Restoring a 1970 Boston Whaler 17 Sport in Norway

[BWNorway]

I just saved a 1970 BW 17 Sport from the graveyard here in Norway. My plan is to restore her completely.
I would very much appreciate advice, hints and tips on my little project :-)

I have some main questions I hope I can get som advice on:

Should I paint og gelcoat the hull? - the hull has been painted once before.
If I paint - what is the original color code/name?
How can i find out if there is any water/humidity inside the hull?
Do any of you know a European supplier of parts or is Specialty Marine the place to shop parts?
If Specialty Marine is the place to shop parts - does anyone know a way to ship to Europe without paying as much as 2600 USD for just shipping..?
I am planning to switch to the Supersport interior - is that ok or should i keep the original look?
If i put in the Supersport interior - does anyone know if the 15 gallon EPA topside fuel tank from Moeller would fit under the drivers seat/bench?
Where can i buy a classic Whaler steering wheel?
Is the new Yamaha F70 a good choice for the boat? It is light and powerful, but is it strong enough? I would need power for waterskiing etc.

I would very much appreciate advice on these topics - and topics I haven´t thought about.. :-)
Thanks!

[jimh]

Should I paint [or] gel coat the hull? - the hull has been painted once before.
If I paint - what is the original color code/name?

Boston Whaler boat hulls c.1970 were never painted. The color came from the gel coat resin.

Since your hull has already been painted over the gel coat, restoration of the gel coat will be difficult. All top coat layers of paint would have to be removed without damaging the gel coat resin layer. Once that was done, you would be able to assess the condition of the gel coat. Only if the original gel coat were in great condition would it be worth the effort to restore the original gel coat.

If the original gel coat is not in good condition, you will want to apply a new top layer to finish the hull. The new top layer could be gel coat, but more likely it is simpler to use paint. Do some research about what others have done by searching for prior discussions about painting a hull or re-gel-coating a hull. The SEARCH function is your friend. To understand how to search, see

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=820

[jimh]

How can i find out if there is any water/humidity inside the hull?

Your question is a frequently asked question. Answers to frequently asked questions have been carefully researched and prepared. See

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/FAQ/

[jimh]

Where can i buy a classic Whaler steering wheel?

See:

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... ml#SSwheel

[jimh]

Do any of you know a European supplier of parts or is Specialty Marine the place to shop parts?
If Specialty Marine is the place to shop parts - does anyone know a way to ship to Europe without paying as much as 2600 USD for just shipping..?

Reviews of the components provided by Specialty Marine are mixed.

I don't have any advice on shipping large items to Europe from the USA.

Recommended providers of OEM parts are given in

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/OEM.html

[jimh]

I am planning to switch to the Supersport interior - is that ok or should i keep the original look?

That is fine with me. Do what you want. In general, most Boston Whaler owners tend to stay with the original designs, but turning one model into another is never a problem.

Some modifications which are not well-done, are not consistent with the Boston Whaler style, and which lack aesthetic appeal will be unlikely to get strong endorsements from other Boston Whaler boat enthusiasts. But your goal should be to create a boat that you like, and if others are not impressed, well, so what?

[Oldslowandugly]

I can attest to the fact that once painted, the boat is cursed with paint maintenance. Can you tell what kind of paint was used? If it was something stupid like latex house paint, then it can and should be removed. If it is a regular alkyd enamel it will flake and peel somewhat and be tough to remove without chemical stripper. Stripper is great at removing paint but then your gelcoat will probably be stained pretty bad by then. But alkyd can be sanded and repainted pretty easily with another alkyd. If it is a high performance coating like polyurethane then that is all that can be used now. The solvents used in two-pack systems will lift any regular paint underneath. So you can't cover over alkyd with polyurethane. And poly is so hard, it is really tough to sand it enough to get enough tooth for an alkyd paint to adhere well. So if it's regular alkyd (oil) paint, keep it, clean it up, repaint with alkyd if needs be. Since it is a 1970 hull I'm thinking it looked pretty bad so it got painted. Now it is not original so keeping it stock is pointless. Make it your own!

[jimh]

...what is the original color code/name?

Boston Whaler hulls were originally white until c.1972. The hull color changed to an off-white shade called Desert Tan which has a very slight red hue. Desert Tan was used on many hulls until c.1993.The hull color was changed to a more neutral off-white known as Outrage Gray. Today they are back to being close to white again.

There is really no particular fuss about the exact color. A c.1970 hull with its original gel coat intact most likely won't have its exact original color due to exposure to UV, weather, oxidation, and fading. Choose a pleasant near-white or off-white shade available from the paint manufacturer.

Off-white colors are difficult to match. You need good lighting, preferably sunlight with some diffusion, and a good eye for color. Color perception ability varies with individuals and their visual acuity and color perception. If you have a good eye for color, you can probably find something that will be a good shade. I'd go no farther off from white than Desert Tan.

Some boats have been restored with completely different hull colors, such as a dark blue or even black, and the results are very good. Here are couple of examples I have taken from the CETACEA collection:









You can see several hundred pictures of classic Boston Whaler boats in the CETACEA collection. All the images have captions or supporting text to explain the model and year of the boat. You can see the various shades of hull colors. You should spend an hour or two browsing CETACEA to become familiar with the past history of Boston Whaler boats.

http://continuouswave.com/whaler/cetacea/