New guy with questions
 

Hello everyone, my name is George and just join in this place, but i've been reading for a while. I have a very good chance of getting a 1986 V20 dual console. The boat(from pictures) looks great but i will go and see it tomorrow. A few questions though.
1-Is any place that i can go and get or see old manuals and specification books? I went to the Wellcraft site and i found something but not anything about the dual console.
2-What things i should check out? Transom is the first thing, but any other "known" common problems?
3-Is any flotation in these boats?
4-Are these boats self bailing?
5-Trailers; is it o.k to use roller trailer or have to use bunk trailer ?

Thanks in advance, George.

Read through these,
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/history?page=1
Flotation in certain boats started in 1976.
It appears 1989 and newer was self bailing.
Trailer type is usually a preference, mine is bunk type.

In regards to the self bailing I have not seen any really old ones but I believe they were all self bailing. Some were a better set up than others.
My 86 was, the two earlier 80's I was on were also.
Some were set up as a self bailer in a poor way in my opinion, they were set up with scuppers that drained into the bildge and relied obviously on the bildge pump to get rid of water. I beleive most of the I/O boats were like this.
The OMC sea drive and outboard boats I have seen going back into the early 80's at least were true self bailers, meaning in my mind the cockpit drained thru scuppers and out thru thru hulls overboard using the natural flow of water and no other mechanical aids.
The later years, the earliest I have seen around 1987 did not even have scuppers or thru hulls on it, the floor was high enoughand it drained straight out thru the rear of the boat, usually where the cover board for the motor well is thru slots cut in the bottom of that plate and into the motor well, which was then drained thru the flap type drains that are standard in most motor wells.
This arrangement is what I have on my 92, water, pretty much no matter how much of it flows right out of my boat very quickly, and if you are moving forward, even a little a wave scutlled cockpit would flow out very fast. Sitting in a dock or drifting none comes in at all or if pretty hairy drifting like I do thru the Sandy Hook Rips at times you might get a little come in from the outboard but it flows out right away.

tsubaki and willy, thanks for the quick reply.
Any difference between "step-lift" and "fisherman" ?

..the experts feel free to correct me if wrong.

The Steplift name refers to the "steps" in the patented Ray Hunt designed hull. You can go read about it. I did, but I still don't fully get it. Best I can say is that the angle changes in the hull are called "steps".
So therefore, all of the hulls are Steplift hulls.

Of the Steplift hulls you have the Cuddy Model, the Center console (which I believe is the fisherman), and the Dual Console model.

Read through the link(s), I think it will confirm what shane and willy said.

...come back shane, come back!! :you: