Boston Whaler 11'

[Kameroo]

I thought I'd found the perfect dinghy yesterday... Local guy on a small waterway had a 1977 11'4" Boston Whaler with a 25hp Evinrude that his kids learned to boat on. I know it's too big to hang off the back, but thought it would be fun to play with. He even rigged up a little console on the thing. Max hp. rating was 20 hp.

We went for a quick little ride, and it planed nicely with him in the front. He said, "You're a big guy, so why don't you make sure you're happy with it by yourself." Sure enough, with my 270# of solid muscle mass, I hit it and the thing pointed for the sky. Drove around like that for over 100 yards waiting for it to plane and nothing happened. Did a few figure 8's hoping the wake would pop me on plane...no go. Meanwhile, water was splashing over the back and filling up the little area where I was sitting. My feet were underwater, and my butt was getting wet.

Oh well, at least I got a little boat ride. The boat itself needed some work, but for $1800, somebody will get a cute little Whaler.

 

[fwebster]

Eric,

Most owners of the little Whalers use an extended tiller arm for the outboard to allow them to shift the COG forward. A $50 investment may answer your problem.

 

[osd9]

....., with my 270# of solid muscle mass.......

I'll have to remember that next time I explain to the admiral why we need that family size bag of Cape Cod Chips added to the ship's store......:grin:

 

[tdappleman]

I've got a 13' Whaler - about a 1970 - with a 25hp on it. Maybe the extra 2 feet make a difference but it planes very well and actually tops out at about 22-24 with 2 people and 2- 6 gallon tanks of gas. We actually use it to pull the kids on the tube occasionally since it's fun to drive and sips gas - all day on 1 6 gallon tank - the other is a backup! This boat originally had a center console and it was removed to get more room on the boat. It does fantastic in shallow water and is extremely stable for fishing and fun. Too big for a dinghy but it's a fun boat to use with the 270 is anchored up.

My father in law taking the grandkids out for a spin:

 

[sbw1]

I sold our 13' BW a while back once the kids stopped using it and I was stuck putting it in the water and then doing the fall clean up and varnish work. But we really enjoyed it. I think it had a few thousand hours on the 40HP Merc and it ran like a champ. We paid around $6,800 for it and sold it for $4,000. I'll bet it's still going strong.

 

[Kameroo]

....with my 270# of solid muscle mass... That's counting the insulation layer Before you think I'm round or something, I should mention I'm well over 6' tall. My favorite mechanic tells me that since I'm a big guy I should just accept the fact that I should stick to boats 21' and over. He may have a point. A high CG is great for seeing over crowds, but a little unstable on the little boats.

I'll check out the tiller extender option. This boat is actually rigged with a homemade console. I can see where 13' and 40 hp. would be a huge bump in performance. Cool tubing pic.