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Author Topic:   1979 Boston Whaler 13-footer Restoration

dashfifty posted 06-11-2015 12:28 PM ET (US)
First boat, first post, here we go! I recently bought a 1979 Boston Whaler Sport 13 for my first boat. The previous owner had kept it out of water in his front yard since 2011, so there’s some maintenance be done. [I am] fortunate to have a family friend who knows boats better than I do and also owns (and restored) a 1971 Whaler. The only problem is that he’s across the country so his assistance only goes so far.
After reading through the boards the last few weeks I’ve decided to jump on and spark a conversation with the rest of the group.
Since picking up the Whaler, I’ve gutted her down to clean up the deck and inside of boat. The console kit wood was in really poor shape and I removed a lot of extra gadgets that were screwed to the inside of the boat that I do not plan on using. There were a lot of patched up holes that weren’t cleaned or sanded and evened out so I’m doing some clean-up, fortunately it’s mostly all cosmetic.
With that being said, I’ve patched up some small screw holes with Marine-Tex. There are a few original holes that looks like he filled with screws or something similar and then patched over. The problem is that the job wasn’t clean at all and some of the filler screwed elevate about 1 to 2-mm in some places. Any suggestions on whether I try and grind these down or try and pull these out and re-fill?
There is also one screw with a broken screw head from part of the console kit wood. About an inch of the screw remains hanging out. I also wanted to ask for recommendations on how to remove this broken screw from the inside of the boat.
Looking forward to sharing my progress and learning a lot more from this board.

contender posted 06-11-2015 08:08 PM ET (US)
I would use a fiberglass product to fill the holes. For the screw, if you can get enought bite use vise grip to unscrew, other wise you can try a drill, I have seen some people pound the screw into the foam and repair the hole over it
jimh posted 06-12-2015 07:08 AM ET (US)
Buy a WEST SYSTEMS epoxy repair kit. Use it to fill and repair small holes from fasteners you remove. If you want a perfect color match, top coat the repairs with gel coat resin that is tinted to match the Boston Whaler color.
dashfifty posted 06-15-2015 12:31 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the advice.
I took some vice grips to remove the screw that was sticking out about 2". Took a dremel and cleaned up the hole a bit and marine-tex'd over it.
I also used the dremel to shave down some screws that were popping out about 1-2 mm. The screws now sit flush with the deck. I'm curious though... would anyone recommend pushing the screws down a bit and putting another layer of Marine-Tex over just to make sure everything is sealed?

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Author	Topic: 1979 Boston Whaler 13-footer Restoration
dashfifty	posted 06-11-2015 12:28 PM ET (US) First boat, first post, here we go! I recently bought a 1979 Boston Whaler Sport 13 for my first boat. The previous owner had kept it out of water in his front yard since 2011, so there’s some maintenance be done. [I am] fortunate to have a family friend who knows boats better than I do and also owns (and restored) a 1971 Whaler. The only problem is that he’s across the country so his assistance only goes so far. After reading through the boards the last few weeks I’ve decided to jump on and spark a conversation with the rest of the group. Since picking up the Whaler, I’ve gutted her down to clean up the deck and inside of boat. The console kit wood was in really poor shape and I removed a lot of extra gadgets that were screwed to the inside of the boat that I do not plan on using. There were a lot of patched up holes that weren’t cleaned or sanded and evened out so I’m doing some clean-up, fortunately it’s mostly all cosmetic. With that being said, I’ve patched up some small screw holes with Marine-Tex. There are a few original holes that looks like he filled with screws or something similar and then patched over. The problem is that the job wasn’t clean at all and some of the filler screwed elevate about 1 to 2-mm in some places. Any suggestions on whether I try and grind these down or try and pull these out and re-fill? There is also one screw with a broken screw head from part of the console kit wood. About an inch of the screw remains hanging out. I also wanted to ask for recommendations on how to remove this broken screw from the inside of the boat. Looking forward to sharing my progress and learning a lot more from this board.
contender	posted 06-11-2015 08:08 PM ET (US) I would use a fiberglass product to fill the holes. For the screw, if you can get enought bite use vise grip to unscrew, other wise you can try a drill, I have seen some people pound the screw into the foam and repair the hole over it
jimh	posted 06-12-2015 07:08 AM ET (US) Buy a WEST SYSTEMS epoxy repair kit. Use it to fill and repair small holes from fasteners you remove. If you want a perfect color match, top coat the repairs with gel coat resin that is tinted to match the Boston Whaler color.
dashfifty	posted 06-15-2015 12:31 PM ET (US) Thanks for the advice. I took some vice grips to remove the screw that was sticking out about 2". Took a dremel and cleaned up the hole a bit and marine-tex'd over it. I also used the dremel to shave down some screws that were popping out about 1-2 mm. The screws now sit flush with the deck. I'm curious though... would anyone recommend pushing the screws down a bit and putting another layer of Marine-Tex over just to make sure everything is sealed?