I have owned and worked on many classic Boston Whaler boats. These boats I restored and sold:
- a 1977 Low pro 19’,
1977 Montauk 17’,
1984 22’ Outrage.
I currently own a 1995 Outrage 24. All of these boats were complete projects where I striped the boats down to the hull and refit the whole boat to make it like new again. I always used gelcoat to refinish.
Boston Whaler hulls hold up to hard use and long lives much better than any other boat hulls I have ever seen.
Before my first Boston Whaler restoration, I restored several boats doing full deck and transom rebuilds including lots of glass work. It is very common for someone who is looking to restore a classic boat like a Mako, Seacraft, or Grady White to have to pull the deck and redo stringers and deck plus redo the transom. This includes pulling old foam and drying out the hull. I have removed the cap on a couple of boats myself to do this, and it is the normal operating procedure for most boat restoration.
This is not the case for a Whalers. There is no need to have major structural repairs like this in most older Whalers. Whalers do not have stringers, ribs and bulkheads. If anything it is like the hull is one big stringer. It is exactly why I love these boats. The foam in the hull is sealed and is not like boats that have a space on the top of the foam under the deck. Classic Whalers do not need to be restored like the other brand boats. And after you get your first Whaler you will never go back to another boat. Go to the boat dealer and knock on the side of any brand boat--well not Edgewater--and then go knock on the side of a Whaler. There is a big difference. Most boats will feel hollow and Whalers feel like knocking concrete.
On every boat I purchased I tapped the hull to check for delamination. This includes tapping the transom. I always used the end of a larger screwdrivers handle to tap. I use the very butt end and listen for pitch variation. Others use hammers or plastic hammers. On the Outrage 22 and the current Outrage 24 I did have to pull the removable fuel tank hatches and re-core the underneath wood and glass. I have tried to avoid bad transoms because the transoms replacement must be approached from the outside of the hull and is a major job.
If worried about water in the hull have the boat weighed and compare with what it should be.
Getting a classic Whaler as a project and working on it is loads of fun.
Archie