Boston Whaler Black Dog

I dive from a 1998ish 17' Boston Whaler Montauk.  The cathedral hull (the cross section is a bit like one and a half W's) provides a stable platform for diving but the ride can be bumpy in wind chop.  That's usually not a problem because on the days it's that choppy I usually don't want to go diving, but once in a while the wind comes up and we have a slow ride home.

I say it's 1998ish because it has some history.  Some fellow bought an 1997 Montauk, and a couple of months later stuffed it on the rocks hard.  (OUCH!).  The dealer ordered in a new (1998) 17' Standard hull, which is same as the Montauk except it doesn't say "Montauk" on the side, and put the console, rails, wiring, etc. from the '97 onto the new hull, which saved me a grand or two.  This has all worked out for me.

I prefer the Whaler over an inflatable for three reasons: room, room, and room.  On an inflatable, a diver runs out of room long before running out of weight capacity.  The tubes take up so much space that there's no room left for people or dive gear.

And there's one more reason: Whaler's are truly unsinkable.  You can cut one in half with a chainsaw and motor away in the back half, and paddle away in the front half.  The area between the deck and the hull is filled with closed cell polyurethane foam which is a structural part of the boat AND will keep it from sinking.  If a shark bites a piece out of a whaler, he's going to get indigestion and fiberglass splinters in his gums.  If a shark bites an inflatable, he's going to get a blast of air, and then some divers for lunch.  (All kidding aside, I've seen video of a Great White Shark biting an inflatable, which was fortunately unoccupied at the time.  It happened on one of the Pacific Star's trips to Ano Nuevo.  And there was another incident in Australia involving a Tiger Shark).

The Montauk provides enough range that I can run it from the Breakwater launch ramp in Monterey as far south as Pt. Sur, though usually I prefer to dive in Carmel Bay, in part because I know the dive sites better, and in part because the Big Sur coast diving is pretty much the same as Carmel Bay, so why go farther for the same diving?.

Why not a bigger Whaler?  Every boat owner wants a bigger boat.  It's called "three-footitis".  The next size whaler is only a foot and a half longer, but it's also a foot and a half wider and a foot and a half deeper, and almost twice as heavy.  It wouldn't fit in my garage in any of the three dimensions, and it would be handful for my Pathfinder to tow.

The Montauk makes a decent small dive boat, and we take it water-skiing two or three times a year.  The look on the Ski Nautique peoples' faces when it goes by with a good skier on the back (not me), driving standing up, VHF whip flapping in the wind, is absolutely priceless.

For more information about Whalers, see the Classic Whaler Forum at http://continuouswave.com/whaler/ and the Boston Whaler website at http://www.whaler.com.

Why is a white boat called Black Dog?  See http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/newfs.html.

Whaler Links

There's a discussion group for Bay Area Whaler owners at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bostonwhalernorcal.

The Outboard Motor Shop, http://www.outboardmotorshop.com/, is my local Whaler dealer.

And the Boston Whaler Co. has a website with all the latest models and good info at http://www.whaler.com/.

General Layout

Dive Equipment

Getting On and Off

You get back on by taking your tank off and tying it to a tag line, then just climb up a three-step ladder (Windline TDL-3X) which is mounted to the optional Boston Whaler swim step.  The boat came with a one-step ladder that was next to useless.  I had to be a bit careful mounting the three-step ladder to make sure that it would clear the lifting eyes on the transom as it swung up and out.

Tank Racks

The channel on the front of the console holds three tanks and is mounted using fours pairs of pieces of aluminum angle bracket, one piece bolted to the console, one to the console.  There's a piece of 3" wide flat aluminum on the face of the console and a matching piece on the back which functions as a big washer to spread the load on the fiberglass.  The aluminum stock is all standard hardware store stuff, cut, drilled, and sanded smooth.

Note that there's a bungee cord securing the tank.  This is only necessary in rough conditions.

There's more channel on either side of the bench seat, each holding two tanks.

The Roll Control system has other components besides tank clips: cup holders, rod holders, cleats, a universal gizmo made to bolt to anything, and a short plastic channel that they claim can be glued to the tubes on an inflatable.  I've used one of those to fabricate a holder from an emergency oxygen tank.  I'll post some pictures by and by when I get a chance to borrow a digital camera and shoot some.

Dive Flag

The second generation was a six foot section of 3/4" aluminum tubing in the anchor light brackets.  This got the flag higher and eliminated the cord hassle, but still wasn't has high as I wanted it, and was mutually exclusive with an anchor light on a night dive.

The third generation was plastic burgee clips on the VHF antenna.  I'd tried this on my first antenna, but its diameter was too small.  The new Galaxy was a bit bigger and the 3/8" burgee clips fit perfectly.  

But it was a pain to fold down the antenna to attach the flag.  So for the fourth generation, I've ended up with a rail mount flag holder on to top of the console.

Fin Stowage

Masks, dive computers, and compasses are stowed in the fin foot pockets.

Camera Storage

Decks

Miscellaneous

Electronics

Console-Mounted VHF Radio

I strongly recommend a submersible radio on an open boat like a whaler.  I used to have an Apelco 5200 (now sold as Raytheon 52).  I wasn't completely happy with it.  I was replaced once on warrantee because of "significant salt water intrusion".  They claim it's waterproof, but it's really only splashproof.

For an antenna, I've currently got an 8' Shakespeare Galaxy 5225-XT mounted on a stainless ratchet mount on the inside aft end of the starboard rail.  I used to have an 8' Shakespeare 5206-C, and replaced it with the Galaxy.  The downside of the 5206-C is that it only has a 15' coax cable, which isn't quite long enough to reach the radio, necessitating a (corrosion-prone) splice.  The 5225-XT has a 20' coax (and it is low-loss RG-8X instead of the cheaper RG-58).

Hand-Held VHF

GPS and DGPS

Depthfinder

The sonar transducer is mounted eight inches to port of centerline, the speed and temperature transducer a little closer to center line?? on the starboard side. 

Compass

If you operate at night, you want a black compass.  I admit a white one would look better.

Voltage Regulation

Hour Meter

12 volt Socket

Safety Equipment

• Four Type 2 PFDs, and I have a couple more when we go the lake and there might be more folks on board.
• Throwable PFD.  I used to think these were silly till I handed it to a diver who was having trouble staying afloat.
• Flares, whistle, horn.
• VHF radios.
• Cell phone in a dry box.
• 150' polypropylene current line.
• First aid kit.
• DAN O2 kit.  I already had a couple medical oxygen E tanks, so I ordered the DAN regulator only, and then put it in a Pelican two size smaller (no sense wasting space).
  

Power

Little Stuff only a Whaler Owner Would Care About

Prop and Performance

Bow Locker Bumper

Bow Locker Latch

   0172 - standard acrylic adhesive - red logos
   0114 - better olefin adhesive - blue logos
   0174 - best adhesive - also red logos

I had been using the 0172.  I ordered some 0174 from them, and it works great.  I was changing out the 0172 after one or two wet days.  The 0174 lasted about six months, and it was the hook and loop was that got tired, not the adhesive.

The downside is that you have to order 25 yards of each, which ran about $75.  But now I have enough Velcro to last forever.  And a nice piece of hardware to latch it would have been close to that much.

The part numbers are 187573 (loop, 1", black) and 187574 (hook, 1", black).

I was in Staples (the office supply folks) the other day, and they had small blister packs of what they claimed was waterproof adhesive Velcro.  It may be the same stuff, but in white. 

Anchor Rode

Just tossing the rode in the bow locker wastes a lot of space and is tangle-prone.  Stowing the line in a round bucket makes for plenty of space for a couple of fenders and the 150' yellow current line (for the diver to pull themself back to the boat in current).  And it doesn't tangle.

The bucket is notched so a Danforth anchor can be stowed on top of it.  This makes a lot more room in the locker for stuff like fenders and current lines.  A Dremel tool with a rotary cutting blade works really well for cutting the bucket, though it does tend to make a lot of plastic sawdust.

The buckets really aren't made to have an anchor bouncing around on top of them, so they have to be replaced every couple of years (note: I get on the water about 60-70 days a year).  For the first couple of buckets, I cut down a five gallon pickle barrel so it just fit in the locker and led the bitter end of the rode through a hole in the bottom of the bucket.  This worked fine, but eventually they split out below the rods on the anchor.  The third time I used a 3.5 gallon bucket that only had to be cut down a little and has a reinforcing ridge just below the rods.  I suggest using a black barrel or bucket (instead of white) because the white doesn't hold up well in the sun, but I couldn't find the 3.5 gallon bucket in black.  I've since found McMaster-Carr p/n 3995T419, which does come in black, and may be somewhat more heavy-duty, and will probably use it the next time around.

Note that the bow line is red and the anchor line is white.  It's a lot easier to tell your buddy "grab the red bow line" than try to explain which white line is which.

Oil Line Routing

Battery Cable Routing

Control Cable Routing

Fenders

Lifting Sling

Trailer

Do not put a Whaler on a full roller bunk trailer.  The localized stress of the rollers will delaminate the fiberglass from the foam.  Either use a trailer with keel rollers and carpeted bunks on the side, or all carpeted bunks.  Mine has all carpeted bunks.  I discovered that spraying the bunks with silicone makes it a lot easier to get the boat on and off.

My trailer came with a nice long tongue.  This is great for launching because it keeps the truck away from the salt water, but it meant the rig wouldn't fit in my garage.  I had Eyers Hitch Center in San Jose hitch modify the trailer to have a removable tongue and now it fits in the garage.  I had Acme Galvanizing in Oakland hot dip galvanize the new tongue (the trailer was galvanized to start with - ALL boat trailers, fresh water and salt, should be galvanized).  The removable tongue can also be used to extend the tongue another 18" which is handy for ramps like Pt. Lobos.

A note for you inflatable divers: one of the nicest things about my trailer is that the boat sits down between the tires instead of on top of them.  This also helps keep the truck away from salt water.  Most inflatables situate the boat above the tires, about a foot higher than it needs to be.

Between the long tongue, extensible tongue (which I only use at Pt. Lobos), and the low boat position, I only get the truck tires wet on the very roughest days. 

The trailer is galvanized.  All boat trailers should be galvanized.
   

Tow Vehicle

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