Uh..... does this look right? First time in the water, finally!!!

[Gfunk]

Ok, finally got the whole thing put together and hit the water today..

Here's a list of what we did.
-Removed the 1982 200hp blown Mariner and replaced it with a 2001 150hp Optimax. Both are 25" but the transom is a 20", seems to work ok, PO said he never had any problems, ran it this way for many, many years till it blew.
-Changed the water pump (man are there alot of bolts holding the Opti together)
-Installed the Humminbird 998 SI after a 3 hour odyssey removing the previous unit. The PO ran wires everywhere down both sides of the boat necessitating the removal of both rod lockers.
-Installed new Cabelas Big Man Seats (I left the low 300's awhile ago)
-Added (2) batteries in the cabin for the IPilot we added to the bow. Works great, had a 54" motor extended to a 60" and it works great. Had to cut the bow rail.
-Added homemade front bimini windshield, side curtains, and rear curtain.
-Added a removable trolling bar across the back.

After all that, I thought we had it pretty well together for a trip, so off to the lake we go for a sea trial.
Started off by backing the boat into the water and starting it, wanted to check my water pump impellar installation, so I walked back to check it out, it was working fine, but the water behind the boat was churning like the boat was in gear. Walked back up to take it out of gear and realized it already was. OOPS. An hour later, we had the lower unit off, the shifter connected and back in the water. On to the fishing!
Wrong. Picked my buddy up at the dock and realized that there was a fair amount of water in the splashwell and it was coming in through the scuppers into the boat. Bad. And to make it worse, the top of the transom cut out appeared to be just an inch or two above the water. Luckily we were close to the marina, so off we go. After a quick check of the bilge and some 1" drain plugs stuck into the deck drains to prevent the water from coming in, we were finally on the way to fish. Wrong again.
On our way from the marina, the alarm goes of on the Optimax. We were in a no wake zone, so I dropped the throttle a bit and it quit. Got into the wake zone, and hit the throttle and the alarm goes off again and it won't throttle up, I dropped it back to idle, throttled it up again and never heard the alarm again, a quick check of the water stream assured me that we were not heating up. Thought it was because we were idling, but later in the day we trolled with the main engine for about 2 hours without incident, so I'm assuming the impellar had to seat itself in or something. No idea.
I took some pics of the water in the splashwell to get some opinions on if this is normal or not. The pics don't do the problem justice, with me and my buddy back there the transom cap is only about 1" above the water. The current setup has 2 batteries in the hold right in front of the outboard, 1/2 a tank of fuel, my 300# buddy, me at 350#, and my 110# son. I think at the very least, I need to change the scuppers, but that won't fix the "butt heaviness" of the boat. As you can see in the pics, the drain holes in the transom are below the water line, and we occassionally got water over the transom.

Forgot to add, when we got it back on the trailer and pulled the plug,the bilge appeared to be just as dry as it was when we put it in.

Thanks in advance guys.
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/community/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=771
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/community/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=774

[smokeonthewater]

with all three of ya in the back you are putting nearly 800 lbs on the rear of a small boat with a big motor.... yep the stern is gonna sit low.... you can move the bats to the front and help it a little but that's the nature of the beast....

even 300 in the rear could possibly get water coming in the scuppers.... replace or simply flip the valves over and go fishin


sorry to say but the only real "fix" is a smaller waist or a bigger boat....

[phatdaddy]

g, hard to tell from that pic, but that doesn't appear to be that much water in the well. mine is an 84 25" and i will have water in there from time to time. i also get water on the deck when we are bottom fishing and two are standing at the gunnells. as long as it is not getting to the bilge...

[Gfunk]

Been reading a bit since I posted, man this site has a TON of info if you just look......

Looks like my "problem" is pretty symptomatic of these boats, that and apparently I may need to lose a few pounds!:you:

Going to move one of the batteries up to the cuddy just as a spare and get some new scuppers for the floor drains, old ones do not stay closed.

Does anyone know if you can add scuppers to the 4 drain holes on the outside of the transom?

Also looked up the weights of the motor (370) I took offand the motor I put on (433). This might have a little to do with it.

[Destroyer]

You sound like you're pretty handy with tools. You have a 25" engine and a 20" transom.. If it were me I'd do everything that's already been suggested, and in addition I'd probably raise the transom by 5". A lot of guys have done that in the past, and even Wellcraft did it after a while, . It's really not that hard, and it will give you an additional 5" of splashguard. Just something to think about.:head:

[Gfunk]

I'd love to, any "easy" way to do it without a full rebuild of the transom? Thought about building it up with 2x6's and glassing it over, overlao the existing and rgeu bolt it.

[smokeonthewater]

you can use a jackplate to raise the motor with the existing bolt location and glass a splashwall but with the exception of waves slpashing over the transom, this will have no effect on the water on the floor issue because the holes and floor will still be at the same height....
You could put valves over the splashwell drains but water in the splashwell is not a problem and doesn't need fixed.... the splashwell is there for a reason and is expected to get water in it.

[awthacker]

I remember an old thread where someone made a custom aluminum plate to raise the transom. I think there were two plates that sandwiched the transom, raised it to 25", and was sealed up with 5200. Looked like an easy way to do it.

Water splashes in and out of mine, and it doens't bother me, but I think for the amount of weight you'll typically be packing, you need to raise it. The biggest reason I'd do it would be to keep saltwater out of your cowling.

[smokeonthewater]

http://www.opentip.com/Sporting-Goods/Thm-Hijacker-Fixed-Jack-Plate-Jpfadp-p-669085.html

done deal

[smokeonthewater]

BTW.... raising the engine will give you more speed and better economy also

[reelapeelin]

Are those angle-cut motor supports in the splashwell???

[RidgeRunner]

You have been busy. I agree with raising the transom for peace of mind, speed and efficiency. I get nervous with water on deck, not so much in the splashwell.
Opti's alarm will sound of a steady tone for overheat and will go into limp mode to protect itself. Do you have the Smartcraft gauges? You might have had a thermostat stick closed or something odd like that.

[Gfunk]

Had to look twice before I realized what you were talking about......
The trolling board going across the back is actually inserted into to the gunnel mount rod holders (turned them around 180 degrees). The white things you see in the splashwell are the rubber inserts from the holders. Had to remove them to install the rod holder.

I decided to go ahead and get the jackplate, saw one similar to the one above but with only about 3/8" setback from where it is now. I'll look at both and see which one to go with. I'll also extend the transom cutout and glass the cap either over the summer or next winter.

Thanks for all the advice guys, taking this out for a five day trip to Lake Cumberland later this week to catch some stripers and all this puts my mind at ease since we usually leave the boat in the water for the entire trip.

[bradford]

Had to look twice before I realized what you were talking about......
The trolling board going across the back is actually inserted into to the gunnel mount rod holders (turned them around 180 degrees). The white things you see in the splashwell are the rubber inserts from the holders. Had to remove them to install the rod holder.

I decided to go ahead and get the jackplate, saw one similar to the one above but with only about 3/8" setback from where it is now. I'll look at both and see which one to go with. I'll also extend the transom cutout and glass the cap either over the summer or next winter.

Thanks for all the advice guys, taking this out for a five day trip to Lake Cumberland later this week to catch some stripers and all this puts my mind at ease since we usually leave the boat in the water for the entire trip.


Just be sure your bilge pump and float switch are in good working order. You should be fine.

[tartuffe]

Glad you are getting the jack plate, otherwise raising the transom without raising the motor could have caused clearance issues with your tilt.

Like others have said, I'm 200 lbs but I have water in the splashwell frequently (200 Johnson on a jackplate) and a wet deck occasionally. The deck is only around an inch above the waterline on my 81.

I wouldn't bother with adding more scuppers.

[SkunkBoat]

GFUNK, I have a question about your scuppers in your spashwell. :head:What do they connect to?. Most V's don't have holes there that I am aware of.
Did the PO re-route the deck drains to the spashwell? You mention 4 thru hull drains ( I assume 2 in the transom and 2 on the sides just above waterline?).

[smokeonthewater]

those are the deck drains..... they are factory and mine are the same

2 from deck to splashwell and 2 from the splashwell through the transom = 4

[reelapeelin]

Thanks for all the advice guys, taking this out for a five day trip to Lake Cumberland later this week to catch some stripers and all this puts my mind at ease since we usually leave the boat in the water for the entire trip.

I thought the same thing Bradford said...hot battery and good working bilge pumps...

I've never had the opportunity to fish Cumberland...but from what I hear, spool on big line and hang on!!...what do yall use for striper bait up there?...let us know how that trip goes!!...pics if ya can!!...:beer:

[Gfunk]

Going to fish it this way for awhile before I make any major changes. It occasionally will go to Lake Erie or Lake Michigan and I want to make sure it's safe.

Stripers- We usually use shad that we catch using a cast nest, lately though we've been using umbrella rigs with a good deal of success. HEading out tomorrow am, should be in the water by 2:00pm. I'll post some pics when we get back, although not sure we're keeping any this time. There's a good deal of gill lice in the lake right now and all the websites say they're ok to eat, but I don't know......

[reelapeelin]

Going to fish it this way for awhile before I make any major changes. It occasionally will go to Lake Erie or Lake Michigan and I want to make sure it's safe.

Stripers- We usually use shad that we catch using a cast nest, lately though we've been using umbrella rigs with a good deal of success. HEading out tomorrow am, should be in the water by 2:00pm. I'll post some pics when we get back, although not sure we're keeping any this time. There's a good deal of gill lice in the lake right now and all the websites say they're ok to eat, but I don't know......

The stripers down here in Lake Murray got lice for a while...I was talking to a state biologist recently about something else and the lice came up...he said it was a pretty gross condition to see, but that the fish were perfectly safe to eat...

Still, it's a decision you have to make for yourself...

[Gfunk]

Yeah, I look forward to this trip all year, been going for almost 20 in a row and something like this comes along and makes me rethink next year.

Do the lice come and go, worse some years and barely there the next? If so, might have to rethink my alternate plans for next year (Lake Michigan salmon).

On the original topic of this thread..... I took some time tonight while prepping for my trip to make an acrylic splashguard that will keep the rollers out of the well, didn't plug the drains though. Also, to answer the questions about how many drain holes I have, there are 6, 2 deck drains that drain into the splashwell and 4 from the splashwell to the outside of the boat, 2 on either side of the motor.

[smokeonthewater]

hmmm well I THOUGHT I knew what I was talking about... lol ...I'd say that two of the 4 through the transom have been added by a p/o

[reelapeelin]

On the original topic of this thread..... I took some time tonight while prepping for my trip to make an acrylic splashguard that will keep the rollers out of the well, didn't plug the drains though.


One thing that finally occurred to me was to add to the height of the FRONT of the splashwell rather than the back around the motor...in other words, filling up the splashwell=no big deal...keeping it out of the boat is a big deal...before I let go of my '74 I had cut a single piece of marine ply that was gonna be the answer to that...look in the gallery at FITZ'S splashwell and you'll see where I was headed...he's got some other interesting things going on as well, but I was gonna steal his idea for the front of his splashwell...

[Gfunk]

Reelapeelin,
Sorry it took so to repost . We ended up having an epic trip, caught 52 in all in just three days of fishing, almost all on umbrella rigs. Shame we can't use them in Ohio, they really put the fish in the boat. The gill lice weren't much of a problem, if you weren't looking you might not even notice them.
on the subject of my splashwell - I've actually kind of gotten used to it, at one point during our striped trip, my dad, my buddy, and I were all at the back of the boat and the water came in the splashwell a bit, but not bad enough to be a problem. Still going to put on the jackplate though. The outboard sits low enough that I'm getting spray into the boat and who knows how much power I'm losing. My splashwell cover I made from plastic worked good enough to make a more permanent one out of aluminum, sometime. Time to fish now, it'll wait till summer when it's too hot to fish.
on yet another note, I have decided that this by far the best fishing boat I've ever had.
thanks for all the advise guys, really appreciate it.
gfunk

[reelapeelin]

Reelapeelin,
Sorry it took so to repost . We ended up having an epic trip, caught 52 in all in just three days of fishing, almost all on umbrella rigs. Shame we can't use them in Ohio, they really put the fish in the boat. The gill lice weren't much of a problem, if you weren't looking you might not even notice them.
on the subject of my splashwell - I've actually kind of gotten used to it, at one point during our striped trip, my dad, my buddy, and I were all at the back of the boat and the water came in the splashwell a bit, but not bad enough to be a problem. Still going to put on the jackplate though. The outboard sits low enough that I'm getting spray into the boat and who knows how much power I'm losing. My splashwell cover I made from plastic worked good enough to make a more permanent one out of aluminum, sometime. Time to fish now, it'll wait till summer when it's too hot to fish.
on yet another note, I have decided that this by far the best fishing boat I've ever had.
thanks for all the advise guys, really appreciate it.
gfunk



Sounds like BUSY fishin'!!...pullin' in 50+ trolled up stripes in 3 days doen't leave much time fer enjoyin' the scenery!...what size fish y'all get into up there??...any pictures?...