“A Whale of a Tale” or is it “A Tale of a Whale(r)”……….

“A whale of a tale” is an informal expression that means a very good story or a great amount of something. For example, you might say “That’s a whale of a story”. This series of blog posts (and yes, it is going to take a few) could be either way.

We all know that Al LOVES a good boat project. After we turned to the “dark side” (which means changing from sail power to all engine-powered), Al got his sailing fix and project fix by finding and restoring small sailboats. Three Little Boats tells the story of three of his four “little” boats.

I knew Al was casually looking for another project boat (I look over his shoulder, not in his internet history). What did I see?? Boston Whalers in varying degrees of disrepair, of course.

In late June we went to look at another possible Whaler, a 1988 15-foot Super Sport Limited. A tree had fallen on it. (hmmmm, can you hear me questioning this??) The owner took the insurance money and bought a new boat. The estimate for restoring this Whaler was way too high. I mean waaaay too high!

The name on the boat, FACE FIRST, was curious. I had to ask. The owner told us that he had been standing in the boat on the trailer while a friend drove it into position. There was some confusion about speed and he went flying “face first”. A meaningful name to him, but certainly not to us. That will have to change. My informal casual research has told me that most Boston Whalers are not given a name. I think it needs one. Any ideas?

Why a Boston Whaler? The history of this boat is interesting.

I found a recent article (June 2023) in the Boston Globe, The Cult of the Classic Boston Whaler, by Billy Baker. An excerpt from the beginning of the article —

“In 1958, in a garage in Braintree, an eccentric Harvard grad named Dick Fisher revolutionized nautical design when he began crafting a little boat that looked like a blue bathtub.

He called his creation a Boston Whaler, and the unusual shape of the hull was only half of the radical design. More important was what was inside of the hull, the result of a cutting-edge foam-and-fiberglass construction process that allowed Fisher to make an unbelievable claim.

The Boston Whaler, he promised, was unsinkable. And to prove that his boat would stay afloat no matter what you did to it, Fisher — a philosophy major who was a born showman — would travel around to boat shows and saw the 13-foot boat in half. He would then motor around in the aft portion, or get in the front portion and row. By 1961, Fisher and his sawed-off boat were featured in a Life Magazine photo spread, sales took off, and the rest is maritime history.

Today, the classic Whalers — built until roughly 1993, when the company was sold and then moved to Florida and pivoted to more traditionally hulled boats — remain prized for their nostalgia factor, but also their “affordability.”

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UNSINKABLE! Richard Fisher witnessed a tragic accident where a boat capsized and the passengers were left stranded in the water. This prompted him to create a boat that was unsinkable even in the most challenging conditions. His ingenious groundbreaking innovation is the Boston Whaler’s unique construction technique. Unlike traditional boats, which rely on a single hull design, Boston Whalers utilize a revolutionary process called “unsinkable” construction. This involves creating a foam-filled fiberglass hull, which provides exceptional buoyancy and stability. The result is a boat that is virtually unsinkable, even when swamped or damaged. The Boston Whaler’s claim to fame is that it is unsinkable.

From 1965-1996, the Classic Boston Whalers range from 9-feet to 17-feet. Models are called Squall, Tender, Standard, Sport, Super Sport, Super Sport Limited, Center Console, Nauset, Tashmoo, Montauk, Cohasset, Katama, Eastport, Dauntless, Sourpuss, Striper, Trophy…..

Classic Boston Whalers have a cult following. There are two groups on FaceBook – Classic Boston Whaler Owners Group for “… CURRENT owners of Classic Boston Whalers. If you own a pre-1991 Boston Whaler, or are a Classic Whaler enthusiast.. ” and Boston Whaler Boat Enthusiast “for those who own or love the best boats on the water – a Boston Whaler. Dedicated to the ‘unsinkable legend’.” The online groups and YouTube videos have been a great resource for Al, and he is quickly becoming more expert than novice.

This little unsinkable boat does not replace our lovely Kindred Spirit, but it sure has made the off-season more fun for Al. There will be future blog posts to record the progress as this baby is “watsonized.”