OUTRAGE 22 Gunwale Boards

[Conchyjodyoos]

I'm looking for options [for materials to use to replace] the gunwale wood [on a Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 22 boat]. Mine are [damaged]. So far I've found no wood or KING StarBoard-type material. Help [in finding a suitable material to replace the original wood gunwale boards of a Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 22] would be great. Thanks.

[Barnacle]

Man, that's ugly! You may be able to have a new gunwale cut by a local woodshop using your original as a pattern. Where are you located?

[Conchyjodyoos]

I'm in Stuart, Florida. The [gunwale boards] are such long pieces, I'm tempted to make replacements out of foam and fiberglass, but, if I can find something that is a direct replacement that would be the ticket.

[Acseatsri]

You could use 3/4-inch thick KING StarBoard of high-density polyethylene. It's not hard to work with.

To fabricate [the replacement gunwale boards] from whatever you decide to use will take some skill. There aren't a lot of straight or 90 -degree angles on them. The side pieces aren't at 90-degrees to the wide planks and should be mortised to accept the wide planks to give them some strength when you step on them.

I went through this same process eight years ago with mahogany replacement [gunwale boards], but soon after wished I'd gone with plastic.

Be careful removing the old [gunwale boards] so you can use them as a pattern.

[Conchyjodyoos]

For those interested I decided to epoxy glass the gunwale boards, coated with awl fair, and they get 545 tomorrow. The boat also had a rear live well that I never used so I opted to delete it and use the space for additional fuel (from 70 gals to 95 gals) All floor sections removed and to be replaced with honeycomb and/or closed cell foam and glass. More pics as the job rolls along.

[Marko888]

By adding weight to the stern of the boat with the larger tank, the weight balance is going to move further aft. I'd suggest considering a modification to reduce the chances of water coming over the stern and on to the floor, which is pretty common in a following sea with the pre 1989 22's. In consideration of this, many prefer a 22 with the smaller 77 gallon tank.

[jimh]

More pics as the job rolls along.

Please try to take photos with the camera held correctly. Your images are all sideways and hard to view. I corrected the orientation. Also, it is not necessary to upload extremely high-resolution images.

[Maverick]

Nice looking progress. Thanks for sharing. Mav