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Greetings,
I recently purchased a nice 1988 27FC, to use for boat camping down here in southern Florida and now have some very basic questions to ask those of you more erudite than I:-
1. Which fuel fillers fill which tanks? My panel fuel gauge seems not to be working properly, so I cannot tell just by filling it and watching the gauge.
2. What are the precise dimensions of the triangular wooden filler piece for the cabin, used as a table and then to provide a bed base when converted for sleeping in? Mine is missing. What wood should I use also?
3. Might anyone have copies of the user manuals, which they might be prepared to scan and to make available for reference?
Many thanks!
I also have a 1988 27 FC that I'm in the process of getting back in the water. How many tanks are in your boat and where are the fills located? Over the next few days I will measure the wood platform and let you know the size. It fits fairely tight in the open area of the cabin and has a tubular support that goes across the front for support and uses the table top for support in the middle. Al least thats the way mine is. It also folds in half. I had also asked about an owners manual on this forum and was told they were not much help. I got one from the seller and it is very basic and not any help at all. I'll be glad to help any way I can.
>I also have a 1988 27 FC that I'm in the process of getting back in the water.
The same for me also! Mine was a cheap(ish) boat, in good condition for the price, but still with a few rough edges, especially electrical, which will be a project for me over the coming months...
>How many tanks are in your boat and where are the fills located?
Three, one central and two side tanks, with two chrome fillers on the port rear side and one on the rear starbord side.
>Over the next few days I will measure the wood platform and let you know the size.
Great, thank you! Perhaps you could take some pictures for me also, so I can see how it works?
>It fits fairely tight in the open area of the cabin and has a tubular support that goes across the front for support and uses the table top for support in the middle. Al least thats the way mine is. It also folds in half.
Interesting. Mine is missing completely, so I was thinking of having a piece of suitable wood cut, then adding a detachable plinth so that it could act as a table as well as a bed base...
>I had also asked about an owners manual on this forum and was told they were not much help. I got one from the seller and it is very basic and not any help at all.
>I'll be glad to help any way I can.
Very much appreciated, thank you. I am happy to do likewise for you also, if I can help in any way.
The way mine is plumbed is the aft fill on the port side is the fill for the main center tank and the forward fill on the port side is the port aux, tank and of course the fill on the starboard side is for the starboard aux. tank. The platform for the cabin is 36" from front to back, 44" across the back and each side is 40" with all the corners rounded. You might have to trim the back alittle where it fits against the head wall. I'll be glad to help any way I can. I'm also looking for 2 good used outboards for this boat. If you send your email I'll be glad to send pictures.
I also have a 1989 Whaler 27 FC WD that will be going into saltwater in the Gulf of Mexico day after tomorrow. I have previously replied to you both regarding the bed filler pieces, and I have the photos of the bed filler piece in place, the support tube and the blocks for this hinged 2-piece folding filler, all in place, with and without the cushions on top that make the complete mattress for the bed conversion on my Flickr site here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/99787852...909375698/
You only need to measure the opening for the dimensions for the wooden cushion support piece to fabricate this support. A piece of 3/4 inch EMT conduit will suffice as the support tube across the front of the opening. What is pictured on my photo site is the actual OEM setup for this, and the table is also OEM. It seems that it would be very simple to reproduce these pieces, although I have not had to do this on my boat, they were already there. The closet at the top of the stairs on your left as you descend into the cabin is there for storage of these pieces when not in use. When the table is set in place, the folding wooden insert and the support tube are kept in the closet. There are actually wooden blocks in this closet to support these pieces inside it, and there is also room for the 3 cushions as well. When the bed filler is in place, this closet is used to store the table top and the pedestal for it.
3 support blocks are used around the inside of the opening for the 2-piece wooden bed filler insert, and 2 more blocks with U shaped notches the size of the tubing are located at the front, or widest, points of the opening. The tube is laid across these 2 blocks and then the hinged filler board is unfolded and laid across the tube and supported around the opening by the 3 wood blocks at the edges. All of these blocks, tubing, and hinged filler components, as well as the cushions, can be easily seen in the pictures at the link above.
I have never seen more than 2 gas tanks as OEM on any Whaler 27 version. The offshore model came equipped standard with 2 fuel tanks, but 2 fuel tanks were optional on all models. I would be very careful assuming that just because you have 2 or 3 openings for filling in the gunnels, they are all for fuel. I have 1 fill opening in my gunnel for fresh water. If you have 3 fill openings, check carefully to insure that they all actually go to fuel tanks before filling, as you could completely ruin your entire freshwater system very quickly if you hauled off and filed it with fuel. This would also create a serious hazard if the hotwater tank was accidentally filled with fuel and then turned on.
I have no filler openings in my stern at all, there are 2 baitwells and a originally there was a large fishbox between them, but mine has been replaced by 2 tackle box inserts for trolling lures. I still have the fishbox insert.
Originally, all the filler opening caps look identical with markings that indicate the liquids to be filled. The fuel tank caps and the freshwater cap appear as identical slotted caps with the only difference being the words written on them. The freshwater system filler cap could have been previously replaced with one that had fuel or gas cast into it by a previous owner, as both filler openings are the same size, and all the caps could be interchangeable.
At any rate, it seems that it would be prudent to verify each fuel system, water system, and waste system component before worrying too much about the bed/table in the lounge. I have pictures of the wiring behind the dash at the helm for reference as well. I will have pictures of the 120V breaker panel as well soon, I am verifying it as well now. I am sure that my 120V system works now, as I have had shorepower plugged into it, but I intend to install a generator and studying of this system is underway currently.
The stern cavity on my 27 is VERY cavernous. It's a LONG way down there! I just had the aft bilge pump, which is located at the bottom of this cavity replaced with a new one, and I recommend that anyone with one of these boats do this before trying to launch, as this bilge is the lowest bilge in the boat. There is a plug at the bottom of this stern well bilge as well, and this should be in tight and sealed BEFORE launching the boat. I have a lot of wiring in this stern opening for the 12 volt system batteries and charger system, all the 12 v battery switches, baitwell pumps and washdown pumps, as well as motor control wiring. I would be very concerned if there were a fuel tank in this stern cavity, as access to these important components would be blocked.
My boat came from the factory with only 1 170 gallon fuel tank. It is located in the center of the boat under the deck. A 25 gallon fuel tank was added on top of this tank for the trolling motor later. I have removed the trolling motor and I intend to use this small tank for my generator in the future. I do intend on adding a second full-size tank to the boat soon to increase range, but I have not decided yet where exactly I will locate it. There are several possible locations and I may even relocate my waste and fresh water tanks to accommodate this.
Good Luck! Be safe and studious! Again, for pictures of details, check out that Flickr link above.The pictures of my repower and electronics upgrades and many miscellaneous detail pictures I have used to study conditions of plumbing and wiring are located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99787852...505480963/
These may be useful to you as well, but remember, your boat may be set up differently, as no 2 Whaler 27' are identical.
Take photos of your boats details as they won't be exactly like any other 27, and transfer them to your computer to study. I have found this technique to be very helpful. You can use the flash on your phone's camera to get details that you can't actually see behind cabinets and in the head area to help determine condition of plumbing and electrical components. If you spot a potential problem, you can get it up to par BEFORE you get out on the water and have a catastrophic failure that could do more than just ruin your day!
It is a must to verify fuel plumbing. As you said, no two are just alike. My fuel fills are at the stern and my fresh water fill is at mid-ship on port side. How did your Whaler do with the twin Yamaha 200's compared to the new 300's? I'm looking for motors now. Your 27 looks great. Thanks for the pictures and info.
I don't have the comparison yet between motor HP, I will have to break in the new motors after transporting the boat to the marina tomorrow. The old 200 2-sroke engines worked just fine on this boat, they pushed it at WOT up to 46 mph. The old motors didn't have fuel flow analysis like the new 300's do, so I have very little data like I see on engines around here. The only reason I went to the new 300's was that those 200s were the original 1989 motors on the boat and showed 1500 hours. They were perfectly maintained and only exposed to fresh water, so I chose to sell them before running them in saltwater down here. This made the value of the motors stay as high as possible for the resale. They were sold without advertising them before I actually got them off the boat!
The new 300s 4-stroke engines at idle use 1.6 gph, or .8 gph each. I have not run them above aprox 900 rpm yet, as I have only tested them in a water tank at LMC. At 900 rpm, they were actually trying to escape the tank by pushing the forklift that was attached to the trailer backwards with the brakes locked! Those Rev 4 props have a lot of push power.
I also tested all the new electronics and everything works as it should, but I am still a bit confused about how the new battery system actually works. Each engine has 2 charging circuits, one for the starting battery and one for the house batteries. I have a C-Charles charging system in the boat, and I still need to work out the details of battery isolation and charging. This whole system gets complicated real quickly.
I plan on getting the boat in the water tomorrow, but it might be Tuesday. When I get some efficiency data with the new setup, I'll post a thread.
Greetings to all and many thanks for all of your most helpful suggestions. Thanks especially to my old friend "Silentpardner" and I did respond several times to you on ContinuousWave and by e-mail, but suddenly the thread apparently went dry and I heard nothing more.
My 1988 27FC. has three tanks and three fillers, two on the port rear side and one on the starbord rear side, so the above filling suggestion looks promising. The single fuel gauge has a (faulty) tank selector switch. The water filler is port amid-ships also. Sludge tank pump-out is starbord side amid-ships.
My closet at the top of the cabin stairs unfortunately holds nothing other than the A/C. unit and ducting, which takes almost all of the space. So, off to the timber yard soon, to have a piece cut for my bed support base. Then, I also shall need a detachable plinth, to enable this also to be used as a cabin table. Not sure how to replicate those tubular and wooden extra bed supports though.
By the way, has anyone put one of these on a trailer and if so, what size and loading capacity of trailer is necessary?
So much to do now, especially with that mess of an electrical system...
Sounds like our 27's are layed out pretty much the same. Although I wish mine had AC. I just put mine on a trailer. Triple axle with 10,500 capacity. Pulls great with my Duramax.
Indeed, our boats do sound as if they are set up similarly, so I would be happy to exchange useful information with you.
My A/C. works, but occupies most of that closet at the top of the cabin stairs. So, no sign of any bedding items there. I intend to have a piece of timber cut to make a replacement filler piece and then attach a detachable plinth, so it can be used as a table also.
I bought a nice used Magic Tilt twin axle trailer, which then proved to be insufficient for the boat, in both size and weight. So, now I must sell that and seek another.
I just weighed my Whaler 27 today and the trailer it was on to get the trailer registered here in TX.
The boat weighed 9460 lbs when I weighed it. I had about 125 gallons of fuel, about 20 gallons of fresh water, waste tank was M/T, the 2 300 HP Yamahas and aprox 250 lbs of miscellaneous tackle on the boat. The trailer I am using is the one I bought with the boat that is actually an incorrect trailer for the boat. It is a Karavan with keel roller support but it has roller banks instead of bunks forside support. I am registering it so I can trade it in on a new custom made trailer here at Magnum Trailers later. The trailer I have weighed 3100 lbs.
I would recommend a triple axle trailer with a minimum capacity of 12000 lbs, but that might be too light. I am specing 3 - 6000 lb axles, or 18000 lb capacity, with electric brakes on my custom later after weighing my boat today. I think my current trailer is a 12000 lb capacity, it works, but it sure does creak a lot!
Now, talk about an awesome boat! I just spent the last 2 days breaking in the new Yamahas here on the TX coast...man oh man! We are very lucky to have these boats!
Doing the math on your weights, including the 5 batteries you have indicated, and putting the engines in at 650 each, oil and Rev-4 props, it appears the bare boat is about 900# over the Boston Whaler factory spec of 5850#. I am not surprised at all when seeing the huge size of these FC's.
No one whould ever believe outboard engine weights on the higher HP models either. It has been shown that all manufacturers lowball these, some more than others. I have also thought that Boston Whaler has done the same on boat weights for years. The Outrage 18 comes to mind as one of them, and I think my Outrage 25 is heavier than specified also.
There is a 10% B.I.A.approved leeway on horsepower, either up or down. I can think of several Yamaha outboards where the HP is oversold. The original 225 V-6 4-stroke is one that comes to mind, at more like 210 HP
.
It's pretty scary to think your 300's (or any brand 300's) could legally be sold as anywhere from 270 to 330 HP, without being considered misrepresented. That is huge range considering what they cost.
I have heard that the Mercury 300 Verados and Optimax will outperform the V-8 Yamaha 350's. Don't know if that is true or not, but it should NOT be true, that's for sure. But the V8's are carrying around an extra 200# of weight over the Verado, and 350# more than the Optimax.
I doubt very much the boat is 900 pounds over the specified weight. 27s are big boats and often heavily accessorized after all these years. This boat perhaps more than others.
Remove every piece of equipment, wire, hose, cable, screw, clamp and other bit of hardware that it was not standard equipment in 1988 and you will easily find that 900 pounds.
I think that my 27 must be OK on hull weight judging by the way it sits in the water. I have also read where weighing the hull against the hull weights listed by Boston Whaler is not an accurate method for determining the amount of water in the foam, even though I still see people claiming this is the only accurate method for determining this, due to the variance between actual weight of the individual classic hulls compared to the single number for weight listed being as much as 500 lbs on the Outrages. I believe that this weight variance was a result of the manual/hand layup techniques that were used back in the 80's, but I don't know for sure. I think today's Whalers are much more likely to be closer to published weight due to modern quality control techniques both at Boston Whaler and at their raw material suppliers.
The Whaler 27's were available with so many options, they remind me of Class 8 trucks. I spec trucks for my business where the weight of the vehicle is a primary consideration for it's usefulness and revenue generation. Every single component, right down to the materials used for the various options within hub manufacturers, have a published weight listed by the truck assembler, like Paccar, Volvo, or Freightliner. These weights are also not precise, and when the final assembly is complete, a minimal level of fuel is put in the fuel tanks and each truck is then weighed at the assembly plant. I have never seen this weight to be the same as generated by the computer when the vehicle is spec'd, and I have seen variances of as much as 1000 lbs in these 15000-20000 lb trucks. It is a shame that all boat manufacturers do not put an actual weight tag on every boat the way it is done in the class 8 truck business.
I have also noted that everything weighs more than most people think and weight adds up quickly. I know that there is a lot more than I listed in my post above on my boat. That Radar arch is not considered in the published weight, and I estimate it at 300 lbs minimum...it's heavy, I need help to lift it into place when I have it folded down for trailering. The Tiara-style seat that is on my boat is custom, and the weight of it is added to the original Boston Whaler seating that has been rearranged to support it. There are 2 more seats, a heavy captain's chair and a lighter, but still heavy, secondary captain's chair on the helm as well. My boat was also weighed with the helm/outside lounge area Bimini top and canvas on it, as well as the side, rear, and front eisenglass /canvas. These weights were not included in the listed weight.There was also tools, spare parts, clothing, food and drinking water, etc. etc. that I did not mention in that post for brevity's sake. Each one of those 2 Garmin MFD's on the helm weigh 16 lbs or so, the GSD-26 CHIRP Sonar unit weighs 11 lbs, the autopilot pump system including the control box and pump as well as plumbing and fluids weighs over 25 lbs, and that open-array radar alone was over 60 lbs! The hydraulic twin Seastar steering system, and the 2 anchors and ropes/chain are also not included in the published weight of the boats. There was also a couple of M/T ice chests, and 6 high quality life-jackets on board as well that I failed to mention...I wonder now what all I actually forgot!
It is not clear, at least to me, if the weight of the stove, refrigerator and head were included in the official listed weight. Even the shorepower systems varied between boats, and it was optional equipment as well. The reason that the original owner's manual was a loose-leaf notebook is to allow Boston Whaler to compile the book with the individual manufacturers owner's manuals for each component installed on the boats as OEM.
When you start adding everything up, it would not surprise me at all if I failed to list 900 lbs of stuff in my post, and actually, I am a bit surprised that I got that close! :)
As to the actual vs. rated horsepower of the engines, it sure would be nice for engineering calculations if that 10 percent variance was eliminated! Unfortunately we are stuck with the info we have got, and I have read that between the same manufacturer's engines of the same published horsepower, there is also an actual variance of output as well, just to make things even MORE complicated. I am wondering if their is a difference between the 2 engines output on my boat right now, as a matter of fact, due to the difference I see in displayed RPM at WOT.
It is interesting to me that, with only 5 exceptions, every single outboard powered boat over 150 HP, stored at my current marina in Surfside TX, has either Yamaha or Mercury engines. There is a boat up for sale there with a pair of 300 E-tec's which has been replaced already with another similar boat powered by Yamaha's by the current owner. I have a couple of pictures on my Flicker site of the interior of the dry-stack facility that clearly show this, here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99787852...467798233/
Silentpardner wrote:
I also have a 1989 Whaler 27 FC WD that will be going into saltwater in the Gulf of Mexico day after tomorrow. I have previously replied to you both regarding the bed filler pieces, and I have the photos of the bed filler piece in place, the support tube and the blocks for this hinged 2-piece folding filler, all in place, with and without the cushions on top that make the complete mattress for the bed conversion on my Flickr site here : http://www.flickr.com/photos/99787852...909375698/
You only need to measure the opening for the dimensions for the wooden cushion support piece to fabricate this support. A piece of 3/4 inch EMT conduit will suffice as the support tube across the front of the opening. What is pictured on my photo site is the actual OEM setup for this, and the table is also OEM. It seems that it would be very simple to reproduce these pieces, although I have not had to do this on my boat, they were already there. The closet at the top of the stairs on your left as you descend into the cabin is there for storage of these pieces when not in use. When the table is set in place, the folding wooden insert and the support tube are kept in the closet. There are actually wooden blocks in this closet to support these pieces inside it, and there is also room for the 3 cushions as well. When the bed filler is in place, this closet is used to store the table top and the pedestal for it.
3 support blocks are used around the inside of the opening for the 2-piece wooden bed filler insert, and 2 more blocks with U shaped notches the size of the tubing are located at the front, or widest, points of the opening. The tube is laid across these 2 blocks and then the hinged filler board is unfolded and laid across the tube and supported around the opening by the 3 wood blocks at the edges. All of these blocks, tubing, and hinged filler components, as well as the cushions, can be easily seen in the pictures at the link above.
I have never seen more than 2 gas tanks as OEM on any Whaler 27 version. The offshore model came equipped standard with 2 fuel tanks, but 2 fuel tanks were optional on all models. I would be very careful assuming that just because you have 2 or 3 openings for filling in the gunnels, they are all for fuel. I have 1 fill opening in my gunnel for fresh water. If you have 3 fill openings, check carefully to insure that they all actually go to fuel tanks before filling, as you could completely ruin your entire freshwater system very quickly if you hauled off and filed it with fuel. This would also create a serious hazard if the hotwater tank was accidentally filled with fuel and then turned on.
I have no filler openings in my stern at all, there are 2 baitwells and a originally there was a large fishbox between them, but mine has been replaced by 2 tackle box inserts for trolling lures. I still have the fishbox insert.
Originally, all the filler opening caps look identical with markings that indicate the liquids to be filled. The fuel tank caps and the freshwater cap appear as identical slotted caps with the only difference being the words written on them. The freshwater system filler cap could have been previously replaced with one that had fuel or gas cast into it by a previous owner, as both filler openings are the same size, and all the caps could be interchangeable.
At any rate, it seems that it would be prudent to verify each fuel system, water system, and waste system component before worrying too much about the bed/table in the lounge. I have pictures of the wiring behind the dash at the helm for reference as well. I will have pictures of the 120V breaker panel as well soon, I am verifying it as well now. I am sure that my 120V system works now, as I have had shorepower plugged into it, but I intend to install a generator and studying of this system is underway currently.
The stern cavity on my 27 is VERY cavernous. It's a LONG way down there! I just had the aft bilge pump, which is located at the bottom of this cavity replaced with a new one, and I recommend that anyone with one of these boats do this before trying to launch, as this bilge is the lowest bilge in the boat. There is a plug at the bottom of this stern well bilge as well, and this should be in tight and sealed BEFORE launching the boat. I have a lot of wiring in this stern opening for the 12 volt system batteries and charger system, all the 12 v battery switches, baitwell pumps and washdown pumps, as well as motor control wiring. I would be very concerned if there were a fuel tank in this stern cavity, as access to these important components would be blocked.
My boat came from the factory with only 1 170 gallon fuel tank. It is located in the center of the boat under the deck. A 25 gallon fuel tank was added on top of this tank for the trolling motor later. I have removed the trolling motor and I intend to use this small tank for my generator in the future. I do intend on adding a second full-size tank to the boat soon to increase range, but I have not decided yet where exactly I will locate it. There are several possible locations and I may even relocate my waste and fresh water tanks to accommodate this.
Good Luck! Be safe and studious! Again, for pictures of details, check out that Flickr link above.The pictures of my repower and electronics upgrades and many miscellaneous detail pictures I have used to study conditions of plumbing and wiring are located here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99787852...505480963/
These may be useful to you as well, but remember, your boat may be set up differently, as no 2 Whaler 27' are identical.
Take photos of your boats details as they won't be exactly like any other 27, and transfer them to your computer to study. I have found this technique to be very helpful. You can use the flash on your phone's camera to get details that you can't actually see behind cabinets and in the head area to help determine condition of plumbing and electrical components. If you spot a potential problem, you can get it up to par BEFORE you get out on the water and have a catastrophic failure that could do more than just ruin your day!
Just joined and have been looking at getting the same boat. Anyone know what the boat weight difference between the half cabin and the full cabin? Would I need a three axle trailer?
Would my F350 Dually Crewcab be adequate to haul between TN and FL?
The classic 27's are all pretty heavy boats, and when full of fuel, gear, ice and water, they will all need a 3 axle trailer.
The beam of these boats exceeds the legal limit for trailering without a permit, so I do not trailer mine any more than I have to.
I use a 2013, 6.7L diesel F-350 4X4 SRW equipped with a factory trailering package to pull mine and it is rated at 14000 GVW, correct for the load. I am pretty sure that even a gasoline powered 2WD dually should be rated above 10000 that you would need for a classic Whaler 27, but check the rating on the label inside the door frame to be sure.
Don't purchase one of these monsters without considering your needs carefully. These are BIG, WIDE BEAM boats. Mine measures 34' from the tip of the pulpit to the back of the engines, (it has a Whaler Drive). I keep mine dry stacked at a Marina and only anticipate using a trailer in case of hurricane or maintenance that has to be performed outside of my Marina.
This is DEFINITELY NOT a boat you would want if you intend to keep it at home, transport it to a ramp, and then launch and retrieve it when you use it. It takes 2-3 agile people to launch and retrieve in a ramp situation. If that is what you are looking for, you would be wise to look at 22'-25' Outrages that have the narrower beam, and weigh much less.
I am seeking a supplier for a replacement Bimini top canvas for my 27' FC, after mine was destroyed in a recent Florida hurricane. The frame has survived intact, but I need a good new canvas top. So, any suggestions for good suppliers, please? Many thanks, in advance.
Zip
If your frame survived I would use a local canvas maker/supplier being in FL there would be enough choices.
Being an older boat Mills & Co (original OEM supplier) probably can do it too but they need to know the age of the boat and are most likely more expensive. There is also a chance that Great Lakes Canvas (now called Greatlakesboattop) might have supplied the original bimini.
