I remember when

[Blue_Runner]

The problem with the site is very complicated, technical and quite frankly it is above my pay grade. For one it is running on vbulletin which is obsolete which means they stopped support and software updates long ago. Not only that but the site is on an old old version of it - very old. On top of all of this for quite a while now there is an issue with captcha which is the identification verification (click on all the motorcycles, etc.) that is supposed to weed out the bots and non-human users. With it not working, we can't accept new users. There are some options to use q & a (what sound does a dog make = woof) but when I tried to use that the we were getting DOZENS of new users a day from the bots. Maybe hundreds. The site needs to be upgraded badly to continue on. That or someone who can at the very least, fix the captcha issue. Even if I had the money or we raised the money to do it - I don't have the time to devote to it. This site really needs a V20 loving owner that who has message board administration experiend and some time to devote to it.

Sorry guys, there is the ugly, ugly truth and I HATE that it has gotten to this but while I am and IT professional message board engineering is NOT my forte.

[steplift20]

I don't think it's too complicated. I can't post pice but that's ok cause I don't know how to take one lol. But I use the repair section a lot and always got good feedback. But lately nada zilch nothing.
I think there are only a very few of us that watch and post. When I say very few I mean very few. To tell you the truth. I miss spareparts, he was and is a very knowledgeable person. All of you guys are too but I would say he was on top of his game.
Anyway I would like to know how many of us die hards still one a V20? You know what I'm going to post a new question, how many still own a V20. Let's see how many we get. You don't have to write a lot. Just your screen name. I will start. I will number one. Check it out
Than we can have a better idea why this site is slow.

[charlie_the_tuna]

I believe Facebook has taken a bunch of the younger owners. Sadly, some of the older ones are gone.
I still stop by every week or so. Just not many people left.

[scook]

I’ll second that Spare is our #1 guy with his real professional knowledge and extreme generosity with it. He saved my sanity when I was trying to fix the water pump on my Mercruiser 170 from leaking all of the coolant into the bilge and answered a bunch of other questions that kept me running.

At the same level is Blue for keeping the rickety old site running - definitely deserves our highest Medal of Honor.

Maybe it’s being an old codger, but I think there’s a lot to hate about social media - I don’t like it and absolutely don’t trust it. We might want to swap email addresses in case the site blows up, so we can check in occasionally. Mine is Scott at cookconst dot net.

I do check in most nights and am disappointed when there aren’t any posts.

[dmoore]

Ditto on everything that has been posted. Years ago, when I bought my 74 V20 the site was abuzz with lots of posts every day. Upon selling that boat and buying that pristine 96 V-21 down in Spartanburg S.C. it was fun to post here and wow the board, thank you Reel! I lost my mind 2102 and let that one go due to no longer able to keep it inside. After a long spell I was hungry for another and bought BGREENE's 96 V-21. I have been dialing it into my liking ever since. Bennett purchased a 23ft Sea Secptre down in Fla and last we text had purchased a 250 4 stroke Yamaha to power it. He has tried to get on here, but the Captcha thing mentioned earlier will not let him. I applaud Bluerunner's efforts in keeping this site up & running for us and hope that someone with the time and expertise will step up and keep her floating for years to come. Dave

[Blue_Runner]

Mabye you guys missed my point - without being able to accept NEW members any kind of message board DIES. Some more slowly than others.

I've had a few folks (new members) PM/email me and I'm able to add them manually, but the ability submit a request to join our forum isn't there. I feel bad about it but I don't know how to fix it.

We need new members to come in here to:

1) ask questions
2) post pics of their boats, restoration projects
3) answer questions
4) become our brothers of all things V20
5) argue about stuff
6) BS with each other about hunting, politics, etc.

Without it we're doomed. Sorry to be the Debbie Downer, but I believe this is our reality.

[scook]

How expensive would a new platform be and is there anyone who could/would get it fired up? I recall a guy who used to be involved somehow who came to our rescue not all that long ago (was it Valiant?) - would he be someone we could pay something to help out with this?