Got my first V

[Dr. Hook]

I am quite excited to have picked up this '84 V20. Has a mercruiser 5.7 V8 in it. Its a big upgrade for me and my family coming from our 16' aluminum starcraft.




Had it out for one trial run and it was great
Does need work in some areas like all old boats though.
I will get back with more info later, its late now.

[jjuriga]

Nice looking boat man!

[phatdaddy]

Nice, clean looking boat. Enjoy and keep pics coming.

[jvitiel]

Awesome. I love it when you get a new boat. Magic times

Good luck. This forum will become invaluable to you - it did me...

[BillTex]

Yeah...that's a beauty. Looks purpose "built" also.
We continue to be impressed with our V.

Have been running of-shore quite a bit lately and the hull does not disappoint.

Enjoy-be safe, bill

[Dr. Hook]

Thanks for the compliments. I paid 5000 and I feel it was a solid deal.

The good:

First owner apparently stored it in a boat house on a lift.

Seller was the second owner (he bought it 5 years ago) and he ran a boat repair business for 20- some odd years, specializing in fibreglass. So the hull is looking really sweet.

4 yrs ago seller replaced original OMC sterndrive with the mercruiser/ alpha 1. At this time he replaced transom (said it wasn't even rotten though) and the engine stringers. The engine he put in was used (unknown hours) and the outdrive was freshly rebuilt.

second owner only put 50 hrs on since doing the work

Has a great custom canvas with full sides and back

Trailer is in great shape all around

Has trim tabs, a kicker bracket, and a remote spot light on bow.

I love the seating and the layout. Perfect for my family, and for fishing trips with the guys.

The bad:

The bulkheads are rotted about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way from bottom up and the flotation foam around gas tank is soaked. I think the water got in from the leaky front hatch and also the screw holes in deck from aftermarket seats. The main stringers seem solid from what I can tell so far. Along side the gas tank could be a different story. I have started removing the wet foam, and boat is kept dry in an old barn now.

The cockpit drains go into the bilge, not self bailing.

I'd likely have taken an outboard model given the choice, but beggars can't be choosers.

[Dr. Hook]

Here's some more eye candy for you.

My pathfinder tows it surprisingly well, even though I am close to my 5000# towing capacity. Good thing the trailer surge brakes work well!

[Destroyer]

If you have rod holders built into the gunnels that's also a main source of water into the hold. By all means get rid of the foam. Every gallon of water removed is 8+ pounds of weight. I've removed most of the foam from my 16.5 Airslot and have already removed close to 400 lbs of dead weight. (I was curious, so I've been weighing each plastic bag as it's gone out to the garbage). Going to use Spareparts suggestion from long ago and use pool noodles to replace the foam in the voids. Cheap replacement, and easily removable should the need ever arise again.

[Dr. Hook]

Well for some reason my pictures showed up for the first couple days and now they are gone. Does photo bucket always do that? Is there another way I can post them here?

As for the foam yes, it must go. I want nothing that holds water inside. I do have the rod holders and they even have a crack so that would be letting water in. I may just lose the floor foam and fill the rod holder voids with foam, then cover them over. I'd rather have another type of rod holder anyhow.

As much as I'd like to do a full rebuild for stringers and bulkhead its simply never going to happen. I'm thinking I may try to reinforce the bulkheads by epoxy glueing a new plywood bulkhead to the existing, and then glassing that to the hull with cloth and resin. Not a perfect fix by any means but I think it would add considerable strength to the overall structure and give me peace of mind. The thought of my hull splitting open while out with my family just haunts me.

[scook]

For drying out, in addition to digging out the foam, you might try leaving the canvas slightly open and put a fair sized fan in the boat (a standard box fan is good). Consistent air movement is very good for drying things out.