Boston Whaler 170 Montauk: Review

Boston Whaler’s Montauk centre consoles are capable shallow-draft craft with remarkable seaworthiness, safety and stability. They are also the longest-serving models in the Whaler fleet. For its 60th anniversary celebrations in 2017, the big Brunswick brand released a new and improved 2018-model 170 Montauk. We hooked a ride of that boat after its world debut at the 50th Sydney International Boat Show. With the maximum 115hp Mercury FourStroke outboard running a heavy-duty Command Thrust gearbox, we were again reminded why these original Whalers are held in such high regard by an almost religious fan-base around the world today.

OVERVIEW
- A perfect inshore boat for simple fun and fishing
Harking back to Boston Whaler’s genesis in 1958, the timeless Montauk centre consoles are standouts for inshore boating. The classic Whalers team good looks and pedigree, with rugged hose-and-go utility. With a famous ‘unsinkable’ foam-filled hull, using an easily-driven almost-cathedral shaped running surface, the Montauks possess remarkable seaworthiness and rock-solid stability.

Named after the surf-fronted settlement at the end of Long Island, New York, the rough-water-rated Montauks come in four handy sizes. They start with a 150, then this 170, include a 190 and end with the 210 we also had alongside. Each of the models will serve serious fishing applications, family duties, people moving roles, and solo boating adventures.

At idle, these boats ghost through the skinniest of water to find fish or first-rate family beaches. Advance the throttle and the Montauks scoot up to planing speed, easily carrying a big load. Crank the stainless-steel wheel and they slide through the turns like a skiff, letting you pull kids on tubes or a board. Whatever the roll, they are reassuring and fun to drive.

Parked out the front of your waterfront home as grab-it-and-go craft, or on a trailer behind a modest car in the driveway, the Montauks are just about all the boat you need. This seems to be the opinion of a great many for a very long time. In the late-1980s, the 16ft 7in predecessor was the most popular Whaler sold. Go back further and you’ll find Sandy and Bud in the TV show Flipper had a 13ft Boston Whaler with a similar hull to the 150 Montauk.

Fast forward to 2017 and Boston Whaler’s 60th Anniversary celebrations in Sarasota, Florida. The big Brunswick brand released a new and improved 2018-model 170 Montauk. While the sweet hull is unchanged, the layout has been improved with more storage and even better fishability. They're not huge changes, but improvements nonetheless.

Although not widely known, the new 170 Montauk #1 had its international release at the 50th Sydney International Boat Show. But it was on a brilliant-blue Gold Coast Broadwater at king high tide that we leapt aboard to test the boat with Whaler importer Queensland Marine Centre. With the Montauk 210 sister ship alongside, this was among the best boat tests of 2017. This half of the story details the 170 model — a boat that truly does punches above its weight.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
- A premium boat and investment for years to come
You can get aboard a Boston Whaler 170 Montauk with base 90hp Mercury four-stroke outboard for about $60k. With an 18in Enertia three-blade prop, this boat will give a top speed of 34-35 knots.

Our test boat was a $69,990 rig with an upgraded 115hp Mercury FourStroke with Command Thrust (bigger gearbox) spinning a 21in Enertia three-blade stainless-steel prop. This combo gives almost 40 sporty knots and a better range of 153nm at 20 knots. Hydraulic steering is standard.

An Australian-spec trailer with single axle and brakes will add about $1500 to these packages. Towing weight will be around 1t loaded.

Our test boat had an optional Fishing Package, which you must have. The Fishing Package includes a large forward cooler (68lt) seat with cushions and backrests, along with four console-mounted vertical rod racks, plus tackle drawers.

Other terrific options on our test boat included the great big live well under the helm seat (it doubles for extra storage), the bimini top for shade, and a factory-fitted Fusion stereo. You just need to add electronics — there’s decent dash space for them — and you’re away.

There are options for aft seat backrests and sunpad cushions, but the easy-clean layout of the test boat appealed. Keep this 17-footer simple, seize the day, and hose it out afterwards.

DESIGN AND LAYOUT
- New integrated fuel tank and fish box
Among the new features for 2017 are a bigger integrated 94lt fuel tank and an integrated forward fish box with overboard drain. Anything from barra to bream and mudcrabs will love it in the lined fishbox. You can also throw wet stuff in the hold after your day of swimming or diving.

A rear boarding step with ladder helps with access to and from the water and at the ramp, while the cockpit side rails provide added security and safety once aboard. The moulded cockpit isn’t self-draining, as freeboard doesn’t allow that on this 170, but it does have a very easily accessed bilge with pump.

The seating includes twin moulded quarter seats for kids (cushions and backrests optional), a comfy helm bench seat with reversible backrest, and the forward padded cooler seat upgrade. With a clip-in cushion upgrade over the casting deck, you could kick back on the resulting sunpad, too. There is also the option of a pedestal-mounted casting seat up front, but we reckon this is a boat you fish and drive mostly on your feet.

On flat water, when racing home, or trolling, and mooching about, the helm seat will come into play. Driving seated is really quite comfortable and the helm console has 12V phone charging plugs, drink holders, a storage nook for personal effects, all protected by a small acrylic windscreen. We also had the optional bimini top for shade overhead.

At rest, anchor down or pulled in somewhere, you can flip the helm-seat backrest and create a lunch setting with your kids seated and facing you in the aft-quarter seats. Whaler portrays this wholesome image in its marketing. We also imagine pulling into a beach with this boat, stepping off and setting up a picnic rug under a tree. It would be a great family commuter.

For fishing, the 170 Montauk does excite. There are four transom rod holders, scope to fit angled rod holders on the side cockpit rails for trolling, plus the forward rod rack for storage. The promo video shows the electric motor and forward casting seat options. It also shows cushioned rear seats and the tow arch option if you want to troll the kids instead.

As we had it, the clean forward casting platform and decks will appeal to lure and fly casters. There’s also good fishing room back at the transom. With a maximum beam of 2.21m taken well forward, there is a lot of flat deck space in front and behind, even alongside the console. The 170 Montauk sure is a lot of boat for its length and the beam-forward design is part of these boat's appeal.

The forward-most bow locker has room for the anchor, while additional storage exists inside the console, where you’ll find the battery and room for safety gear. Between it all, and a loaded tackle box strapped in somewhere, you will be set for a day’s fishing.

The live well under the helm seat has a 45lt capacity and is a real highlight if you want to chase big predators like kingfish, jewfish, mackerel and maybe even inshore marlin on a good day. The boat is really stable for fishing and would make a wonderful estuary, bay, harbour and near-shore rig that's for sure.

HULL AND ENGINEERING
- Unsinkable legend built for the long run
Whalers are premium boats built for the long haul. Their appeal is enduring, so too their value over time. At the time of writing, a 1981-model 170 Montauk was listed for sale on our classified’s sites with a $21k asking price. Yep, a 36-year-old Whaler still commanding a top price.

The boats have all 316 stainless steel rails and deck hardware, while the super stable foam-filled hulls are beautifully made and moulded. The design integration means all the boat’s features are built-in and through-bolted rather than added on. And that adds to the clean decks and overall ease of operation.

Maintenance will be easy enough — the bilge, battery and dash wiring were all easily accessible — while the stainless wheel and welded grab rails around the console add to the solid feel. Nothing flexes or gives under load or foot. It’s a solid boat from the keel up.

The moderate hull deadrise of 16 degrees helps with stability, while the big chines trap water and makes for an efficient boat under way. There’s plenty of lift. Once you lean on the throttles, the boat jumps over the hump, and then you’ll find a fun drive.

ON THE WATER
- Gold Coast boating at its best
As a beautiful flood tide pushed through the Gold Coast Seaway, and the water turned gin-clear blue and beaming, we set about doing a little Boston Whaler boating. This involved scooting about the flats, running around a sand island, pulling into shore, and skipping through big boat wash and vague swell rolling in from afar.

As far as boat testing is concerned, our test of the 170 Montauk on the Gold Coast Broadwater is about as good as it gets. We also had the Montauk 210 to create a double act, but as this 170 appeals at a different price point we've split the reviews (210 to follow).

With the maximum 115hp Mercury, you can blast around at close to 40 knots and pull the kids on tubes and boards if you like. But it was the smooth cruise at 3500rpm and 20 knots (as per official supplied data) and the 153nm range that had us most impressed.

When you get some air off waves and wake, the 170 doesn’t pound or land on its chines. Rather, it tends to come down on its rear sections before laying down its bow and shooting forward. The motion is great and confidence-inspiring for driver and crew.

At 4000rpm you’re doing 24 knots, while 5000rpm sees 32 knots. In this range, you’re reeling in the miles and can blast from one end of a big bay or estuary to the next. Back at 3000rpm, leg tucked in, your planing at 14 knots.

With the stainless wheel in hand, the other grasping the console rail, while standing and patrolling, I really enjoyed the commanding view. Behind my polarised sunnies, I spotted wading birds and schools of bream, but it could just as easily have been longtail tuna busting up under some terns or the mud-crab trap floats weighed down by some imprisoned big bucks.

Yep, this boat inspires and it had me won over.

VERDICT
- Simple pleasures in a multipurpose skiff
It’s hardly news stating that the Montauk 170 is an ideal for exploring and mooching about the tidal bays, beaches and estuaries with family and friends. The seven-person capacity makes this a great people mover and potential superyacht tender.

But with a big casting platform up front, it is also an ideal light-tackle sport and fly-fishing platform for our inshore waterways and fisheries. It’s in such roles, locked up tight to a serious fish, while doubling as a family boat on a Sunday, that the 170 Montauk so tickled my fancy.

At the end of a postcard day, I came away convinced that less is more. And in an age where boats are getting more complex, there is beauty in the simplicity of the little 170 Montauk.

HIGHS
>> User-friendly centre console layout
>> Lots of storage and underfloor fuel
>> Fishing features including big live well
>> Excellent performance and handling
>> Top build quality and finish and resale

LOWS
>> You pay a premium for the Whaler badge
>> Design is essentially little change in 30-plus years
>> Low freeboard, though boosted by side rails

Specifications: Boston Whaler 170 Montauk
Prices as Tested: Our test boat was a $69,990 rig with an upgraded 115hp Mercury FourStroke with Command Thrust (bigger gearbox) spinning a 21in Enertia three-blade stainless-steel prop; optional Fishing Package including large forward cooler (68lt) seat with cushions and backrests, along with four console-mounted rod holders and tackle drawers; plus optional live well under the helm seat; bimini top for shade; factory-fitted Fusion stereo; and more.
Priced From: You can get aboard a Boston Whaler 170 Montauk with base 90hp Mercury four-stroke outboard for about $60k. Trailer adds $1500 to above prices.

LOA: 5.28m
Beam: 2.21m
Draft: 0.30m
Weight: 771kg (dry)
Weight (w/engines, fuel): 857kg
Maximum Capacity: 862kg
Swamped Capacity: 1270kg
Maximum Engine Weight: 186kg
People Capacity: 7
Maximum HP: 115
Minimum HP: 90
Transom Height: 25in
Deadrise: 16
Fuel: 94.6lt
Bridge Clearance: 1.49m/2.10m with bimini
Engine on Test: Mercury 115 EXLPT EFI Black Command Thrust FourStroke 2.38:1 gearbox ratio
Propeller: 14 1/8 x 21in Enertia

Supplied by:
Queensland Marine Centre
71 Shipper Dr, Coomera QLD 4209
Phone: (07) 5591 7032
See Queensland Marine Centre.