1974 SPORT 13: New to Whalers
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 1:04 pm
Greetings from northeast Ohio. I am long time boater, but this will be my first Boston Whaler boat, and she is a project, so I am turning to the experts for some advice.
I remember my grandfather, way-back-when, describing the unsinkable legend, and was always intrigued by the lore. He built five boats, owned many others, but never a Whaler. My first two boats have come and gone, my third and fourth are in winter storage, but my fifth, a 1974 SPORT 13, is ready for restoration. I hope I can do it proud.
The fine folks at Whaler confirmed she was originally a Sport with a side console. The previous owner thought is was a Sourpuss due to the stern rail, but I did not believe it to be true;, and, low and behold, it wasn't. Whaler confirmed the identify of the boat by its hull identification number BWCB1110M74F and [the stencil number] 2B2935, and that it was indeed a side console SPORT 13 when it left the factory.
It was last powered by a Mercury 40-HP, but that engine is long gone. I do have the Quiksilver controls, but that is all that remains from the old engine.
All the interior had been replace by oak at one point, a larger fuel tank added amidship, and other various hacks, as you will see in the pictures. That is all gone now, as I removed everything as soon as it graced my driveway.
The trailer it rode on was a roller-type, it only had a few rollers, and I suspect the weight of the boat being on only a few points is what caused some fracture to the hull, which is in need of repair. Additionally, there is a lot of checking and cracking, and I suspect that at one point the entire bottom may have been smeared with a coat of resin, but not additional glass.
On the interior, the glass has some BAD cracking, and that is the main purpose of my start here on Continuous Wave. I would like some advice as to whether or not this is typically seen, and what I will need to do in order to make it sea worthy again--or if I should look for a better candidate. The worst damage is in the corners where the gunwale, transom, and deck all meet. It is pretty bad on both sides, and I wonder if it will require additional bracing in addition to new glass fillets and cloth work. I am not afraid of glass work at all, as I do have experience with it. I imagine the culprit of the cracking may have been abusing holeshots and the weight of an unsupported outboard bounding up and down on the transom as it was hauled back and forth from Lake Erie.
The new Shorelander trailer that I already have should help with that as it will have a motor support.
Please provide me whatever feedback you think is appropriate based on the pictures here. Maybe this is totally normal, but I have a little apprehension about putting a lot of effort in to this hull before I know exactly what I should expect to do. I think it can be salvaged, I just need some education, and for all the more I paid for it, I can afford to put some money into it without getting in over what it would be worth. I think the $400 price tag was ok, considering I have already sold the trailer it came with for $250, so as it sits, I have a $150 boat.
I have a lead on a 1986 Johnson VRO 40-HP 20-inch-shaft engine, which I think I can get with controls for less than $1,000. It is a low-hour motor, the VRO system is all intact, and the motor checks out. I think it would look good on this little craft.
I will be restoring the interior with all new mahogany and am thinking of a dual console setup.
I am open to all thoughts and advice, so write away!
-Brett
I remember my grandfather, way-back-when, describing the unsinkable legend, and was always intrigued by the lore. He built five boats, owned many others, but never a Whaler. My first two boats have come and gone, my third and fourth are in winter storage, but my fifth, a 1974 SPORT 13, is ready for restoration. I hope I can do it proud.
The fine folks at Whaler confirmed she was originally a Sport with a side console. The previous owner thought is was a Sourpuss due to the stern rail, but I did not believe it to be true;, and, low and behold, it wasn't. Whaler confirmed the identify of the boat by its hull identification number BWCB1110M74F and [the stencil number] 2B2935, and that it was indeed a side console SPORT 13 when it left the factory.
It was last powered by a Mercury 40-HP, but that engine is long gone. I do have the Quiksilver controls, but that is all that remains from the old engine.
All the interior had been replace by oak at one point, a larger fuel tank added amidship, and other various hacks, as you will see in the pictures. That is all gone now, as I removed everything as soon as it graced my driveway.
The trailer it rode on was a roller-type, it only had a few rollers, and I suspect the weight of the boat being on only a few points is what caused some fracture to the hull, which is in need of repair. Additionally, there is a lot of checking and cracking, and I suspect that at one point the entire bottom may have been smeared with a coat of resin, but not additional glass.
On the interior, the glass has some BAD cracking, and that is the main purpose of my start here on Continuous Wave. I would like some advice as to whether or not this is typically seen, and what I will need to do in order to make it sea worthy again--or if I should look for a better candidate. The worst damage is in the corners where the gunwale, transom, and deck all meet. It is pretty bad on both sides, and I wonder if it will require additional bracing in addition to new glass fillets and cloth work. I am not afraid of glass work at all, as I do have experience with it. I imagine the culprit of the cracking may have been abusing holeshots and the weight of an unsupported outboard bounding up and down on the transom as it was hauled back and forth from Lake Erie.
The new Shorelander trailer that I already have should help with that as it will have a motor support.
Please provide me whatever feedback you think is appropriate based on the pictures here. Maybe this is totally normal, but I have a little apprehension about putting a lot of effort in to this hull before I know exactly what I should expect to do. I think it can be salvaged, I just need some education, and for all the more I paid for it, I can afford to put some money into it without getting in over what it would be worth. I think the $400 price tag was ok, considering I have already sold the trailer it came with for $250, so as it sits, I have a $150 boat.
I have a lead on a 1986 Johnson VRO 40-HP 20-inch-shaft engine, which I think I can get with controls for less than $1,000. It is a low-hour motor, the VRO system is all intact, and the motor checks out. I think it would look good on this little craft.
I will be restoring the interior with all new mahogany and am thinking of a dual console setup.
I am open to all thoughts and advice, so write away!
-Brett