my project wellcraft 180 fisherman
 

well this is my new project i pick this boat out of craigslist for a good price i hope i bring this boat back to ship shape and be able to enjoy it i love fishing so this can be a grate little project well here are some pics of the progress so far


here is when i got the boat

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...psb484e371.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps92007491.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2ae9e37b.jpg

here is what i have done so far

remove and clean all the wires from cc


http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps663fa7ad.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...psa28ed57f.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps218e0d1a.jpg


remove gas tank to clean good thing i did that i found the gas tank had a small hole in it

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps99f3fe95.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...pscd36e971.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps10a9e5da.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps060731e7.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...psa28ed57f.jpg

the motor

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9da6dd72.jpg


http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps82761647.jpg


well so far that's what i have done i will do some more work during the week i will keep posting

now i have some questions to you guys regarding the gas tank should i replace it fix it like patching up the hole or should i cover the old gas tank are and add a small gas tank

the motor lots of ppl say they are bad are they really should i even try to fix it

thanks guys for the opinions and any Questions

spend the money and put a new tank in place, yo won't regret it

looks good, I agrere buy a new tank , when you remove the old tank you will get a good look at the stringers and plumbing systems . nice find

How about the motor should I rebuilt o just get a difrent one have any one change the bracket to be able to stear and tilt with a difrent bracket using the omc

This is the bracket I order

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps53882cae.jpg

This is how I wanted to look

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Hiyl1Dl-iF0/TQ...2-12%20044.JPG

guys i have a new question i am debating if i cut the transom to put the engine what will be the right way to do that also i am thinking on not reusing my gas tank will be a good idea to cover the hole not put the tank and use one of those portable ones reason why is my tank have a small hole in


my main concern about the platform is my friends boat have one similar to the one i like and every time he open up the bow go up hi he had to get bigger tabs to be able to control that i am not looking to spend to much extra money and if i get the platform it sure looks good but my ride will be a pain

if i do this will i have to cut the top of my transom or i can use it like this

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9731f6cd.jpg

not sure i am understanding, are you considering cutting the top off of the transom and then cutting a notch to accept a conventional outboard mount. when you remove the seadrive mount there should be a small hole in the center that your cables ran through and then 6 or 8 holes that the bracket was mounted with. you should have a pretty clean palate to start your rebuild. check the transom for rot, if ok just fill & patch the holds.
i think you would be money & looks ahead to dump the seadrive, mount either bracket you pictured, and get another motor.

Well my problem is I don't want to cut the top every one is telling me I won't be able to mount the motor and trim up plus it will obstructing the steering my idea is to get a bracket to move the motor back so I can steer and be able to move up the trim I like the platform but if I do get it also will need to get trim taps that is adding to the project

your right about the metalbracket, it would not work on a closed transom. the armstrong in the pic with the motor or the first pic would work.

here's a couple of links to help you:

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/communit...version&page=3

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/communit...2Fo+conversion

i do think on an 18, squatting in the stern is going to be a problem. you will probably need to go to an older 4 cyl 2 stroke & move as much weight forward as possible.

thanks for the links and yes i am looking in to a 115 HP everude witch is similar to the omc i will have to change the lower unit because is a 20" and i need a 24" i was told i can use the power unit with that now my new concern with that will be the steering connected to the omc is longer and the one connected to the everude is short i have to figure out how to transplant that power head to the omc

or can i just put the 20" with out changing anything

If I'm understanding you right I'd say that if the tilt/trim and steering on the seadrive works then yes just swap the powerhead and any needed linkage brackets and ur good to go.

for what i was told today by my friend who is a marine mechanic the hear o power unit fit my omc lower unit what i am concern is the steering part witch is connected to the Johnson is short and the omc is long i think it can be change

I MAY be wrong but I believe the steering arm connects to the mid section and not the power head

yes you are right but the part witch connects to the trim/tilt is diffident on the omc

if i add a bracket can i adjust the position of the 20" motor or will it be to low

The vertical shaft!!!! I had the same problem on another boat I had. What year is your motor your trying to hook up to the sea drive? If you go with the seadrive.

The issues with a bracket and a 20" inch motor is constantly swamping the motor when you come off plane.

I guess I'm not understanding something... as far as I know the power head swap shouldn't affect any steering, tilt/trim, shaft length, or anything else below the engine block...... I don't understand why you would be concerned with those things

ok I get it... you are flopping back and forth from using the seadrive to swapping it out for a bracket......

Sure you COULD use the 20" on a bracket but as Kracker said it will be prone to swamping.

The only part I will like to use from the sea drive is the lower part so I can convert the 20" to 24 but by doing that I will have to figure out how to change there is a part under the stearing witch conect the tilt/trim in the 20 is short look at this Pic

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3310c5b.jpg

Ok so what I see is that you have a 25" motor/seadrive set up. I sold mine about 8 months ago that was a 20' motor/seadrive set up. so you are trying to put a 20" motor on a seadrive that is set up for 25" motor,it had the shorter 4 bolt pivot piece on it. you either have to get that 4 bolt pivot piece on the seadrive in a 20" or you have to swap out power heads off your other motor to the one you have pictured. Im still kinda confused, your verbage kind of jumps around making it confusing. hopefully we are on the right track now. where are you located?

I think I FINALLY understand.... you are absolutely wanting to get rid of the seadrive and go to a bracket but you want to convert the 20" motor to 25" with parts from the seadrive unit..... correct?

Yes you are correct sorry guys am trying to explain the best I can

manny, saw this on tht, thought you might be interested

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-...h-rebuild.html

That's a really nice build I have check my stringers and the transom and is dry only small problem I found was small rod on the circle hole witch is no problem ill fix it soon

Just a small update on what am doing I am sanding the floor so I can painted also looking on some none skit paint to apply I will be showing pics soon also fixing the wires on the center console am planing on rewriting the batteries to the front I got a new fuse box with I will rewire to pics comming soon

guys what if i just put the 20" on a hydraulic jack plate

that won't get the powerhead any further from the prop which must be in the water... will still be prone to swamping......



WHY not just KEEP the seadrive and put the powerhead on it??

There is some parts witch need to be replace in the bracket of the cea drive like the pump and the hoses one of the cilinders looks like is about to go it has a small leak lol and most important I don't like the bracket

What I was thinking is installing the 20" on a new bracket the omc bracket is to old and parts are hard to get I will like something I can get easy

have you found another engine that is 20" and are trying to use that? where are you located? 25" 4 cyl 2 strokes are not that rare.

Yes I have a guy he is giving a good deal on a Johnson 115 20" with controls trim gauges cables everything for 400

It COULD be done but IMHO it would be a bad choice.... If you can't afford a 25" motor right now you may be stuck with temporarily patching up the seadrive until you can source the parts to convert the 20" to a 25"...

Otherwise, you might want to just wait till you can source everything needed to hang a bracketed 25"er on there

Manny I'm following your thread and you seem to be all over the place bud. First things first Rome was not built in a day. Second thing is I see in one comment that you ordered a bracket and in a nother comment you want to use a jack plate. You don't have enough backset to use a jack plate because you have a solid transom,just remember you have to tilt and trim the motor. You have a perfect setup to do a bracket conversion ideally with a 25" inch motor and have a really nice rig. If you order the bracket and put the 20" motor on it then you gotta do what ya gotta do, just remember you are gonna want to bring it up to a 25 " at some point. I'm building my boat to a 20" inch transom mount setup but I have already set in my mind that it will be converted to a solid transom with a 25" and a bracket within 2 years, I'm just dealing with what I have for the time being. I wish you all the luck on your build we are here to help which ever way you go with it.

pretty sure he was asking if he could use the jackplate WITH the bracket to keep the motor from swamping

yes smokeonthewater that is what i was asking i also show different types of bracket to see witch one can work better with out me cutting the transom and had to make a wash area i like my close transom also i am trying to save as much as i can from the old omc with out using the power head but i have no choice to discard that idea i have no experience when it comes to boats that's why i have a bit difficulty explaining and trying to get a solution to my problems witch they are simple i see now i have to get a 25" motor and a bracket witch it comes to my other question how far back dose the bracket needs to be for the motor

thanks guys for all the help and trying to figure out this problems :head:

I seen a guy here locally that kept the bracket part of the seadrive and rigged up a plate to mount his engine to it. He left the sea drive in the down position and just used the trim on the outboard. I thought about doing that on my old proline, but after feeling just how heavy that seadrive bracket is after I took it off(got like $60 for it as scrap). I would recommend pulling it off and finding a regular bracket. On my proline, it was easy to cut the transom down and make a regular transom out of it, it had a filler panel that was held in place with two screws and some silicone, after I pulled it out, I cut the transom down and reglassed over the fresh wood. The liner for the boat was the same liner used for either set up. If your boat has a nice molded liner dedicated for use on teh seadrive, I'd keep looking for a bracket. I've seen nice ones on line for $500

after going back and looking at all the pics, i would NOT recommend cutting the transom down. Next, whats wrong with the seadrive? is the bracket and trim still working? If the power head is bad, it may be easier to swap power heads.

Look around at local marina's to see what a used one goes for, you don't need the swim platform part, just the basic bracket. Do you know anyone that can weld aluminum? I've seen plenty home made brackets that look good. Worse comes to worse, check with your local tech school, see if they have night time welding classes, usually the welding teacher is a retired professional welder and does a little side work making things

mj had a good thread when he converted his i/o to a bracket. maybe he will post a link to it. it had a lot of pics and great info about set back and engine height. i think you would need a 20-24 inch setback

I like my full transom is in good condition I will get a bracket because I don't like the cea drive bracket at all and I also was going to buy a swim platform with the bracket but I stop for a bit the reason why I stop is because I was rushing in to it with out know what's going on now I know there is difrent brackets out there

There is a bracket for sale and is around 26" I think that probably can work

I'll get some pics of my buddies sea vee, he used a regular bracket then welded two pieces of tubing to the bracket that bent around, He inlaid the area with teak and it turned into a nice swim platform