posted 12-29-2002 11:00 AM ET (US)            

I really like the idea of recessing the ignition key to keep it out of the way. Perhaps you could dress up the installation by using a plastic bezel from a gauge to act as a trim piece around the hole. I think they call the bezels "aircraft gauge style" and they might be just the right size.

posted 12-29-2002 11:39 AM ET (US)            

Very nice boat. Looks like you have put it together the way you want it rather than leaving it the way someone else thought you wanted it.
Great job on the pictures.

jimh

Super job of putting the page together.

posted 12-29-2002 09:10 PM ET (US)            

Arch -

On my 1982 Montauk I kept the sternlight under the console on the forward bulkhead attached with plastic clips. It traveled there very well for 8 years without falling off. It was readily available for use if needed. But, since I rarely traveled at night (less than 1% of the time), I would rather have it stowed than in the way of towlines for skiing, salmon or halibut poles.

The Montauk is a great boat to tow. I towed mine from Eastern Long Island to Kodiak, Alaska in 1989 (5,000 miles and two ferryboat rides of 400 and 125 miles!), then to Juneau in 1992. No troubles.

posted 12-29-2002 09:16 PM ET (US)            

Interesting detail with the recessed key. I have the same controls and the key was directly below the binnacle. I've moved it up and left to where yours is now for just the reasons you stated: I kept choking out the engine with my knee, and I'm afraid I'll bust it off in the ignition. (The old location now has a radio.) I'd be interested in details how you did the recess trick on the ignition.

posted 12-29-2002 10:38 PM ET (US)            

Once again another first rate job.

Nice boat Arch.

posted 12-30-2002 09:32 AM ET (US)            

The article was great. I have a 10 year old that wants to spend more time on the boat fishing. I think I will need to make that the top priority this year. I also like the look without the bow rail. I might have to consider that.

posted 12-30-2002 10:39 AM ET (US)            

It really is amazing though to see what our editor can do with of a bunch of random paragraphs and thoughts and a couple of pictures. Thanks, jimh.

I used hole saws for the steering wheel and the keyhole cutouts. To ease the edges I then used a 45-degree router-chamfering bit then coated the exposed wood with West epoxy. I agree, jimh, using some sort of bezel would look much better but I just don’t know where to look for such things. But as a friend’s great-grandmother once said “A man on a fast-moving horse won’t know the difference”.

I now see there are different dish-degrees of ‘Destroyer’ wheels so maybe sinking it as I did wasn’t necessary but that’s what happens sometimes. I can always ‘un-sink’ it if I wanted to also.

I used a piece of starboard (marine ply would have worked just as well for me) as new mounting surface for the ignition held to the back of the hole with countersunk machine screws through and from the front.

posted 12-30-2002 12:47 PM ET (US)            

Forgot to mention, I really like the innovation that you've used with the Montauk. Recessing keys and wheel, pole holders, etc all make the boat - your boat! Great job!

posted 12-31-2002 06:29 AM ET (US)            

I like your ideas that you have incorporated and you safety consciousness gives us all good reminders too.

The teak woodwork looks terrific.

posted 01-01-2003 10:35 AM ET (US)            

Some neat work. Thanks for sharing. I have two questions about your RPS seatback: First, the back of the seatback does not appear to have the "oval" cutout that allows access to the inside of the seatback. Is this so? If so, did it come that way, or did you modify it? Second, I couldn't see the Perko grab handles on top of the seatback. Were they there? Did you remove them? I ask because my current Montauk has a mysterious background, and its seatback did not have the cutout, the handles, or the rod holders. I'm wondering if we're both heirs to modifications, or if Whaler varied occasionally in seatback design.

posted 01-01-2003 10:39 AM ET (US)            

What a great article! For me, your story embodies all the aspects I can think of that make messing around with classic Whalers a fun and rewarding way to spend time.

That's the first time I have seen the results of removing the bowrail, and I am surprised to find I really like it. The sunken key and wheel are great solutions, too.

I'm not sure, but it may have been me who told you about the launch spot on Pine
Island; I have used it in the past and I know we corresponded about it. Did you get out to Cabbage Key for a Cheeseburger in Paradise? The State Park at Cayo Costa is another fun thing for families.

And the Sea Creature that tried to run away with you is one of the most amazing things I can remember trying to visualize. What a heart-thumper that must have been, especially before you found it was something as benign as a Manatee. My son Chris hooked a 35 lb. ray (cow-nosed, I think) that broke our landing net getting into our Montauk, and I snagged and got stung by an angry sting ray (put me in the hospital), again in our Montauk, both at the Sanibel causeway. Neither of those experiences hold a candle to being dragged around by an unseen leviathon, though. What a great story!

Way to go, Arch-

posted 01-01-2003 03:52 PM ET (US)            

And yes, John, it was you and then Shadowcatcher that told me about the launch ramps. I had written this before the search function was available and didn’t want to search endlessly. (I actually passed St. James City launch up 2 or 3 times looking for more of a “City”. Lol. You’ve been there.) Didn’t make it to the other places but I’m going this February for a week or so and am going to try the other end of Pine Island as I’ll be meeting up with a friend from Boca Grande. And I dread being stung by a sting-ray. Ugh. It’s only a matter of time for me though.

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

I really like those water level photos. They provide such a good perspective on the boats.

I agree with you about the bow rail. While it is certainly not for everybody, I always preferred not having it on my Montauks. In fact, on my first Montauk, which I bought new in 1981, I had my dealer order a bare hull and build a Montauk from it just so I would not get stuck with the screw holes in the hull (I'm kind of particular about such things).

When I bought my second Montauk (a used 1980 model) in 1986 the first thing I did was remove the bow rail and patch the screw holes with some gel coat patch paste.

That's interesting that you reversed your seat back. I can't figure out why you would prefer it that way. Please expand on your reasoning.

How on earth did you get such an obscenely good deal on your boat?

Harpoon Harry,

posted 01-02-2003 11:03 AM ET (US)            

What am I going to do with you? I specifically said teak. The Newport's seat back was made of varnished mahogany.

As a side note, on the first Montauks there was the option of a varnished mahogany seat back that was otherwise identical to the teak one.

You are right about the Newport's seat back having upholstered pads front and rear. Perhaps the seat back on Harpoon Harry's Montauk came from a Newport and the upholstered pads were removed and discarded. That would explain the lack of rod holders as well.

Arch,

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

I don't think there's a flaw in your thinking at all. If it serves your needs then it's the way it should be. On my Montauks the things I stored in the seat back were things I needed when fishing. I always kept:

long nose stainless steel hook remover

fish club/hook remover

stainless steel pliers

bar of pumice soap in a plastic case (for washing as much smell off hands as possible before handling fishing gear)

shorts lengths of coiled cordage for lashing things down as needed

downrigger releases

hand held scrub brush

fish scale

bait knife

None of these things were things I would need while driving, but were things I was constantly reaching for while working behind the RPS. If they were things I needed while driving they either lived on top of the console or were just inside the front louvered door on the console which was always open when I was running.

What do you store in your seat back?