Three generations boating on Henry's Lake, Idaho, in a classic Montauk 17, perhaps the boat with the longest legacy in the Whaler line.
PhotoCredit: tas@inconnect.com
DIMENSIONS (from 1999 Catalogue listings)
Length......................16 feet 7 inches
Beam........................6 feet 2 inches
Draft.......................9 inches (with engine tilted clear of water)
Weight......................850 pounds (Standard) 950 (Montauk)
Maximum horsepower..........100 HP
Minimum Horsepower..........35 HP
Capacity....................7 Persons
Swamped Capacity............2,000 pounds
HISTORY
Designer....................Dick Fisher, Ray Hunt, Bob Dougherty
First year offered..........1961
Last year offered...........Still available!
Color.......................1961 - 1972 White Hull/Blue interior
1973 - 1993 Dessert Tan
1991 - 2000 White
M.S.R.P.....................$ 5,000 in 1996 for Base Hull
Models offered
RECREATIONAL
"16" Hull.....1961 - 1975
Currituck...c.1961 - 1975 side console, wood (became Sport)
Sakonnet....c.1961 - 1976 center console, wood
Nauset......c.1961 - c.1973 center console, wood
Eastport....c.1961 - c.1973 center console, wood
Katama........1970 - 1975 side console, molded
Minot.........1970 - 1972 side console, molded, Katama variant
Menemsha....c.1970 - 1972 cabin model
Bass Boat.....1971 - 1975 forward pedestal seat
Cohasset.............1973 center console, FG (became Montauk)
Montauk.......1974 - 1975 center console molded, teak trim
Newport..............1975 side console, molded
"17" Hull.....1976 - 2000
Sakonnet.............1976 wood center console
Bass Boat.....1976 - 1977 forward pedestal seat
Montauk "Classic"
............1976 - 1993 Tan gelcoat, teak trim
Montauk.......1991 - 2000 White gelcoat, less wood
Newport.......1976 - 1990 (replaced Katama) side console, molded
Sport.........1976 - 1983 (replaced Currituck) side console, wood
Striper.......1980 - 1989 (replaced Bass boat) forward pedestal seat
Super Sport...1984 - 1989 side console, seatbacks, storage, wood
Super Sport Limited
...........1987 - 1990 molded interior, no wood
Sport GLS.....1990 - 1992 side console, molded
Standard .....1996 - 2000 small side console, seat, molded
COMMERCIAL
Utility.......1983 - 2000 bare boat
Alert.........1983 - 2000
Guardian......1983 - 2000 (Montauk style)
PLEASE NOTE: Photographs of any of these models would
be very much appreciated!
In 1961 the "16-foot" hull was introduced in the Whaler line, with a 16' 7" length-overall and a 6' 2" beam. This hull weighed approxmately 500 pounds and was similar in its lines to the the original 13-foot hull. A bare hull was offered, to which the buyer could add his own interior accomodations. When fitted by the factory with thwart seats and a starboard side console, the base boat became the Currituck. This began a naming trend which used surrounding seaside locales, most all with an Indian tribe name. Other early models, the Eastport, Nauset or Sakonnet, featured rather elaborate phillipine mahogany center consoles with wood-framed windshields. These boats invented the center console fishing boat so common today.
In 1970, three new models were available for the 16-foot hull: the Katama, Minot, and Menemsha. Katama and Minot featured molded interiors with side consoles. The Menemsha was a mini cabin-cruiser. Only the Katama survived past 1972, and it was dropped after 1975.
In 1971 a Bass Boat 16 was added to the line. Intended for inshore or inland waters with a comfortable elevated seat in the bow for fishing and casting, it was the progenitor of today's common bass boat. Production continued until 1975.
In 1973 the Eastport and Nauset wooden center consoles ceased production. A molded fiberglass center console and reversible seat (that had first been used on the then recently introduced 21 Outrage) were adapted to the 16-foot hull, creating the Cohasset model. The gelcoat colors also switched to all Dessert Tan from the original white hull and blue interior.
The next year, 1974, the center console model name-only was changed to Montauk from Cohasset. The Montauk model, with some variations, remains in production to this day, a twenty-five year continuous production run that must be a record for any recreational boat. The Sakonnet was still available for those who preferred wood center consoles, as was the Currituck side console model.
In 1975 the Newport model was created, featuring a side console and steering from a sitting position, replacing the Katama.
In 1976 the 16-foot Whaler was redesigned, and hulls from the new molds were thereafter known as "17-foot" hulls, although they retained the same length (16' 7") and beam (6' 2") as the earlier boats. The original 16-foot hull shape, like its older but little-brother the 13-foot original Boston Whaler, had been the design of company founder Dick Fisher and naval architect Ray Hunt. The revised hull would carry the imprint of Bob Doughtery.
The new design had changes to both the hull and interior molds. The older hull was remarkable for its wonderful lateral stability, but it also was reknown for its wet and hard ride. In Motorboatmagazine for January, 1978, Marty Luray wrote:
The change from the early 16 to the 17-footer was caused by the necessity to create a softer riding dry boat out of one that initially was very wet and came down hard on the water surface. By straightening the "hollow" curved section of the hull and moving the runners in, the designers eliminated what, in effect, had been a "cupped hand" trapping water underneath the hull.
Observers who have been out in both hulls report that a small loss in lateral stability was sacrificed to achieve a smoother ride. The older design may have been faster, too. The 1976 re-design also introduced the "smirk" appearance of the bow, a feature that would become a visual trademark of a Whaler. Besides adding visual appeal, the new design helped deflect water away from the boat and its occupants.
The new 17-footer also added weight, increasing a bare hull to approximately 700 pounds, likely due to a change in the lay-up schedule or inclusion of more embedded wood in the flooring and elsewhere. And about this time, the factory also began to offer two options for even heavier lay-ups. You could order extra strength construction in either "fishing" or "commercial" levels.
By 1976 the wood center console Sakonnet was in its last year. The Bass Boat model was still offered, but it would be dropped after 1977. The molded side console Newport debuted in 1976, replacing the Katama model in the lineup. The naming trend had shifted slightly, now using less of a place-name motiff (and less Indian tribe flavor). Instead, model names hinted more at function. Thus that year's wooden side console 17-footer became the Sport instead of the Currituck.
In 1978 and 1979, the 17-foot hull was offered only in the Montauk, Newport, and Sport variations.
For 1980, the Bass Boat was reborn as the Striper.
In 1984 the Sport interior was reworked to add seatbacks and storage compartments, producing the new Super Sport model. Three years later (1987) a complex molded interior was introduced as the Super Sport Limited model. The trend seemed to be away from wood and toward all molded interiors.
In 1990 the Newport and Super Sport Limited were still available, but the Striper and Super Sport models were dropped from the 17-foot hull. A new side console with molded interior, the Sport GLS, was introduced. Those beautiful varnished mahogany seats and consoles were now a thing of the past, although some teak trim remained in the Montauk.
In 1991, a special Thirtieth-Anniversary model Montauk debuted with hull and interior gelcoat in all-white. The special anniversary model had an aqua cove strip in the hull gelcoat. Besides the color change, the new model had no wood trim. You could still get the "Classic" Montauk with its Dessert Tan color and teak components, but you could no longer get the the Newport or Super Sport Limited.
By 1992 the 17-foot hull offered only two variants of Montauk and the Sport GLS. The new Sport GLS must not have been a big seller, and it was dropped for 1993 after a short 2-year lifespan.
In 1994 and 1995, if you wanted a 17-foot hull you got a Montauk with white gelcoat and not much (if any) wood trim.
The Standard was introduced in 1996, with a small molded side console and seats on its starboard side. The 17-foot hull had evolved through twenty models over thirty-five years of production. Now just two, the Standard and the Montauk, would be carried into the new millenium.
Because of the unusual construction, it was necessary to encapsulate hidden wood in the hull/liner composite to provide a suitable bed for attachment of fasteners. Two different wood locating diagrams show the location of these wooden inserts on the "16" hulls and on the "17" hulls. In the 1990's the wood was replaced with a synthetic "WhalerBoard" which provided a rot-free alternative. [Note: The diagrams reproduce and print quite well, but you need to shift your printer page set up to "landscape" mode. You will also have to apply a scale factor, approximately 35% to fit them on an 8.5 x 11 sheet.].
The Commercial Division--as distinct from the Recreational Division--was begun in 1983, and it also offered the 17-foot hull to its customers. Models in Utility, Alert, and Guardian trim were available.
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c.1980 Whaler 17 Montauk Three generations boating on Henry's Lake, Idaho, in a classic Montauk 17, perhaps the boat with the longest legacy in the Whaler line. PhotoCredit: tas@inconnect.com |
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c.1984 Whaler 17 Montauk Although you often think of the Whaler as an East Coast boat, this Montauk made it all the way to California, where the owner had a local shop make a nice canvas enclosure. The bow and forward entry had been refined from the original 60's design by the time this hull was molded. The runners (outer keels) are carried up and join across the bow. PhotoCredit: jim_hooper@hp.com |
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c.1979 Whaler 17 Montuak This North Carolina boat shows the "twin sponson" nature of the hull. A 100-HP Johnson provides the power to get to the Outer Banks. PhotoCredit: Tim Heath |
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1970 Whaler 16 The pre-1976 16-foot hull shown here lacks the "smirk". Also, the runners appear to be slightly wider. This form had great stability, but perhaps a rougher ride. PhotoCredit: BW Catalog |
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1999 Whaler 17 Montuak The hull form has evolved from the original " sea sled" design. The center section of the hull has grown into a deep vee with fine entry, while the keels of the runners rise and curve upward to meet across the bow, creating the Whaler "smirk" appearance. The runners have moved inboard as well. PhotoCredit: Larry Goltz |
While the hull had only two variations over the years, the interior of the 16/17-foot came in over a dozen models. These are described in a separate article.
Whaler owners are generally pleased with their boats, and the Whaler-16/17 is no exception. Owner experiences and testimonials are contained in a separate article.
Many thanks to all contributors, especially Larry Goltz, who whose assistance with the historical information on this model was invaluable.
DISCLAIMER: This information is believed to be accurate but there is no guarantee. We do our best!
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Copyright © 1999 by James W. Hebert. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all photographs Copyright © 1999 James W. Hebert. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
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Author: James W. Hebert