Opinions Please

Road King Cole · #1 06-30-2010, 01:29 PM

In looking at the pictures again, I am reminded of something I learned in the coast guard on a ship before an inspection: "if it doesn't move, paint it". It seems they painted over the rub rail, hardware on the transom, maybe the decals and everything? It may have been a quick thing to make it look good just for the "inspection". If you do look at this boat, inspect it carefully.

Destroyer · #2 06-30-2010, 04:21 PM

Some kind words of advice:

It's very easy to become swayed towards a particular boat or car or just about anything. You want it, you think of all the good times you can have with it with your family, etc etc etc. So you start looking for the object of your desire, and pretty soon you come across a boat such as this. It looks good, the price seems right, and you buy it. Now you're on your honeymoon and you get home with the boat, the next day you put it in the water and BLAM!! You suddenly realize that something isn't right with your new baby. What I'm trying to tell you is that you want to avoid that situation. How do you do that you may ask..? Well, you did the first thing right... you looked at the boat, made an appointment to see it in person and (most important) you asked a bunch of strangers here that know these boats from the inside out what they thought of the unit.

Personally, I'd be very leary of that boat for the following reasons.
1) It's sitting on very expensive boat stands. That probably means that the seller is a professional. There's nothing wrong with that if it's a Marina or a mechanic, but if it's a private sale from a home that probably means that the seller is someone that's buying, doing minimal fixing and then selling at a profit. In other words a used boat salesman. They are to be avoided like the plague in my opinion. A pressure washing and a coat of paint will hide a ton of problems. But the problems are still there. Tread carefully around people like that.
2) Look at the pics... The boat is completely white. The rub rails, the "W" wellcraft logo on the side... everything is white. That means it's been painted to look good, but it's a sloppy paint job.
3) Look carefully at the picture where you see the the transom from the left (port) side of the boat. See the pain drippings on the transom reinforcement? Sloppy work like that is a sure sign of a hurried job. What's he trying to hide?
4) It's hard to see, but look carefully at the windshield. See how the top of the center window doesn't line up properly with the top of the right window? It might be nothing, or it might be a rotting base.. either way it's something to be concerned about.
5) What's this about trailer "numbers"? Does he mean the registration? Make sure he has a registration with the same name on it as his name. A lot of times a dealer/salesman will never register a trailer or the boat in his name, since he just wants to sell it. So make sure that the names on both the boat and the trailer registrations match.

In short, I would be very careful about this particular boat... The Wellcraft V20 is a great boat, but sales people are sales people.. they are only trying to make a profit.
There was a story about a month ago about several people that were lost at sea when the transom of their boat cracked. You can find a thread about it here on this site. You certainly don't want that happening to you and your family. The ocean is a loving mistress, but take her for granted and she will kill you without a seconds thought. Take your time and look carefully at the boat. Then ask any questions you may have here and we'll all try and answer them, based upon our own experience.

Red skys at night...

reelapeelin · #3 06-30-2010, 07:47 PM

Coast Guard Certified

Road King Cole · #4 07-01-2010, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reelapeelin

Coast Guard Certified

ya good one, ask to see this "certification" and then let us know...

If this is just a sticker from the CG aux, it means it passed a safety inspection for life jackets, fire extinguishers etc. This would have nothing to do with the integrity of the boat. Ask the seller why he made this a selling point.

Sounds like false advertising, if so let the seller know he is a scumbag and walk away.

Destroyer,

Yes, that was what I was trying to say...

The window "mismatch" might just be that the latch was put down before the window was closed and is holding it open a bit. But good eyes! Needs to be checked out for sure.

Please let us know how you made out!!!

rkc

ogjk · #5 07-01-2010, 08:15 AM

He said that the transom reinforcement was put on by the person that installed the motor. According to him the transom is sound, but the installer was being overly cautious because of the size of the motor.

Is that possible?

As far as the paint, he said that he bought the boat a few years ago and it was green, so he and a buddy painted it white.

I decided to go look at it anyway, its not far from the house and if he is telling the truth it might be worth exploring.

After reading everyones thoughts on it I wouldn't do anything with out an inspection.

Thank you for all the advice, I'll let you know more after I see it.

nipper · #6 07-01-2010, 10:16 AM

Walk all around the cockpit sole of the boat trying to feel for any soft spots. Also, the seller will probably have a cow, but put the motor down and stand on the cavitation plate and bounce up and down to see if you get any flexing or popping sounds from the transom. Pull the lower screw on the lower unit and let a little fluid out. Should be clean and clear. If it is milky looking, you are getting water in the lower unit. If still interested after all of the above, best thing you can do is ask for a sea trial. Boat is not currently on a trailer, but seller is selling it with trailer included, and it should be sitting on a trailer when sold, so he should do it for you and you can then see whether the trailer and the boat mate up well.

Good luck. Will be interested in hearing what you find.

Destroyer · #7 07-01-2010, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ogjk

He said that the transom reinforcement was put on by the person that installed the motor. According to him the transom is sound, but the installer was being overly cautious because of the size of the motor.
Is that possible?
As far as the paint, he said that he bought the boat a few years ago and it was green, so he and a buddy painted it white.

I have a 200HP Johnson on my boat. I put two lengths of 1/2" x 3" alum angle iron on the inside of my transom for exactly the same reason when we went to the larger engine. Seemed like the prudent thing to do because of the extra weight, so yes, to answer your question, it is possible. That doesn't mean that it's the truth, just that it's possible... Check it out.

How old it the engine? Since there is paint on the reinforcement then it means that the plate and engine were put on before the boat was painted a "few years" ago. As to the paint job, if it was green and they painted it then the green paint should be underneath and showing somewhere. Look for it just to verify. (and regardless, it was still a sloppy paint job.)

Let us know how you make out.

Red skys at night

BRIELLY · #8 07-01-2010, 12:20 PM

Take a screw driver and tap the handle all around the transom on the fiberglass. Listen carefully to the sound. If you hear a hollow sound in certain spots and other spots sound hard there may be signifigant transom rot. I'm not sure about that year but if there's a battery hatch in the splashwell you can access the stringers. Each stringer should have a drain hole back toward the transom. On mine I was able to stick my finger in and feel that there was no wood left. I could actually stick my finger though the hole and back into the transom to feel the soft rotted wood. Again this would be an indication of a bad transom/stringers. If in doubt walk away. There are plenty of v20's around to choose from.