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laurence
06-26-2005, 01:43 PM
I recently looked at a 2001 wellcraft 240 W/A with an asking price of $25,000.00. The vessel was in fair condition and I left thinking that it would be a good purchase at that price and was in line with the type of upgrade we were planining. On the one hour plus ride home ny neighbor who had accompanied me said he knew where a boat was that i may want to take a look at. With an open ear I listened as he tried to describe a 1979 Wellcraft V-20 outboard. After listening to him go on and on for what seemed like forever we arived back in our home town. A 1979 boat of any make had never entered my mind, but I asked him to show me the boat.
Upon our arrival at the boat owners residence I noticed a very large boat under a tarp. After intros and much to my suprise we headed to the vessel under the tarp. When we uncovered it I quickly learned why it seemed so large. It was converted frome an I/O to an outboard by it's original owner. Ok, enough talk I'm going to describe this boat and I would like fou you guys/girls to tell me what you think and why.
The hull & deck are in better condition than the 2001 I looked at earlier that day.
The motor conversion is said to be prfessional and looks it to. In addition to the two foot outboard mount they also installed a couple of stainless steel chains with turnbuckles between the I/O mounts and the outboard brackets on the inside of the transsom.
The motor is a 1998 Evinrude V-6 150HP 2-stroke. This motor was purchased by the present owner (2nd owner). He said he purchased this motor new in the box in 2003 and had new steering cables and throttle controls installed at that time. The motor has no more than 12 hours on it at the most.
The space left by removing the inboard decked with marine plywood and covered with marine carpet. This opened up the boat quit a bit.
This V-20is a cuddy cabin. Upon inspection it was obvious that neither owner used this area it looks brand new.
Electronics will include depthfinder, gps, vhf, am/fm casette and dual batteries with selector switch.
Canvas canopy with side curtains are in good condition.
The fiberglass topside and below seem to need nothing more than a good washing. Wear and tare seems to be minimal.
Boat does come with a 1998 tandem trailer. The trailer has been adjusted to allow launch without getting the trailer bearings wet and includes a galvanized plank the runs the length of the trailer and this keeps your feet dry when launching and loading. All 32 rollers are new and have no dry rot cracks. In addition four keel rollers were installed by the owner. All four tires are dry rot crack free and the spare is brand new. It also has a new power winch. Hydraulic brake lines look good and the brake rotors shine like new.
Iknow this is a lot of info but it is a used boat. Any and all info would be appreciated.

OH YEAH THE PRICE IS $7500.00

fillet1
06-26-2005, 04:30 PM
Laurence,

The quickest way to get some meaningful answers is to post a few pics!


You said this:


The motor conversion is said to be prfessional and looks it to. In addition to the two foot outboard mount they also installed a couple of stainless steel chains with turnbuckles between the I/O mounts and the outboard brackets on the inside of the transsom.

I never heard of using chains to bolster the bracket! Could mean that the transom itself needs some help? If you could post a pic or two it would help.

$7500 is a decent price if it truly has a brand new motor, newer trailer and all decks, hatches and transom etc are absolutely solid.

If the motor was purchased in 2003 brand new in the box - is there a warranty? Reciepts of purchase/ bracket conversion?

If the motor is not what it is advertised to be - NEW and you can see yourself doing alot of work on the decks, transom gelcoat etc - then 3-5 K would be a proper price depending on condition.

laurence
06-26-2005, 05:11 PM
may get time in tomorrows schedule to get some pics will post when achieved. according to present owner chain bolstering was installed on request of original owner at time of conversion. transom looks & feels solid, ofcourse test drive will prove its strength. thanks for your input if you have time would love to hear why you prefer the V-20 over other hull designs. ???

steplift20
06-26-2005, 07:36 PM
sounds like alot of bling to me 24000 for a boat tats 5 years old get a v 20 its a better boat
ask anybody

bigshrimpin
06-27-2005, 05:38 AM
Laurence - That 1998 evinrude Ficht is a real gamble. There is a reason he only has 12 hours on that engine. The OMC ficht engines during that period are known to blow powerheads with less than 50 hours. Dealers couln't give these engines away. The ficht engines are the reason that OMC went under.

If you really like the boat . . . . then buy the boat and value the motor at $500.

If you do get it . . . . There are many updates to these engines like the pinned heads, water cooled computers, injectors. The computers log Error codes, Hours, RPM ranges, etc. Have a dealer check it out and give you a print out of the report. Also call evinrude customer service with the serial number . . . they'll tell you what updates have been done . . . if any. Read up on iboats about the 1998 and 1999 150/175 Ficht engines.
The most important piece of advice . . . have the owner take you for a ride in the boat. Make sure he drives at 2000 to 3500 rpm. Also DFItechnologies.com has lots of good information.

I own a 1998 evinrude ficht with 185 hours. It runs like crap in certain RPM ranges and it's very finickey. Carbon build up is a serious problem . . . . You have to decarb these engines every 100hours, run carbx, use special oil, and you have to index the plugs (takes 12 plugs (@ $8 ea) to find 6 good ones).

reelapeelin
06-27-2005, 10:53 AM
There's a BIG price difference in the two boats you describe...don't let the "savings" get you all "glassy-eyed"...sounds like the rig's got a lot of pluses...top, trailer, electronics, etc. all sound good, but the chain/turnbuckle support in the transom and the FICHT motor are big RED flags!...if your investigation reveals the motor to be upgraded since Bombardier took over, then you should be in good shape there...if I were about to spend 24 Gs and wound up buying for 7500, then you shouldn't mind spending $$ to re-build transom and GET RID of the chain/turnbuckle supports and the plywood/carpet cover-up(that should be glassed)...if that motor does not check out, owner's gonna have to take the HIT sooner or later to move the rig...he may be ready sooner if motor is proven to be poor...if that's the case, get him down to reasonable price valuing motor as mentioned above and plan to re-power ...new transom/motor AND spent less...now you got a winner!...only question remaining for me is how big gas tank in '79....less than 55-60, I'd pass on that one and keep lookin'...there have been some NICE V20s thru here for sale lately that are newer and less issues...

Why are we such big fans of the V20...for me it's a GREAT "everything" boat...light off-shore, in-shore, big lakes...excellent fishin' platform and great for towin' tubes/skiers...and easily trailerable and you won't find a better ride in a 20" boat...classic boat for sure... ;) ;D...

Franco
06-27-2005, 11:22 PM
If your interested, I have an 83 cuddy, most everything is new or updated - trailer could use some work. It's got a remanufactured marine 5.0 liter backed up by a solid Volvo-Penta outdrive. Most of the hard work has already been done - new stringers, wiring is new, gauges and switches too. Fuel hatch has been fixed, most of the deck hardware is now stainless, etc,etc,etc - all for $5500.00