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Author Topic:   Whaler 31 - the real story

Hilinercc posted 06-04-2009 02:15 PM ET (US)
Guys:
I can think of no better a group of "Extrodinary Gentlemen" such as yourselves, to lead off this post with.
I noticed the Whaler 31 gets very little attention on this site. Is there anything peculiar about this particular model that did not live up to the legacy.
I see a fair amount of them for sale occasionally, but they just don't seem to ring the bell like their smaller siblings. Some are gas, but most have with the Cummins 5.9 packages. Some are heavily modified by their owners with diesel sterndrives. I even saw one for sale that was repowered with a pair of 6.5 Hummer engines (!).
Any of you guys know the real history behind these boats?
Being hard core Whaler guys, I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Tohsgib posted 06-04-2009 02:29 PM ET (US)
Great boats and one of the best bargains out there today. Not many sold since you could have bought many larger boats for same money. Ride was not the best as well since it was basically a 25 Revenge on MAJOR steroids. If you want an even rarer boat, start a thread about the 34 Defiance...talk about a bargain these days.
Jeff posted 06-04-2009 02:41 PM ET (US)
One thing I was wondering in recent days was, Is the 32' Vigilant built off the 31L hull? If they were built on the same hull here is another question I have, all of the 32' Vigilant's I have seen / found have been stern drives. Is this the only way Vigilant's were built?
draftsman posted 06-04-2009 08:55 PM ET (US)
The problem is the weight. It's a big pig. Basically, the problem was too much foam area combined with a heavy topskin and f'glass parts. It was a 27' on way too many steroids. Most of the hull up to the gunnels was 3" thick, min. That is what was needed in order for the foam to flow throughout the skeleton, much less a lot of it.
The first foam shot was done at the new Florida plant. Quite a show for us newbies to the process at the time. That thing screamed, whined, snapped, crackled and popped so bad most of us standing around started backing up, quickly.... And the smell of that gas, man o' man. While most of us wondered if it was the end for us, the old guard just kind of took it in stride. Hell, they'd seen straps and turnbuckles stretch beyond recognition at times. They just had to make the shot smaller, they said to themselves, no big deal. Next!
I still have a couple of prints on the 31'L deck arrangements, the second incarnation of the model. Detailing everything on the first 31' from top to bottom was my first project under Bob, and got me the title of Sr. Draftsman because of my work. It was the first of many for me...
Tohsgib posted 06-05-2009 10:11 AM ET (US)
Good info and good story Tom.
JayR posted 06-05-2009 09:03 PM ET (US)
One for sale on Boston craigslist http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/1199210300.html
handn posted 06-06-2009 01:40 PM ET (US)
Not one of BW's better efforts. Friend at the marina has one and complains it is heavy and hard riding as a tank and wet as a submarine. It is for sale at a seeming bargain but so far no takers. Since it is a Whaler, it will last forever.
Whaler27 posted 06-06-2009 02:57 PM ET (US)
Whaler31 - Under rated & under loved.
But coming from first hand experience I have to say they are a really nice boat.
Do they get up and run like a Whaler skiff? NO. But you can take these beasts anywhere.
We ran one from So Cal to Magdalena Bay, Baja, MX, well over 740 miles without a hitch. This included following seas of over 10-12 at times during our voyage. At one point during a midnight Island crossing while on watch I looked back over the transom to see huge following seas. I commented to the owner, boy I hope we don’t lose power anytime soon! Minutes later a rogue wave crashed in from the side, over the gunnels and filling the cockpit with a wall of water.
The boat did not lurch, or buck, or sway. I watched with amazement as blue water filled then flushed out the scuppers. On a lesser vessel I might not be hear to share that story.
I find these boats to be solid rides, will take down large seas, and make safe passages almost anywhere you want to go. Yes, the versions with only twin 250 hp diesels were slow, but the turbo 300’s made a big difference.
Fueling up with extra barrels of diesel in order to make the long voyage south. This Whaler 31L was powered by twin Cummins turbo 300’s.
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/rapcoral1.jpg
They raise fish pretty good too. Marlin, dorado, wahoo, tuna, etc..
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/marlin11.jpg
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/dodo14.jpg
At rest at her new home at last in Mag Bay…
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/raptordock.jpg

Now the Vigilant is another vessel altogether, imho. Much lighter without the heavy top side and cabin; and with cored decks & pilot house, she is much lighter and more nimble that her sister craft. Set up as a work boat, they have heavy duty Bravo II stern drives and beefy 454 power plants. A long term goal is to re-power with either stern drive diesels or even outboards on a bracket.
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/517/medium/v6.jpg
http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/503/medium/P6250024.JPG
draftsman posted 06-06-2009 09:08 PM ET (US)
Didn't say it wouldn't get you there and back when it turns nasty. A bigger cork there will never be...
Jeff posted 06-06-2009 09:13 PM ET (US)
So, does the Whaler 31 / 31L and 32 Vigilant share the same hull?
draftsman posted 06-08-2009 09:15 AM ET (US)
Probably. I don't think the amount of 31's that sold actually paid for the tooling, but only someone in CPD can say for sure. They were always a seperate entity that did their own work, and still are.
Whaler27 posted 06-08-2009 01:30 PM ET (US)
When I did some research on them 8-9 years ago, I contacted CPD and found someone who was familiar with the Vigilant models. He told me that the 32’s were from a new set of tooling/molds specifically for a run of commercial Vigilant’s.
That only 4-5 were made by Boston Whaler, and only one of those was for a private party. CPD did however license the design to a company in WA that made some out of aluminum.
I have ridden on both models and the Vigilant seems more nimble, faster and dryer, than the 31's, imho.
A lot of that could be in the weight differential and distribution though.


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Author	Topic: Whaler 31 - the real story
Hilinercc	posted 06-04-2009 02:15 PM ET (US) Guys: I can think of no better a group of "Extrodinary Gentlemen" such as yourselves, to lead off this post with. I noticed the Whaler 31 gets very little attention on this site. Is there anything peculiar about this particular model that did not live up to the legacy. I see a fair amount of them for sale occasionally, but they just don't seem to ring the bell like their smaller siblings. Some are gas, but most have with the Cummins 5.9 packages. Some are heavily modified by their owners with diesel sterndrives. I even saw one for sale that was repowered with a pair of 6.5 Hummer engines (!). Any of you guys know the real history behind these boats? Being hard core Whaler guys, I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Tohsgib	posted 06-04-2009 02:29 PM ET (US) Great boats and one of the best bargains out there today. Not many sold since you could have bought many larger boats for same money. Ride was not the best as well since it was basically a 25 Revenge on MAJOR steroids. If you want an even rarer boat, start a thread about the 34 Defiance...talk about a bargain these days.
Jeff	posted 06-04-2009 02:41 PM ET (US) One thing I was wondering in recent days was, Is the 32' Vigilant built off the 31L hull? If they were built on the same hull here is another question I have, all of the 32' Vigilant's I have seen / found have been stern drives. Is this the only way Vigilant's were built?
draftsman	posted 06-04-2009 08:55 PM ET (US) The problem is the weight. It's a big pig. Basically, the problem was too much foam area combined with a heavy topskin and f'glass parts. It was a 27' on way too many steroids. Most of the hull up to the gunnels was 3" thick, min. That is what was needed in order for the foam to flow throughout the skeleton, much less a lot of it. The first foam shot was done at the new Florida plant. Quite a show for us newbies to the process at the time. That thing screamed, whined, snapped, crackled and popped so bad most of us standing around started backing up, quickly.... And the smell of that gas, man o' man. While most of us wondered if it was the end for us, the old guard just kind of took it in stride. Hell, they'd seen straps and turnbuckles stretch beyond recognition at times. They just had to make the shot smaller, they said to themselves, no big deal. Next! I still have a couple of prints on the 31'L deck arrangements, the second incarnation of the model. Detailing everything on the first 31' from top to bottom was my first project under Bob, and got me the title of Sr. Draftsman because of my work. It was the first of many for me...
Tohsgib	posted 06-05-2009 10:11 AM ET (US) Good info and good story Tom.
JayR	posted 06-05-2009 09:03 PM ET (US) One for sale on Boston craigslist http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/boa/1199210300.html
handn	posted 06-06-2009 01:40 PM ET (US) Not one of BW's better efforts. Friend at the marina has one and complains it is heavy and hard riding as a tank and wet as a submarine. It is for sale at a seeming bargain but so far no takers. Since it is a Whaler, it will last forever.
Whaler27	posted 06-06-2009 02:57 PM ET (US) Whaler31 - Under rated & under loved. But coming from first hand experience I have to say they are a really nice boat. Do they get up and run like a Whaler skiff? NO. But you can take these beasts anywhere. We ran one from So Cal to Magdalena Bay, Baja, MX, well over 740 miles without a hitch. This included following seas of over 10-12 at times during our voyage. At one point during a midnight Island crossing while on watch I looked back over the transom to see huge following seas. I commented to the owner, boy I hope we don’t lose power anytime soon! Minutes later a rogue wave crashed in from the side, over the gunnels and filling the cockpit with a wall of water. The boat did not lurch, or buck, or sway. I watched with amazement as blue water filled then flushed out the scuppers. On a lesser vessel I might not be hear to share that story. I find these boats to be solid rides, will take down large seas, and make safe passages almost anywhere you want to go. Yes, the versions with only twin 250 hp diesels were slow, but the turbo 300’s made a big difference. Fueling up with extra barrels of diesel in order to make the long voyage south. This Whaler 31L was powered by twin Cummins turbo 300’s. http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/rapcoral1.jpg They raise fish pretty good too. Marlin, dorado, wahoo, tuna, etc.. http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/marlin11.jpg http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/dodo14.jpg At rest at her new home at last in Mag Bay… http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/501/medium/raptordock.jpg Now the Vigilant is another vessel altogether, imho. Much lighter without the heavy top side and cabin; and with cored decks & pilot house, she is much lighter and more nimble that her sister craft. Set up as a work boat, they have heavy duty Bravo II stern drives and beefy 454 power plants. A long term goal is to re-power with either stern drive diesels or even outboards on a bracket. http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/517/medium/v6.jpg http://momentoffame.com/photopost/data/503/medium/P6250024.JPG
draftsman	posted 06-06-2009 09:08 PM ET (US) Didn't say it wouldn't get you there and back when it turns nasty. A bigger cork there will never be...
Jeff	posted 06-06-2009 09:13 PM ET (US) So, does the Whaler 31 / 31L and 32 Vigilant share the same hull?
draftsman	posted 06-08-2009 09:15 AM ET (US) Probably. I don't think the amount of 31's that sold actually paid for the tooling, but only someone in CPD can say for sure. They were always a seperate entity that did their own work, and still are.
Whaler27	posted 06-08-2009 01:30 PM ET (US) When I did some research on them 8-9 years ago, I contacted CPD and found someone who was familiar with the Vigilant models. He told me that the 32’s were from a new set of tooling/molds specifically for a run of commercial Vigilant’s. That only 4-5 were made by Boston Whaler, and only one of those was for a private party. CPD did however license the design to a company in WA that made some out of aluminum. I have ridden on both models and the Vigilant seems more nimble, faster and dryer, than the 31's, imho. A lot of that could be in the weight differential and distribution though.