17' Boston Whaler Montauk for diveboat

[SuPrBuGmAn]

In the wake of Ivan my buddy picked up a damaged 17' Boston Whaler Montauk for extremely cheap. It has some fiberglass damage on the side of the hull and console, but he builds boats for a living and it won't be hard for him to fix it. We've already replaced the steering cable, ignition, and a few other doo-dads. Motor starts right up. We took the rails of the side already, to make entry and exits easier. He wants to setup the boat as a dive boat and I seem to remember a few guys in here with Montauks.

Any recommendations on what type and how to mount tank holders, ect, on the boat? Pics would be very helpful.

^^the worst damage^^ won't be a prob

 

[Dryglove]

Lucky suckers

Check out chucks site on his whaler. He is also a member here...user name, Chuck Tribolet http://www.scubaboard.com/member.php?userid=19105

http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/whaler/

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

$1g and some yard cleanup

Thanks for the links!

Edit: Jeebus, thats one very helpful webpage!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

lal already posted my whaler dive boat site, thanks.
They make a great dive boat.

It's a 16'7" Montauk like mine, not a 17'0" like Uncle Pug's
and at least one other. If you got it for a grand and the
motor runs, you are at least even if if you toss the boat
and trailer.

The whaler folks hang out at http://continuouswave.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro
Lots of good info there in the reference section. And
there are some specific techniques for repairing whalers.
You have to remember that the foam is a structural part
of the boat. If you fix the fibreglass and don't get it
rebonded to the foam, it will be weak there.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Says 17' on the boat, were they just rounding it up?

Your website was pretty much a one stop for damned near every question I had - extremely informative. Thanks for the link to the whaler forum, I'll pass the info to my buddy, he'll be doing the fiberglass work without me.

Motor runs great, we cranked it up today after replacing the ignition and some fuel line fittings. The hull, other than the side and console where a tree fell on it, is in excellent condition. The steering cable and shaft was all bent to hell, but we replaced that today. Really, all it needs is some patching - which my buddy can do without problem(I'll make sure he reads the info on repairing Whalers) and it'll be on the water. Actually, we'll probably have it in the water next weekend if the water calms down.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Yep, they rounded it up. They called it a 17 (and so do I), but it's actually 16' 7".

If you have any other questions, ask away.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Hey... good find! Your gonna like it a lot!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

One more thing to check: Does it have brass drain tubes?
They will by and by corrode away on a saltwater Whaler.
They aren't too difficult to replace, so check them.

If they are plastic, they seem to last forever.

And you DO want to replace the missing console rail.
It's great for grabbing to pull yourself and your tank
up from sitting on the bow locker.

And if you end up replacing the console, don't toss the
HW and doors off the old one -- put them in the
Marketplace section on Continuouswave. Folks are
always looking for that sort of stuff.

What year is it? (from the HIN, not the registration).

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I believe its an `85, I'll have to verify.

I'll have to check on the drain tubes. Gonna patch the console up for now, and later simply refiberglass it. My buddy(guy who bought the boat) builds Oysterbay 21' boats so he has alot of experience with fiberglassing boats and building consoles.

Example of one of the boats he built...

 

[The Great Orca]

Man that looks tight, looks like a nice boat to go show it off to others...hhahhhahaha, I like that seat, looks unique.