Before Posting, Please Read Our Posting Guidelines Below.
1. Use the full 4 digit year for everything you are asking your question about. Example: 1962, 1988, 2000, 2011 2. Include the correct name of your Whaler model. Example: Montauk 17, Montauk 170, Outrage 26, Outrage 260 3. Include the length when necessary. Example: 16, 17, 18, 20, 22 4. Do not post your email address anywhere on this site as it is already in your user profile.
Have an original 86 qt cooler on my 1988 Montauk and it is in great shape except the plastic on the bottom side of the top has become cracked and is falling apart. Since I don't use it as a cooler but more for storage this is a non function and a cosmetic issue. But am curious if a repacement top or plastic insert is available????
I was in the same exact situation with my cooler a couple of years back. I'm almost embarrassed to tell you the lengths that I went to in order to preserve it, but here goes.
First I separated the top and bottom of the lid. If I remember correctly I think I was able to use putty knife and split the seam. After they were apart the foam came right out. I then remade the underside piece out of a starboard type of material (actually it was the stuff used for those white plastic cutting boards) I was able to buy a sheet of it from a local surplus materials place. After cutting it to fit in the top half of the lid I routed a groove around the underside edge so that it would fit the top lip of the cooler like the original. Before I put the two pieces together I cut two "rails" of the same material to fit lengthwise in the space between two halves of the lid (turned on edge) for strength. I screwed these into place from the underside of the new piece. To join the two pieces together I used stainless 1/8" pop rivets set in "blind holes" drilled through the side edge of the top piece and into the edge of the new piece. You can only see some of the rivets that are not covered by the cushion flaps. To top it all off (like I said great lengths) I drilled two 1/2 holes in each of the spaces made by the two rails on the inside(6 holes) and injected "great stuff" foam to ad extra support between the two pieces. I plugged the holes with white plastic hole plugs from Home Depot. I would not have bothered sharing all of this if it didn't work well. It's super strong and I never worry about hitting a wave with people sitting on it. This will be it's third season of use, still rock solid.
About the only thing left available for the 86qt cooler is latches and hinges.
You could buy a new 94qt cooler that replaces the 86qt. You could even use your cushion as that's what many people have done.
Here is my new 94qt cooler with the cushion from an 86qt. You can't tell the difference in cooler except that the lid is about 2 inches taller. http://www.whalercentral.com/photogal...hoto_id=39
Yes it will.
I did just that in a test.
I took the lid off of an 86qt and put it on a 94 qt. -- It fit perfectly
I then took the lid from the 94qt and put it on the 86qt. -- It fit perfectly.
All the hinge screws from both lids fit even perfectly into the other cooler.
The only difference.
The 94qt has 2 latches in the front.
The 86qt only has the one latch....
So, you would have to move the latch(s)... but not sure how that would work.
Yes, a lid form a new 94 quart will fit an old 86 quart.
I believe that is because the interior mold is identical between the two models of coolers so the lip is identical as well, and the lids can be interchanged.
