That fall, Fisher started running the boat in rough weather, and found that the hull displayed issues with handling and cavitation.

Under heavy load, and off-plane, the cavity in the middle of the hull forced air into the water, and then back into the prop.

He used a method of trial and error, laying fiberglass on the bottom of the hull in the morning and running the boat behind his house when the glass cured.

In 1958, boats made by the Fisher-Pierce manufacturing company were first marketed and sold under the brand name Boston Whaler.

Also since the Whaler was so light in weight compared to the other boats at the time, it could be propelled by lower horsepower engines.

Gradually though the company moved away from these designs to a more conventional deep-vee hull, and after 1996 no more of the classic tri-hull boats were manufactured.

In 1969 the Boston Whaler boat operation of Fisher-Pierce was sold to the CML Group, whose portfolio would eventually include brands such as NordicTrack and The Nature Company.

Boston Whalers were used in the Vietnam War by both the Navy SEALs and the United States Coast Guard in rescue and river patrol missions.

Models include: Boston Whaler has, for many years, sawn boats in half to illustrate their durability, performance, smooth ride and "unsinkability".

The original 1961 Life magazine ad pictured Dick Fisher sitting in a floating 13-foot (4.0 m) Whaler with a crosscut saw halfway through the hull.

Due to the foam core construction, the Whaler will remain afloat when sawed completely in half.