For a couple of months now, even before we came down to AZ, I’ve been watching a boat that was listed down here on Craigslist. I was hoping it was still here when we came south, but I really didn’t want to get my hopes up too high. Well, the bad news is that it’s no longer for sale, but the GREAT news is that it’s now mine.
I called the seller and arranged to meet him yesterday afternoon. He lives in Kingman, AZ and we agreed to meet him at his home for a sea trial. GW and I left here around 9:00, got to Kingman and had some lunch then met him at his home.
The boat is a 1981 Boston Whaler Sport. It’s 13’ 5” long x 5’ 5” wide, has a 40hp 2-stroke Evinrude on it and it’s on a Trail-Rite trailer that fits it just fine.
The seller had owned it for about 3-4 years after buying it from his nephew. Three years ago he did a total restoration on it and it shows. He replaced all the wood, the seat cushions, and did a complete gelcoat removal and replacement both inside and outside the hull.
After crawling around it to check it out we headed for Lake Mojave which sits on the AZ/NV border. I followed the seller because I wanted to see how it trailered—straight, wheels aligned, boat rode well on the trailer, lights all work, etc.
We launched it and took it for about a 15 minute ride then headed back to the trailer. We didn’t have a GPS, but I’m guessing we got up on plane in just a few seconds and the boat cruised nicely at about 20-25mph. Since we didn’t have a GPS I didn’t see any reason to run at WOT.
So we hooked it to my truck, I paid the man, he signed off the title to the trailer and gave me a bill of sale and the registration for the boat and GW and I headed back home. We discussed a name for the boat and since we already have a “Beachcomber” and a “Little Beach”, that this one should be called “Sunny Beach”.
Here are the photos. I hope you like it.
This is the only photo I took on Lake Mojave.
Here's Sunny Beach hooked up behind my 1998 Exploder. I'm the original owner of the truck and it's become our AZ truck. It only has 111,000 miles on it and runs and drives like a champ.
I'm going to register it down here in AZ since this is the only place we'll be using it.
The "helm". Things were a bit simpler back in 1981. There's a large (full width) storage area under that mahogany panel that's in the foreground, and another under the bow seat cushion.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x313/gofirstclass/Sunny%
20Beach/DSCN1695_zps4ed8b8f1.jpg
It has a 12 gallon gas tank and a brand new Interstate battery.
From the bow. If you lift up that bow cushion there's a pedestal mount where a fishing seat goes. He gave me the seat and the stand that it sits on but we carried those in the truck on the way home.
Stern shot.
Like I said, things were a bit simpler back in 1981.
There isn't a mark on the bottom of the hull. This guy has only used it a couple of times since he restored it and it still looks like new.
One of the first things I'm going to add is a depth finder/fish finder because we're not familiar with the lakes down here. After that will come a bimini top. The boat came with a full towing cover but we'll use that when we store it, not when we tow it.
GW and I are already looking at the lakes around here and figure we're within easy distance to Havasu, Lake Roosevelt, Lake Pleasant, Bartlett Lake and a couple of others.
So, having three boats, who of which are Whalers, does this make me a fleet captain?
I called the seller and arranged to meet him yesterday afternoon. He lives in Kingman, AZ and we agreed to meet him at his home for a sea trial. GW and I left here around 9:00, got to Kingman and had some lunch then met him at his home.
The boat is a 1981 Boston Whaler Sport. It’s 13’ 5” long x 5’ 5” wide, has a 40hp 2-stroke Evinrude on it and it’s on a Trail-Rite trailer that fits it just fine.
The seller had owned it for about 3-4 years after buying it from his nephew. Three years ago he did a total restoration on it and it shows. He replaced all the wood, the seat cushions, and did a complete gelcoat removal and replacement both inside and outside the hull.
After crawling around it to check it out we headed for Lake Mojave which sits on the AZ/NV border. I followed the seller because I wanted to see how it trailered—straight, wheels aligned, boat rode well on the trailer, lights all work, etc.
We launched it and took it for about a 15 minute ride then headed back to the trailer. We didn’t have a GPS, but I’m guessing we got up on plane in just a few seconds and the boat cruised nicely at about 20-25mph. Since we didn’t have a GPS I didn’t see any reason to run at WOT.
So we hooked it to my truck, I paid the man, he signed off the title to the trailer and gave me a bill of sale and the registration for the boat and GW and I headed back home. We discussed a name for the boat and since we already have a “Beachcomber” and a “Little Beach”, that this one should be called “Sunny Beach”.
Here are the photos. I hope you like it.
This is the only photo I took on Lake Mojave.
Here's Sunny Beach hooked up behind my 1998 Exploder. I'm the original owner of the truck and it's become our AZ truck. It only has 111,000 miles on it and runs and drives like a champ.
I'm going to register it down here in AZ since this is the only place we'll be using it.
The "helm". Things were a bit simpler back in 1981. There's a large (full width) storage area under that mahogany panel that's in the foreground, and another under the bow seat cushion.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x313/gofirstclass/Sunny%
20Beach/DSCN1695_zps4ed8b8f1.jpg
It has a 12 gallon gas tank and a brand new Interstate battery.
From the bow. If you lift up that bow cushion there's a pedestal mount where a fishing seat goes. He gave me the seat and the stand that it sits on but we carried those in the truck on the way home.
Stern shot.
Like I said, things were a bit simpler back in 1981.
There isn't a mark on the bottom of the hull. This guy has only used it a couple of times since he restored it and it still looks like new.
One of the first things I'm going to add is a depth finder/fish finder because we're not familiar with the lakes down here. After that will come a bimini top. The boat came with a full towing cover but we'll use that when we store it, not when we tow it.
GW and I are already looking at the lakes around here and figure we're within easy distance to Havasu, Lake Roosevelt, Lake Pleasant, Bartlett Lake and a couple of others.
So, having three boats, who of which are Whalers, does this make me a fleet captain?
