My 17 Montauk Adventure

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
jstahlman
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon May 07, 2018 11:33 am

My 17 Montauk Adventure

Postby jstahlman » Sun May 13, 2018 9:19 pm

After reading DTmackey's write up for his 15 footer I decided to chronicle my restoration. Please don't expect anything like his. I'm not nearly that patient or skilled.

For starters a week ago I purchased two 17 foot Boston Whalers. I'll call them hull 1 and hull 2 trying to keep this clear.
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This is hull 1. It is a 1987 and was sold as a bare hull. The state fish and game department purchased it. There was no motor. You can see they built a cover in the stern and there is a 12ish gallon fuel tank under there. That console is very low and too close to the cover in my mind. However the hull is in pretty good shape and the trailer is nice as well (although I have learned this is not the correct type of trailer for the boat). The other thing is the gray inside the boat. I think it is truck bed liner or something similar. It is worn in spots and peeling in others.
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This is hull 2. It is a 1964 17 foot Montauk. The hull is in rough shape, the owner admitted it had water in the hull from a hole worn into the bottom from the trailer. It has been poorly painted. But it has a center console, an 1982 Evinrude 115 HP outboard, mooring cover, Bimini top and a fiberglass fuel cell. It also has a trailer but it needs work.
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This week I got the motor pulled. I checked (well tried to check) the compression. The starter would not work (new one on order) but I was able to get 100 PSI in each cylinder pulling the rope. I expect that number will go up when I get the to actually spin the motor. The carbs were extremely clean. I know it was in the shop prior to being parked for the last 3 years so I think they must have gone through it. I still going to clean them, put in a rebuild kit, rebuild the fuel pump and rebuild the other pump. I'll also change fluids and I might put a coat of paint on it. One think I'd like to change is the weather stripping that goes around the bottom of the engine cover. I've not been able to find a replacement yet, so if anyone knows a source let me know.

jstahlman
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon May 07, 2018 11:33 am

Re: My 17 Montauk Adventure

Postby jstahlman » Sun May 13, 2018 9:44 pm

The system would not let me post any more photos in the first post.
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Here is a better view of that cover at the stern. I want it gone. Cutting it out is not a problem but making it look nice after might well be beyond my skill level. I'm taking it to a pro next week to see what he thinks.

So far both hulls are stripped so I'm making progress.

I won't document costs as I really don't want to know exactly how much I spend. I do projects like this mostly to keep my hands and mind busy. However I will make a note on where I started. The dealer who had hull 1 was asking $1,800 and the guy who had hull 2 was also asking $1,800. I paid $1,200 for hull 1 and $1,000 for hull 2. I'll have 1 extra trailer and a few other parts that I'll sell on Craigslist. I hope to get around $500 for them so I think I got a pretty good deal in the beginning.

I'm trying to find a home for the stripped hull 2. It is in better shape than I thought it would be. I drilled a couple of holes in the bottom and didn't get any water. If someone wanted to put in the work I think it could be used.

I'll try to update every week or two and expect to have a ton of questions. This is the first boat I've done in a long time.

BWbert
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2018 1:25 pm

Re: My 17 Montauk Adventure

Postby BWbert » Mon May 14, 2018 1:08 pm

Those are some nice boats you have there sir.
Best of luck!

jstahlman
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon May 07, 2018 11:33 am

Re: My 17 Montauk Adventure

Postby jstahlman » Thu May 31, 2018 2:13 pm

Not really much to update but I figured I would for the record. I was able to trade the spare hull and trailer for a kicker motor so I'm pretty happy with that. I also sold the ski pylon for $100.00. I have a few more parts that will be left over to sell so I feel pretty good about the costs.

I got most of the back area that had been added to the hull I kept taken out. The motor carbs are rebuilt and I've gotten in a lot of motor parts. This weekend will be fixing the motor items and finishing the hull clean up.

dtmackey
Posts: 760
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:29 pm

Re: My 17 Montauk Adventure

Postby dtmackey » Fri Jun 01, 2018 12:04 pm

Good luck with the build.

I love looking at other project threads as everyone approaches a project from a different angle and I've picked up a few ideas over the years. If the posting of the project helps just one person with their project, then the effort of posting was worth it.

D-