My first Boat
 

My dad gave me his 1970 v-20 I have always loved this boat, after asking him to sell it to me he gave it to me as long as I put her on a new trailer. Shes in great shape, although id like to do some modifications. heres the first pic I'll shoot some more over the weekend.

http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/y...ltier/v-20.jpg

That is a sweet looking rig!!

Wow it sure looks pretty mint for a 1970 boat....That brandy spankin' new trailer under her doesnt hurt the looks either. A 1970 boat may be the oldest one on the site? Was the first year of prodction right? Welcome to the site you'll have a blast hanging around here. What part of the country are you from?

Welcome! Nice setup you got there.

WOW.. very nice boat and I love the top. I'm sure you will enjoy it for many years, and if you run into problems or have questions about it you are in the right place. This site is full of great people with a ton of knowledge.....congrats..

Great looking rig. Amazing how you gelcoat still shines after 40 years. Good luck and have fun with it.

Yeah the trailer definitely helps, overall the boats in great shape especially for being Forty years old. as to location I'm in Sussex County Virginia, and usually fish the Chesapeake bay
and its tributaries. This site is great by the way Ive been tooling around here for a week or so in preparation, and there is definitely a wealth of knowledge to tap into here.

Welcome aboard.. beautiful boat.. Make your dad proud!!! :clap:

Welcome, that is a nice classic beauty and a sweeeeeeeet trailer. What kind of powerplant ?

I believe its a 160 Mercruiser I/O. I always loved the lines on the V20s, all that flare! I'm super excited!

You should be excited, you have a terrific looking boat. Best part about it is that it came from your Dad. I bet you spent a lot of good times on that boat with your Dad, and will have lots more good times on her with your Dad and others you love. Enjoy!

@nipper very true I spent almost all day Sunday with my three year old daughter cleaning her up, she didn't want to stop now everyday she asks me when we're going to go fish. I remember doing the same things with my Dad. My seven year old daughter however, I still have some work to do. And just to correct myself its a 165 Mercruiser inline six. Facebook has nothing on this site!

I hear ya on the 7 year old...my 7 year old complains to the point that I want to throw him overboard when he's on the boat...the 2 1/2 year old laughs and squeals with every wave we take. Although I recently may have found the answer...we took a neighbor kid out the other day and they both went tubing...when he saw how pie eyed excited the other kid and the kids dad were all day now he thinks his old man might be on to something with this whole boating thing. I'm hoping it takes.

Congrats and welcome, Ray. She's a beauty.

Update: So I took her out for the second time today ran up the James river beached it, swam with the kids then came back in starboard fuel tank ran out 25 feet from the ramp, port side was full. Had to jump ship and walk her in. Question: there are valves for each tank located right in front of the fuel filter (water separator) Should they both be open to draw fuel from both tanks or one open, one closed as needed? Still beats sitting in front of a TV any day.

sweet v20
 

Lucky son to get a boat like this,looks great,lot of luck with your v20

Thanks summer, have to learn her tendencies, but just to let everyone know Dad can take her out whenever he wants.

I used to have a similar set up.. I would draw fuel from one tank going out and the other tank coming in.. that way I never ran out of fuel. When the first tank ran out I knew it was time to head back.

I had a twin tank like yours in my 1975.
The whole tank thing has been spoke about many times!! Not sure we ever got the right answer?
Some say to just hook up both tanks and run it, but when you do that one always seems to run out before the other?
Some say you need equal leanth of hose on both sides to have them drain at the same time, Nope, not on mine?
Same with the vents, have to all be the same, suppose to have equal pressure?? Yep you guessed it, no worked for me?
What I did at first was Add a three way switch, Now I have right switch for right tank, middle off, and left for left tank, Then drive were I was going then swap tanks. This way I always had gas,

After I swapped my 165 I/O to a out board by way of a bracket, I used the space were the motor was to add a 25 gal tank. This worked great as most all my trips never used more then 20 gal, problem solved.

After you figure out how many miles you can go on how much gas, you wil be set, My gas gauge never worked and I never ran out of gas, except like you, one tank empty and one full.

20 gal gas in a I/O is like 3 mpg but I always thought 2 mpg. 2 x 20 is 40 miles per tank, 80 with both tanks.
The rule of thumb is 1/3 to your spot, 1/3 to get home, 1/3 for reserve.

I now have 1 tank in the Sea Ox with 110 gal gas! No more worry's!

Now when this happens we will talk about it, when the tanks get full, and you are splashing gas out the vents as you drive the boat down the road.

Thanks for the tips. After talking with Dad he said the same thing. And MJ I am already trying to figure out the vent thing. How did Wellcraft ever think that was a good idea?

Nice!!!!

Be sure to thank your Dad! And then thank him again.

I never thanked my Dad enough for all the great things he did for me...

Welcome to the site!

rkc

Yes the vent, nothing like a trail og gas falling out of the boat all the way to the ramp!! At $4 a gal!!

Its a easy fix, I and a few here have done it.

You have to change the location of the vent, the rule of thumb is to have the vent lower then the fill so it will leak out there before you over fill it.

Well thats the same height as the tanks, so you have to go above.
In the pic you will see the old vent and then the new one up higher next to the can. This leaks zero gas.
You need a 90* elbow vent, one for each side of the boat. and a longer hose.
I left the old vents there as I did not want to have to fill the holes and match the gel coat color and stuff like that.
So just drill the new hole install the new vent and add new hose.

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...icture_159.jpg

Also if it has not been done yet this would be a good time to replace all the gas lines as the old ones are not for this new gas and if the old hoses are still working they are surly getting rotted from the inside out.

Sounds Like thats what I'm going to have to do, not to mention the great looks you get when you spray someone behind you with the aforementioned $4 per gallon gas. By the way where did you get the vents?

You can get the vents at about any marine dealership. Probably west marine too. Google and you will find many places to buy online. Go stainless. Also be sure to put a loop in the hose. Any water that gets into the vent won't be about to travel up the loop to get into your tanks.

Yep get most any where, but if you are not in a hurry, online is cheaper in most cases!
Yes Like BR said add a loop to the line, keeps water out! If water does get in it will get stuck buy the loop, and when you add gas or the gas you have expands it will push the water out the vent.

Thanks for the tip BR. Googleing now.

Ray, saw your 10th post on another topic and had to find your New Member thread. Very nice looking rig, and the story that goes along with. Congrats and welcome to a very neat site.
Vic

Thanks Vic. I'm already addicted to the site so much to learn.

Congrats Ray !!!
You now have a Great boat, but also have a GREAT DAD !!!!
My Dad just gave me a rash when I told him I got a boat.

That boat is a pleasure to look at !!! She is just pretty !!!

Now make your Dad even happier by keeping her in Top Shape, and of course, making him the Captain on every trip together. Now just pass that wisdom to your own kids if any, so the Great motion of being a good and caring Dad continues for more generations...

Right on JJ, I'm going to do my best.

OK got the title from Dad today turns out shes a 1974. ready to do some fishing this weekend.