posted 12-01-2008 01:07 PM ET (US)        

2 weeks ago I placed and ad here on CW wanting to trade my vintage 1965 Honda CT 200 Trail 90 for a 13' or 15' project hull. http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/017007.html I also placed the same ad on the Detroit Craigslist in the motorcycle section just to hit the local market as well. I had a number of emails the next day from people interested in a trade for all kinds of things but, no Whaler. I had one guy want to trade a 13 Dell Quay Dory but that was as close to a whaler as I got. Then the following day I had a guy write me from Craigslist stating he had 13' whaler he may be interested in trading. It just so happened the he decided to check Craigslist that day for parts for his other Honda Cub and ran across the post. He said the whaler had been sitting for some time (6+ years) and he just did not have time for it anymore. In the mean time he began finding and restoring old vintage cycles and that is where is free time hobbies had moved to. While he stated the boat was rough , it may be something I would be interested in and asked if I wanted to come out and have a look. We set up a time for the following Saturday and I headed out there.

The boat is a 1975 13' Boston Whaler sport with a 1974 60hp Merc (cowling has 40hp badging) and trailer. The boat had been sitting for about 6-7 years and was full of dirt and pine needles. While dirty it looked like a solid starting point for a project and more than I was expecting to find for a trade. I inspected the boat and only found an iffy thru hull and one poor marine-tex fix on the hull. All in all a very solid hull. The owner stated that the motor did run last time before it was winterized for storage and I just took his word for that. I showed him the bike, started it, and we agreed to make a trade however, I wanted the interior cleaned an thawed out for me to look at before I would take the boat. I just wanted to make sure there was no large holes nor any areas where ice had formed into blocks and stressed the inside of the hull.

After trying to connect over the past week he finally met up yesterday, I inspected the interior, and we made the trade. I pulled the boat home very slowly (30mph) for the 10 miles back to my house. I knew the trailer was in poor condition however, it was not until I got it behind the truck on the road that I noticed how bad it was. The axle was way out of alignment and it was dog tracking horribly behind the truck. All I saw out the rear view on the drivers side was the hull side and nothing out the passenger rear view. I am sure it looked like something out of Sanford and Son going down the road but, I just hoped it would make it home. I was lucky enough that it did with out problems.

So, this evening I was able to at least open the motor cover off and do an inspection. I put a good battery in the boat and gave a turn of the key. Fingers crossed it turned over like it was a brand new motor. So, then I pulled the plug wires off and compression tested all of the cylinders. All where 112 - 115psi. Perfect. Pulled the plug in the lower unit and the oil was dirty but clear and not milky. So the motor seems to be in a good state and should be good to go with some gas and ear muffs. That was a big plus as I was really not holding out a lot of hope for it.

As for the hull, the interior non skid seems to be in good order with out any large areas of cracking, and the rub rail is in perfect condition and not chunked nor cracked. While I did not clean the entire interior I did clean just a couple areas and with a little elbow grease it was amazing how clean the interior and rub rail turned out. I used lacquer thinner on the rub rail and it looks like new actually. As for the wood seats and console, while they could be refinished I think I am going to ditch them and build a custom set up. I would love to do something like a mini Sakonnet interior but, we will see how much time and money I want to spend this winter. The exterior of the hull is in good shape except for that area of a poor marine tex patch. I checked around the area and found no signs of major water intrusion nor of delimitation. I may just repair that area and a few other nicks, polish the hull out, and call it done. All though the "Most have it perfect" side of myself says to regelcoat the entire hull. We will see about that at a later time.

So all in all everything worked out. I got the boat and Bill, the owner for the 13, got another vintage bike.
Here is a link to the images. I added some more from last night.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jrohlfing/197513Whaler#

I mostly wanted the boat as something to work on and let my son learn seamanship skills with. Being that he is only 10 months old this week I think I have plenty of time to work and play with the boat before I really have to hand it over. To that, if I restore it completely this winter I would not be able to share that experience with my son. That would be worth probably more to he and I than anything else. So, we will see where this project goes over the coming seasons however, I thought it would be good to start a thread to follow the boat's progression.

posted 12-01-2008 01:52 PM ET (US)            

Beware.
I had a blue stripe Merc 60 on a 14 ft Sport Lap a couple years ago. sold it. 3 cyl. No matter what my mechanic tried, that engine just would not idle smooth. He is a 2 stroke carb expert, he said that engine just inherited rough idle. Otherwise it topped out nice. My mechanic is good, but, I wouldnt be suprised if one of the regulars here may have better advice. Anyway, you probably know, dont fret if it idles rough.

posted 12-01-2008 02:36 PM ET (US)            

Regarding the Merc decals, you may want to carefully tape off around them and repaint. They look decent in the photos, and may be very hard to find. As far as the hull goes, I'd redo the hull repair, finished with color matched patch paste, then compound and polish the whole works. I have a feeling that hull can be brought back to a nice shine, and a good cosmetic result.

posted 12-02-2008 12:36 AM ET (US)            

I can not wait to get started on the boat.

Andy and Nick,

Yes the decals are in great condition and I just may have to tape them off while repainting. The one on the front of the motor cover though I may have to recreate if I get that piece rechromed. I have looked all around for decals for this motor and not real luck. However, one thing I did notice in the search was that it seems there was never a 60hp merc in 1974. However, there was a 65hp. I this true?

Andy,

posted 12-02-2008 05:57 AM ET (US)            

Good luck with your project. The boat seems to be in pretty good condition. Amazing how good the rub-rail still looks after all those years.
That engine takes me back to my youth. I used to water-ski behind my cousins little 15-ft dual console with this kind of engine. We never had any problems with it.
I'm very curious to how the boat will look when you've finished with her. I have no doubt it will look showroom.

Erik

posted 12-02-2008 09:34 AM ET (US)            

The guys over at K&M Marine on Telegraph Road might have some parts and maybe even decals. They have been Mercury dealers for decades. I used to have a 1976 Mercury 50-HP, and they had all the parts to keep it running.

posted 12-02-2008 08:23 PM ET (US)            

Jim,

Thanks for the info on the light. It looked OEM however, I had never seen one like it.

Nick,

posted 12-30-2008 12:08 AM ET (US)            

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrohlfing/ 197513SportFirstCleaning?authkey=aOoT2ZZ1K_4#[/

posted 12-30-2008 01:49 AM ET (US)         

That Merc is a 3 cylinder 50 cubic inch, which is 1/2 of the 6 cylinder in-lines. Same block, bore and stroke as the 100 c.i. "towers". It was a reasonably good performer. A friend had one on a 1973 Katama, both bought new, and he could run a pretty consistant 38 MPH with it. The engine is definitely a 70, not a 65. Since I bought a 1973 150 HP tower brand new, I think I have still have the '73 catalog which gives the specs on that 70. It was only made in that HP configuration if I remember correctly.

That might be too much HP for the boat. I ran a 1970 Merc 4 cylinder 50 on my 1958 13, and that was a lot to handle. But if you want to stay with 70, and can't get the Merc running, you know where you can find a 1974 like new Johnson 70! Since both of these engines were powerhead rated, I'll bet they run more like a modern day 60-65.

posted 12-31-2008 09:03 PM ET (US)            

Gary,
Yes, that is an original Ride Guide setup. The bezel is taller than most I have seen and is metal.

Nick,
I am never one to leave well enough alone and I am really fighting the urge to toss the interior. I have a design that I am working on drawing up that would allow flip up storage under the helm seat for the fuel cell and a cooler along with a more centered console design. I am sure money will drive that decision for this year though.

posted 01-02-2009 12:00 AM ET (US)            

Amzing what a good clean up will do for a old whaler:)Your new whaler looks great now and I can only imagine what she will be like after you and your dad get done with her.

When I got my "Cygnet" , she didn't look like much, but after I cleaned her up and dressed her properly....she a cute little thing:)now:)

I am suprized about the 50 on the back of that 13 though...I have a 35 Seahorse (81) vintage and she can scoot....

posted 01-02-2009 09:26 AM ET (US)            

LOL! He wants the keys!

It amazes me how well these boats clean up.

Given what you have, I like the ideal of going OEM resto. While the engine is a bit much, she looks great. Wow. If she runs and the weight is not too bad, keep her and just be gentle with the throttle.

posted 01-03-2009 03:11 AM ET (US)            

I remember a while back,there's a fantastic picture of you and your father on his guardian i believed.Can't wait to see the next one with paw paw,paw,and the little one.

Best,
Richard

posted 05-05-2009 08:42 PM ET (US)            

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30136520&l=0421993ee7& id=1001793531

After grinding the cracks out, I did some glass work and got it patched up. From there it was on to grinding and sanding out all of the scratches in the keel, the chines and sides of the hull. It took some time but, after prepping it all I regelcoated all of the areas including the large area of repair. Of course what else would follow spraying gelcoat but, wet sanding. This process always seems to bring the project to a painful point for myself. I guess it is just because I find it laborious. Not wanting to waste any more time I broke out the 7" high speed wool wheel after the 220 grit. With the high speed wheel and some heavy cut 3m compound the outside began to come to life in a hurry.

Since I was on a roll with the wheel I decided I was going to skip doing an major repairs to the interior (mainly the nonskid behind the rear seat) and just polish it up and see what I got. So, I removed the interior, steering and controls and jumped in. In an evening the gelcoat came back to life and just shined. Honestly it was really weather beaten and I did not think it would come back to life like that.

Since the interior was out I thought I would go ahead and see what I could do with it. I had written it off and thought I would for sure be needing an new interior from Mike at Nautical Lumber. Infact, I do have one coming but, it may not be installed this year depending on time. Anyway, the wood as very sun bleached in some areas and a lot of the grain had dirt and mill dew growing in it. With sanding I was hopeful I could get a lot of it out. That was not the case. This left me with a dilemma. If I just varnished it the dirt and mill dew would just show through and not look good at all. So, I decided to go for broke and see what I could do. I had some minwax two in one stain/varnish in the Bombay Mahogany color sitting around and figured it was worth the shot. Man was I happy with the results. The dark red really helped hide the gray and black areas of the wood. From there I did 3 more coats of Cabot Spar varnish. The wood looked great afterwords.

The rigging was the last major hurdle. I decided I wanted to retain the vintage Mercury Ride Guide steering system that was on the boat even though the steering was nearly impossible to move. I wanted to keep it mainly because I liked the look but, deep inside want to see how little money I could spend on this boat to get it back in shape. Since there is not parts availible for this system I had the disassemble the helm, rotatory gear drive in the helm and as much of the cable as possible. I hoped by doing this I could regrease most of it to remedy the frozen steering. What a messing job. It was not that difficult just overly greasy. Well it was a chore fitting with the cable and gears back in the helm for reassembly. Boy, I can not wait for the little guy to help me. Two hands are just never enough.

So, with it all coming together I decided tonight pull it out of the garage and take some shots with the interior laid in place. I got to say I am pretty happy with it all. Also, I have spend no money to get to this point. As much as I liked the Honda I traded, I think I am going to like this boat so much more.

Left on the to do list:
Install interior
Rerig the steering and controls
Rewire the boat
Install new thru hulls
Wash and Wax
Find a new trailer

The list is getting shorter.

Here again are images of what it looked like when I picked it up.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jrohlfing/197513Whaler#

Here it is as of tonight.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jrohlfing/13Project5509#

posted 06-02-2009 11:26 AM ET (US)            

Rich,
I brought the gel coat back to life using a Milwaukee type power grinder with a 9" wool polishing wheel. This is a serious machine and gets the job done far better than the porter cable random orbit polisher. I started with Meguire's heavy cut compound and then on to the fine cut polishing compound. I still have to get a coat of wax on it though. That shine is just from the compounding.

posted 06-02-2009 01:14 PM ET (US)            

I must say that the 13 looks like a labor of love.
You have managed to take the time and to bring her back from mediocrity.
I have appreciated of your efforts in making her right again;
And to have taken the time to post of your efforts.
It is possible that you don't care but;
I can safely say that your work here has been an inspiration to some of us;
And that we do show appreciation by "giving it up" as in a silent clap.
I have posted for curiosity;
http://img512.imageshack.us/my.php?image=leprintemps024.jpg
A photo of My Girl being worked on.
The big top should be coming down soon as the weather will hit about 30'celsius today.
My turn for update will come up soon.
Keep up the good work Jeff;
And thanks for sharing.

posted 08-12-2009 03:05 PM ET (US)            

I had the carbs cleaned and adjusted, the motor compression tested (145 - 145 - 140), the lower unit vacuum checked and new lube put in as well as all new motor mounts installed. One thing of interest they found was the motor is actually a 40hp power head mated to a 1974 Mercury 65 hp Midsection, bracket, and lower unit. This caused a couple problems when ordering parts. In the end they ordered parts for both a 40 and 65 hp motor and used what they needed.

So, the boat is esscentialy ready for the water. I still have a brand new 15 sport interior (winter project) and light switches to install but, for the most part it is finished.

Anyone interested in getting out to Orchard Lake tomorrow evening for a test run?