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Hey All,
I was presented with an opportunity to buy this Whaler and I took it blindfolded. I know/knew nothing about Whalers. It just felt right for some crazy reason. I beat the websites up and already have a great appreciation for the Boston Whaler. I am going to be reading everything I can to get my knowledge up. The Stencil is 2A622x (where x= either 6 or 8). Can't tell because it is covered up. I think it is a Standard, but hard to tell. There are marks to indicate it could have been a Sourpuss. I want to make it a Sourpuss eventually so I am calling her Lickin' Lemons.

Keep in mind that I have zero motorboating experience (I am a kayaker for life...try catching a large striper on a kayak...whew!). After being asked by my 4 year old son, "Why did God make you the worst boat driver ever?" when out fishing on this kayak together in serious winds and good curent in the river. My wife came to my rescue and offered the idea of buying a boat.

Here it is in all it's glory. Who knows how many owners had this with their bright ideas. Not sure how you will interpret the pics, but she is UGLY! I will eventually restore this, but I want to use it for now. I am not sure how much it will cost to do all the hull/body work or how long. I think I will start by filling holes and come up with a better interior layout. I can't keep my hands off it since I got it last Sunday 4/27/08. I did not own that thing 10 minutes before I started taking off all of the garbage that was attached like the home-made aluminum rear rail and the extensive electrical tape used to bind the front rail 90 degree T-connectors. Everything was rigged from the truck tool box to the make-shift console. Throttle control mounted on the wrong side. Not one thing is mounted with care...all crooked. Huge fuel tank that seems leaky and I digress from here. Sorry if there are too many pictures. I like to see all of your's out there, so I thought it best to share.

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2577.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2550.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2554.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2556.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2559.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2561.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o221/NsR_BuRntT/100_2571.jpg[/IMG]

Cheers~

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dmboyd,

Welcome aboard! You've come to the right place regarding your project. I bought my 13' last year and have scoured this website top to bottom to gain knowledge about my boat and have had tremendous support from the rest of the members in my times of need. There alot of classic 13 owners out there and we will be here to share our experiences with you.

My advice is to use the search engine on the site because it will get you back into the archives of posts and articles. Believe me, you'll find alot of folks who started out just like you.

BTW - Best to take a safe boating course, especially since you've young'ins involved.

Have fun!

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Congradulations of what looks like a great project boat. You will find just about any information you can imagine on this site and regardless of the problem you may run in to, I'll bet you someone on this site has had almost the same one, so don't even hesitate to ask a question. Remember that their are no dumb questions. Also, send as much info, such as serial number, stencil number or whatever to cbennett@whaler.com with Boston Whaler and he can give you all of the particulars on your boat. You've already mastered posting photos and believe me there are many who can't accomplish that feat, so you are ahead of some already! :D

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Welcome to the site. You have a sweet 13 with the blue interior, new splashwell and smirk. Don't worry if that means nothing to you at this point, you will learn all about these boats. As suggested, take a boater safety course if you haven't so you can learn the rules of the road. As long as stuff works, I would use the boat this year without trying to do too much to her. That way you get a feel for the boat and how your going to use her and can make some good decisions on any changes you might want to make.

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Thanks to all of you for welcoming us. I will definately be around. My brother is an avid boater and told me that I will soon find out what B.O.A.T. means. I want to outfit this so bad I just might Bust Out Another Thousand soon that I expected.

Cheers~

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The project boat looks like it'll keep you busy for awhile. I took pictures of my project boat after I stripped all the garbage off from previous owners. Check my personal page to see my lemon to orange restoration project. Still have lots to go.
Have fun. Keep posting pictures of progress.
mahalo,
jim
http://www.whalercentral.com/infusions/personal_page/view_personal_page.php?user_id=8012

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Is that a truck tool box used for the rear seat? Well, at least the last owner was creative! Good luck with the project. I agree with Kamie though- clean her up a bit, maybe remove some of the things that bother you most, then use her for the season. Summers spent boating are more fun and far less frustrating that summers spent restoring! Use the summer to make a list of projects for the coming fall, winter and spring.

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Boat restoration is a funny thing. There are two types of approaches generally. One is to set in your mind a picture of the finished boat and then do what is needed to achieve that. The other is more a "stream of consciousness" approach where you use the boat and make revisions as you see or feel the need. Clearly yours is the latter. You bought a fisherman's boat. If that's what you like to do, she'll just need your own personal touches. If you intend to return the boat to the factory standard, that's going to take time and money. Lucky for you, there are people here who are good at both approaches.
What are your intentions here, spec restoration, fishing boat or family cruiser? Our advice on this will depend on what you wish to have. I must say, I applaud the spirit of the previous owner. Yes, it's some blue collar rough looking work, but I'd fish on her just as is any day of the week. That's the way my Dad's boats have always looked. Black pipe, 2x4s, plumbers fittings and lots of caulk were his trademark, but when you were fishing, his boats were perfect tools for the job. They were embarrassing to pull down the road on a trailer I'll say though! To each his own.
Does everything work? Is the motor running OK? If so, go run around for a while and let the experience dictate what you intend to do.
We are going to look at those photos differently than you think. Personally, I see right through all that add on stuff right down to the floor. Each part in those photos has been modified in some way. If you REALLY want to restore her, we will be talking about the most minute details. You may not want to go that far, but if you do, there are sources for every single piece of that thing, either new or used, along with advice on what to do with all of it.
Welcome to WhalerCentral, and thanks for sharing your photos. For a first boat, you've chosen a beauty.:p It's just right for learning all about power boating. Hope we can help.
Grady

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It's a little rough around the edges but, I'll take a thousand boat's like it ! The attraction (for me) of the 13' model is the "Ease of Maint.". The original layout of the 13' (in my opinion) is probably the best approach, it makes the most use out the room that you have to work with, then add some personal mod's from there but, as suggested above, try and use the boat this summer and get the feel. Taking the safe boating course is a very good idea, and strongly recommended, Kayaker's have a good habit of alway's wearing their PFD's. I think that your boat is rebuildable without too much effort, there is an army of help here, and plenty of proud 13' owner's to guide you through the rebuild. You got the right idea "Cap", I think the 13' is the best boat to choose when entering "power boating", and all Whaler owner's (regardless of what model they own) have that little special spot in their heart for the 13' Whaler that started it all, post more pic's, and ask more question's "Whaler Central can fix ANYTHING", Good Luck with your boat, and welcome to W/C and the "Whaler Family".
mw

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So you think your an "addict"? , splash that boat , go have some fun this summer,keep your eyes open on the water and you'll begin to see.....Come next fall you'll find yourself Addicted,consumed....full of plans....they can all be carried out with the assist of this community. Welcome aboard Captian !

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The only yuck factor for me, is the carpet glued down to the bow area. That is only because I am in the process of pulling it up in my project 13. The difference is yours is only on the bow and mine was all over the inside. Assuming you want to pull it up at some point, I should have answers to how best to remove carpet glue from Whaler gelcoat.

Send an email to Chuck Bennett at whaler with both possible stencil numbers. You can also check the title, if you got one since before HIN # they used the stencil numbers on the titles, at least my 13 they did.

Don't spend all summer working on the boat, spend a good bit of the summer fishing.

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Forgot to mention something. You said you owned it for ten minutes and started taking off all the garbage. A piece of advice for you.... Do not throw anything out right yet. As you remove things from the boat, bag it, label it, and keep it aside. You'd be surprised by what comes back useful. We have all experienced the rapture of ripping things off a boat here. That part happens so fast and then the reconstruction seems to happen so slow! These seemingly awful parts just might serve as guides for screw holes, patterns for new pieces, or may actually get painted, chromed or whatever and reused.
Also, DOCUMENT your tearoffs with photos. Not for us as much as for yourself. Take more pictures than you think you'll ever possibly need. You'll need every one of them I assure you.
Grady

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Good point Grady. I used several clear plastic tackle boxes/hobby boxes to store all my screws/bolts/washers/nuts etc during my re-furbish. I wrote on the outside of the box over the appropriate compartment with a Sharpie marker to remind me where the parts came from, ie leaning post to deck. It really helped when I started to re-assemble. Just make sure you never knock it over.

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B.O.A.T. really means: Bring On Another Thousand.

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I too think you've got a nice boat, there, and second the motion to enjoy her this season on the water, if possible. I recommend fixing any holes that might allow water intrusion into the hull, especially in the deck, in the anchor well, and at the drain tube(s). Welcome to the world of But Only Another Thousand-ers!

B)

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Yeah, I will definately run her this season. I live fairly close to rivers for fishing. Stripers are running right now. I want to reconfigure the seating so that I can make this family friendly as well. I am kinda stuck with the motor and controls for now. 50hp Force runs all day long per the seller (my step brothers' dad). The controls are built for side mount and not a top mount. that is why it is on the wrong side of the POS console that is on this thing. It feels wrong and I think a mock-up plywood console and benches might do the trick until I can come up with a plan for restoration. I need some confort and room for 2 adults and 2 small kids. FOr now they little ones have to sit on Kamie's favorite bow carpet!

I bought it because I knew this was a classic and that it is usable right now. It may be another week until I can actually take it out. I have lots of stuff going on.

Boaters course and ABC's are in the works as well. I have sent the email to Chuck Bennett as I pulled the transom plate up and found that it is a "6" a the end. So Lickin' Lemons is 2A6226.

Yes that is a Knaack Weather Guard truck box. Not my favorite, but it has it's purpose right now. I took it out and it looks good underneath. I have to pull out the huge gas tank and fix a small hose leak and view the floor underneath it . Beside that, I think this is very do-able.

Thanks again to all. I will build my own page some day soon and will keep in touch. If you folks have any weblinks that "need" to have, post them up or send me an email at nothumbsnonuts@yahoo.com (yes it does say that...it is a dog reference as I have both still).

Cheers~

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I got this from Chuck at Boston Whaler:

Hi Dave,
According to Whaler's records, serial number 2A6226 was built in our old Rockland, MA factory as a 13' Sourpuss model and was originally shipped to a Crater Lake Marine in Meford, OR on 5/13/71.
Attached is a page from the old brochure...

Regards,
Chuck Bennett
Boston Whaler, Inc.

I have not seen one out there, anyone know where to get that original style Sourpuss rear rail?

Cheers~

Dave