers don't even use any frame at all, they just have the SSI box installed.

Just some other thoughts...

Posted by Binkie on 04/25/08 - 2:45 PM

#15

gld1203,

Hope you paid with your credit card. Maybe you can work it out. I believe there are mini fire extinguishers out there, that do the work of bigger ones., but they are expensive.Let us know how this pans out.
rich

Posted by gld1203 on 04/25/08 - 2:49 PM

#16

Thanks for the suggestions, Joe. At this point, being $140 into the project already, I think I'll see if an extinguisher might fit inside what I have, but not resting on the floor of the box, like you have done in the SSI box.

BTW, I bought some rod holders you made from Hall's last year. Excellent work.

Posted by Jeff on 04/25/08 - 4:10 PM

#17

GLD,

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. Looks like another PR strike for Cedar Lake.

If you can Return the box for a refund contact Mike at Nautical Lumber (supporter of the site) and he should be able to give you some real help.

Posted by Joe Kriz on 04/25/08 - 7:00 PM

#18

gld,

I understand.

By the way, the fire extinguisher is not setting on the floor of the pocket. It is hanging on the bracket only and the extinguisher does not touch on any parts of the pocket at all.
Just thought I would let you know.

Posted by gld1203 on 04/26/08 - 5:16 AM

#19

Joe. Thanks for your posts. My earlier post wasn't worded well, as I could tell that your extinguisher wasn't resting on the floor of the box.

I may try to take this box apart and rebuild it at the proper depth, if I can find the correct wood. I don't care if it's teak, but finding the thin boards used on this box may be a problem. I recall seeing a hobby/woodworking section in Lowes that may have what I need. If I can find the wood and do it I might be able to paint the inside of the box Desert tan.

Cedar Lake paid ~$24 to mail the package to me, so I think shipping this thing back and forth to them isn't worth the time or money (or delay). I will use the frame and the back of the box, just need to replace the 4 sides.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Posted by duf on 04/26/08 - 6:34 AM

#20

gld, sounds like you've made up your mind to repair, and i'm sure that's well within your ability. But i'm with Joe, as i installed the plastic insert on Raggedly and put the teak trim around the outside and it looks great. My 88 came with it already installed but nasty with teak stains that i don't think i will be able to get off, so later down the road will probably replace with another plastic one. Even stained i think it looks good.
Speaking of the teak stains, i've cleaned up all the stains on the console using a combination of bartenders helper and aceatone, and most of the deck stains. Looks 95% better and will finish off the last of it in the coming weeks!! :D

Duf B)