The way it all started

[Binkster]

The first Boston Whaler I ever laid eyes on was in the summer of 1958. My dad and I ( I was a college student at the time) stopped by the local Marine Hardware and fishing supply dealer on Long Island to buy probably some fishing stuff, and they had a 13-footer sitting out front on a trailer. I remember thinking that that it was pretty innovative and different, and the face of small boats maybe changing; my dad thought it looked goofy. At that time fiberglass boats of all shapes were popping up here and there, some even looked like 1950's cars with tail fins. Wooden boats were the norm but the game was changing fast. The first deep-V hull I saw was a plywood experimental hull. It was even more radical than a Boston Whaler. The late 1950's were an exciting time for small boats. Soon glass 13 ft. Boston Whaler's, deep-V Bertram's, and tail-fin-runabouts were common sight. The established wooden boat builders--who called the fiberglass boats "bleach bottle boats" and just a flash in the pan--needed a fast way into the glass boat business to stay afloat, so they just bought the glass guys out in the 1960's. A lot of money was made by the original glass boat builders.
I don't think there were any dedicated Whaler dealers in the beginning. It was easy to become a boat dealer back in the early fiftys. Although there were Johnson and Evinrude dealers that sold outboards and a line of boats, many brands were sold at hardware stores and fishing supply stores like the one that had the first Whaler I saw. I bought my first outboard, a used 7 1/2 hp Merc in 1952 from a hardware store that was also a Mercury dealer, and also sold a line of boats. At that time small boats were sold on concession, so a lot of capital and floor planning were not needed. I saved every dime I made from a paper route, for two years, about $200, to buy that Merc. I was 14. It was a way of pressuring my Dad to buy a boat as he was not a boater at the time. Before that, I spent my summers on my uncles boats, one of which I helped him build, I could run a boat before I was 10, and would run around in the bay by myself or with a friend, in my uncles old rowboat with an ancient outboard. In high school I worked for a couple of boat dealers part time, and as a kid I had every intention of getting into the boat business, however the year I graduated from Jr. College 1958, was a recession year, and the boat dealers I knew were all complaining that no one was buying boats or outboards. I never even heard of a recession, but I knew I didn't want any part of that so I went back to school and studied building construction,(like building houses was a stable industry.) A year later things were rolling again, but I was doing something different. Oh well.
rich

[Oldslowandugly]

Great thread! . Back in the 1950's, my uncle had a wooden runabout boat up on a lake in Pennsylvania, and he taught me how to operate it. My fondest childhood memories are of night fishing while listening to the Pirates games on the radio. Thus began a lifetime of fishing. Flash forward to 1978. I had just bought my house, and a friend gave me a 1970 Winner 17 foot runabout because it had sunk and his Dad wouldn't let him bring it home. I fixed it, found some 1956 Evinrude 30hp motors, and had my first very own fishing boat. It kept breaking so I junked it and bought a used rental skiff in 1989. It was a 1969 Lund 18 foot aluminum workhorse. I had a string of motors on it for the whole time my kids were growing up and fishing with me. I still have it, but in 2008 I bought my dream- a Boston Whaler. Unsinkable! It was a 1985 15 foot bare hull just like I wanted and no sooner did I start working on it than my Parents grew ill and required my full attention. Once they had passed, I was able to finally make the Whaler my own. My 48hp Evinrude was a perfect fit. I kept the cooler seat and I bought new railings, a console, new steering, and built a flip-up bench in the stern to cover the fuel tanks. Now my Grandson runs it when we go fishing- the circle is unbroken. I have been on a lot of boats in my life but this little Whaler makes me smile every time I use it.

[Dutchman]

Yea the 50's and 60's where a great time for me as well. Living on Curacao we had tropical water all around us. My Dad was an avid sailor and taught me how to sail and before long I was sailing little wooden dinghies by myself and with my buddies. A good friend of my dad had a nice twin inboard cruiser we went deep sea fishing with if not snorkeling or scuba diving in the Caribbean. The Mid 60's brought us back to Holland where I built my first sailing dinghy and actively started to race. With close to 28% of the country there was enough water to do a lot of sailing and boating. I ended up buying my first FG boat which was a 7m small cabin cruiser with a 30hp inboard which I used to tow my sailing dinghies with from regatta to regatta and lake to lake enabling me "housing". dabbled around in many different boats. Moving to the US I had to give up my boats but ended up in MA, AL,OK, and MI never more than 50 miles from water. Dabbled around with small sailboats, sail boards and finally bought an old Chris-Craft, which got me heavily involved in wooden boats. Restored several, built a couple, twin-gas 283's or 350's is expensive running the way I boat as we were not a "dock-o-minium" and I wanted to sail again which brought me back to FG. Loved the cabin cruising sailing but the admiral wasn't a fan. She wanted something small and trailer-able. The only non wood small boat meeting that criteria was a Boston Whaler. That brings me current.