New member, new V20 owner

[breastman569]

i just posted some pics of my 79 out here in AZ so maybe you could get some ideas for you cuddy door, http://www.wellcraftv20.com/communit...413#post157413. we just moved backed to az from point loma where my wife was a dolphin trainer at sea world we miss it so much and loved every second of it, so now that im back i decided to get the boat ready for lake season.

[phatdaddy]

hey cali,lotta potential there and at least you got chrome fenders.....

[macojoe]

Welcome to the site!! I converted my V20 in 1998 and it was the best thing I ever did! Car motors were never ment to be ib the ocean IMO.
I had a 175 Yamaha on it and it was great! But I just got rid of a 2.4 175 Merc off my Sea Ox and it was amazing how much power and great gas mileage it had!
The motor is not dead, it is going to be used by Bigshrimpin on his 23 Seacraft.

As for brackets I used a full swim platform one as I got it for $400. Check all the marinas in your area and Crigslist for a take off, they can be had for like $500 or cheaper. Also Stainless Marina sells just the platforms (I call them wings) to bolt on your box bracket making it a platform.

Well Good Luck and ask all you want!

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

hey cali,lotta potential there and at least you got chrome fenders.....

And whitewalls too .....

(oh, and the boat looks nice also)

[reelapeelin]

Your pics remind me of 1st sight of my 21 recently...yep, there's lotta potential there w/lots of "adventure" to reach it!!...LOL!!...mines coming along nicely and I know yours will as well...be thinkin bout an in-deck hatch or something useful to do w/the space you'll have back there after you yank the I/B...3/4" starboard will make a nice floor over it...

[randlemanboater]

Welcome to the site and congrats on the "new" boat.

If you run into Tuna Head out there, tell him to check in.

[Destroyer]

Hey Cali.. I know this goes against what I said earlier, but if you want an I/O setup and just want to replace the engine for now you might want to give these guys a call and see what they have...

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/boa/1725444154.html

I know nothing about them except the price looks good.

Red skys at night

[Cali-V]

A little up-date with some good and some bad.

I pulled the fuel tank, not fun but not as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was the tank had about 30 gal. of a funky gas and water mix that I had to pump out. The tank is in good shape. Just a cleaning and a new sender and it is good to go. I do not want to re-install it with foam, I was thinking about maybe 4 laminated 3/4" Ply peices running from stringer to stringer and lam'ed to the bottom to support the tank (Cut outs in the center to let water drain). Maybe some 5200 on the supports and 2 2x4's on top to secure it?

Now back to the transom.
I still have not taken the motor/outdrive off. I did drill a few holes to check the thickness and condition of the wood. Most of the wood is dry, even fresh pinkish-yellow, however I did drill a hole just bellow the outdrive seal and the classic "wet soil" came out. I am thinking this could be a good thing because now I am set on complete transom replacement rather than trying to strengthen the weird two piece core from the factory. I am thinking of cutting out the inner skin and old wood and leaving the outer skin. Then building up 4 layers of 1/2" ply/epoxy sandwich, one at a time (to follow the curve) then glassing the inner and tying back into the stringers and patch holes on the outer. A lot of work I know but this would give a nice solid transom to hang the bracket and O/B off of.

Any thoughts?

[Cali-V]

Yes I saw the pictures of yours, super clean. You could photoshop in some fuzz and yellow it out and I would believe the photos were taken in '79.

Nice to see a few people familiar with the area here. I actually grew up in Pacific Beach not too far away and know Point Loma well. Lots of great fishing around, well within range for a V20. I saw a boat (can't remember who's) in the gallery with a nice 100-120qt cooler with a cushion on it behind the captains chair. I really like the idea and want to do it to mine because those wimpy little fish boxes in the floor will not hold even one Yellowtail!

So back to the boat. I cleaned it up today found a few more minor things to fix but still feeling good about it. Also found it has the entire kicker bracket ready for a small O/B! Found the bow light wires resting on some carpet with wire nut connectors. Didn't need to see any more and put complete re-wire on the list. I am going to start tearing out the foam and try to get the tank out tomorrow. The P/O said when he used it it would gunk up the carb so he mounted a tank on the deck! Hopefully it just needs a good cleaning but I expect a new tank could be a possibility.

Set on the outboard conversion. I guess first thing would be to pull the outdrive and engine. The outdrive actually looks in good shape and since parts are scarce for these it has to be worth something to someone right? Question is how much? I looked and looked on the internet but only found very few for sale from $500 to $1400 for just the lower unit. I am hoping I can get enough to offset some of the bracket cost. Problem is I do not know if this is a good unit and can't sell it as such? How much should I ask?

And yes, the chrome fenders alone sold me on it!