Postby thill » Mon Sep 04, 2017 7:31 pm
Jim,
Thanks for the reply. Good information.
The [HIN] number starts out with "YSIC", and is titled as a Sailfish.
I saw the boat today, and was surprised. The hull, transom, and decks are rock-solid. What looked like deep scratches in the hull were just black marks from black trailer rollers that aren't rolling. (Big relief!) The hull is in very good condition.
On the other hand, the motor is toast. 65 PSI in the bottom port cylinder, 120 in both top cyls. The trailer is solid, but needs fenders and tires.
From the pictures I saw online, this has the correct front rail for a 17. (but not the 19 I pictured above) The original back rails were removed and a ski tower/rod rack installed. But looking at the hole placement, it appears that the original back rails were correct for a BW too.
The console is different from a Whaler. There is an above-deck fuel tank inside the console, maybe 25 gals.
What distinguishes a Unibond hull?
(Sorry for being ignorant of what is probably basic BW knowledge)
Something interesting about this hull is there are no deck penetrations that I can find. Each hatch has its own drain, including the front locker. The boat is not self-bailing, but the two two drains in the back of the cockpit that go into a small bilge area that is walled off from the rest of the under-deck area. In fact, all the drains go there, and there is an 1100-GPH pump to get rid of it. Is this typical of Boston Whaler construction?
To my original question: was this boat made FOR Sailfish boats? Over the years, I've found that a number of companies that make big boats put their name on someone else's smaller boat, especially if a large parent company (like Brunswick) owns both companies.
Either that, or Sailfish blatently and shamelessly ripped Boston Whaler off. If so, there should be some history of lawsuit or settlement. That hull shape is just too distinctive to hide. Every ridge, every strake, every curve is exactly the same.
I'm going to keep digging for more info, but I decided to go ahead and buy the boat. It was a very small investment, regardless of the maker.
Thanks again.