posted 01-27-2003 09:34 PM ET (US)            

To get 100% of water out, you would have to crank it up to 200 degrees and let it sit for a good long time. Probably a week. But I have heard that when it goes in the water, the bottom soaks up water. (You may gain like 20lbs)in which is true.

TRANSOM: it is solid fiberglass EXCEPT for the front of the cowel. Thats wood. and where the eyes are in the back. Those little squares are wood. BUT you have wood "stingers" in it becasue thats where the counsil mounts to as well as the seat. Those may be rotten. I know probably mine are rotten. But regardless, the boat still is very very solid. Its ok. Thank you for your time.

posted 01-27-2003 11:23 PM ET (US)            

How do you know that Whaler transoms are solid fiberglass? Have you ever drilled into one?

posted 01-27-2003 11:57 PM ET (US)            

Here's where I am at this point: If there are no soft spots, the hull sounds crisp everywhere when it's tapped with a plastic hammer, and the boat sits high and even in the water, than the problem, if any, is probably relatively minor.

Bigshot recently provided this site, and it's a good start on an eductation in rot: http://www.rotdoctor.com/

Good luck. And let us know what you find as your project unfolds.

posted 01-28-2003 12:43 AM ET (US)            

I agree with alkar. If you can patch the holes and the hull, and transom taps out solid. I wouldn't worry about anything that's already there. Whaler didn't install that cove stripe, so I wouldn't worry about how the hull sits compared to the stripe, unless you are noticing some sort of before and after affect. I would not recommend drilling holes in the hull unless you have an area with an obvious problem such as softness, gel cracks, or distortion.

What concerns me most is the missing clamshell. Whaler put the clamshell there to deflect water away from the drain tube. Without the clamshell water can force its way through the drain tube seal and into the hulls core. If you have water in the hull, that's the most likely spot.

A blown drain tube is probably the most common cause of hull failure in a whaler. It's also very easy to prevent, Whaler fans, check your tubes regularly, and if you don't need them, get rid of them.

posted 01-28-2003 10:57 AM ET (US)            

As explained by others above, the transom is made with marine grade plywood in the transom in the center section where the outboards get bolted on. The outside sections of the transom are foam filled. There are no Whaler transoms that are solid fiberglass.

The dripping screw hole is a very common phenomena on Whalers that have sat in the water. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You might try removing what water you can by means of letting it drip or using suction. This won't dry a wet hull but it will remove localized accumulations of water and help insure the patch gets a good grip. Just be sure to seal up whatever needs sealing now so more water does not get in the hull.

As doobee says, there definitely should be clam shell ventilators around the exits of the drain tubes. I am surprised that you see only three screw holes around the drain tube that is missing its clam shell. There should be five screw holes, as Whaler used clam shells with five screws apparently drilling two extra holes in a standard Perko clam shell which comes with three holes.

bwguardian,

posted 01-28-2003 12:02 PM ET (US)            

A drain tube is the hole through a hull that allows water drain out. The holes are typically lined with a 1" brass tube, though newer Whalers use plastic. Since the tubes are sealed to the hull only where they make contact with the skins, they can be a source of water intrusion as they degrade over time.

bwguardian & Nick,

That was a bit of a booby trap. Rick's boat model is Whaler 27 (no hyphen). This distinguishes it from a Whaler 27 Full Cabin, Whaler 27 Center Console Cuddy, Whaler 27 Walkaround, Offshore 27, 27' Guardian, 27' Vigilant or a 27' Challenger. There is no such thing as an Outrage 27 or a Revenge 27.

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

I have never seen Whaler 27 with a hyphen. Not in any catalog or flyer, not on any specification sheet or price list and not in any of the "Whaler News" news letters. But if it is hyphenated in your owner’s manual, then I guess that takes precedence.

Through the years, Whaler has been a bit inconsistent in the model identification and it gets confusing at times.

Regardless of what model of 27’ Whaler you have or whether or not the model name is hyphenated, the transom is built the same way, fiberglass over plywood in the area of the outboards.

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

Now I don't know anything about 27's, and I'm going to fail miserably at Tom's quiz, but is there any guarantee that the boot strip matched the natural waterline of the boat at any point in time? Is it factory applied, or done by the dealer? What gear was mounted when the boot stripe was painted. Did whoever marked the location of the boot strip actually float the boat to find the correct location?

My Montauk has nicely applied bottom paint, I would guess it was done by the dealer, it follows the outline in the owners manual, but the boat sits at least an inch and a half low in the stern when compared to the line of the bottom paint. Does this mean that I have absorbed water in my boat at the back, or does this just mean that the waterline length was applied using some sort of theoretical waterline and does not take into account the 100HP (original) engine mounted on the boat?

I think the location of a boot stripe compared to the waterline is a poor indicator to the soundness of the hull.

posted 01-28-2003 01:22 PM ET (US)            

Yes, I think doobee's idea of eliminating drain tubes is fine if you really do not need them. Which three would you remove? Will this create any water accumulation problems?

Taylor,

The boot stripe is not from the factory. I agree that it is a very poor indicator of a hull's dryness. The better gauge would be to see how she floats relative to other similar Whalers. But even this is going to be tough as there is so much variation in equipment and power.

bwguardian,

posted 01-28-2003 06:30 PM ET (US)            

As far a water in the hull, on my Outrage 25, I drill a couple of holes inside the boat near the thru-hulls in the fish wells, attached a couple of shopvacs via tape and left for the weekend. I did produce enough free to worry about. I don't believe water flows inside the hull unless you have channels... another debate.

I found a lot of water along the side of the front fish well... leaking in from the holes that held the cover. My front fish well pump was dead for a long time... the former owner was not as careful. After trying for a couple of weeks of negative pressure in this location and in the rear fish well... I collected about 2/3 gallons of water... not enough to continue.

But I would love to leave mine in Palm Springs for a couple of months and remove all the screws in the boat. Again not worth the gas to haul it out there.

A couple of drips is fine... I got a lot of water out of mine... it literally poured out of a couple of spots for a couple of minutes while drying on the rack in the yard. My rear fish well tube weeped for a week. Inside the foam looked good and dry immediately adjacent. To do anything I plan to cut out a large area around the tube and glass it over... adding in a new sounder.

Ultimately Tom Clark's thoughts proved very true on my whaler... it takes 10s of years of absolute neglect to cause a water problem big enough to worry about.. I suspect that the foam just doesn't soak it up that fast and reversing the process is eaqually as long. You need a driving force... ie: the weight of the boat sitting in water isn't that heavy. The weight of water against a rear sounder screw is a couple of pounds at best... not much drive here. The odd little drill hole or leak around a screw isn't the end of a Whaler.. else we would all have boats many times heavier than design and the name would have died a horrid death.

Let go of the image of your wash down the sponge... it's not the same as the foam in your boat.

Cheers
Ian

posted 01-28-2003 09:12 PM ET (US)            

I would stick with transom mount transducer as it is the best location, at the bottom of the keel between the motors. It is not likely to cause any problems if the screws are not too long (1/2" max) and they are properly bedded with a poly sulfide caulk such as Life Caulk or 4200.

posted 01-28-2003 11:11 PM ET (US)            

You're good. The Whaler 25 Walkaround is an extremely rare model that was made for only a few years. Sometimes called the "Wide Body" it is very similar to a 27 but is not merely a shortened 27. Whaler spent a great deal of money and effort to build a unique mold for a model that sold at a very high price. The Whaler 25 was only ever built as this one model and only with Whaler Drive (though two different versions of Whaler Drive). It was also a very heavy boat as evidenced by the minimum recommended horsepower of 300!