15-foot Models

[Pescatore]

I now have a 1968 13-foot Boston Whaler boat, but I want to move up to a 15. I would like opinions on the SPORT compared to the SUPER SPORT model. I think the SS would take up too much room in the stern.

Comment on bow rails compared to side rails. I don't really like the high bow rails.

My idea is:

--to get [a 15-footer] that either has a fairly new Yamaha engine, or

--to get a bare hull and repower it.

I will use this boat mostly for fishing and clamming. My perfect boat would be a 1990 to 1993 15 GLS with a Yamaha 60 or 70.

[jimh]

Life is short. Get the perfect boat you want.

Unlike 13-footers that might be used as dinghies or have small outboard engines that just clamp on and can be easily removed, most 15-footers will have an engine bolted to the transom. The notion you are going to find a 15-foot classic hull with no engine is really quite a stretch. Most likely you will buy an outboard with the boat when you get a 15-footer.

[Pescatore]

People sell hulls with no engine or a blown engine all the time. I sold my 21 foot conquest with no engine.

[Jefecinco]

All the time, yes, all over the country. If you're willing to travel on the basis of photographs and also prepared to be disappointed by misrepresentation or difference of opinion in what "good" means.

Classic hulls with classic (old) engines bought without an engine will not represent much savings. Most buyers of old boats with old engines expect a repower is in their future, probably sooner than later.

[jimh]

People sell hulls with no engine or a blown engine all the time. I sold my 21 foot conquest with no engine.

Then I guess you are going to find hundreds of classic 15-foot hulls on the market with no engine. You must know much more about this than me.

[Oldslowandugly]

I spent years looking for a decent 15 footer. I wanted a bare hull with no motor so I could customize it. I settled for a bare hull with a tired Merc 60hp, which I sold on Craigslist, and a crummy trailer which I used on another skiff. I like the high bow rail and the side rails but I often take the Grandkids out. I also like to prop my feet up on the rail while fishing. My seats are on the centerline so the railings are a perfect height.

[Pescatore]

I mentioned that I would like to get a good hull and repower it! That was just one line in my post. No one answered my question about the different variations of the 15 foot hull. I must be in the wrong forum.

[jimh]

It is not the forum that is going to make it hard to find a nice 15 GLS for sale with no engine.

[dgoodhue]

I have a Super Sport [15]. I like the storage of the rear seat. It takes up less than a foot of room. I prefer the vertical steering wheel of the Super Sport, plus it has a better location for gauges. I dislike the railing. I would prefer no railing in the front. All the wrap-around railing does it seems to do is make it hard to get in the boat from the water.

[Dutchman]

You must ask yourself,"'what will I be using it for?"

You mention Sport and Super-Sport, but what about a Center Console? I love my Center Console 15; it is much more comfortable to get around in than a Sport or Super Sport.

Good luck in your search.

[cleep1700]

I have a Sport and like the bow rail for the previously mentioned reasons: safety for the children that I teach to fish and a great place to put my feet when I use my front pedestal seat that the previous owner added.

[Deewazz]

I've had a standard Sport15 with side rails and added lowered front rails, a commercial sport (forgot the model name) 15 with a side console, side and front rails, A center console 15 CC with only side rails, and now have a standard 1978 Sport 15 with the optional wraparound helm seat with rails around it - no front rails. I found the full rails or added front rails to be problematic more than practical in both cases I had them. I'm installing 2 stainless low profile grab rails of 18 inches in a position halfway from the console to the bow. Just enough security for someone on the bow platform/locker area. I believe the classic 15 sport to be the very best design for my use, and for most general fishing, cruising, skiing, etc. Others may prefer the different configurations for their purposes - all depends on what your main use will be. Stability (even though some say it's not as good as other models) for me - is excellent, and handling and ride are great. As my hull only weighs 550 lbs., economy with a 4-stroke is excellent. Also I got a great deal on the boat and trailer, at $1,200 - in very good shape except for the wood. I installed a 2004 Mercury 40 4-stroke for and additional $1800. I plan to splash her in aabout 10 days or so... I have 3 grandchildren, and I have no worries about the lack of front rails...

[mkelly]

My friends & family have owned a few 15's in the day, our first was the side console model with mounted bucket seats. I didn't know it then but that is a great model for what we use it for. A couple years ago I found a center console model with standard bench seating & railing, 70 HP Johnson. We replaced the 70 with a Yamaha 60 HP four stroke....& I pulled out all the seating & rail, installed two stantioned bucket seats. It is the best application I can imagine for this boat. You sit up a little higher & I placed the seating where you don't have to lean forward to run the boat, getting around is a snap, great for fishing or crabbing. It does make it more of a two man boat but we often have a third riding up front sitting against the console & the kids love to ride up front. Send me your email & I'll forward you photos of the layout.

[BlueSmoke]

When I bought my whaler Jim's page here was a great resource to compare the options:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... odels.html

I am biased as have 1977 sport 15- Have ridden in the CC version a bunch too.
To answer your question my quick thoughts on the 3 options (will include CC as it has been brought up)

sport- easiest to move around. seat is uncomfortable on long rides. When I bought the boat I thought I would add a backrest but have reconsidered. I really enjoy the extra space behind the seat. I can move around the boat with ease and one person can cast off bow and I can cast of stern very easily. Also can fit most standard cooler sizes behind driver with room for bags ( w under thwart gas tank. With the supper sport it would be harder to get aft and have enough room to spread out your feet to gain balance.
Cons- lacks storage space, uncomfortable seat, bad for gauges

Supper sport- better for cruising, family time, comfort
cons- space gets crowded if your standing up casting w 2 people. where are you going to put gas tank? under seat takes up the nice storage feature. forced to put aft and really eliminates standing back there and is a lot of weight...

CC- great for one person fishing or blasting around, best for electronics mounting
cons- with 2 big people you are fighting for space on the aft seat. the driver wants to be in the middle to drive but that forces passenger to one side. with big people this creates to much listing for safe fast passage, forcing the passenger forward which is gonna hurt if getting rough and no great access to rails if sitting in the middle to hold on.

Front Rails- is a kids or no kids easy question. also most super sports come with them anyways and that the better family boat. Side rails are a must because your passengers are gonna want something to hold onto if your going 25+

[Dutchman]

When I bought my whaler Jim's page here was a great resource to compare the options:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... odels.html

I am biased as have 1977 sport 15- Have ridden in the CC version a bunch too.
To answer your question my quick thoughts on the 3 options (will include CC as it has been brought up)

CC- great for one person fishing or blasting around, best for electronics mounting
cons- with 2 big people you are fighting for space on the aft seat. the driver wants to be in the middle to drive but that forces passenger to one side. with big people this creates to much listing for safe fast passage, forcing the passenger forward which is gonna hurt if getting rough and no great access to rails if sitting in the middle to hold on.

Front Rails- is a kids or no kids easy question. also most super sports come with them anyways and that the better family boat. Side rails are a must because your passengers are gonna want something to hold onto if your going 25+

It is probably a old and new difference as my steering wheel on my CC is mounted to port and not center, therefore with 2 on the RPS nobody is pushed aside, I'm 6'+ and 270 lbs i.e. not small and there is plenty of room for some to sit next to me and hold on to rail on the side when going fast. Easily fished with 2 people and fine with 3 and have fished with 4 (crowded).
It must be that the 150 CC interior is different than what you compare about above.

We like our high front rail to lean against while sitting on the front pad, but it is a pain to step on, or off the boat when from a beach/waterline height land, you must be pretty athletic.

[jimh]

DUTCH'--post a picture of the reversible pilot seat on your 15-foot hull. I do not recall seeing a 15-foot hull with a center console AND a reversible pilot seat. The height of the reversible pilot seat would seem to be much too tall for a 15-foot hull. One of the agonies of the 15-foot hull is it is usually driven from a seated position, as the helm is much too low for operating from a standing position, even on the center console models.

[Oldslowandugly]

When I was searching for a Whaler, the thing that annoyed me the most was the low seats and the planks you had to step over. I could see my old clumsy self tripping over them. Then on the center console models the consoles were so wide there was very little room to squeeze past. That is why I waited until I found a bare hull that I could customize for my kind of Summer Flounder drift fishing. I like the flip back seat the prior owned added, and my console is small enough so I can pass on both sides with ease. The bench in back covers two 6 gallon gas tanks and is comfortable to sit or stand on. I hid the battery box and flare can up front under a flip up stand and placed a pedestal seat there for a nice casting perch. No matter which way I drift I can sit with my feet on the railings in comfort. I find with a set up like this I can enjoy the great ride and low power needs of a 15 footer yet still have all the room I need for fishing.

[jimh]

OLD'--thanks for giving us an image of your boat. It is your own design for a center console. That is a nice set up, but your seat is not the Boston Whaler Reversible Pilot Seat or RPS. The Boston Whaler RPS is quite different, and you can lean against the seat cushion as a leaning post.

The center console is not the Boston Whaler center console used in the 15-footer. It is much taller.

Your custom 15-footer looks like it can be driven from a standing position, and that means it will be comfortable for longer runs. My old SPORT 15 was a great boat, but after an hour or two sitting on the low seats my back was ready for relief--and that was about 15-years ago when I was much younger.

[Oldslowandugly]

The seat came with the deal and I think it is a Moeller. It makes for nice dry storage which is scarce on a Whaler. The console is a Todd that I found online from a California company that sells boat components. The small size was just what I wanted so I can get past it easily. Fitting the steering and controls was a chore but it worked out well. The Wise pedestal came from Bass Pro Shops, and the swivel seats are Tempress c.1985. Very durable and easy on the back. All in all it is a comfortable fishing boat which was the goal.

[GreginJaxFL]

I would like opinions on the SPORT compared to the SUPER SPORT model.

Two years ago I purchased the 150 Sport. A great boat but sold it.

[NOTE BENA: this discussion is about the classic SPORT 15 and SUPER SPORT 15, not about the latest model 150 SPORT.--jimh]

[Dutchman]

DUTCH'--post a picture of the reversible pilot seat on your 15-foot hull. I do not recall seeing a 15-foot hull with a center console AND a reversible pilot seat. The height of the reversible pilot seat would seem to be much too tall for a 15-foot hull. One of the agonies of the 15-foot hull is it is usually driven from a seated position, as the helm is much too low for operating from a standing position, even on the center console models.

Jim you are right as I'm talking about a 15' new Montauk which maybe confuses the topic. I'm talking a Boston Whaler that is 15' long.
Sport, Super Sport or CC. Sorry
But as requested these are some pics that show the newer set-up, showing ample room for a second person on the RPS and showing steering on Port side of the console, also an OEM picture showing standing position too and my son with ample room next to him.
https://goo.gl/photos/SnBvpzhE1xWXMGA76

https://goo.gl/photos/o9y3LJ1S8hdcA2579

https://goo.gl/photos/7iDgzxmXW4XceEBL8

[jimh]

DUTCH--this thread is discussing the classic 15-foot hull, not any of the newer models that happen to be 15-feet like a 150 MONTAUK or 150 SUPER SPORT.

The reference to a Reversible Pilot Seat or RPS is always to the one used on the classic OUTRAGE boats. The RPS has composite legs, an upholstered seat, and a moveable seat back built with teak.