Oh NO!!

[trout25red]

So my uncle took the V20 out this weekend..... (stop reading if you don't want to hear a rant)

My uncle, who we allow to use the boat because he is the handyman for it, took his new girlfriend to our camp this weekend for some fishing. On Friday, they took a ride to his friends camp in Lake Catherine. They took the 18mile trip across Lake Borgne to get there. He tied the boat up to the friends dock and then left it to go enjoy boiled crabs, drinking, and being merry. Upon returning to the boat several hours later, he noticed that the wind had changed. This caused the V20 to be beaten REPEATEDLY into the guy's dock. Ya know what else? There was a bolt sticking off the guys pier that chewed up the starboard side. I know it must be horrible. He even said that the prongs on the flush gas cap snapped off! I can just imagine the horrendous noises the V20 must have been making as its gelcoat was violated non-stop. I just made plans yesterday for an overnight trip in 2 weeks to fish the oil rigs that are lit up like Xmas trees for some speckled trout. I won't see the boat until I get down there, and I am not looking forward to seeing the damage. Anyway, he said that he would take care of fixing it, which I know that he will. Basically, it is just frustrating to think of his carelessness. To top it off, they ran the boat home in the dark about 30 miles using the ship channel! At least he had the sense not to run Lake Borgne at night, due to the crab traps and rigs that may not be illuminated.

By the way, they went back to the same friend's camp the next night. But this time it was by car ;)

[Skools Out]

OUCH Sounds like time to tie him to a Norton Snagger and throw them both over board. Well if you could send some pics so we can see how well they hold up under extreme abuse. Sorry to Hear that hope all goes well.

[Blue_Runner]

Man that really sucks a big one Trout! Very sorry to hear that. I thought you were gonna say she sank there for a minute. Guess it could'a been worse :-/

[trout25red]

I will attempt photos when I get to the boat in about 10 days. BR, you are damn right it could have been worse. Nobody was hurt, just my uncle's pride and the fair white skin of the V20. I would have never heard the end of it if I created damage like that. I hope it can be fixed to look great again. Anyway, I am always surprised by how good the hull looks after a wash/wax. Do most boats hold up this well for being 20 years old?

[reelapeelin]

Hey trout...it's just a thang...nobody got hurt and nobody INTENDED to do harm...he's gonna fix it...admittedly, it's easy for me to sit here and say, but unless your uncle is a complete screw-off(don't think he is or you wouldn't have let him use it in the 1st place)...try not to be too worked-up over it... ;)...life's too short and there are more important issues...

My old V20 is 31 yrs old and still shines(below the rub-rail)...hasn't been waxed in the 6-7 yrs I've had it... ;D...

[Mac_Attack]

Trout the boat can be fixed. All boat have scars or get scars. They are things we can talk and laugh about later.

RP do you and MJ have a thing against wax? :o

Bill mc ;D

[reelapeelin]

Mac, I have 2 things against wax...the $ it takes to get it outta the store and the elbow grease it takes to get it on the boat... ;) ;D...

[trout25red]

I drove to go see the damage last night. Thankfully, the damage is not as bad as I thought earlier. I have pics to post, but I have to wait until I get on my home PC. All damage is above rubrail and only 2 spots...I think. Anyway, ya'll are right. Boats can be fixed, and nobody hurt.

[reelapeelin]

But if anybody scrapes MY boat, ther'll be h--l to PAY...why, I'll moida da sob...whack off his nortons and feed 'em to da sharks.... ::) ;) ;D...

[trout25red]

Here is the damage:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/trout25red/damage2.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/trout25red/damage.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/trout25red/damage3.jpg

[trout25red]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b390/trout25red/damage4.jpg

[Skools Out]

Hey thats not bad at all. You can fix that easily enough. Little Glass and some paint never know it happened.

[reelapeelin]

Anybody that would leave a screw or any other piece of hardware stickin' out from a boat-dock enough to do THAT kinda damage, THAT'S the guy should have his NORTONS handed to him onna platter...Skool's right...minimal damage...shouldn't be big deal to repair... ;D...

Oh by the way, Trout...nice V20 you got there... ;) 8)...

[macojoe]

Easy fix for sure!!!!!!!!!!

And I still have not waxed the boat!! 6 years and running!
Still pretty shiney under the rub rail for 30 year old boat!

[trout25red]

Yeah, I had one hell of a sigh of relief when I saw the boat. I was expecting the worst. Sounds like what my mother used to describe when the phone rings in the middle of the night...usually something horrible has happened. Thanks for the support there fella's. I will let you know when my uncle gets around to fixing it. All I know is, I am taking that baby out next weekend with 3 friends for an overnighter.

[Stinky_Hooker]

Thas gonna be ok...glad it wasnt too bad. Nice boat! ;D

[Blue_Runner]

Overnighter? By the dock or out on the water?

Glad to hear the damage was less than expected! Nice boat Trout!

[trout25red]

Thanks for the nice boat comments. I can say the same to all of you ;D

Hey BR, here are the details of my plans for the overnighter.

1) Saturday- get gas, bait, oil, ice, etc at about 3pm from marina. Depart from there. Travel about 35 miles to the Central rig. This is a huge platform that is surrounded by smaller oil and gas rigs. We will fish the rigs and possibly Breton Island (one of the barrier islands to the Gulf of Mexico for Louisiana) for speckled trout until near dark.

2) 7:00. Set up anchor near the big flare at the Central rig. Here we will start the generator to throw multiple lights on the water. The big flare and lights on the rig already attract fish, but we like to call them right to the boat. We will fish most of the night hopefullly.

3) Upon waking in the morning, we will attempt a 10-15 mile jump to deeper water for snapper, grouper, cobia, or whatever else will bite. The plan is to take the hour and a half ride back from there and call it a day around noon.

Of course this is all subject to the weather. The V20 can get small quick once some thunderstorms push heavy wind in the area.

[Blue_Runner]

Sounds like a hoot. Doesn't sound like any sleepin going on at this type of all nighter! Where to you put the generator?

[trout25red]

Yeah sleep is an option. It just depends on the action. I put the generator on the floor near one of the rodholder sections in the side. I put it on a mat so that it won't slide and face the exhaust to the inside of the hull away from the side of the boat because it comes out very hot. It is very noisy, that is the biggest drawback. I am tempted to convert to 12 volt lighting, but that means spending more money on an already functional setup. I only do this once or twice a year as it is. Only about 8 days left til then!

[Skools Out]

i had a bad Transom day. I was drilling a hole in the transom to mount something and well the Marina that put the transom in my V20 for the previous owner that never finished the boat. Well the marina used of all things Bondo on the whole thing to make it smooth. Well in some areas it was 3/8 inch thick. Plus they just covered all the holes in the transom with bondo. I would have thought a marina would know bondo holds and absorbs water. So i ground all the bondo out and cut the cap off the transom to find one bad area. So i took a chain saw to the transom and cut out the rot/soft area. So now time to fix. Will post pics asap so you can see the work they did. They did at least put 3/8 inch of glass on both sides of the transom top to bottom.

[shicks007]

HOLY CRAP,

I guess that is a boad transom day. Good luck.

[Skools Out]

Yeah, But i'll get her fixed. Nothing a little glass and resin can't fix. When i get through it will be strong enough to hold 3 V6 O/B's LOL.

[Skools Out]

here it is

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-013.jpg

notice the hugh groove cut out of the transom on each end in the center. That's where i used a 16" bar on a chain saw to clean out that area of wood.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-012.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-011.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-010.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-009.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-008.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-007.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-006.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a46/Skools_Out/WellCraft/MVC-005.jpg

[reelapeelin]

Skool, I thought the cap would have to come up B4 recoring that transom (main reson I haven't done mine)...what are you puttin' in there and how well does it bond to the wood still in there?...and how do you get it into the cut-out above where the motor mounts?...