new member... recent 79 v20 cuddy purchase

[billmongold]

hey guys, glad to be active.
a little background on me; i live in waretown, nj (i noticed quite a few fellow nj v20'ers) and have grown up on the water and my parents always had boats growing up (13' whaler, 17' whaler, bertram moppie, 30, larson, and 36' pacemaker sportsfisherman). I currently work at Viking Yachting Center in new gretna, nj as a marine technician. its quite a difference being used to a late 70's pacemaker and thne jumping on a 2013 viking 74' enclosed bride convertible, lol.

anyways i have recently purchased a '79 wellcraft v20 cuddy with an '85 yamaha precision blend 150 outboard. the boat needs a few things but it's the first vessel that i have ever owned and feel as though i got a good deal ($50 with trailer). boat seems solid but the under deck fuel tank is not being used (6 gal portable fuel tank on board). also there is premixed 2 stroke gas in the tank (which worries me; i'd like to have the precision blend system working, even though i am not familiar with it. i do have vro experience though. seats are missing on the boat and it looks like someone tried to patch bolt holes on the cockpit deck (poorly). paint is faded and wiring is super messy, but its nothing that can't be fixed. there are no electronics on the boat. tried to fire the yammie up yesterday after installing a good battery and it has stale gas so i'll need to rebuild the carbs before i can update on how it runs, but it will fire on starting fluid (i know not the best idea but i wanted to know if i rebuilt the carbs that it would run). the tilt support lever is also rusted up so i can't use it. plus i had a trailer tire blowout on her maiden (trailered) voyage home.

I'm happy to be a member of the site. i've been browsing around and it seems as there is a wealth of knowledge on this site. it's nice to see reference pictures of completed boats, because mine is missing seats and all kinds of stuff. thanks for having me, guys. on to the pics.

[Destroyer]

For $50 you got a steal. First things first... welcome to the site! Happy you found us!! Since there are so many different things you just mentioned I will suggest that you DO NOT try to do everything at once. Take small steps.. do one project at a time. First, check the transom and the floor for soft spots. If they pass then clean it so you're not working in dirt with every repair. If it were me I'd check out the tank first, and once that's clean and I knew it wasn't leaking then I'd go to the wiring, then the engine. Once the major things are up and working like they should, I'd start on the cosmetics, like the floor holes, seats, etc. Get the majors done first. Just don't lose heart. You have a lot of work in front of you, but in the end you'll have one of the best damn boats in it's size that's ever been made, and you'll turn heads everyplace you go.

[billmongold]

thanks man, i appreciate it. after seeing all the posts on bad stringers and transoms, i'm terrified to check them. i'm going to do all the mechanical stuff first then worry about making it pretty. i was just going to buy and sell it but i brought me 13 month old daughter aboard to see it. i sat her in the helm on my lap and she was laughing and playing with the controls and steering. at that point i decided i should give her the same nautical experience i had as a child (my girlfriend is not as happy about me keeping the boat as i am, seeing as how it needs so much work/money). but the first time i take them tubing in the bay i'm sure she will see it differently.

[Striper80]

$50 sounds like a steal. You've got a bit of work ahead of you but they're definitely a good riding boat. Once I got my boat home in October I put my daughter on it in the yard and she loved it too, definitely a good feeling. Best of luck with your project.
On my 82 Grady the tank had a lot of sediment in it but wasn't leaking. I flushed it out and painted it with coal tar epoxy. I got a nice price on the fill and vent hoses on amazon.

[billmongold]

im just worried because a previous owner bypassed it. i may pull it out and have a local aluminum tank place pressure test it. if it has some leaks it may be worth getting welded patched? i was contemplating throwing a 15 gal portable tank on board but they are expensive. if im going to spend $200 on a small tank, i may as well spend 400 on a todd plastic belly tank. all the hoses and stuff i can get at work at a discount. and if they dont have it, we're a yamaha dealer and can get stuff from mesco and a few other places.

[Striper80]

I got extremely lucky with mine. It had a few pits but nothing perforated the tank.

[steplift20]

6she looks like a nice boat, 1st welcome to the site , these guys here are twerrific and will always give you good advice, belive me i asked them hundreds of questions, whats going to suck is when you clean your boat up and the guy who gave it to you [cause thats what he did] hes going to hound you for her back so get ready to say no alot, i bet after you clean her shes going to look great and like they said go slow with her and let your daughter help cause when shes older shes going to want her too, send pics when you clean her like to se it

[buckleyjr]

There is a guy in South Jersey that my mechanic (Port Monmouth Marine) uses up by me. Sea Kleen Marine Maintenance. He has a truck and comes to your boat and tests the tank and empties and cleans the tank. I can't find the receipt but remember thinking this guy was reasonable.

His number is 609 693 4535. His name is John. May be worth calling him to see what he thinks. Plus he's in your neck of the woods. Best of luck!

[SkunkBoat]

yes, near the Quickcheck. Butler Blvd.

Getting an aluminum one made to match old is going to cost you $100 or so more than a stock one or a stock plastic one but the fittings will be in the exact right spot with the right angle. You won't have to re-route the hoses. I looked at the Moeller plastic tanks and could not find one where the fittings were the same. $100 was worth not having to mess around.

The moeller tank in captpetes thread looks like it would work on my boat. I was finding ones with the fittings angled differently.

[bradford]

Just a thought, If you put in a different aftermarket tank, be sure to have the filler neck on the forward side. Another member put a different tank in with the filler towards the stern and had problems. Gas coming out the vent when planing out, and an air bubble trapped in the tank when refueling that would pressurize and blow fuel back out the vent and filler.

This still looks like a deal to me:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/49-gal-Plast...d2bc7b&vxp=mtr

Might just buy it myself.