1963 Boston Whaler 13' Standard w/ Honda BF30 Tiller

[ztrain727]

Hello Folks,

As the title states, I have the opportunity to pick up a 1963 Boston Whaler 13' with a Honda BF30 Tiller for $2500.

I've read all I can about the 13's, and mostly like what I read, so my concern is more with the vintage than the size/design of the hull. Is it a risky move to buy a fiberglass hull this old for (near) daily use. This boat will be the tender for our small 34' houseboat and will be used heavily. I'm also curious if these early hulls where also designed to be unsinkable (I believe this was before it was mandated). I know *no* boats are unsinkable, etc. marketing hype and so on, but I'm just looking for confirmation that these hulls are filled with foam.

I've read it is important to look for stress cracks and signs of water intrusion (hence saturated/rotten foam), and no flex in the transom. Beyond looking closely at all hardware mounted to the fiberglass, is there any way to tell if the foam has taken on water? I suppose one method would be to weigh the boat - should be around 250lbs from what I read.

As for the motor, besides the aesthetics being pretty terrible, it seems almost worth the asking price alone. I would prefer remote steering, but I guess honda's are not adaptable. I'll get into this at a later time if I buy the boat.

...Please, I am not looking for suggestions to get a BW 15' or 17' with a 100hp four stroke for $15,000. This is the top end of our budget (we just blew the rest on our house boat) want something will the utmost fuel economy, with 30hp being our top end. This will be replacing our current '96 seadoo challenger which has reliability issues, is a gas hog, has an oil leak, planing issues, and the list goes on...

Any opinions, cautions, considerations would be much appreciated!

Many thanks,
Zane

 

[ondarvr]

Old BWs have just as many issues as other boats, just minus the wood stringers, but a lot more foam. The foam can be an issue because pulling one apart and replacing it can be a hassle. Most older BWs have a good deal of cracks or screw holes that let water in and the foam is frequently waterlogged, the weight should indicate if it is.

 

[ztrain727]

Right - thanks ondarvr. That seems to confirm what I read elsewhere. This boat has spent the last several years in a very dry southwestern climate and was used minimally. Before that it sat for 12 years. While I still don't doubt water could get in and saturate the foam, the likelihood is somewhat reduced given the climate/use. I guess getting it on some sort of scale is the only surefire method short of ripping it apart.

How about the actual integrity of the hull in chop? Is this thing gonna split in half on me?

 

[tomhath]

Are you going to keep the boat in the water? Even if it's dry now (likely from what you say) it could become waterlogged quickly if you leave it in the water full time.

Even at that, the price seems kind of low. One of the favorite craigslist offers/scams is a Whaler for around that price. Seems to me you could get a good aluminum semi-vee with a smaller motor for about half the price.

 

[ztrain727]

Yes Tom, we plan to keep it in the water full time... I think it is definitely a valid concern, more for cracks on the bottom of hull and less where hardware is mounted, etc. on top.

As for it being a craigslist scam, it's on boattrader and my girlfriend already had a chance to take the boat out. It turns out we and the owner have a mutual friend, and from what I've heard he's a very nice guy. Anyway, she said it rode well, engine sounded great. One point of concern were some epoxied scratches on the bottom of the hull (not punctures).

You know it's funny - I've actually been really wanting just a simple deep-v aluminum boat and finding this one was sort of serendipitous - was talking to a guy who had one (I had no idea BW made boats this small) and got interested, sure enough there was one right near us for a great price. The strange thing is, because we're in the desert, everyone thinks their little tinnys are worth $2000 with no trailer and a "sort of running" 1960's evinrude. Our jet boat cost less than what a lot of people are trying to sell 12' vintage aluminum boats for around here. It's near lake powell so I think that has a lot to do with the market for fancier boats vs. classic little aluminum fishing boats which are a dime a dozen in Wisconsin where I grew up boating.

 

[skibrain]

The continuos wave forum has lots of great whaler info. 13' standard looks like it should weigh around 320#. http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/specifications.html

 

[Willyclay]

I have a friend who loves BW 13's. He currently has three and uses all of them. Great little boats if it passes inspection with all the input you have received above. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[ztrain727]

Thanks so much guys! We put some money down so it will probably happen barring some disastrous finding. I will try to figure out how to weigh it...

Hopefully I'll be reporting back with photos and a title soon!