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Hi- I'm new here, because I'm probably going to buy an '86 13' that a friend of mine has. The good news- it hasn't been used much at all, and hasn't seen water in 20 years. It was under cover, so it should clean up real nice. It has a very heavy duty galvanized trailer that only needs tires. Now for the bad- carpenter ants ate up all of the woodwork, so it will have to be replaced. The steering and controls are frozen. I'm guessing the 35 Johnson is landfill, but ya never know. There is one thing that concerned me. At the rear keel roller, it looks like the hull has a little bit of a hook to it, as if the roller has caved it in, maybe an 1/8". It's not cracked or sharply kinked. I'm wondering if this is normal, or has the hull suffered a bit from it's long rest? It would be easy enough to fill it, but if it's normal, I won't worry about it. For the money ($1000), it's definitely a good buy, IMHO. Thanks for any input.
The 13' boats were designed with a slight hook in the hull near the transom. This is a built it type trim tab to help with porpoising issues. If it looks really bad I’d post a picture of it and let the experts on this site provide their opinions. But if it's a slight hook, I'd bet it was designed to be there.
As for a new interior. One of the site sponsors, Nautical Lumber, builds interior kits for our boats. The guys name is Mike and I've heard nothing but good things coming from the people who have done business with him so give him a shout. He has a link to his website at the top of this WC page.....
Good luck, post pictures and by all means, ask a lot of questions.
Cliff
1966 13' Sport with a 1993 40hp Yamaha 2 Smoker
I'm going back for an in-depth look-see Saturday. All I did so far was peek under the canvas. Any other potential trouble spots to look for? I don't think the hull has any fractures inside or out, and the plugs were kept open, so it hasn't sat with water in it.
I went back today, and we stripped the interior, and pressure washed it. The hull looks really good- no cracks or damage anywhere. Us two old 50-something guys were easily able to lift the hull- I would guess it to be well under 300 lbs., or I'm stronger than I thought. There certainly isn't any water in this hull. The motor isn't frozen, and looks pretty good. I got the steering and controls working as well. He had a stainless steel gas tank made for under the back seat. Even the bimini is in usable condition. Other than tires, the trailer is perfect as well. Here's a picture. The spots are old silicone where the wood was attached- I can scrape that off. There's a rust stain from where a wheel sat in it. You can even see some shine in the gelcoat. I'll get an album started over in the personal pages once I start working on it.
Looks good to me a little elbow grease and a buffer should work wonders on that. Which mine had start in that condition.
That's an interesting spot they chose to mount the transducer, I would consider moving that if you plan to use it. I can't imagine it work too well located there.
Edited by Turpin on 06/13/09 - 12:36 PM
1963 13' Sport 50hp Evinrude
Maintaining a level of sanity that is socially acceptable
It's amazing how some soap, water, and elbow grease can uncover a treasure, more important is that it "Inspires" Whaler fever, Engine not frozen, control's are working, and a friend to help, "YOU ARE THERE" ! From a "Maintanence" stand point, the "Sport 13" is my favorite model. Good Luck with her !
I finally got my Personal Page set-up (Boy, it really doesn't like apostrophes!) I have a few before, and one after picture so far. Once I start the restoration, I'll have more.
I've always had 'Whaler fever'. I grew up around the water, and my best friends had an early 13. We roared around in that thing for many a summer. I've wanted a Whaler ever since, but could never afford the price of admission.
