Buying a 1960's Boston Whaler

[EricR77]

Hi—I want to buy a c.1960 Boston Whaler boat as a restoration project. I really like the styling of the Nauset, Eastport, and Sakonnet, the mahogany center console and seats, and the blue cockpit.

When browsing I've noticed that there are a lot of [used Boston Whaler] boats advertised as a 1960 17-foot, but they have fiberglass center consoles and white deck color.

First off, I thought the 1960's boats were the 16-foot hull, and most of them came with the mahogany center console.

I guess people mess up and call them 17-feet because the 1960-boats get grouped with the Montauk. I also guess that the the fiberglass center consoles mean that the boat was either purchased as a bare hull, or that at some point the mahogany rotted out and was replaced with a cheaper option. Same goes with the white deck: at some point the deck was refinished and changed colors to white.

[I don't want] to buy a Boston Whaler boat that didn't originally have the mahogany interior.

Q1: Would any 16-foot 1960 boat have mahogany?

Q2: Is the only way to confirm [that a 1960-boat has mahogany] to check the HIN?

Q3: To make sure the boat was built as either a Sakonnet, Nauset, or Eastport?

Thanks for your help.
Eric

[jimh]

Q1: Would any 16-foot 1960 boat have mahogany?

A1: the 16-foot Boston Whaler boat was first offered in 1961. The history of the 16-foot hull is given in the REFERENCE article about the 16-foot (later 17-foot) hull at

The 16/17-foot Hull
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/16-17/

A buyer could order just a bare hull, without any interior finish.

[jimh]

Q2: Is the only way to confirm [that a 1960-boat has mahogany] to check the HIN?

Q3: To make sure the boat was built as either a Sakonnet, Nauset, or Eastport?

A2: there is no federal hull identification number or HIN on any Boston Whaler boats in the 1960's because the requirement for a HIN did not become federal law until 1972. There is a good answer in the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) section of the REFERENCE section that explains the hull identification system. Prior to 1972 and continuing after 1972, Boston Whaler used a hull identification system known as the STENCIL NUMBER. See the FAQ for more details:

Q2: Where is the Hull Identification Number?
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q2

The stencil number does NOT encode any information about the production epoch or the model model. The stencil number just identifies the hull in a sequential numbering system. There is some information available for the ranges of stencil numbers by year for the 16-foot (and 13-foot) hulls; see the REFERENCE section article on the hull. Any hull could have been finished off in any of several models at the time of production.

[jimh]

Boston Whaler boats made in the 1960's are now going to be 50 to 60-years-old, and any wooden components on those boats could be missing. It would be the exception to find a 50 to 60-year-old Boston Whaler boats with all the original wood components intact and in pristine condition.

[EricR77]

jimh, thanks for the great answers. Really appreciate that! I had read through the FAQ's and reference section a couple of times, and I wanted to make sure I was interpreting them correctly. Thanks again for the clarifications.

Hopefully I'll find a decent candidate for restoration. I'm sure I'll be back with many more questions.

Eric

[biggiefl]

You can buy all of the original wood from companies such as Specialty Marine and others. You can send Boston Whaler the stencil number and they will tell you what model, when it was shipped and to what dealer, that is all.