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Author Topic:   WAHOO 18.5 Sportfish

Joseph posted 07-27-2000 12:52 PM ET (US)
I can find precious little information on the Wahoo 18.5 sportfish model. It looks like a Whaler and was made by Brunwick, so I thought I'd ask here. Can anyone out there describe the differences? Better yet, can you point me toward some information on Wahoo boats. Thanks!
bigz posted 07-27-2000 01:46 PM ET (US)
Wahoo became Robalo. They were both owned by Brunswick and a few years ago the two companies were combined. The Wahoo boats became Robalo and some Robalo boats became Bayliner Trophy models. Robalo still make the 26.
Here is a link to Robalo's history page --- http://www.robalo.com/heritage/heritage.html ---special note they were designed by C. Raymond Hunt and Judd Garvin who is credited as producing the first offshore foamed in place sandwich core fishing boat in 1968 with twin engines--- this fact is probably true since Whaler never really looked at the Montauk as an "offshore" boat!
Joe you might try here and ask if they have any old literature on the Wahoo boats http://www.vmsl.com/featured.html
Joseph posted 07-27-2000 02:49 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the info. I'm still wondering what the differences and similarities are to a Whaler, and what model of Whaler the 18.5' Sportfisher is closest to. I think some people refer to this model of Wahoo as a 19' Offshore.
lhg posted 07-28-2000 03:27 PM ET (US)
Wahoo's were/are cheap knock-off's of Whalers, and when they were introduced were NOT owned by Brunswick, and sold for about 60% of a Whaler's price. The Boston Whaler people were extremely unhappy about Wahoo's claims & copying, and even tested one. The photos were used in Whaler catalogs, showing a submerged Wahoo with only 5 people in it (engine completely under water), and a Montauk with 10 people in it, engine above water. The same goes for the 18'6" model, an attempted copy of an 18 Outrage. Obviously, the foam building techniques were not the same as Whaler's.
Then Brunnswick went on their Boat Company buying binge, and bought Wahoo, probably because they were in trouble. Then, they bought Boston Whaler, and initially put Boston Whaler, Wahoo & Robalo all under one division (Offshore fishing division). After recognizing how ridiculous an idea this was, having Whaler and it's arch enemy imitator all owned by the same company and in the same division, they quickly moved Whaler over to Sea Ray, the only other place they had for it. (Putting it under Bayliner would have been fatal to it's existence) I don't know what's happened to Wahoo since, but I wouldn't think Brunswick would still have them making Whaler knock-offs to compete with THEIR real Boston Whalers!!!!
Bigshot posted 06-25-2001 02:46 PM ET (US)
Wahoos are now made here in FL. They are very inferior in construction. My bud just did a 17' and the hull is solid, but the sides etc are all hollow. I wa not impressed at the "plastic" on this boat and how it held up(1994). It was a POS.
jimh posted 06-25-2001 09:08 PM ET (US)
I believe that Brunswick has sold off ROBALO.
This leaves the WAHOO imitation-Whaler no longer in the same corporate structure.
(By the way, I see there is still a snark in the software, because I posted this in June of 2001, not June 2000.)
GAwhale posted 06-26-2001 09:06 AM ET (US)
Joseph - I priced a new 1650 Twin Console Wahoo at Mt. Pleasant Marine, South Carolina on August 10, 1991 with a Yammy 70. The list price was $15,800 and they would have parted with her for $12,800. The brochure also has the specs for the 1850 Sportfish. I'll be honest I kept the brochure because of the good looking models in bikinis.

1850 Sportfish
Centerline 18'5" . Beam 7'2" . Weight (boat
only) 1470 lbs . Weight Capacity 1900lbs
. Total # persons 10 . Rated hp. 150 -
recommended hp. 90-140 . Transom 25"
It also gives Standard Features, 1850 Sportfish Options, and 1850 Offshore Options. I would be happy to mail you a photocopy of the brochure.
Bertramp posted 06-26-2001 01:52 PM ET (US)
Robalo was started by Jud Garvin and the initial hull (19') was a Ray Hunt design, but the others were not. The 19' was/is a great boat. The only notable problem was the tendency of transom problems after a while.
hardensheetmetal posted 06-26-2001 02:49 PM ET (US)
Joseph-
I have an article I pulled out of Small Boat Journal in 1985 in which they tested an 18 Outrage, 17' Del Quay, 17' McKee Craf, and a Wahoo 16.2 (evidentally an 18 was not available for the test). I would be glad to scan it or fax it to you if you like.
Dan
lhg posted 06-26-2001 02:57 PM ET (US)
Jimh - It's the same old glitch in the software. Any thread last posted prior to 01-01-01 will show the 2000 year if re-posted now. It's a calendar year thing, not a 365 day thing. Bigshot posted to this thread, which was last posted by me in July 2000.
videofxr posted 06-27-2001 10:21 PM ET (US)
The first Wahoo was only produced in a 16.5
version. They were very well built in a
small factory in Ashland, Va about 10 miles
North of Richmond. They were in fact sued
by BW and lost because of the fact that they
were just as good and used the same ad preferences. The Wahoo original was ahead of
its time, especially the Whalers time, for they offered a built-in gas tank, single or twin console models and all hand construction. It was only about 10 guys employed at start. I believe it inspired Whaler to produce the Dauntless and the Striper model, which resemble the Wahoo. I have an original brochure somewhere on the
these boats, which at that time was only the
16.5. The 18 footer was years later.
catcher10us posted 09-13-2006 11:37 AM ET (US)
Owned a wahoo 15 footer with a 50 horsepower Johnson. Thought the fit and finish superior to similar Whalers. I had this boat from 1987 to 2002, bought it new and it was always reliable, except for some of the wiring for the lights.
Would not hesitate to get another Wahoo
jimh posted 09-14-2006 08:30 PM ET (US)
Where were you five years ago when this discussion was current?
[Thread closed]

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Author	Topic: WAHOO 18.5 Sportfish
Joseph	posted 07-27-2000 12:52 PM ET (US) I can find precious little information on the Wahoo 18.5 sportfish model. It looks like a Whaler and was made by Brunwick, so I thought I'd ask here. Can anyone out there describe the differences? Better yet, can you point me toward some information on Wahoo boats. Thanks!
bigz	posted 07-27-2000 01:46 PM ET (US) Wahoo became Robalo. They were both owned by Brunswick and a few years ago the two companies were combined. The Wahoo boats became Robalo and some Robalo boats became Bayliner Trophy models. Robalo still make the 26. Here is a link to Robalo's history page --- http://www.robalo.com/heritage/heritage.html ---special note they were designed by C. Raymond Hunt and Judd Garvin who is credited as producing the first offshore foamed in place sandwich core fishing boat in 1968 with twin engines--- this fact is probably true since Whaler never really looked at the Montauk as an "offshore" boat! Joe you might try here and ask if they have any old literature on the Wahoo boats http://www.vmsl.com/featured.html
Joseph	posted 07-27-2000 02:49 PM ET (US) Thanks for the info. I'm still wondering what the differences and similarities are to a Whaler, and what model of Whaler the 18.5' Sportfisher is closest to. I think some people refer to this model of Wahoo as a 19' Offshore.
lhg	posted 07-28-2000 03:27 PM ET (US) Wahoo's were/are cheap knock-off's of Whalers, and when they were introduced were NOT owned by Brunswick, and sold for about 60% of a Whaler's price. The Boston Whaler people were extremely unhappy about Wahoo's claims & copying, and even tested one. The photos were used in Whaler catalogs, showing a submerged Wahoo with only 5 people in it (engine completely under water), and a Montauk with 10 people in it, engine above water. The same goes for the 18'6" model, an attempted copy of an 18 Outrage. Obviously, the foam building techniques were not the same as Whaler's. Then Brunnswick went on their Boat Company buying binge, and bought Wahoo, probably because they were in trouble. Then, they bought Boston Whaler, and initially put Boston Whaler, Wahoo & Robalo all under one division (Offshore fishing division). After recognizing how ridiculous an idea this was, having Whaler and it's arch enemy imitator all owned by the same company and in the same division, they quickly moved Whaler over to Sea Ray, the only other place they had for it. (Putting it under Bayliner would have been fatal to it's existence) I don't know what's happened to Wahoo since, but I wouldn't think Brunswick would still have them making Whaler knock-offs to compete with THEIR real Boston Whalers!!!!
Bigshot	posted 06-25-2001 02:46 PM ET (US) Wahoos are now made here in FL. They are very inferior in construction. My bud just did a 17' and the hull is solid, but the sides etc are all hollow. I wa not impressed at the "plastic" on this boat and how it held up(1994). It was a POS.
jimh	posted 06-25-2001 09:08 PM ET (US) I believe that Brunswick has sold off ROBALO. This leaves the WAHOO imitation-Whaler no longer in the same corporate structure. (By the way, I see there is still a snark in the software, because I posted this in June of 2001, not June 2000.)
GAwhale	posted 06-26-2001 09:06 AM ET (US) Joseph - I priced a new 1650 Twin Console Wahoo at Mt. Pleasant Marine, South Carolina on August 10, 1991 with a Yammy 70. The list price was $15,800 and they would have parted with her for $12,800. The brochure also has the specs for the 1850 Sportfish. I'll be honest I kept the brochure because of the good looking models in bikinis. 1850 Sportfish Centerline 18'5" . Beam 7'2" . Weight (boat only) 1470 lbs . Weight Capacity 1900lbs . Total # persons 10 . Rated hp. 150 - recommended hp. 90-140 . Transom 25" It also gives Standard Features, 1850 Sportfish Options, and 1850 Offshore Options. I would be happy to mail you a photocopy of the brochure.
Bertramp	posted 06-26-2001 01:52 PM ET (US) Robalo was started by Jud Garvin and the initial hull (19') was a Ray Hunt design, but the others were not. The 19' was/is a great boat. The only notable problem was the tendency of transom problems after a while.
hardensheetmetal	posted 06-26-2001 02:49 PM ET (US) Joseph- I have an article I pulled out of Small Boat Journal in 1985 in which they tested an 18 Outrage, 17' Del Quay, 17' McKee Craf, and a Wahoo 16.2 (evidentally an 18 was not available for the test). I would be glad to scan it or fax it to you if you like. Dan
lhg	posted 06-26-2001 02:57 PM ET (US) Jimh - It's the same old glitch in the software. Any thread last posted prior to 01-01-01 will show the 2000 year if re-posted now. It's a calendar year thing, not a 365 day thing. Bigshot posted to this thread, which was last posted by me in July 2000.
videofxr	posted 06-27-2001 10:21 PM ET (US) The first Wahoo was only produced in a 16.5 version. They were very well built in a small factory in Ashland, Va about 10 miles North of Richmond. They were in fact sued by BW and lost because of the fact that they were just as good and used the same ad preferences. The Wahoo original was ahead of its time, especially the Whalers time, for they offered a built-in gas tank, single or twin console models and all hand construction. It was only about 10 guys employed at start. I believe it inspired Whaler to produce the Dauntless and the Striper model, which resemble the Wahoo. I have an original brochure somewhere on the these boats, which at that time was only the 16.5. The 18 footer was years later.
catcher10us	posted 09-13-2006 11:37 AM ET (US) Owned a wahoo 15 footer with a 50 horsepower Johnson. Thought the fit and finish superior to similar Whalers. I had this boat from 1987 to 2002, bought it new and it was always reliable, except for some of the wiring for the lights. Would not hesitate to get another Wahoo
jimh	posted 09-14-2006 08:30 PM ET (US) Where were you five years ago when this discussion was current? [Thread closed]