Hello Everyone, I'm Phil from Arlington, VA

[pjbrownva]

I'm so happy to be a part of the WellcraftV20.com


Here's the rest of the tome I've written. I humbly call it my introduction.



I hope it doesn't put you to sleep.

Skip it if you find it boring! :-)

-Phil




******** When I had to pay the bill *******

After I finished school, all I could think about was buying a car. Oh! The Mitsubishi Starion (if I could afford it)... with a turbo and all-wheel drive.

Or even better yet, the Plymouth Laser.... with a 5 speed and 2.0L turbo, front wheel drive and top speed of 140 MPH. I took one for a test drive, and it got up to 135 before I ran out of highway. Ah... the folly of youth!

Insurance quotes were outrageous for that car for me living in NYC ($7K per year was the LOWEST quote I find... some agents just laughed and refused to even give me a price)... so I started looking at other options, like maybe a used BMW convertible.

It was my uncle who spoke to me. He said, listen. Don't spend all of your money on a car. That makes no sense. Buy yourself and nice, reliable used car... nothing too fancy. Just something that you can rely on that isn't beaten up. A plain-jane sedan or something. Not a hot rod or sports car. Then save some money, and buy yourself a nice used boat. For less than the cost of these sports cars, you can have a decent, respectable car to drive and talk girls out on dates, and a boat to go fishing on, or take the ladies out for a nice day of fun on the water.

Wow! Why I didn't I think of that?

Well, the rest is history! I bought a closeout on a 1992 Nissan Stanza 5 speed base model (but it did have lots of options)... and never looked back. $11.5K out the door... tax and tags included, and it got the job done.

About 5 years later, I bought my first (and only) boat. It was a used 1991 ProCraft 180 Combo fish-n-ski. I was a strictly fresh water guy, and I had moved to Northern Virginia by then, so I used the boat on a large fresh water lake about 2 hrs away, and also in the Potomac river. I've had that boat ever since... fixing everything on it twice, and some things three times.

It's gotten ratty, and I'm on my 3rd outboard... this one I rebuilt myself. But I've had lots of fun. I've even taken it up to New England, and gone boating in Cape Cod Bay, Martha's Vineyard sound on some calm days, and even a few days of near-shore fishing in the ocean off of cape cod.... but, I realize that I'm pressing my luck being out there in a lake boat... thus my desire to join the V20 club!

Salt water fishing, here I come!!!!

Good to meet you all. If you've read this far, then I hope (and presume) that you've enjoyed the story. and if you didn't read this far, it's fine. It's only the musings of a 50+ year old guy, realizing that while I may get older, I never have to actually grow up. Cheers everyone!! Maybe our paths will cross one day on the water!

Sincerely,

-Phil


P.S. -- I don't claim to be a writer... although there was a time when I enjoyed writing. None-the-less, any talent that I might have -- if I even have any! -- I credit to one of my high school English teachers.
He was a quirky, brilliant, odd-ball teacher with a free-reign attitude and great wit, and the ability to mesmerize the class on the rare times that he chose to read an excerpt of his work-in-progress memoir to the class. Mr. Frank McCourt ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_McCourt )... and the best part about Mr. McCourt's creative writing class is all we did was write.... and read each other's stories... and critique each other's work. Mr. McCourt didn't care whether you showed up for class or not (he said... it's your education, and your grade)... if you acted up, he said... if you don't want to be here, then just leave (and some students did). I never skipped any of his classes -- of course, I wasn't one to cut class anyway -- but I always looked forward to Mr. Court's class. It was a real treat.

[Blue_Runner]

Welcome to the brotherhood Phil, we are exited to have you! I made to the part where you mentioned that if I made it there I must have enjoyed it. lol

Great read. Maybe we are related because I sound like your dad.

So my first boat I paid $900 for & named it Cash Money. It was a 1970 something 17 ft Pop-craft by Thunderbird with a 1975 (81 powerhead) Evinrude 70 hp - one of those bullet-proof Johnnyrudes - great motor! The boat had a rotten transom and questionable floor. I did a heavy metal repair to the transom - stainless steel plate added to keep the motor from falling off. No tilt/trim so I too had to lift the motor to get into shallow water. For this I kept a small piece of 2x4 to prop the motor with - and this was the mid to late 90's. The boat sank in about 10 ft at the dock on the lake one summer after a big heavy rain and the bilge pump couldn't keep up (the boat was known to take on a little water as well). Long story short we got it out and back on the trailer, I flushed out the head with marvel mystery oil and ran the boat for another 3 or 4 years until I got my first V20. Eventually the starter went out from the sinking and I'd just pull the cowling, wrap the rope around it and pull start it. Had to prop a soft koozie against the choke up at the throttle for the first pull, then remove and she ALWAYS fired up on that second pull! Boy you should have seen some of the looks I'd get at the boat ramp - especially when I was putting in at the beach.

[charlie_the_tuna]

welcome Phil. I read up to the part where you said "skip my post or die of boredom". I promise, as soon as i'm done watching my grass grow and my paint dry, i'll get right back to it.
enjoy your new boat (you did say you were getting a boat, didn't you?) and catch 'em up.

[steplift20]

Hi Phil welcome to our site, we are all here to help you and go in the right direction, you will see there are some very good people here and some are really really good at motor problems and will advise you great read you have but why did you cut it so short (just kidding)