I love restoring boats, in the past I’ve restored an 18 Ft 2001 Wahoo center console, a 2005 Seaboss 180DC Dual Console. Each of these have been increasingly more demanding in the amount of restoration required. This Boston Whaler 13 I just bought (Less than 2 weeks after selling the SeaBoss) is no exception. Actually, it will require a significant amount of restoration to make it sea worthy again, not that I would take this boat out in Blue water.
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I first saw one of these during a dive trip to Key Largo. I’ve always been a fan of the Boston Whaler boats. Chiefly because of the hull design on them. They handle more like a sports car, tracking hard turns fairly flat. At times at the risk of flinging folks out of the boat! The 13 footer intrigued me because of its looks and practicality.
This 13 footer I picked up had a fairly solid hull and the transom is in excellent condition. Having a solid hull and transom on any 1966 boat is nothing short of a miracle. The interior was another story. There was some delamination in the bow area, which seems to be fairly common on these boats.
There was also a significant hole in the anchor locker. I presume from having an anchor bouncing around in there during it’s 52 years of use. Surprisingly, the fiberglass in that area of the boat was less than 1/8” thick. I thought this unusual for a this boat since they have such a solid reputation.
This boat came with a 1988 Johnson 40hp outboard. I’ve yet to see whether this motor is salvageable or not. The teraflex steering rod is stuck in the tilt tube. As if that isn’t enough, the tilt tube itself is stuck with the engine in the raised position. I’ll have to solve those two issues before I attempt to start it. Starting it will be a challenge as well since the previous owner lost the key to the ignition switch. If I can get it started I’ll do a compression test and go from there.
I’ve done a significant amount of work on this motor and it is running decently now. You can read on all the work I’ve done here: 40HP Johnson Restoration
I have decided to not use the Johnson. I’ve opted for a newer (97) Yamaha two stroke. The key decision being that the Yamaha has power tilt and trim and the Johnson does not.
Overall this looks to be a promising project. I’ve already researched what I need to do for the boat itself. I’ll be using epoxy resins for this project. These resins are extremely versatile in both fiberglass repair as well as filling in voids. The interior will be primed and painted with a marine grade polyurethane paint. I plan on finishing the hull with a sealer and a two part polyurethane paint using the roll and tip method.
For the interior, I plan on buying a pre-made mahogany interior for the boat. My goal is to restore it as close to it’s factory new condition as possible. But, there will be a few modern amenities such as the Teleflex steering and the electrical panel.
This page will be the landing page for this project. As I complete various parts of the restoration, I’ll add posts and link to them from this page.
This old Boston whaler has some severe fiberglass delamination on the bow. There are a number of techniques that can be used to do a delamination fiberglass repair. I decided to go with injecting an epoxy based resin. Identifying the obvious spots is pretty easy. But, you also have to take the time to find […]
Delamination Fiberglass Repair – Boston Whaler 13 Restoration- Part 2 Read More »
I’m getting ready to start the hull and interior renovation on my 1966 13′ Boston Whaler. My plan is to start with the interior, which needs the most work. Before I get started with that, I want to remove the Whaler norman pins. This will give me access to the fiberglass and gel coat that
Boston Whaler 13 Restoration – Norman Pins (Cleats) Part 1 Read More »
After rebuilding these carburetors I still had a rough idle. I took the carbs back off and removed the access plug and carburetor lead shot to clean the idle circuit out completely. I also found a good alternative to the expensive “carburetor lead shot plug” from OMC Johnson/Evinrude. This is my second go around with
Cleaning Fixed Idle Jet Passage on an Outboard Carburetor Read More »
Reed Valve Inspection Now that I have I have the carburetors off the engine and on the bench, it’s a good time to pull the manifold and reeds off. I want to perform a reed valve inspection. If necessary, replace any components that are not up to par. The first step in this process is
How to Inspect Reed Valves on a Johnson 40hp Outboard Read More »
My first attempt at starting the Johnson 40hp Engine resulted in a few sputters and a bang or two. Consequently, I checked the carbs and drained the one on top. My reward was a stream of prehistoric ooze. I tried removing the screw from the bottom carb to drain it as well, I found that
1988 40HP Evinrude Johnson Carburetor Rebuild Read More »
The Boston Whaler 13 I purchased came with a 1988 Johnson 40hp outboard. We had to return to pick it up in the bed of my truck. Once we got the engine home my son and I removed it from the truck. We mounted it on the wooden stand I had built. That’s when we
How to Fix an Outboard Stuck Tilt Tube or Frozen Steering Rod Read More »
