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Boston Whaler debuted their new 2002 170-MONTAUK model at the Miami Boat show in February of 2002. Other than showing it in Miami, the factory was not exactly running a promotional blitz campaign, and awareness of the new model by anyone other than Boat Show attendees was pretty much limited to readers of this web site, which is where Ray Beaugrand of New York City and Stowe, Vermont, found out about the new boat. To jump ahead to the end of this story, Ray put his money down right away, ordering a 170-MONTAUK with the 90-HP 4-stroke upgrade, and by jumping in early he was able to take delivery in April, in time for a little spring boating and fitting out of the new Whaler. I'll let Ray back up and tell the rest of the story:
Ray Beaugrand (tabasco) writes:
"I had been out of boating for 18 years after selling my 35-foot MAGNUM Sport Fisherman in 1984. My girlfriend Monica knew how much I always loved boating and said, 'If you love it so much, why don't you just buy a boat!'
"I was reluctant, but since she lives on the water in Branford, Connecticut I was constantly tempted by all the boats on Long Island Sound. Last summer we used a 10-foot Avon inflatable with a 3-HP motor that I had stored all these years. It was just the perfect reintroduction to boating that I needed. After giving it much thought, I decided I wanted a boat that would fit in a garage bay so I could work on it at my leisure and not have to deal with any marinas.
"Next came the decision: what to buy? We went to the New York Boat show in January. We both liked the (old) Montauk, although Monica had some concern about the freeboard since we would be using it in Long Island Sound. I finally convinced her that it was the best boat for our needs.
"After searching the entire East Coast for my best deal, I ended up at Woodard Marine in Vermont. He had a blank 2001 17-Montauk and would give me a great price deal on it. I placed a deposit on the boat saying I would pick it up no later than April 30th.
"Then I got hooked on this wonderful FORUM and saw the pictures posted of the new Montauk 170 at the Miami show. I immediately got on the phone to Bob Woodard and transferred my deposit to the New 170-MONTAUK. He was very nice about it, but he didn't even know there was a new Montauk and had not seen any photos of the new boat! I sent him the Miami photos and he placed the order immediately in February.
"He was able to get me a list of options with prices. I ordered the Fishing Package, the Swim Platform, the extra Bow Cushion ($225) and the Sun Top (which I now regret). Had I known the top wasn't made by Mills I would not have ordered it. The Mills Sun Top folds toward the bow and does not cover up the rear seats. I also ordered the 90-HP 4-stroke motor upgrade.
"I took delivery of the boat on April 13th approximately 6 weeks from ordering it. I lucked out because most people at that time didn't even know there was a new 170-MONTAUK. I think if you were to order from scratch today, it might be early August before delivery. For some people the thirteenth is unlucky, but for me it was a great day.
CON's
"Only have three complaints (maybe four). I ordered the boat with the optional Fishing Package, Front Bow Cushion, Swim Platform, and Sun Top. The Fishing Package comes with a compass, which in my opinion is cheap looking. I went to a marine store and purchased a new Ritchie Model 1000 in white that fits in the same hole and has a much larger dial. It would have cost Whaler another $75 to upgrade. Total cost of new compass was $130.
"The boat came with a 90-HP 4-stroke. Whaler gives you two plastic 6-gallon tanks. I guess this was a place they felt they could cut corners. I had ordered a Pate 27 gallon tank in advance (and yes it does fit under the new seat). Whaler should work out a deal with Pate to offer this as an option.
My suspicions (about the horsepower required) were right; to make this the ideal boat Whaler should have offered the 115-HP EFI. My understanding is that there is a shortage on the 115's now, and that may be the reason they will hold off offering it until next year.
My test run was made in the rain, fog and awful conditions. I took my GPS aboard and at Wide-Open-Throttle (for only a few seconds) read 38-MPH. I am sure that the boat in normal conditions will do 40-MPH at WOT. Again, my gripe with Boston Whaler is not the top speed; it is the smoothness of the EFI and the torque of the 115-HP. On my test run there were 4 people on board (three were men and I would guess the total weight was around 700-725 lbs) as well as two full 6-gallon gas tanks.
"An annoying thing for me was that there is a bow cleat but in the stern nothing to tie the boat up except for the stern tow eyes.
"Another annoyance is the Sun Top. It only folds down to the stern, right in front of the two little stern step-seats. I spoke to Mills and they are redesigning a Sun Top to fold down to the bow under the front rail. (To clarify, the Sun Top from Whaler is not made by Mills.) If I were ordering it again, I would not order the one from the factory; I would order it directly from Wm. J. Mills & Sons; Mills charges about $200 less than the factory!
PRO's
"THE RIDE...THE RIDE...THE RIDE. It's awesome.
"There is no comparison in the ride of the new versus the classic. The new Montauk ride and handling is awesome. It's very stable and smooth. I didn't get beaten up at all. I thought I was in a much larger boat. The finish is as good as the classic.
"The fishing tackle box installed in the console is a nice addition (even though I am not a fisherman yet). It looks very nice, and it alone makes you want to order the fishing package.
"The additional room because of the wider beam is really nice. You have the feel of space. Not cramped at all.
"The trailer is very nice and trailers very easy. I ordered a swing tongue from EZ Loader trailers (not from the factory) so that I could fit the boat in my available garage. Except for the hole I made in the rear sheetrock wall, the boat just fit in. Remember: if anyone orders a swing tongue YOU MUST BLOCK UNDER THE BOW FOR SUPPORT before swinging that tongue away.
"A pleasant surprise: the 4-stroke motor upgrade includes a stainless steel Mercury Vengeance prop at no additional cost.
"The boat sits nicely in the water. It seems that the additional weight of the 4-stroke does not affect it. The 4-stroke on the Classic made the stern sit very deep in the water.
"All in all I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOAT. I hope that Brunswick makes more of the 115-HP so that they can start offering it on next year's model. With the 115 it would blow all the competition off the map.
"The boat graphics on the side of the boat were done by Typestries Marine Graphics. Their web site is www.boatgraphics.com Toll free number is 888-597-3399. I am very pleased with the job. It was done completely over the internet. I sent them what I wanted and they sent me samples. Total cost was $201.00.
"I am just starting to install all the goodies I bought for the boat over the last few months.
"The boat is really fantastic, it has surpassed all my wishes. Whaler did a wonderful job this time (except for the horsepower issue).
"THANKS, WHALER, FOR MAKING SUCH A NICE BOAT."
Ray continued to work on TABASCO and in the summer of 2002 added a few improvements, shown in the photographs below.
The most significant addition was changing the engine from the original 90-HP 4-stroke Mercury to a 115-HP 4-stroke Electronic Fuel Injection model. The selling (Boston Whaler) dealer was reluctant to participate in the engine change, perhaps concerned about liability for powering the boat beyond the rated horsepower. Ray located a Mercury engine "discount" dealer who was willing to make a trade, and swapped his 90-horse (with just a few hours usage) for a 115-HP model. However, even the engine seller was unwilling to install the new engine, going only as far as removing the old engine and laying down the new one in the boat's cockpit for transport. Ultimately a local boat yard was hired to install and rig the 115-HP motor. The two engines weigh the same, and all the mounting holes and control lines fit without trouble. To accomplish all this cost much more than the $500 difference in retail price of the two motors, but Ray reports the EFI engine runs more smoothly and has better acceleration. (There is much discussion about this in the forum thread linked with this article.) And, yes, the boat is insured (by Progressive) for operation with the higher horsepower engine. (For more discussion regarding computing horsepower ratings, there is already an excellent series of articles in the forum archives.)
Ray also kept the special fitting (which attaches to the water jacket) from the original engine as the new one did not include that accessory, needed to connect the hose to the water pressure gauge on the console. And, of course, the stainless steel performance Mercury propeller, included in the intial 90-HP upgrade package, must be kept; the new motor did not come with a propeller as part of the package.
He also installed a trim/tilt gauge (not shown) to the instrument panel, mounting it on the starboard side of the original panel, adjacent to the two smaller gauges, where there is a natural spot for a third small gauge. His local Boston Whaler dealer had the necessary parts (about $80). Ray finds it very useful to have the trim gauge as it eliminates having to turn around to gauge the engine trim by eye.
To clean up the bimini installation Ray added rear support legs, allowing the top to be stowed in the upright position and keeping it off the rear cockpit gunwales and seat. The Wm. J. Mills & Co. supplied the stainless steel supports and hardware (about $100). Finally, the two rear cockpit seats were treated with cushions, made by Halls Nautical Upholstery which cost about $175. The back rest cushions are a Whaler part, used on an OUTRAGE 17 model.
Although Ray's early bird purchase enabled him to be one of the first owners to take delivery of this new model Montauk, sales of this new "legend" were strong, and soon there were many of them in the hands of forum followers. We steal a bit of the Cetacea spotlight from TABASCO and shine it on another, James Gotay's FREE SPIRIT, for a close up look at some additional owner-added details.
James Gotay, an engineer from Port Monmouth, New Jersey, took delivery of his 170 MONTAUK in July of 2002, and sent these fine images to show a few of the added details of his boat. He opted for the Mills canvas package, dual batteries, and several other refinements from the Boston Whaler factory set up.
More details of the Boston Whaler 170-MONTAUK are available in the Reference section.
Don't forget there is a FORUM section for follow-up comments on these CETACEA photographs. Please feel free to join the discussion.
Before the October 2003 revision this page had been viewed over 23,000 times, making it about the all-time leader in the CETACEA collection, except possibly Cetacea Page One, which had a head start and a big advantage being at the top of the list. Rather than using this recent set of nine new photographs to start another Cetacea article, I thought it best to append them to this one. In that way all of the information about the 170 MONTAUK is kept a little more together.
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This article first appeared May 17, 2002. It has been updated since, most recently on October 4, 2003.
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Author: James W. Hebert