WHALER’S LATEST
Boston Whaler’s old Montauk 17 versus the new 170 Montauk
The latest iteration of Boston Whaler’s iconic 17-footer — the 170 Montauk — is the fourth edition of this popular model. These boats have spread around the globe, on missions ranging from pure pleasure to search-and-rescue.
Full disclosure: I have sea time in all four models and bought my own Montauk 17 in 1993. First Light serves me in my work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation as a charter boat, and as family boat too. It has also been a Boating project boat since 1995. Some days I treat it like a canoe, dragging it over shallow bars. Other days, I make the 9-mile open-water run from Crisfield, Maryland, to Tangier Island, Virginia. There aren’t many other boats that can cover all these bases with comparable safety, economy and versatility.
Is First Light perfect? No, but it’s perfect for my uses. In this article, I’ll compare the new 2018 model to my
1993 version to help illustrate the evolution of an icon.
ORIGINS
In 1960, Whaler founder Dick Fisher and engineer Bob Dougherty were testing a prototype of a “16,” which, like the 13, had been designed by Ray Hunt. It weighed 500 pounds, and they ran it with 40 to 75 hp outboards. Instead of a small side console, as in the 13, they placed a plywood console in the center. It proved to balance better, and with handholds on the console, crew could run safely standing up, bending their knees to absorb shock. It was a “little big boat” that debuted in 1961 and became an instant success. In 1973, the boat was officially dubbed “Montauk.”
Though this Whaler was tough and versatile and a big success, it rode hard and wet. In 1976, Dougherty redesigned the hull, adding deadrise along the centerline, moving the side “runners” inboard, and bringing them together at the bow to create Whaler’s trademark “smirk” to knock down the spray. This softer- and drier-riding Montauk endured for the next 26 years.
MY BOAT
First Light is a 1993 Montauk 17, originally fitted with a three-cylinder, 260-pound Mercury 90 hp outboard at Chesapeake Whalertowne. Today First Light sports a 60 hp Mercury FourStroke with a Bigfoot (now Command Thrust) gear case. This engine also weighs 260 pounds. It sports a fourblade Mercury Spitfire aluminum propeller (13.8 by 13 inches).
The big blades provide extra lift for slow-speed planing — essential in the Chesapeake’s nasty chop. First Light planes at 10 to 12 mph, cruises at 16 to 22 mph, and tops out at 30 mph. The Mercury 60’s fuel efficiency is outrageously good: It averages less than 1 gph across the year.
Yes, those speeds seem pokey by today’s standards, but they are, and have always been, plenty for working within 10 miles of the dock. The trick is to
find the hull’s comfortable speed for a particular day’s conditions. Gnarly days can make
First Light throw some spray, but that’s what foul-weather gear is for.
THE 170 MONTAUK: 2002 TO 2017
For 2002, Boston Whaler introduced the 170 Montauk. At 17 feet, it was 5 inches longer than my 17 hull, 8 inches wider (a 6-foot-10-inch beam) to better handle heavier four-stroke engines, and 500 pounds heavier. It has sharper deadrise from transom to bow, with broader flare and wide reversed chines, so it runs softer and drier, but it squats a bit rising onto plane. Its fuel supply consists of two portable 6.6-gallon tanks that fit under the helm seat.
Plenty of people bought this model, including Boating’s editor-in-chief, Kevin Falvey, confirming the success of the general design, though this model did not self-bail,
and a dual-battery system was not offered, which caused consternation among some owners.
THE 170 MONTAUK: TODAY
By 2018, it was time for a blank-slate redesign per Spencer Traynom, boat program manager at Boston Whaler, who explained that input from customers and dealers drove the design process. New features included more interior
space, more stowage, a permanent fuel tank, a new running bottom, a tow arch, and the option of a 115 hp engine. The company also added in space for a second battery, wiring for an optional bow-mounted trolling motor, and an anchor locker designed for a Fortress FX7 anchor. It was Whaler naval architect Bobby Garza and his engineering team that designed and tested the hull’s performance digitally, built
prototypes, and then ran them on real water.
“The new 170 has a modern running surface,” Garza says, “with a 16-degree transom deadrise tapering to a 30-degree entry, narrowed chines, a sharper keel, and a little rocker in the keel to let the hull run easily at 3 degrees fore and aft so as to present that sharp entry to seas.” It’s longer (17 feet 4 inches), wider (7 feet 3 inches), and more stable at rest. Weight increased to 1,700 pounds without an engine, and the draft went from 9 inches to 12 inches.
How does it run? I skippered one off Sarasota, Florida, powered by a Mercury 90 Command Thrust, and later I spent all day fishing a tournament aboard another fitted with a 115 Merc on Chesapeake Bay. It exhibited good balance with either of the 363-pound outboards, planing at 10 to 12 mph, cruising at 18 to 25 mph, and topping out around 40 mph with the Mercury 90 and 45 mph with the Mercury 115. On tournament day, it handled gracefully in nasty, confused seas of 2 to 3 feet.
As the iconic Boston Whaler Montauk proves, change is often for the better.