Whaler Refit

After sitting out in the desert sun for who knows how many years, the factory varnish had suffered quite a bit. With my new Dewalt Random Orbital sander in hand, I began what has turned out to be a lengthy but rewarding varnishing project.

Pictured to the right is the aft thwart seat from our 15 foot boston whaler project boat. The wood is African Mahogany and I knew that under those peeling layers of varnish was a nice piece of wood.

I began by lightly scraping as much of the old varnish off as possible but quickly decided that I needed to break out the new sander. A couple of 80 grit sheets later I had made progress but it was time to try some chemicals. The citrus strip sounded like a good option but it took a few rounds before I could really see any progress. Once all the varnish was removed I mixed up some Oxalic acid and bleached the wood. This really evened out the tone of the wood and I was starting to think that I might someday have a nice looking seat on my hands.

When I got the boat back from having the new motor (Yamaha F60 4 Stroke) mounted, I stripped the entire interior and began stripping the varnish with a heat gun I purchased from Harbor Freight (I have dubbed it the Walmart of tools). This worked extremely well and I didn't end up using any of the citrus strip on the console, forward seat or deck cleat. I bought some new mahogany from Dixiline to replace the side rails. I skipped bleaching the rest of the wood although I'm wishing I would've at least hit the console.

We have a couple of coats of varnish/thinner on both seats, console, side rails and deck cleat. It is starting to look really nice and the new side rails don't look all that different from the 20 year old, sun-baked seats.

We're ready to start brushing on the 100% strength varnish (Captain's) just as soon as I find some free time. I'm shooting for around 5 coats on top of the 4 partial strength coats that the wood already has. I'm hoping that a good cover and periodic maintenance will keep the wood looking good over the life of the boat.

Next up: Cleaning & Patching (why do people screw so many things into boats?)

Xcelsius & Craigslist

This model is in no way associated with or endorsed by Craigslist.

OCC Boat Auction (continued)

In 2005 Roy Disney donated his 2004 Reichel Pugh 94 foot yacht to OCC. Soon thereafter he decided to chop the bow off and essentially put a new one on. So where did they put the old bow? Well right on the ground in the OCC yard of course.














Just one of the old Pyewacket bulbs sitting in the parking lot along with the canting keel, forward and aft rudders, boom, mast and spin poles. It will be interesting to see what happens to this little piece of history.

Pyewacket in action.

OCC Boat Auction

Having grown up with on an old 13' Whaler, I've always wanted to own a 15' Whaler. The ride on the 15 is leaps and bounds better and the larger motor makes wakeboarding a breeze.

In my recent OCD online deal searches I happened to stumble across (don't ask me how) the Orange Coast College (OCC) yearly boat auction up in Costa Mesa, Ca. While browsing for deals I noticed the list mentioned a 13' Whaler but the corresponding picture really looked like a 15'. I called OCC twice to try to find out any more information about the so-called 13' Whaler but nobody was able to shed any light. I wanted to see if it was worth my while to drive an hour north to check out the auction. If indeed it was a 15' I was in business since it had no motor (as I'd like to repower with a 70HP Yamaha and add a center console). The auction flyer also mentioned a 17' Whaler with a 40HP (yeah, 40HP). The 17's usually run a 90 or 100 on average. I started thinking that the 17 might not be a bad option. After a talk with the wife it was decided. I would head to Costa Mesa in hopes of coming home with a boat.

After they opened the gates at 8am I made a quick scan of the yard to find the 13/15. I circled the yard twice but was unable to find my boat. Then out of the corner of my eye I spotted a group of boats roped off from the rest of the lot. I quickly tracked down an OCC employee and they explained that those boats were put aside for some OCC sailing instructors and that they weren't up for auction. Now to track down the 17.......

Turns out the 17' had a 90HP Yamaha on the back and not some measly 40. It didn't have a center console but the seating arrangement looked pretty accommodating and it quickly began to grow on me. A quick scan of the boat revealed that the boat and motor were from 1990. An 18 year old Whaler is no big deal but an 18 year old outboard might be on it's last legs if it hasn't been cared for properly. The boat needed a new trim motor, new cables, new gas tank, full tune up, etc which I approximated at $2000 just to get it running. After a quick consultation with my brother in North Carolina, I had decided that $4000 would be my limit since I had no idea how the motor had been treated or if it even ran.

Long story short, it sold for $4600 and while I was bummed I wasn't hitching up the boat to my car, I think it went for more than it was worth. Will I continue to look for a boat? Yes? Do I have a place to put another boat? Not really but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have already put the OCC auction in my calendar for next year as there were some screaming deals ($800 for a turn-key Etchells on a double-axle trailer!?!?!). More pictures and comments below....

The 17'.

This Waterworld-like Trimaran went for $100. With trailer!
















This Luders 16 (waterline) went for $800.
















An overview of the auction.