posted 01-16-2003 05:51 PM ET (US)        

Many times here on the FORUM, participants have expressed a desire to acquire a used RPS to add to their Whaler. There has been much discussion about how much they cost, where to get them and where to get the individual components.

We know the seat back and upholstered cushion can be found easily but the legs have always been the hardest part to procure. You can get them from a Whaler dealer but they cost $237 for the pair and they are only available in black and not the brown color that was used on all the Desert Tan hulls.

The black legs that Whaler has in stock are the leftovers from the last of the Montauks made in 2002. Once they are gone, they are gone.

So I got to thinking how I would like to keep my own options open into the future and have a set of brown legs made by the OEM on hand for my own use. So I tracked down the OEM, Envirotech Molded Products and asked if they could mold some for me. They said they could if I got Whaler’s permission to do so. Whaler said I could, but the deal is that it is still expensive to have Envirotech do a limited production run.

The fewest they will manufacture is 15 pairs of legs. My net cost would be $165 per pair, plus shipping. I would like to have a pair for myself and at least three other Forum participants have expressed a desire to buy a set or two. This is not enough to justify the production run.

So what I am wondering is: Are there any other people out there who want to buy a set of these legs top either use immediately to replace their old and faded legs or maybe just to hold in reserve for the day they want to replace theirs or just build a new RPS for a Whaler they have yet to acquire?

For owners of Classic Montauks and Outrages this is a perfect opportunity to help guarantee your boat will be preserved for the long run by having a replacement set of legs ready to go. For other Whaler owners who do not have an RPS but would like to do so it is a golden opportunity to acquire parts that will otherwise not be available, period.

Just imagine if you had had the opportunity to acquire a set of Marinium port and starboard navigation lights for your Outrage before Wilcox-Crittenden ceased production of them. Don’t you wish you had done so? This is just such an opportunity with the RPS.

I need to have firm orders for no less than 12 sets of legs if I am to proceed with this project. I would like to let Envirotech know by the beginning of next week if I am going to place the order.

posted 01-17-2003 01:12 PM ET (US)         

An extra set makes a lot of sense.

posted 01-18-2003 10:47 AM ET (US)            

John O
waterwal
Barry
paderfigure
skeepyjack

with John O and waterwal saying they might be interested in two sets.

JustinAnderson, these legs are going to be brown, not black. If you want black legs, you can get them for a Whaler dealer for $237 but I suggest you do so now, because next year they may not exist.

So that puts us at 9 orders if I buy two sets. If we could convince JustinAnderson and Whalerific to buy our brown legs instead of Whaler’s more expensive black legs, we would be at 11 orders. george nagy has even talked about trying to paint his battered and faded old RPS legs, but a new set would be a far simpler and more attractive solution to his dilemma.

I need orders for 15 sets and I know they are several prominent participants of this Forum that own classic Whalers with teak backed RPS’s that would benefit from having a spare et of legs.

The other thing this endeavor will do is put several spare sets of legs out there that will be valuable in the future not just for those who buy them but for those who will be looking for them next year. Even if you are not sure if you will need them yourself, there will always be a market for getting rid of them (perhaps at a profit) if you decide you do not want them.

Personally I do not want a huge stack of legs in my basement, but if we look at this as a cooperative effort, we will go very far to preserve the availably of the classic RPS for years to come.

posted 01-19-2003 03:11 PM ET (US)            

We could get the same pricing on black legs if we were going to have 15 sets of black legs made. However, we are having these legs made in brown, a part that is no longer available, period. Black ones still are available so I can think of no reason to have them custom made.

posted 01-19-2003 04:57 PM ET (US)            

That's great, thanks. Once we have confirmation of the order I will let you know where to send payment.

JustinAnderson,

posted 01-20-2003 09:37 PM ET (US)            

protagy311@yahoo.com is my email address.

posted 01-23-2003 01:14 PM ET (US)            

We have met minimum but can certainly order more. The unit price will not drop however, unless we order more than 25 sets of legs.

About half of you have sent me your shipping addresses. If you have not done so, please try to do so soon so I can provide Envirotech with the shipping information.

Thank you:

posted 01-23-2003 03:26 PM ET (US)            

Great, I've got you on the list.

I just heard back from Envirotech. They will drop ship each order straight from Salt Lake City, but they need everybody's shipping address to calculate shipping charges.

I need addresses from:

posted 01-28-2003 12:41 PM ET (US)            

No, I did not. Please try again and include your shipping address.

posted 01-28-2003 03:03 PM ET (US)         

My RPS is no doubt original with the 1977 Montauk I own. As far as I can tell, the legs are in fine shape. Do they go bad, or are people replacing them because of unusual accidents? I'd be happy to have a spare set if it's reasonable to expect them to break in the next few years. Can I expect mine to break in the next few years?

What is the general experience with these things?

posted 01-28-2003 09:43 PM ET (US)            

Your boat was made in July of 1985 and it is a perfect example of a "crème de la crème" Montauk. There is no way it had aluminum legs when it was new. Whaler had stopped using them eleven years earlier.

Actually, maybe I shouldn't say that. I think you ought to contact Chuck Bennett on this one. My 1980 Montauk had brown plastic legs, my 1981 Montauk had brown plastic legs, my 1983 Outrage 18 had brown plastic legs, Taylor's 1988 Montauk has brown plastic legs. Every other Whaler RPS I have ever seen in person has brown plastic legs (I've never actually seen first hand a set of aluminum legs) with the exception of the Outrage 17's which had white legs and the newer Montauks which have black plastic legs, but your 1986 has aluminum legs? It is too weird and doesn't make any sense.

T Party,

These legs are very durable. This is one of the reasons I am having trouble getting more people interested in buying a set. They are very strong and last a really long time.

I have never heard of a set of the plastic legs breaking. They do get really bleached out and even a bit fuzzy as the material breaks down with age and sunlight. Even then you can revive them a bit by applying Penetrol. This is a short term fix that needs to be repeated, but it will make old legs look better. They will not, however, look as good as new.

posted 02-01-2003 01:10 AM ET (US)            

Unfortunately, I was out of the office all day today and I didn't read the message until tonight. I have replied with my FAX number but they will probably not get back to me until Monday. So it will be next week before I can let each of you know the total amount to send.

When the time comes I will ask each of you to either mail me a check (I don’t care what kind) or use PayPal to send money to my email address. Whatever you prefer is fine with me. I would only ask that you please be prompt if at all possible so we can initiate the order and get things moving.

Envirotech has indicated that it will take three weeks to produce the order and then the shipping will take however long it takes to get to you from Salt Lake City, UT.

Look for details here in this thread and via email early next week.

posted 02-02-2003 02:08 AM ET (US)            

Yes, the components are easy to find; as easy as ordering them from your local Whaler dealer. The problem is expense.

Here are the brown legs for $165. Lois Hall will make you a seat cushion for $226 delivered to your door (you and I are in the same UPS zone). The seat back you can build yourself. The handles and hardware to assemble and mount the seat are available from many sources and would cost about $20-$25 all together.

That leaves the pivot frames and rod holders. I have not found an alternative source for the pivot frames (stainless steel bars). If someone has successfully had them made, I'd like to know about it. From your Whaler dealer, the pivot frames will cost $170 and you will probably have to pay the freight to get them to Oregon from Edgewater, FL. At least you won't have to pay sales tax on top of that as you live in Oregon.

posted 02-04-2003 01:28 PM ET (US)            

Once I have received all the checks or PayPal payments I will wire the funds to Envirotech and they will commence production of the order which should take three weeks.

Once the order is complete, the individual sets of legs will be shipped directly to each of you from Envirotech in Salt Lake City, UT.

posted 02-08-2003 04:54 PM ET (US)            

I have received payment from 12 of 24 people and have gotten email reponses from another 8 indicating they will be sending funds soon. Thank you. I have yet to hear anything from 4 of you.

posted 02-12-2003 06:21 PM ET (US)            

I have received replies from everybody on the list and have received payment from 17 of 25 of those people. I trust that the remaining 8 payments will be forthcoming in the next few days.

Thank you:

posted 02-25-2003 12:37 PM ET (US)            

We had four tardy payments but the last one trickled in yesterday. Funds were sent to EnviroTech yesterday along with a list of names and addresses to which each order is to be drop shipped.

Based on the time estimate I was given from EnviroTech, you should all have your legs by the end of March. I will keep you posted about this schedule as I get updated information from EnviroTech.

Thank you all for your participation. I really think you are going to be pleased you have these new legs. I have recently discovered that not all the RPS legs are the same.

The early aluminum and plastic legs did not have the precise semicircular notches in their tops that the pivot frames rotate in. Our new ones will, thus eliminating the need for extra blocks of plywood under the seat to locate the frames.

Also, the legs we are getting will have a UV stabilizer that the original brown legs did not have. (The black legs on late model Montauks do have this UV stabilizer in them). So it could be argued that these legs are superior to any that have come before them.

posted 03-31-2003 08:24 PM ET (US)            

Please let me know that they have arrived in good shape. If there is any problem, let me know and I'll contact EnviroTech right away, but I doubt that will be necessary. My legs look great!

t bird,

posted 04-05-2003 11:27 AM ET (US)            

Got the RPS Legs. They look great! Thanks againg for getting the order together.