Drain hole in my 1983 V20 step-lift

[phatdaddy]

Hers is a shot of the hull meeting the bulkhead that the cabin wall rest on, This is looking stern to bow. The anchor line locker also drains through here.

[bilgsmf]

I was stressing that I was going to need a drain hose! Thank God, one less thing to worry about.

[phatdaddy]

When I replaced the deck under the pedestal chairs I put in a hatch right outside of the cabin. This gave me access to that area to use as storage and dry it out. Also allowed me to get to the PVC drain pipe under the fuel tank to flush it out.

[bilgsmf]

What year is your V20? Do you have pictures of your boat and your mods?

[phatdaddy]

It s an 83, I bought it in 91. On it s third motor, all 150 Mercs.



this is the deck hatch I added. Was concerned because it is a high traffic area, but has held up well.




Lotta space under there



Not a boat mod, but adding this ramp to the boat shed was the best thing I ve done. Makes loading and unloading very easy.

[bilgsmf]

You must really love your V20 to have had it so long. How many times a year do you take it out? Any reason why you never went with a bigger motor? Interested in knowing your answer. Also the hatch you added, would there be enough room to make that hatch into a ice chest instead? I cant tell from your picture how much room there is. Could I go with a bigger hatch?

[phatdaddy]

It s a pretty big area. it goes from the cabin door the the rear of the deck hold and as wide as the stringers. you could put a bigger hatch but it would have to be strong enough to handle the traffic. Drainage might be a problem, I never liked draining into the bilge.

150 always seemed to be the perfect fit for me. i used to do a lot of diving and had it propped for heavy loads, never cared for speed. I will say the 150 2S were more fun than the 150 4S. I do like 4mpg vs 2mpg.

We use it a lot, Probably use it 30 weekends a year, mostly in the bay now. I put about 100 hours a year on the motor and about 1-1.5 hours a trip.

[steplift20]

Phatdaddy we love our boats (V20) mine is a 78 also with a 150 mercury 2 stroke. I bought her in 95 I think. 29 years ago and still to this day love that boat. For a 30 footer you have a cabin and plenty of fishing room plus she has great lines. I hav3 to check I might have bought her before that. But 95 seems about right.