1998 13-footer: Convert to Center Console

[Islandav]

Q1: where is embedded wood reinforcement located in a 1998 13-foot hull into which wood screws could fasten a center console?

Q2: where on a 1998 13-foot hull should a center console be placed, measured from the transom?

BACKSTORY
Recently I bought a 1998 Boston Whaler 13-footer for my son. He is interested in adding a center console, mainly to have a proper spot for a steering wheel, radio, speakers, boat battery, and a SONAR. We've looked at some of the traditional wooden side consoles, but he’s leaning toward a fiberglass center console with a forward-facing seat that could also function as a live well and cooler.

We are not sure how these boats are constructed.

I’ve seen youTube presentations in which people use adhesives to mount parts on a 13-footer. While I understand that can work, we’d prefer to minimize adhesive use in case we ever need to remove the console down the line—we don’t want to damage the deck unnecessarily.

Fig. 1. The 13-footer under discussion.

Boat.jpg (193.73 KiB) Viewed 700 times

[jimh]

Q1: where is embedded wood reinforcement located in a 1991 13-foot hull into which wood screws could fasten a center console?

For information about the location of embedded wood reinforcement in a c.1991 13-foot hull, please visit the WHALER section of the website, and then visit the REFERENCE section article on the 13-foot hull.

The WHALER section of the website it located at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/

The REFERENCE section contains many carefully researched and written articles about Boston Whaler boats, and is located at:

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/

The several articles about the 13-foot hull are found at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/13/

Read the main article on "Dimensions and History" and look for the section under the sub-heading "Embedded Wood."

[jimh]

I do not recall that Boston Whaler ever provided a center console version of the 13-foot hull. I suspect that might be because the beam of the hull was not sufficient to have a center console and still afford room to get around the center console.

If you must have a center console, it would probably need to be a very a narrow design.

In the CETACEA collection of photographs a 13-foot hull with a homemade wooden center console is shown at Page 21:

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetac ... age21.html

When that CETACEA page initially appeared there were comments about the design of the center console for the 13-footer and its appearance. The comments were universally negative.

[Islandav]

I now have realized that we have a 1998 Anniversary Edition Super Sport [13]. I am not sure if the seller understood this when they sold it.

I have confirmed the ID number on the boat. I am now thinking we should preserve this and keep it as original as possible.

Q3: what is your opinion on keeping the 1998 Anniversary Edition Super Sport as original as possible?

[jimh]

Q3: what is your opinion on keeping the 1998 Anniversary Edition Super Sport [13] as original as possible?

To keep the boat in its original condition is the best decision you could have made.

But as seen in Figure 1, there are some parts missing from your boat: side console, railings, original anchor locker hatch.

Compare at

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... .html#40th

[jimh]

We are not sure how these boats are constructed.

The essential feature of a Boston Whaler boat is its Unibond hull construction. This excerpt from the FAQ Q3 explains the method concisely:

The construction of a Boston Whaler boat is based on the UniBond technique where two relatively thin uncured laminated shells are bonded together and filled with a liquid which quickly expands into foam. The boat is left in the tightly clamped molds to cure into a single structure in which the foam is continuously bonded to the laminate shells, producing a very strong and lightweight boat.

Cf.: https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/#Q3

For background read

Boston Whaler Factory Tour
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/refer ... ctory.html

This illustrated narrative of a guided tour of the factory will give you a good overview of how a Boston Whaler Unibond hull is created.