1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

[TheArfur]

Hi,

I am considering buying a 1982 boston whaler as a restoration project but I am slightly hesitant due to a few cracks on the inside of the transom. Could I get a few opinions from you guys?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

Welcome to iBoats. Really cannot see much from those pictures. So, maybe get a another camera?

Anyway, if you are going to do a restore, then transom work might be part of the plan. I have seen a few Boston Whaler restore threads where the foam needed to be taken out and replaced in the hull. So, see if you will need to do that as well.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

From the pics you posted, it looks like the PO chopped the top of the transom off to allow mounting a short shaft OB on there...

Be aware that may have allowed water intrusion into the foam...water logged foam will never dry out...

Before commiting, check the specs on the weight of the boat, and take it to a truck scale and have it weighed, if it isn't close to the original weight, it may be waterlogged...

Boston Whalers are generally made of an inner and an outer skin of fiberglass joined together by expanded urethane foam...

The cut down transom may present a problem if you decide to go back to the original length shaft motor, as repairing it back up to its original height may not be structurally possible...

The true experts will be along to tell you for sure, what options you may have, but being that this is your first boat, I would steer clear of it and look elsewhere, unless you really love this design and are looking at getting yourself into a project...

Best of Luck,
GT1M

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

TP is probably right the transom looks like someone cut the original 'full' hieght transom down to accomodate a short shaft motor:

exposing the foam core of your boat......

This shows how your boat was fabricated:

And upper fiberglass shell/liner and the lower hull sandwich a foam filled interior............

If the transom has been cut & the foam core has been exposed, much of the foam filled interior may be holding water, and be waterlogged.... The interior transom cracking & the rust staining indicate that water has penetrated the foam filled interior of the transom.

Difficult to inspect thoroughly, but if you are considering buying this Whaler, it may prove very valuable to pay for a marine surveyor to take a look. Not the dock marina, or the dock mechanic. Some boat repair places might give you a decent survey, but some might give you false hope on the chance that you'll bring it back to them to repair it when you discover that it needs work. And IMHO it needs a good bit............

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

Structural repairs on BW's are difficult... it would be better to pass on that boat and find another.

 

[TheArfur]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

First off, thank you guys for all the helpful info, I seriously appreciate it! I am not sure if this would change anyone's opinion but last night I was able to contact a professional glass guy(friend of a friend) that would be willing to do it as a side project for me. After sending the pictures to him he quoted me $400-$600 to dig out the water logged foam, refill it, and re-glass. Does that sound like the correct process? I really do love the BW Outrage hull and have been looking for one for quite some time. Am I doing a little too much wishful thinking here or would it just be best to hold off on this one?

Thanks!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

That $600 is the mother of all HOOKUP prices if it's a complete gut of the old foam, since it's filling the entire hull on a BW. So it'll need to be split open along the rubrail, and separated (not easy), remove foam (not easy), repair any wooden support structure, and completely refilling even a small hull will require quite a bit of foam. Likely more then 1/2 the high end of his estimate, just for the expanding foam.....

Else, a $4-600 incomplete job, probably just of the transom area, may or may not be sufficient. Hard to KNOW via a few pix online.....

Gotta put your hands on the hull and make a best guess about the boat's condition. Because until you open & expose some of the inner foam, and see it's condition from top all the way thru to the hull bottom. And until you buy it, destructive testing isn't possible.


Perhaps a new transom will be enough.

Of course, if it isn't, it will make for an unhappy surprise, if & when further problems arise.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

I may have missed something here...

Does this BW come with all of the rigging and a perfect running engine and a good, solid, usable trailer?

If not, any of these could easily destroy any budget you may have in mind...

Are you getting this hull for free? You mentioned you are thinking about buying? Buying what? This is a 31 year old hull...

If all you are getting is this damaged hull, I would offer to haul it away from the guy for a fee...

What JBC said ^^^^, is 100% correct-a-mundo...

See the problem stems from what is beginning to sound like what might be a "band-aid type" repair, that for one, is really hard to push around these parts, and secondly, it is also a possible safety issue if it is not done correctly, you could be jeopardizing the safety of any persons on board...even in a lake, winds and storms can whip up rather suddenly, into a pretty good frenzy, and Mother Nature will always seek the weakest link to mess with...

That is not to say that the repairs necessary to make this boat sea-worthy are impossible or out of reach...

If done correctly, this boat may live a long and happy life out on the water...

From my own personal experience...
Friends of friends who are willing to do a side job as time allows on the cheap are not good bets...
It usually ends up taking 5 times as long, costing 10 times as much and never really getting finished...
Just my 2?...

Remember an old saying, "you get what you pay for"...

True Professionals charge what they charge for a reason...they tend to use the correct materials, do the job to the best of their abilities, tend to follow industry standards, and usually back up their work with a warranty...

That is not to say there aren't those pretenders out there, but generally speaking, true pros, stand by their work.

If however you are willing to risk your money, your sanity, and your friendship...by all means keep us posted...

I don't mean to sound negative or unfriendly in any way whatsoever, and if some of this has come across as such, I humbly apologize...

But the truth is that we see wanna be new boat owners fall into the same trap over and over here, and I just want to try and play devil's advocate by making it clear that you really need to know what you are setting yourself up for...

We say it all the time around here...Hopefully you have hit the lottery of boats and come across that proverbial diamond in the rough, but the raw reality is that happens as often as you hit the state lottery or get that knock on the door from Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes...:blue:

Regards,
GT1M

 

[TheArfur]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

No offense taken. In fact, I appreciate you being frank with me. The boat does not come with any rigging and is stripped down to a bare hull. It does come with a usable trailer. I was planning on trading my older 8hp Merc kicker which I do not use anymore. The person willing to help with the fiberglass has pretty strong credentials but what you guys have said he makes perfect sense to me and makes me believe that I will most likely pass on this one. I will definitely keep you posted though. Thanks again to all of you guys for you help and insight!

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

Well im in a similar situation with Orkney dory.
its built the same way as a whaler and very much like the whaler except its a bit taller on the sides and heavier construction.
Now as for the water logged foam, that is a realy nasty thing and can happen and does happen a lot.
the talk of unsinkable it total rubbish as the whaler just like any other boat can sink, once the foam gets wet it just
dont dry out while its in the hull.
The transom is a terrible cut down and needs to be completely redone to be safe.
the person who cut it was a complete idiot not to do the job correctly or leave it to someone who could.
now after doing a lot of work on mine to get the foam right i suggest you walk away from that boat unless its being given to you
and you are prepared to rip it open and have a go yourself.
if you are going to be paying for it to be done then believe me it will cost more than a new boat to be right.

there is thousands of them around,so just keep eyes open for a good one to coma along at the right price.


phill

 

[TheArfur]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

Well, I picked up the boat for $500 (basically free). I hogged out the transom with a chainsaw, re-glassed the back and the top cut out and will be pouring in the seacast next week. As for the water logged foam, it has been sitting in the garage(about 80 degrees) for about a month and a half with heat lamps/fans and seems to be drying out. It stopped dripping water about a 2 weeks ago. Sanding and filling has already begun as well. We will see what happens and I will keep you guys posted. I appreciate the advice but whalers don't come around that often up here in Seattle for a price like this.

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

if you want to do a proper job here is what the inside will look like once you got all the crap out of the hull.

its the only way to do a proper job on a boat with a foam core, the foam is wet and will just keep on getting wetter.
the new seacast type transom will not bond due tothe damp area you are trying to re-new.

spend a week on the boat and do it once,it will laster for many years to come and be betterthan the day it was made.

heres a pic to show the inside of that type of hull, and if anyone says they dont come apart then show them this.
im doing mine at the moment and make many improvements at the same time.





phill

 

[TheArfur]

Re: 1982 Boston Whaler Transom repair

A few pictures of the final process, picked up a 20' outrage T Top as well...