180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

A conversation among Whalers
BolinasWhaler
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180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby BolinasWhaler » Sat Apr 10, 2021 6:41 pm

Hello. Long time reader, first time poster. Glad to be here.

I'm mulling over a 2007 180 Dauntless.

What changed in the the design of a 180 DAUNTLESS over its years?

When did the changes in design occur?

Give links to other articles that discuss this and they will be appreciated.

jimh
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Re: 180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby jimh » Sun Apr 11, 2021 11:12 pm

BolinasWhaler wrote:What changed in the the design of a 180 DAUNTLESS over its years?


Can you be more specific about the year range that is "over its years"?

What year was the 180 DAUNLTESS introduced?

What year did 180 DAUNTLESS production end?


Re other articles on the 180 DAUNTLESS: to find resources on the website on a particular topic you can keywords and a general search function. See

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/oldForum/

The above search for keywords 180 DAUNTLESS finds 522 prior threads

Or search only this forum at

search.php

The above search for keywords 180 DAUNTLESS finds 149 matches.

BolinasWhaler
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Re: 180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby BolinasWhaler » Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:42 am

Thank you jimh.
I'll check out those links.

To answer your question: I'm interested in the various significant hull and console iterations the 180 Dauntless went thru; from introduction thru discontinuation.

Thanks again.

jimh
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Re: 180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby jimh » Mon Apr 12, 2021 10:18 am

BolinasWhaler wrote:...to answer your question...

I did not have a question about what changes you were interested in. I just want to know when the boat began and ended production. I think the first step in finding out what changed during production is to first find out when production began and when it ended.

Jefecinco
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Re: 180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby Jefecinco » Mon Apr 12, 2021 11:33 am

This is not intended to answer your question but simply for information. I doubt anyhull changes were made to the 180 Dauntless through its production life. Minor changes to the interior or console were more likely.

Were I in the market for a 180 Dauntless ,the model year would be of far less interest to me than the overall condition of the boat. Engine type would matter to me. These days a well maintained four-stroke-power-cycle engine would appeal to me more than any two-stroke-power-cycle engine--except for a low-hour E-TEC engine.

Cushions, canvas, and electronics can all be replaced for relatively low prices. Minor dings, scratches, and stress cracks can all be repaired easily.

We owned a Dauntless 16 later the 160 Dauntless and found it to be an exceptionally enjoyable small boat. A 180 Dauntless would doubtless be an enjoyable boat as well with the benefit of more space.
Butch

jimh
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Re: 180 DAUNTLESS Changes During Production Epoch

Postby jimh » Mon Apr 12, 2021 1:28 pm

I agree with BUTCH regarding changes to the hull. To change the hull would require an entirely new hull mold. Making new molds is a complicated and expensive process.

However, I differ on the liner mold changes. Because the boat really consists of two major molded components, the hull and the liner, changing any cockpit details would require a new liner mold. Again, these changes would have to be significant improvements that would be expected to result in an increase in sales in order to justify the expense of developing all new molds.

On the other hand, if a mold was damage or could no longer produce new molded parts to the quality standard of Boston Whaler, then a new mold would be made. When making a new mold, the possibility exists for incorporating minor changes.

Female molds are made from plugs. A plug is a highly detailed master part with precision finish. A new mold could be made from the original plug at much less cost than creating a new master plug. Again, the costs work against having minor year-to-year changes in these molded components.

A console is a separate molded component, and could easily change. Other add-on parts like hatches, seats, windshield, gunwale, and foredeck could change.

Generally I would expect that Boston Whaler would not throw out the hull and liner molds for a boat in production unless there was a significant problem with the design or with the molds themselves that necessitated replacement of the molds.

Boston Whaler boat models are not like c.1950 automobiles that changed yearly. Some hulls have remained the same for decades of production.

I also think BUTCH has given excellent advice about what to look for in a used Boston Whaler boat.