new member and looking
 

Hello!
Live in Houston and looking for a nice rig for hugging the coast and maybe a few excursions out in the Gulf (not too far though). Mostly tooling around and some fishing. Actually looking for a boat that may need some work, I would enjoy the challenge. I saw an ad for this v20 which looks fairly nice, have not seen it yet but but for the price must assume it needs work plus the motor may not be salvageable. I would appreciate comments about the boat and its $2,200
sale price. Here's the ad:

I have a 1988 20 foot Wellcraft V20 with a Black Max 150. I bought it 2 years ago and haven't touched it. It will need tune up. clean tank or use plastic tank and probably some electrical. Motor was cranked when I purchased it. Boat has new gel coat and trailer was redone. Needs new tires. Transom is solid.

Thanks

Looks like a nice find but I wouldn’t take that “solid transom” to the bank. I haven’t seen many V’s that have been sitting to have a solid anything. Last center console I bought seemed solid. All my weight on the motor and no flex, I got talked into cutting into it because it didn’t pass the tap test and sure enough it was moist as fog. It probably woulda lasted another summer but was soon to rot and it was all because of flawed glassing from the factory. Seems to be the norm with these boats. But if the motor is at all salvageable it don’t seem like a bad deal. Could be a fun project.

Hi and welcome to the site. The V20 is one of the best inshore boats ever built, and it's ability to bring people home when the snot is bad are legendary. Good choice.

Does the engine still crank? If so then do a compression test. If the readings are all close to each other it should be ok. If the engine is ok then the asking price with the trailer is pretty good. As 3 Squids just said, do a tap test on the transom. Bring a rubber mallet and hit the transom all over. Listen to the sound the mallet makes. A dull thud indicates rotted wood behind the fiberglass. Also, raise the engine and then put some weight on the end of it while looking at the transom. If you see any flexing of the transom that's another indication of it being rotted inside.

v20
 

Thanks for the replies, decided a cuddy would best suit my needs. I'll post if I come across a possible V.

Thanks again