WELCOME "THEFERMANATOR"

[macojoe]

take a q/4 drill bit and drill from the inside and see what comes out?

Dirt needs to be redone, wood and she is good to go!

Whats nice with the sea drive transom it has been made to take the weight of a bracket and motor!

My conversion is from a I/O and they were not made to take the weight so had to do some bracing.

As long as you have wood in there you are already half way there!!

[willy]

Welcome aboard, just so you understand what you have there a few points. Your transom is all wood with fiberglass on the inside and outside. Also the stringers and floor supports are wood enclosed in fiberglass.. My boat is an 1985, it was originally like yours with a sea drive.
The comments made to you about repowering refer to the fact that your boat is one of the most, if not the most desireable for repowering with a armstrong, gill or stainless marine motor bracket. For two reasons, one your sea drive was sealed well from the factory and as long as some idiot did not drill holes all over it and not seal it correctly you will fnd the wood inside the transom will still be strong and dry. Two the hole that was made for the sea drive is a small one, approximatly 6x7". This is good because it did not allow water into the wood and it sits pretty high and because it is simple for you to close that hole and seal it when a bracket is installed.
There are several guys who have done just that on this site and recently too. Makes for a sweet V, not that the other power versions are not, everyone likes something different, thats why they made blondes brunettes and red heads. ;D I personally like my set up but would have been very happy with an I/O or standard outboard set up.
Good luck with it you have a lot of potential there for a sweet boat

[THEFERMANATOR]

This one has 2 holes for it for the sea-drive(like most here have posted pics of. I removed the cover that the transducer passes through the hull in and there is NO wood in that area of the transom, not even dirt in there. You can push in on the transom of the boat from the outside on the starboard side from about 3" up. I have been told that some boat manufacturers didn't put wood all the way across, they only put it in the middle where it bonds to the stringers. I know the transom is solid, but the lack of wood in the transom concerns me. I've stood on the sea-drive and bounced on it and the transom didn't flex, but just don't see it being solid enough for a bracket and a big V-6 back there with the lack of support on the starboard side.

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by willy

Welcome aboard, just so you understand what you have there. The hole that was made for the drive is a small one. Everyone likes something different, thats why they made blondes brunettes and red heads. ;D

Where ??? ...

[macojoe]

but just don't see it being solid enough for a bracket and a big V-6 back there with the lack of support on the starboard side.

What you think you have there now?? Its a bracket and at least a V4

Same as you want to replace!!

his one has 2 holes for it for the sea-drive(like most here have posted pics of. I removed the cover that the transducer passes through the hull in and there is NO wood in that area of the transom, not even dirt in there. You can push in on the transom of the boat from the outside on the starboard side from about 3" up. I have been told that some boat manufacturers didn't put wood all the way across, they only put it in the middle where it bonds to the stringers

If you don't have wood in there, It will be the first Wellcraft that I have ever heard of that didn't!!

Need to get some pictures up for us to see. We all can figure it out toghter!

[reelapeelin]

He says wood only at motor and swim-bracket...can "push in" fiberglass on starboard side ... that being said, if you went w/ a narrow bracket, you'd probably be OK, cause like MJ says, that's virtually what ya got now ... ;) ...

[THEFERMANATOR]

I went and took another look at it, and there is no wood from the stringer going outward in the transom with the exception of a small strip along the very bottom wher a trim tab would attatch. The transom seems very solid and there are no cracks where the stringer is glassed to the transom that I can see(will clean it and inspect it better when I get some time). And there is wood where the swim platform is thru-bolted. I will try and borrow my girlfriends digital camera and get some pics up in the next week or so.

[macojoe]

Interesting???

Willy, whats yours like? Do you have wood only in the center?

[THEFERMANATOR]

I looked at the tag on mine and it says it was an I/O model. But the floor and transom appear to have never been patched over to cover an I/O. Maybe somebody got one that was meant for an I/O that ended up with a sea-drive on it. I have to many boats as is right now so I'm going to see which ones work out for me long term. After looking at this one I would feel alot more comfortable redoing the transom in it before hanging a bracket on it. But the curved transom is of an area of concern for me to do. I'm getting ready to replace the transom in an 88 20' HYDRA-SPORT CC that I have(flat thick transom), and i may redo this one in sea-cast as to ease the replacement. I'm really waiting to get this one running and see how it handles in rough water. I got the HYDRA-SPORT because I've ridden in an 86 that really impressed me, very dry ride in 3-4' seas running 30 MPH. I'm hoping this WELLCRAFT handles similar if not better since it has more deadrise to it than the HYDRA-SPORT.

[TheTinMan]

I don't know of ANY 20' boat that I'd WANT to to do 30mph in TRUE 3-4'ers :-/