Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by Gabiahn on 02/16/09 - 9:32 PM

I just bought a pre-72 13-foot hull, no ID or hull number. It has an ugly-with-a-capital-Ugh! dark blue gelcoat outside and faded swimming-pool blue inside. I'm getting a 10-horse Honda 4-cycle for it. As I am on a fixed (read broken) income, I plan to pretty it up a little at a time. I sure like the Super Sport configuration.

Would I have to gelcoat over the gelcoat, or would a paint job do? How about the interior?

Can I get a factory plate with capacity, horsepower and such without knowing the year or hull number? The State seems to require that.

Which older 40-hp, 4-cycle outboard is the lightest? And most economical? Most reliable?

Has anyone ever installed a stern drive in a 13'? Do they even make an outdrive unit that small? What would be the maximum horsepower? Thanks,

Gabiahn on the southern Oregon coast

Posted by chrepp on 02/17/09 - 5:35 AM

From what I have learned on this site, you need to sand off at least all of the wax before painting(sand,sand and sand again is the norm). Most people either use gell coat or a 2 part polyurathane paint. Here is a link to a capacity plate.
http://www.whalercentral.com/photogallery.php?photo_id=1
On this site, go to articles-current engine choices-13' models to see the available engine choices. Everyone seems to have their own favorite choice. I haven't heard of anyone putting a stern drive in one. I don't think that it is practical and the hull wasn't designed for it. Max hp is listed as 40 although some people have gone up to 50. The hull id should be stencilled on the inside of the transom or in the bow locker. Good luck.

Posted by Phil T on 02/17/09 - 6:35 AM

Welcome and congrats on the whaler.

I am sure we can provide guidance for your outfitting and project. There are a bunch of 13' gurus on this board.

For your capacity plate, look on the left toolbar, for Dowloads. There is one for your model. If you want a new metal plate, contact Janis @ Magic Brush. She is a site sponsor.

To help the members help you, I suggest building a personal page with lots of photos. This way we can see what you have and give accurate advice.

Posted by kamie on 02/17/09 - 9:30 AM

Welcome,

The stencil number should be on the interior of the boat, either on the inside of the stern or inside the bow locker. There will be no HIN#, only the stencil number. You can have a capacity plate made, if you look in the downloads section the 13 footers were rated for 25HP if it had tiller steering and 40HP with remote. I doubt the outside is gelcoat, probably painted although anything is possible. The inside sounds like original gelcoat, the way to easily tell is find the stencil number. If you can find it, then the gelcoat is original, otherwise it has either been painted or gelcoated over.

Photo's help so we can all see what your looking at. Although the Super Sport interior was later than your hull, all the 13 footers were the same hull, so it would fit fine. You can either make it yourself or purchase from site sponsors that are making them.

Posted by Gabiahn on 02/19/09 - 2:14 PM

Gentlebeings,

Thanks for your encouragement. I'll post some photos as soon as I master this new camera. When I try to download, there seems to be no way to address it to my personal page.

There are no stensiled numbers in the forward hatch. Nothing has been removed or painted over. It looks like a small rectangular item was removed from the aft surface of the transom vicinity of the right handhold.

Decided that the hull was painted, not gelcoated, I talked to somebody in the boat restoration business, and he estimated that I could get it painted by an automotive painter for $2000-3000. For an $800 boat? I'm working on something else. I can do better than that.

Thanks for the helpful responses. Got my bearings now.

Gabiahn

Posted by Joe Kriz on 02/19/09 - 2:22 PM

If the stencil number is not in the forward hatch, then it should be on the inside of the transom beneath the motor.

Take a look at this members personal page to see the location of this stencil number.
http://www.whalercentral.com/infusion...er_id=7367

Stencil numbers do not go away. They may be painted over however.

Posted by theo on 02/20/09 - 2:38 PM

#10

Gabiahn wrote:Has anyone ever installed a stern drive in a 13'? Do they even make an outdrive unit that small? What would be the maximum horsepower? Thanks,

Gabiahn on the southern Oregon coast

From one newb to another, welcome Gabiahn!

So, if you're thin-skinned: Fitting an outdrive seems pretty ambitious, but you might be able to carry it off.

If you're thick-skinned: An outdrive? Are you daft? Or maybe suicidal? Where you going to sit for crying out loud??

:D