Navy 26' Motor Whale Boats- Got one?

[Le Grande Raoul]

Hi, friends!

I've just purchased a U.S. Navy 26' motor whaleboat. For those of you who
are not familiar with this craft, it is a double-ended, fiberglass, open
whaleboat powered by a Perkins 4-107, 50 HP diesel. They are very stout
and are a good platform for conversion to a variety of purposes.

Conversions I've seen include a harbor taxi, a general open workboat with
a boom derrick, cabin cruiser ala Albin 25, 'heavy water' sport boat with
enclosed aluminum pilothouse/cabin and as a motor sailer.

Mine is still as delivered from the Navy- including almost a 1/4" of gray
paint in some places- must have been some really bored sailors. ;) The
motor is in poor shape but I have a line to all needed parts and would be
doing the work myself, so that course of action would be affordable. I'm
also interested in other, more modern power plants that have been
installed. I'm in Port Townsend, WA and we have lots of heavy tides and
currents. I know that even shoehorning a 6-71 into my boat won't get me
more than 7 to 9 knots but I *do* want a surplus of power so I can make
good time in all conditions that a boat of this type should be out in. The
4-107 gives that extra power and I don't think I would be interested in
the 15-25 HP engines that I have seen transplanted into these boats.

My question is this:

If you have or know of these boats, what conversions and results have you
observed? What types of motors have been used and to what end?

Thanks, much,

Jeff Benedict

--
Jeffrey E. Benedict *ra...@olympus.net *
-----------------------------------------
"Hey foo', shuttup wityer jibba-jabbah.
I ain't got no tahme fo' no knucklehaid
like you."
Mr.T

[Larry W4CSC]

There was one for sale in the Yacht Trader for a long time in
Beaufort, SC. I haven't bought a trader in a while so don't know if
it's still there. It had been converted to water taxi use but I don't
think it made money like he wanted it to.

Only thing wrong with it was he wanted about the same price for it as
Hatteras wants for a new 70 footer loaded to the hilt. Musta been
some boat!

larry....It WOULD be fun to drive one, again. I qualified as cox in
one in the 1960's. The 50' utility boat with twin 6-71's was more
fun, though.....except, of course, when it was loaded with drunks on
their way back to the ship in Naples Harbor.

[myst...@mindspring.com]

"Le Grande Raoul" <ra...@olympus.net> wrote in message

> Hi, friends!
>
> I've just purchased a U.S. Navy 26' motor whaleboat. For those of you who
> are not familiar with this craft, it is a double-ended, fiberglass, open
> whaleboat powered by a Perkins 4-107, 50 HP diesel. They are very stout
> and are a good platform for conversion to a variety of purposes.
>
> Conversions I've seen include a harbor taxi, a general open workboat with
> a boom derrick, cabin cruiser ala Albin 25, 'heavy water' sport boat with
> enclosed aluminum pilothouse/cabin and as a motor sailer.
>
> Mine is still as delivered from the Navy- including almost a 1/4" of gray
> paint in some places- must have been some really bored sailors. ;) The
> motor is in poor shape but I have a line to all needed parts and would be
> doing the work myself, so that course of action would be affordable. I'm
> also interested in other, more modern power plants that have been
> installed. I'm in Port Townsend, WA and we have lots of heavy tides and
> currents. I know that even shoehorning a 6-71 into my boat won't get me
> more than 7 to 9 knots but I *do* want a surplus of power so I can make
> good time in all conditions that a boat of this type should be out in. The
> 4-107 gives that extra power and I don't think I would be interested in
> the 15-25 HP engines that I have seen transplanted into these boats.
>
> My question is this:
>
> If you have or know of these boats, what conversions and results have you
> observed? What types of motors have been used and to what end?

This may be an entirely different boat, but a friend has converted a
double-ended launch--lapstrake appearance, double-ended, about 26'--to
accommodate his current living needs. He molded and attached a deck with
companionway, beautifully fitted out the interior, and installed a new
Yanmar diesel of roughly 40hp. The boat really flies with just him aboard.
He fishes, lives aboard (honestly) and seems quite satisfied with it.

Jeff

[Capt. Len]

Local trader has one with spar and sails converted for about 1800

--
Capt. Len Susman
trikin...@trikini.com
WWW TRIKINI Project
http://www.trikini.com
What's New
http://www.trikini.com/whatn.htm
Multihull Preservation Society
http://www.multihullpreservationsociety.org
Boat building Aches and Pains
http://www.nature4cures.com

[DiscEquity]

Im in the coast G. Aux in Ky and one of our members just bought one and has
fixed it up. It looks just like it did originally.

I have been in this boat and I have to admit that I can clearly see why you
want more power. If the current on the river is up, I wouldn't think it would
be a good idea to take this particular boat downstream.
Send me an email if you want to get in touch with this guy.

Disce...@aol.com

Matt

[garand...@gmail.com]

garand...@gmail.com----9/12/15 have a whale boat mk-10 with replaced yanmar engine on long island---tom byrne 631 874-7426

[hwp...@yahoo.com]

On Friday, September 1, 2000 at 4:30:39 AM UTC-4, Le Grande Raoul wrote:

I have a 26 Navy motor whaler just like yours. The thing to be aware of is these boats have a hull speed of about 8 knots. Adding more power just digs the stern into the water and raises the bow. My MWB is a 1984 UNIFLITE with a 4-107 Westerbeke aka Perkins. I can cruise at 8 knots with about 800 rpms. If I power up I can get the bow so high I can't see the horizon. The additional power is useful if you have a full compliment of passengers (upwards of 20 people). I cruise in warm & fair weather and have an open boat with a forward and aft bimini. The helm has been repositioned closer to the stern and on the centerline. The original tanks had corroded so I had new ones fabricated which I installed. That required cutting away some of the decking to access the old ones and to install the new ones.

[dustin daniels]

does any one no weight displasment im getting inspection and need that in fo pleasde call me 2523051129 dustin thinks danie...@gmail.com

[Terry Evans]

Mine was probably built out of fiberglass around 1959. The first hoist test was 1960 in Norfolk. The old German fellow I bought it from had a Perkins 4.236, 85 hp. In it. He was shrimping and towing with it in Fort Myers. I took it down to a bare hull, removed the floatation, rebuilt the Perkins, and let my wife design a coastal cruiser. It also has a Westerbeke 4Kw gen set, marine air conditioner with heat, auto pilot, radar, 4 fuel tanks totaling 100 gals, chart plotter, head, shower, two helms (hydraulic). Saloon settee converts to a double bed, refrigerator, microwave, lLP stove top, 2 sinks. 70 gallon fresh water tanks. .and more.

I keep it in water at my dock on the Homosassa River. Prettiest boat on the river. Teak decks and bright work.
My last trip was 10 days, 700 miles without refueling. Out to the Gulf of Mexico, gunkholing north to the Suwannee and over 200 miles up the Suwannee close to the Georgia state line.
I finished the conversion in 2007, a three year project.
I love the boat and use it almost daily for sightseeing, fishing, and exploring. It’s trailerable. Weighs 10,000 lbs now burns about a gallon an hour at 7 knots.

This is my second one. The first one is a working water taxi at CoCo View Resort in Roatan Honduras. It’s in the original configuration except for the motor. Another Perkins 4.236. It’s been running guests and cargo all day long 7 days a week since 1990.