First Boat, Wellcraft v-20
 

Hello everyone,

I started my search for a boat a few months ago and right away i found a v-20 for sale locally, fell in love with the hull and started perusing this website, lots of great info. I usually fish on a 36' henriques or a 31' Grady White, so I'm used to boats, bigger boats, but not used to owning.
Think i got a great deal, Johnson outboard runs great...once it starts, and the boat is ideal for what i got it for, trailering it down to Raritan bay to fish.
Changed lower unit oil, tilt and trim fluid, put some additives in the gas and took her out for the first time last weekend on the Hudson, went great very happy with it.
two days after i bought it I saw a guy down the street from me had the same boat! Funny how you notice things after the fact
looking forward to modifying it to my liking, but have a very solid platform to start from.

Thanks for all the help already!

Garret

Welcome to the Cult! It only gets worse, LOL!

Congrats on choosing arguably one of the most capable all around hulls for the money. Also this site is full of knowledge for just about anything you'd want to do, and most of all some great people.

Lots of members in your area.

Congrats Jersey, I have had two of them and miss them a lot. You will enjoy

Welcome aboard. You're in good company, quite a few members are here in New Jersey, and since you're launching in the Raritan Bay you're likely to see a few of them from time to time. Don't hesitate to ask questions if you're not sure of something, cause there's a lot of knowledge floating around here and we like to share. :beer:

Pictures when ya can!!...:sly:

Welcome to the fold.

There she is, motor smoking up a storm, gotta love these older two strokes, started right up for sitting for over a year tho so i can't complain too much

Welcome Aboard!

Nice Looking V!

Nice looking boat. Do yourself a favor though. Since she's been sitting for over a year, changing the impeller might be prudent. It might not need it, but then again, do you really want to take the chance of overheating your engine? Oh, and also, if you have not already done so, buy yourself some peace of mind.... get a membership with TowBoat or BoatUS. It's cheap insurance if you ever need a tow back to the dock.

Does it have trim tabs ? If not, it's one of the best modifications you can do on a V because it greatly improves the ride.

I have a V and run around from Raritan Bay down the ocean south of Belmar.

The tabs make it possible to run on plane in a wide range of conditions, and nearly eliminates pounding in chop.

I installed Bennett tabs, very straight forward job to be done without rushing.

Best of luck with the boat, congratulations, and safe boating.

Yea tabs do help that boat alot just do youself a favor a dont be the jackass that asks another member how to do it in full detail then go with somethin else^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

.....and a seatow membership does go a long way. You'll get your moneys worth if you ever have to use it.

Welcome to the forum man!

Thanks for the welcomes guys and all the kind words, the impeller, water pump, thermostats were changed at the beginning of the season, I say it sat because he only used it once this spring. From what i know it does not have trim tabs, the only other boat I've "drove" was a inboard diesel, so I'm not sure what trim tabs do to be brutally honest...I'll have to do my research. I also plan on getting the membership from west marine, figure it's a safe bet and I'll be thankful if i ever need to use their services. Is going through west marine my best bet for this?
Thanks again!

You'll find West Marine's prices sky high on a lot of things, def better places to find parts and accessories, especially the internet and ebay. West Marine's catalog is good for "shopping" for different things, then find them elsewhere. I have TowBoat and dealt directly with the local franchise owner who I know. Worth it the first time you need it, covers your trailer too, plus any boat you are using at the time. Good if you own multiple boats or borrow a friends boat.

I'm out on the left coast and use BoatUS -I think they're associated with West Marine but I deal direct with them. With no kicker motor, I have had to use them twice and I agree - it's nice to have.

Tabs are goin to balance the hull out. Basically if everyone is sittin in the back you can hammer the tabs down to get you up on a plane better. Also works the same way if ol hefty Uncle Ricky decides to park his 300#'s on starboard you can compensate by tabbin the left side down so the hull doesnt list as bad. Also will help you out on fuel economy drastically.

Lenco's are electric. Bennets are hydraulic

Okay great I'll certainly look into the tabs, don't look terribly expensive and from what I've been reading fairly easy to install for the huge improvement of the boat.
the only reason i brought up west marine is because they offer membership of one of those tow services, and i wasn't sure if i could go to the company directly. I think it was something like $150 a year through them, but I'll have to check some other resources.
Thanks for all the help this far guys!

Better smokin then broken!

Nice looking boat!

Tabs are great but are a luxury. You will ride well without them until you are ready to drop the cash on them.

Tabs.....so let's say you're cruising into 2' chop, a few 3' waves mixed in, and you're the boat is " pounding" meaning the bow goes up comes down BAMM, again, again, again as you're running bow into the chop.

You then press both tabs to go down, meaning, they lower pressing against the water pressure from the boat running through the water. This forces the bow of the boat down, which puts the front edge of the V into the waves, to cut through, greatly reducing the pounding, and keep your boat running flatter too.

OK...
Towboat and BoatUS: Both are good.
Yes, West Marine is in partnership with BoatUS. (That's the service I use). You can buy directly from BoatUS online, or from West Marine either in-store or online. Same cost either way. The basic tow service is $150. For an additional $14(?) you also get trailer coverage, meaning that if you should break down while trailering your boat they will come and get you and your boat home (up to 100 miles) free of charge.

Trim Tabs:
Trim tabs are flat pieces of metal, usually around 18" X 8", mounted on a hinge to the stern of your boat, right at or just slightly above the edge where the vertical stern and the bottom horizontal surfaces of the hull come together. Although their exact size differs from boat to boat, (depending on the size of the boat) the function is the same for both the electric and the hydraulic types. There is an actuator or a hydraulic cylinder mounted to them that either lifts or forces down the tab. They act on the hull of the boat much like the elevators on the rear tail of an airplane do. Their primary function is to control the pitch (and to a limited extent the list) of the hull as it moves through the water. You can get a better idea of what they look like and how they work by clicking on this link: http://www.bennetttrimtabs.com/guidetotrimtabs.php

Hope this helps clear up your questions.