Our New Boat

[Jet]

Joey and I picked up a 1970 13' Boston Whaler with a 25HP Merc 2-stroke at the GBF swap meet. Once he saw the boat he could not let it go so we are now equal partners in this venture. Its is set up for fly fishing with a bow mounted trolling motor. It needs some TLC and I need to finish the rear deck set up. We have had it out a couple times and I dubbed it Lil Tug cause its so slow. With 3 of us in the boat at WOT it was running about 7-8 MPH according to my gps. I'm a little concerned that our hull may be compromised and is retaining water weight. Would like to know if there are any tests to check for water retention. Bottom line is the thing floats, tugs along fine and once the trolling motor is down its the same as an other boat. Funny thing it I've held onto my first car and Joey has been asking to fix it up so he could use it when he is old enough. Some time in the near future you may see a 1970 Whaler towed by a 1970 El Camino.

We would appreciate any advice or suggestions you may have to offer. I will be re-doing the rear deck and was possibly thinking of putting in a live well so we could enter the delta fly fishing tournament. Will post some pictures soon.

Thanks,

Jet

[fishngy]

What every kid needs is an old el camino and a old boat! I would love to go to the delta with you some time. I could even keep up with you in my little boat. See both of you at the next GBF meeting. Bill

[OceanSunfish]

This site may be of some help....

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/

And, chances are that the 40 year old hull is retaining water.... but the user group forum should have information to help you along quite a bit.

[caniretireyet?]

I'd suspect the motor as much as the hull. Awesome set up! Congrats!
Steve

[BillB]

Hey Steve, just a thought here, but what if you weighed the boat. Shouldn't the hull weigh between 500-700? Sure you could find out the actual weight from Whaler. Add in the trailer and motor and that should give you an idea. At least I think it would. My brother and I use our dads 15 Striper he gave us when he left. One of the brass fittings in the transom came loose and we are replacing it. Don't think it was retaining any water though. We did notice in June that they will fill with water if you don't put in the drain plug.

[Mr T]

Congraulations and welcome to the whaler fold!

I think you are going kind of slow for a 13 with a 25 horse. Ball park with that size motor I would expect over 20 and 1-2 guys, if propped right. You can get specs for the weight of the hull from CW or whaler central, another owner site.

The 13 foot Hull
Dimensions & History
DIMENSIONS (from 1998 Catalogue listings)
Length......................13 feet 4 inches (13 feet 3-1/2 inches c.1960)
Beam........................5 feet 5 inches (5 feet 3-inches c.1960)
Length/Beam Ratio...........2.5:1
Draft.......................6 inches (with engine tilted clear of water)
Weight......................320 pounds Standard to 410 pounds SS Limited
Original hulls c.1959 weighed approximately
250 to 275 pounds
Maximum horsepower..........40 HP (20-HP on early tiller steering models)
Minimum Horsepower.......... 9 HP
Capacity....................6 Persons
Swamped Capacity............1,600 pounds


HISTORY
Designer....................Dick Fisher, Ray Hunt, Bob Dougherty
First year offered..........1958
Last year offered...........Still available in the GLS model
Color.......................1958 - 1972 White Hull/Blue interior;
1973 - 1993 Desert Tan
1994 - 2000 White
1998 - White Hull/Blue interior on Limited Edition
M.S.R.P.....................$ 750 in 1970 for Standard hull



Check the area where the through hull goes into the stern; there shoud be an o-ring around the formed brass and it goes after many years. Chances are good yours is gone after this long. If it is, water could have seeped in for sure. An easy test is to drill a few small holes, (1/8 inch), along the bottom of the transom and check for wet wood inside. The shavings from the bit should be dry. If it is patch the holes with white marine tex and move on. If wet, well then it gets fun to get the water out; once water gets in the foam inside, it likes to hold onto the moisture. No easy way to get it out. One benefit of hot summers in the valley is that you can use the heat to help dry the hull if you have some holes drilled for the moisture to escape.


I have a 1969 Nauset, and love it. Something about em is just a lot of fun.

Let me know if you have any questions, happy to offer what I know.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have several friends who have had that very popular old 13' hull.

Some had 35hp to 40hp 2 strokes on them.

A new Yamah 25hp 4 stroke would be good on that boat.

Good boat for one or two people. No three......

The more weight (people/gear/fuel) you get in it the slower it will go.

[gene goss]

Congrats to the boating world....i was looking at the picture at the GBF swap, and was thinking what a sweet boat to have. I would think if the hull was full of water the trailer hitch weight would be very high...you should be able to lift the front of the trailer off the ground. I would check the motor out....a new set of spark plugs is a cheap place to start....also motor trim angle should be looked at...I don't think Bill L. never had this boat up on plane in a long time.

[Flys4b8]

Jet, I thought you were moving out of state? Now a boat....?? Dang, you can go striper fishing now! Drop me a line sometime....

Cheers...