TOPIC: 1957 Whirlwind?

Does anyone have any experience with a 1957 Whirlwind 13/14 footer? I am picking one up from a guy in MD who bought it from the original owner. It was given to him staight off the assembly line I guess and was never properly completed. Needs ALL hardware and interior. Cleats, windshield, chocks, etc were never even installed.... No screwholes or other imperfections where old hardware was mounted. Just a shell right now and supposedly has only seen a few seasons in the water. I picked up a 1957 Johnson 18-HP electric start motor for it. Hopefully this will be enough..... The boat is the molded mahogany ply with glassed bottom......

Gorgeous boats....all molded mahogany ply's are in my opinion...maybe because I have one.

If you haven't come across this yet.....here is a really good example for you to plan to finish her off:

jmdoc2.com/1957%20Fourteen%20Foot%20Whirlwind%200910.pdf

My father has a 17 foot Whirlwind, 1957 or 58... it's a little larger than yours I believe, but if you need better pictures of logos, or paint, what have ya, I could take some shots.. I do not have the photos online that I thought I had to post right now.

Hey guys.. finally posting some pictures of our Whirlwind.. hope you enjoy! Norris.. if this is starting to look anything like yours, please let me know.. detailed pictures can be taken.. ohh yes, and this is a 1958 model.

Two more photos snapped today... need to get this one back in the water!

Looks like that could be a beautiful boat again, lots of "character". (Fighting the "woodie obsession", can you tell?)

Thats a real sweet project! Mine is the stripped down version of that one. Lol! No interior at all. All seats were removed. No hardware, trim or anything at all. Looks like someone may have put a new piece of mahogany ply on the top deck and transom of mine as well. No pics here as it is turned upside down in the back yard right now. I would like to get some detailed pics on how the seats are installed, hardware placement, etc though. Can you possibly send some to my private email address?

Mine did have specks of white paint that was removed in the same general shape of your rear white swoosh though. that leads me to believe that it was similar, but was stripped at some point. The guy I got it from said he may have a lead on the old hardware, but I never heard from him again.

Oh well. Maybe this one would make a better bar then boat at this point.

Norris, sure thing. I get to my parents place once or twice a week and will try and get some good pictures then. My dad is finishing up a Lyman project we both got started a few years ago.. and we've been throwing around ideas on how to make room in the shop for this Whirlwind this winter.. lots of sanding and varnish and she should hit the water in a year or two.. haha.. give me a week or so for the pictures, cheers!

andy

Well, i did pick up the '57 and almost immediatly sold it to a friend (for what i bought it for).... It had no interior, hardware, or anything.....

BUT, I just picked up a 1958 Whirlwind 1447. That is the Deluxe or Premium model with the fancy interior and hardware. It was a one owner boat with original motor and trailer. I towed the trailer 150 miles last night from West Virginia.

The only issue with the boat is it did not have the bottom fiberglassed. It subsequenly had some wet leaves inside fro a period of time and has 2 holes rotted through the bottom ply. Anyone ever patched one of these things? As it is going to be a runner and not a show-boat, I am planning on fiberglassing the bottom (West Systems) and patching the holes with fiberglass. Then putting in a sub-floor to cover that.... What say you wood boat experts out there?

Hey guy, could you please post some pics of the damage to the bottom of the boat , and if you are thinking of glassing the bottom of the boat i would recomend using 10 or 6 oz finish fabric along with using ply again to repair the damaged area's , and to tell you the truth West System makes a great product but .............is way over priced considering there are other resins (epoxy) out there that offer a longer pot life ...which means more work time ,and better Tensil strength to boot .

My plan right now is to cut out both bad hull sections (no larger then a square foot each) and replace with mahogany plywood. Then glass over the bottom with 6-oz fiberglass and put a layer over the patches on the inside of the hull as well. This seems like it would give me optimum strength. Then a subfloor over the patched areas.

What brand epoxy do you guys recommend, and how much should I need? I will post pics when I have a chance later this evening.

Sounds like it's going to be a nice project. I've used MAS Epoxy, West and the Glen-L brand. They all worked equally well. Just make sure you get the clear stuff if you're going to finish the area bright. I've also used West Six-10 before. I really like that stuff for bonding pieces together and making fillets. This year, I've developed some allergic symptoms from West and Glen-L epoxies. I'm sure the MAS will be the same. There are some non-petroleum based epoxies that work well if you have any problems. My problems are minor: sore throat and itchy eyes. If I wear goggles and a respirator, I'm OK.

Norris , if price is a concern i would go with www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html using there 635 /resin along with there slow hardner . Norris i usally use the same epoxy that Skater use's and another that is also made here in Mich by the PLASCO Corp/ which is a High Temp/ High Impact resin designed for the Areo Space / marine industry , and every once and a great while i will use West System .Norris once again i think that you will find the 635 Epoxy Resin offered by us composites is a great buy that will not break the bank .

Here are pics of the new boat. The Gator trailer is near perfect. Barely even surface rust in some areas. It tilts easily and rolls nice. The motor has 125 psi in both cylinders and the lower unit is tight (i.e. good looking oil with no water present).

The damage is more centralized then I originally though. Luckily it is on the shear bottom and is in a "flat" area. I will take out that entire as one piece and replace it. I will double up on the fiber glass in that area and also glass the inside area where that patch will be. This should be strong enough, right? Planning on using 6-oz on the bottom. I am guessing that this will be sufficient to strengthen the hull?

Thanks!!!!

-Rich

Rich , 6 oz is widely used when glassing Strip Canoes , and other smaller Craft, and if you are looking for a little more beef why not two layers of 6 oz just for piece of mind . Rich for example when ever i blueprint the bottom of a boat and fill is used to dial everything in...... i always glass two layers of 6 oz over the entire area to avoid cracking which seems to hold very well considering these boats are traveling at a very fast speed , and not to mention the pounding the hull's are taking.

Just a thought. The last two epoxy orders I have purchased came from Chuck Leinweber over at Duckworks. He owns and runs his own boat empire (business) and is a great guy. He sells epoxy as well. It is available with multiple hardeners so you can pick your poison. I use medium hardener. It works well.
I don't make a penny off anything he sells so this is only a plug from past experience. Google "duckworks" and you're there. Scroll down and click epoxy on the right. Marinepoxy is the stuff. He also sells System 3. FYI

My friend just restored the same exact boat i have pics ill put on i helped him with it and im gonna try to get him on this site i know some stuff about this boat if you have any questions ask or i f i dont know my friend probably will. here is the link

Starcraft15 wrote:

My friend just restored the same exact boat i have pics ill put on i helped him with it and im gonna try to get him on this site i know some stuff about this boat if you have any questions ask or i f i dont know my friend probably will. here is the link

Some great pics, thanks! Yes, I would like to talk with him sometime. I have done wood boats before ('36-ft Chris Craft), but never something this small. Some info about issues he ran into would be great. Pics of before and after as well. Send me a private message and we can exchange email addresses.

I have two of the same...I have to say...those holes in the bottom are pretty serious, and sistering in new wood is going to be a heck of a job, I'd say you could find another Whirlwind project that might be a better starting point...

Easytiger Models,

WELCOME ABOARD.

yours, satx