---

Hello, just purchased a '76 13' Whaler. Need to replace interior wood. What is the standard wood on a Whaler? Is it Mahogany, or some special type of Mahogany? Also, what type of stain or finish is typically used on Mahogany? I want it to look like it came off the factory floor.


Thanks,

Barry
Nevada

---

The classic 13's had Honduran Mahogany used for their interiors. Some, including myself prefer the darker and more rich looking Ribbon Sapele Mahogany which is what I am planning to make mine out of this winter. If you would like to just buy a precut kit with a finish on it contact Mike Stennett at Nautical Lumber (site sponsor). He has precut and finished kits that will drop right in you boat. He sells the standard 13 interior as well as a standard 13 interior with a wider console (both can be seen here), a 13 Super Sport Interior, and a 13 Mini Sakonnet Interior (which can be seen here). Mike also sells raw lumber and since he also produces the interiors for his business would be able to get you exactly what you need so you could make it yourself.

---

Thanks Jeff. Exactly what I needed to know.

---

The vast majority of 13 foot Whalers had Philippine mahogany interiors, not Honduran, but other woods were used over the years too, all of them referred to by Whaler as "Mahogany"

Whaler never stained the wood; they just varnished it (sprayed it with a urethane coating, actually).

---

The original wood used in Whalers was called Philippine mahogany. In fact any mahogany used in boats for framing or trim work back in the day was Philippine mahogany. Very little is being used today. Philippine mahogany is hard to come by as cutting the trees has been restricted. Sapele(African ribbon striped) mahogany is what is commonly used now. It is better looking, but is a lot harder, and more dense than Philippine and is therefore harder to work with. Use sharp tools. I buy Sapele from Triton Lumber & Marine supply in Homosassa Fl. You need 1x 12" boards rough sawn. They will be 1 1/8" thick and can be planed to just over an inch thick smooth. The original seats were 5/4" thick, but you can get away with 1" because Sapele is so much stronger than Philippine.
I have been paying just under $5.00 per bd. Ft. picked up.. I believe they will ship. A board ft. is 12"X12"X1" thick. You need about 28 to 30 bd. ft. to build a standard Whaler interior.
Triton Lumber`s website is:

www.tritonlumber.com

phone # is 1-352-628-1400 ask for Larry

You might find this wood in Nevada, but it is primarily used in boats. Honduran mahogany is very expensive, used only in furniture.

rich

---

I used Teak in mine, which was more expensive that I had anticipated. The key in my opinon is the finish that you put on it............Be prepared to do lots of sanding between coats and applying many coats as well, I ended up with 12 coats on mine.

---

Use "bristol finish" on it next time and you won't have any of those problems. No sanding between coats if new coat is applied with 24 hours and it's possible to do multiple coats ina short time. Outlasts varnish's 5 to 1, more if kept covered and out of the sun.

---

,,,many of the interiors that have been sent to me to reproduce have been pattern grain (also known as flat cut or mixed grain) Honduran.
Because of rising costs of Honduran & Philippian mahogany many, not all, have turned to African mahogany (Kaiya) and African Mahogany Sapele (Ribbon or Rotary cut)
To keep things cost effective and to keep as true to the original look as possible all of our sport & super sport interiors are made of Kaiya Mahogany.
Our interiors for the 17' whalers are made of Ribbon Sapele to match the same grain pattern as originaly used.

I hope this info of some help.....

Regards,
Mike Stennett
Nautical Lumber Co