1968 Boston Whaler Partial Referb

By Scott Rossley, Bay State Classic Boat Club 

I have always had an interest in Boston Whaler boats ever since I was in middle school. After owning many runabouts, most recently I acquired a 1957 Chris Craft Holiday and my interest in older boats began. Fast forward to my 50s when I spent more and more time over the summers in northwestern Maine – a neighbor down the road had an older Whaler in his yard that I had asked about once, and his response was “I’d get rid of a kid before I got rid of that boat!”

The first pic I got of her prior to purchase, 11/21

In the fall of 2021 I happened to be chatting with him and he casually mentioned he was selling his Whaler. I immediately reminded him of our past conversation, and a handshake sealed the deal that I would buy his 1968 13’ Boston Whaler, 1968 Johnson Superquiet Electromatic 40 hp engine and trailer for $4000.

She was in decent shape, but had pressure treated 1X6 wood for seats and the original woodwork was showing its age. The interior had several holes drilled in it that had not been filled. The steering wheel and motor cowl also showed age. Over the course of the summer I did little things to improve her, filling the interior holes with Marine-Tex and sanding, rewiring the original bow light, replacing the old interior with oak from a local builder’s supply, and stripping the original metal steering wheel and repainting. We had a blast on her for the season and she looked much better.

Making and fitting the new sapele interior, 12/22

I have zero experience with refurbishing boats, but over the winter 22-23 I decided that the oak seats and interior needed to be replaced with more appropriate, traditional wood. I once again pulled the interior out, purchased some sapele from a mill in NH, and made all new interior pieces. 11 coats of Epiphanes varnish followed.

I also sanded and repainted the steering wheel, engine cowl and out drive, and shifter. I found new decals online for the engine and shifter box which made them look like new. While the interior was out, I figured I might as well repaint the topsides. After some research I settled on Alexseal 2-part primer and paints. I cleaned, sanded, prepped, then applied 2 coats of the primer, followed by 2 coats of the finish paint.

Sanded, prepped and ready for primer

This brand of paint is amazing – I rolled each coat, and each one flowed out and dried to a glass like surface. The selling point of this brand for me is the fact that once dry it can be wet sanded/buffed and polished. It also finishes to an incredibly smooth surface with rolling alone, no need for tipping.

 Interior is finally installed, and she’s back in the water ready for another fun summer in the western mountains of Maine.