CONTINUOUSWAVE

Well, fellas, I’ve been away for a couple years – and whaler-less. My search has ended today, and I FINALLY found my ideal Whaler. It’s a 1978 15 Whaler Sport. It’s almost a “barn find” … Two owners, no modifications to hull or interior, no holes, no scrapes, no spider cracks or hull damage at all, no painting, all original wiring intact and working. Even has the original rear light brackets, albeit no original light. The seating is the optional (l believe) wraparound style. The mahogany – of course - needs a complete refinishing, but is intact otherwise. The boat is really dirty inside from long storage, but will clean up like new. The trailer is barely salvageable, but since I just moved to Golden Lake, in Summit, WI and have access, the trailer will be used twice a year. No motor – for which I am happy, since I want to make the choice. The very best thing about this is that I paid only $1,200 for it. I’ve had 8 Whalers in my life, and 5 were used ones and this one is in the best shape I’ve ever come across.
It’s good to be back in Whaler Town, and I will keep reporting on my restoration progress as it goes along… Pictures included…

Great find. I wish I did the same, just find a boat with no motor.

Congratulations, Join the 15ft. owners club. I found my 1988 SS in much rougher shape in 2013. Paid $2250 but it included trailer and 60 HP motor. All 1988. Now several $$$ later I have a great boat, motor & trailer all 1988. You will enjoy making the boat your own. Let us know what motor you choose.

Congrats!!! The 15 is outstanding!!! Large or small whalers...the 15 is the best of both worlds.

Best Regards! Mav

I do have a question: this is a 1978 boat. Is it a Sport or Super Sport?

What a deal! 15's are really hard to find in good condition. Enjoy!

Have been enjoying my 15' sport (converted to CC). The 2-stroke Yamaha 60 pushes it just fine and no mosquitoes - can't say that for a 4-stroke. Tend to take it out on the lake more than my 19' Chaparral - it's just fun. Ready for the summer.

Great barn find good luck re-powering, love to see pictures of the progress to get some new ideas.

Ted

Here are a couple photos showing the progress on the Sport 15 [with seat back option]. The seats have been coarse sanded to remove the old finish. An example of the condition in which I bought the boat shows the console in original shape. I can't understand why some folks let their boat deteriorate like this.. It will shine like new when I'm done.

That boat looks like a great project. The wood may be weathered, but at least it is sound. On my 15 footer, the fiberglass console was smashed to pieces. All that was left was a small section that the steering head was bolted to. I love the look of varnished mahogany. I know that boat will be a beauty for sure.

Thanks for the encouragement. It sounds like yours was a real challenge. One unusual thing: the sanded seats seem to be of two different hues - but both are original. One is purple-ish, and the other looks more like raw wood. I may have to sand a bit more. Finally located a set of controls, but have to wait a week to pick them up. The dealer price new was $300 to $400 for controls and cables. I found a like-new set for $150 for the whole set-up. Guess it pays to do a little hunting. Craigslist came through for me.

Update on my Sport 15: Splashed her yesterday, having finished all the woodwork, and installed the controls and had all the carbs rebuilt and adjusted. Forgot the GPS, but with the 40 4-stroke and 10 x 14 pitch prop, she is plenty fast enough for me. Best estimate 28 to 35 mph with 2 adults aboard. Now, the grueling part: I have to completely buff the hull inside and out. Maybe it's a good winter project.

I have merged three threads spread across two different forums which were all discussing this same boat and its restoration. Please use this thread for future updates and comments about the restoration of this boat. --jimh

You probably will add some sort of Bimini top or sun top. I did that with my 1976 SPORT 15:



You may find my article describing how I installed the top and its frame to be useful. The sloping gunwales of the SPORT 15 require use of special hinge fittings. See

Adding A Bimini Top
http://continuouswave.com/maintenance-logs/bimini/

Man, that's a real head turner. It turned out beautiful. I wanted to mention that with mahogany, unless it came from the same tree, the colors will not match. It can be close, or way off. But yours looks great.

Thanks for the compliments. I guess I'm too fussy. That hatch color is way off by my standards. I'm going to get some mahogany boards from my supplier, and fabricate a new hatch cover with a better color match. Alternatively and far less expensive, I will first try a new piece of mahogany plywood and do some testing to see if I can get a color match. Home Depot has 3 x 4-foot pieces for about $20.

Sweet work.