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Author Topic:   31-foot Boston Whaler

bluffwise posted 05-06-2003 04:18 PM ET (US)
Are [31-foot Boston Whalers] rare? I own a 1990 with Crusaders and a generator. I have not seen any pictures on the site. Mine apparently was built for a president of bostonwhaler called peter (or Bill Ryan) ?
GAwhale posted 05-06-2003 08:54 PM ET (US)
Welcome to the site.
Since I have been reading, I don't recall any posts about 31 foot Whalers. I am going to bet she is a rare boat.
I did a bunch of boating in the Salem sound area growing up. Do you keep your yacht in Boston harbor?
andygere posted 05-06-2003 09:05 PM ET (US)
Bluffwise,
Go to the Cetacea section and take a look at the guidelines for submitting photos. Then take some great shots of your boat and send them in to Jimh. There are no guarantees, but your boat could be the first 31 featured on this website.
doobee posted 05-06-2003 09:34 PM ET (US)
Whaler built at least 19 31s the first year. I'm not aware of one built for Bill Ryan, but I know one was built for Paul Fireman (Reebok). Not likely the same boat because it had Arneson drives. Whaler built the 31 for a few years before they decided to return to their roots. They were also available with several different diesel powerplants. The 300HP diesels (Caterpillar?) seems to be the best option for that boat. I never ran a gas model, but I did spend some time on one with 250HP Cummins. The boat was solid as a rock even doing 24 knots in a 6' head sea.
jimh posted 05-06-2003 09:46 PM ET (US)
bluffwise,
Visit the CETACEA section of the website where you will find about 700 pictures of Whalers, but none of them of a 31-foot hull.
The "Peter" to which you make reference might have been Peter Van Lancker, an executive with Whaler for a few years in the 1990's.
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/
triblet posted 05-06-2003 10:00 PM ET (US)
Boy, talk about coincidences. Sunday
afternoon, as Admiral Linda and I were getting
set to pull the hook after the second dive,
a diver popped up right behind my whaler. He
was off a charter dive boat that anchored a
LOONG way off, and we chatted while he waited
for them to come get him. Turns out he owns
a "31' Boston Whaler SportFisher" (his words)
that he's been restoring and should be back in
the water in "a few months".

Chuck
jimp posted 05-06-2003 11:48 PM ET (US)
Go to yachtworld.com.
Click on "Boats for Sale" at the top of the page. Go to "Advance Search". Type in "Boston Whaler" Feet = 31. Years = 1989-1992. Hit "Search". There are 10 31s for sale, 9 with pictures.
JEvans posted 05-07-2003 09:28 AM ET (US)
There have been posts about the 31's and some of them have come from me. I even sent a picture to Jim but it never made CETACEA.
I have a 1991 31 with twin 300 Cumins diesels that was a replacement for one of the first 31ft. hulls BW made, they had problems with the motor beds. Believe it or not Whaler replaced this boat under warranty.
It is this problem that haunts the 31 to this day tell someone in the industry you own a 31 ft. Whaler they'll either say they didn't know Whaler made a boat that big or they'll tell you about the motor mount problem. Truth is this problem only existed in the first hulls Whaler made and they made good on the problem.
Most people who own Whalers have not owned inboard boats before and let me tell you it's as different as day and night and diesels make it even more so. A 13000 pound hull doesn't jump up on plane in seconds turbos take time to spin up. This boat runs well and handles everything you throw at it and it has the smirk.
The 31 was killed for a number of reasons luxury tax being one and a 200k price in 1991 is another probably the same reason the 34 is a goner now. Whaler even offered a free 13 footer as an incentive to buy a 31 and it didn't help.
Joe
PSW posted 05-07-2003 10:33 AM ET (US)
My brother bought his 27 Whaler from a guy who upgraded to a used 31. This all occured about 5 years ago, but I still remember the day we went out to meet up in the sound with the 31. The boat rumbeled just perfect with the cummins deisels. What a sweet boat. I can still remember the boat like it was yesterday. What a rare boat to pull into the harbour in.
PSW
Translation posted 05-07-2003 12:51 PM ET (US)
Bill Ryan did have a 31...it was in Plymouth (MA) harbor for a while after he left the company. I think it was named MISCREANT or something like that.
Except for the problems with the engine mounts, it was a great boat. THe prob Whaler had with it was mostly a marketing problem: not enough disribution through dealers who had experience with inboards. There was a 31 outboard too, not many made - maybe only one!
doobee posted 05-07-2003 11:35 PM ET (US)
I believe only the first hull was replaced for motor mounts. After that a Whaler technician racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles repairing them in the field.
The 31 would not sit on an even keel so they had to add ballast to the stern area. This is one of the reasons that the early 31s were slow out of the hole. It took a lot of tweaking with props and engines to get the right performance on the early hulls.
Just the thought of one is enough to make me smirk.
PMUCCIOLO posted 05-08-2003 10:27 PM ET (US)
The thing I remember most about the 31 Whaler I saw at Daytona Marina in 1990 was the position and shape of the exhaust ports. They were oval-shaped openings of highly polished stainless steel.
There was something to be said for the highly air conditioned cabin as well.
PM

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Author	Topic: 31-foot Boston Whaler
bluffwise	posted 05-06-2003 04:18 PM ET (US) Are [31-foot Boston Whalers] rare? I own a 1990 with Crusaders and a generator. I have not seen any pictures on the site. Mine apparently was built for a president of bostonwhaler called peter (or Bill Ryan) ?
GAwhale	posted 05-06-2003 08:54 PM ET (US) Welcome to the site. Since I have been reading, I don't recall any posts about 31 foot Whalers. I am going to bet she is a rare boat. I did a bunch of boating in the Salem sound area growing up. Do you keep your yacht in Boston harbor?
andygere	posted 05-06-2003 09:05 PM ET (US) Bluffwise, Go to the Cetacea section and take a look at the guidelines for submitting photos. Then take some great shots of your boat and send them in to Jimh. There are no guarantees, but your boat could be the first 31 featured on this website.
doobee	posted 05-06-2003 09:34 PM ET (US) Whaler built at least 19 31s the first year. I'm not aware of one built for Bill Ryan, but I know one was built for Paul Fireman (Reebok). Not likely the same boat because it had Arneson drives. Whaler built the 31 for a few years before they decided to return to their roots. They were also available with several different diesel powerplants. The 300HP diesels (Caterpillar?) seems to be the best option for that boat. I never ran a gas model, but I did spend some time on one with 250HP Cummins. The boat was solid as a rock even doing 24 knots in a 6' head sea.
jimh	posted 05-06-2003 09:46 PM ET (US) bluffwise, Visit the CETACEA section of the website where you will find about 700 pictures of Whalers, but none of them of a 31-foot hull. The "Peter" to which you make reference might have been Peter Van Lancker, an executive with Whaler for a few years in the 1990's. http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/
triblet	posted 05-06-2003 10:00 PM ET (US) Boy, talk about coincidences. Sunday afternoon, as Admiral Linda and I were getting set to pull the hook after the second dive, a diver popped up right behind my whaler. He was off a charter dive boat that anchored a LOONG way off, and we chatted while he waited for them to come get him. Turns out he owns a "31' Boston Whaler SportFisher" (his words) that he's been restoring and should be back in the water in "a few months". Chuck
jimp	posted 05-06-2003 11:48 PM ET (US) Go to yachtworld.com. Click on "Boats for Sale" at the top of the page. Go to "Advance Search". Type in "Boston Whaler" Feet = 31. Years = 1989-1992. Hit "Search". There are 10 31s for sale, 9 with pictures.
JEvans	posted 05-07-2003 09:28 AM ET (US) There have been posts about the 31's and some of them have come from me. I even sent a picture to Jim but it never made CETACEA. I have a 1991 31 with twin 300 Cumins diesels that was a replacement for one of the first 31ft. hulls BW made, they had problems with the motor beds. Believe it or not Whaler replaced this boat under warranty. It is this problem that haunts the 31 to this day tell someone in the industry you own a 31 ft. Whaler they'll either say they didn't know Whaler made a boat that big or they'll tell you about the motor mount problem. Truth is this problem only existed in the first hulls Whaler made and they made good on the problem. Most people who own Whalers have not owned inboard boats before and let me tell you it's as different as day and night and diesels make it even more so. A 13000 pound hull doesn't jump up on plane in seconds turbos take time to spin up. This boat runs well and handles everything you throw at it and it has the smirk. The 31 was killed for a number of reasons luxury tax being one and a 200k price in 1991 is another probably the same reason the 34 is a goner now. Whaler even offered a free 13 footer as an incentive to buy a 31 and it didn't help. Joe
PSW	posted 05-07-2003 10:33 AM ET (US) My brother bought his 27 Whaler from a guy who upgraded to a used 31. This all occured about 5 years ago, but I still remember the day we went out to meet up in the sound with the 31. The boat rumbeled just perfect with the cummins deisels. What a sweet boat. I can still remember the boat like it was yesterday. What a rare boat to pull into the harbour in. PSW
Translation	posted 05-07-2003 12:51 PM ET (US) Bill Ryan did have a 31...it was in Plymouth (MA) harbor for a while after he left the company. I think it was named MISCREANT or something like that. Except for the problems with the engine mounts, it was a great boat. THe prob Whaler had with it was mostly a marketing problem: not enough disribution through dealers who had experience with inboards. There was a 31 outboard too, not many made - maybe only one!
doobee	posted 05-07-2003 11:35 PM ET (US) I believe only the first hull was replaced for motor mounts. After that a Whaler technician racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles repairing them in the field. The 31 would not sit on an even keel so they had to add ballast to the stern area. This is one of the reasons that the early 31s were slow out of the hole. It took a lot of tweaking with props and engines to get the right performance on the early hulls. Just the thought of one is enough to make me smirk.
PMUCCIOLO	posted 05-08-2003 10:27 PM ET (US) The thing I remember most about the 31 Whaler I saw at Daytona Marina in 1990 was the position and shape of the exhaust ports. They were oval-shaped openings of highly polished stainless steel. There was something to be said for the highly air conditioned cabin as well. PM