TOPIC: 1975 Wellcraft Step-Lift V-20

A friend of mine has a the above boat that has not seen water in 4 years because of some health issues.

It has a new Merc on it, but he would want to keep that.

He is thinking of selling it to me since he saw my Merc twins the other day

The trailer is a 1985 and needs some work, too.

NADA.com says it's worth about $2,645.

He says he has a hard top for it. Also the front rail with new mounting hardware. He uses this boat at his place in VA, would take it down the river to the bay, so it has seen salt.

What do you guys think?

And, would 2 motors fit on the transom? How wide does the transom area need to be?

Cheers!

Dan . . .

I used to have a center console model.---Twin 115 1970 Evinrudes.--Wish I still had that boat.

Dan, I came real close to buying a similar rig last year. I only dropped the idea because in my area there isn't much water large enough to do this boat justice. These are big roomy stable craft with a good reputation for quality. Of course they can have the same problem areas we see on all the old glassics, like soft stringers and transoms. But seaworthy, you bet. And nice lines too. There's a good forum of V20 folks and they answered some questions for me:
www.wellcraftv20.com/

Sometimes I still wish I had bought the one I found. I could have gotten it for $3k or less and I think it was worth every cent. Mine was pushed by a Mercruiser drive and was obviously in good running condition and well maintained, with receipts. Even had a FWC motor. Come spring, if I get back by that place and it's still not sold, I may just go for it yet!

Awesome info thanks guys. Now if it very stops snowing here and thaws I can go have a look.

I have 2 1965 merc 1000 motors with all the trimmings. Should they be out of place on a 1975 boat?

Oh and how do you check stringers and transom without cutting into it?

I would not pay more than a grand for a 1975 boat with no motor. Yes the trailer is worth 6-800 if the brakes work. The interior needs work and what condition is the transom in ? I would also stick with one motor,two is twice the headache and with the extra drag fuel mileage will be less than a single.To answer your question that boat has more than enough beam to hang two. I do not think any one will be beating the door down to buy that without a motor.That NADA value is without a motor ?? Just checked and it is 1900,the 2600 was for one with a I/O 165 in it. To me that is still too much, 1 G would be my max offer IF the hull checks out 100%

You can check the transom by taking a awl or something similar and probing it around in the holes left by the motor mounts and see if you get dry shaving vs black pulp. As far as the stringers go not having a i/o helps as there should be zero holes drilled into the fiberglass encapsulated stringers. You can drill a few pilot type holes[with the owners permission of course] and again check or take a screwdriver and tap around making sure you get a consistent sound with each tap.The 1000's look good on any hull and most people can't tell what year a Tower is,including people that own them.Depending on what you plan on doing running only one probably will be under powered for that heavyish well made hull.The minimum HP should be either 65 or 75% of the max rated hp. So if it was rated for a 100 the min is 65 or 75.With that hull and a smaller engine you will be running her close to WOT all the time and them Towers will suck fuel under those condidions. They are really decent on fuel when loafing along but most of us ,like the song,can't drive 55 gotta be WOT baby!

At the kind of money you are talking about here... Hire a surveyor for a couple hundred bucks. You should tell the seller that you pay for the survey if the boat and trailer are exactly he has said it is to you. Seller pays for the survey as it is not as you were told.

Deals between friends should be on the up and up.

Frequently, when a seller is presented with a survey payment choice like this...the truth about his knowledge about the transom and stringers will come out before the survey starts.

Not to split hairs or insult anyone. When I checked Nada I addednin the trailer , hardtop, and a few options. Sorry I wasn't clear.

I wouldn't pay that price either. Just a starting point for conversation. I was thinking more in the $1000 to $1500 range including trailer.

Thanks for the tips on checking things. Now that in ripped the floor out of my mfg, and especially with this advice, I at least have an idea what to look at.

Best of all the wife is on board. I found pictures of one restored and she liked it.

Never knew you could get a survey done on a boat. I'll check into that. Maybe even discussing it with him will bring more out. I trust him a lot, he us my Realtor and a pastor as well as a friend, but he is only human and the seller.

If its solid I could put my 68 merc 1000 on it from the mfg until the twins are done. Then I'd know if 100 HP is enough. I trolled around the well craft site mentioned above and a lot of guys said 150 to 200 HP is where they'd want to be on one.

Would it be sac religious to do the two merc in white? I've seen that on a few pics and liked it.

Cheers.

Like some of the other guys, I was thinking the asking price sounded high, with no motor and needing a fresh interior. But they sure are nice boats. Another way to check transom condition is to tap around the transom with something like a plastic headed mallet. Solid areas will return a nice hard knock while soft areas are more of a softer "thunk". If the transom is going soft you'll definitely hear the difference where it's soft, usually in the lower transom.

Darn it, this thread has got me all fired up to take a drive and take another look at the I/O V20 I saw. Probably ought to leave my checkbook at home.

Here's a 1978 V20 brochure. This is a real fishing machine.

Normspeed wrote:

Darn it, this thread has got me all fired up to take a drive and take another look at the I/O V20 I saw. Probably ought to leave my checkbook at home.

Thanks for the info!

Do i get a finders fee if you buy that boat?

having worked for a wellcraft dealer in the mid 80's these were the best riding boats in my opinion.. but i can say i never rigged one with anything less than a 140hp.. and loved them with a 200 to 235 on back... our chase boat at the marina had a 235 johnson on it.. and i wish i had that thing...

see if this gets you into a contact with a few surveys nearby.

www.marinesurvey.org/

Call several and get names of guys that do trail-able fiberglass fish boats. You and the seller does not want a skilled survey that does not do this type of boat.

Side story. I was a Wellcraft dealer quite awhile back and was the person that got the Wellcraft catalog to list 235 HP instead of 225 HP. I sold Evinrude OBs and their big motor was a 235 HP. Mercury had 225 HP, so that is where the 225 Hp came from. As far as I am aware, this catalog HP increase was done without any strengthening of the hull, transom, or deck.

While I sold several Wellcraft Steplifts, I never sold one with twins. My beginning package of boat, motor, and trailer was with a 150 Hp which was a far bigger engine than a 140 HP Evinrude, displacement wise (a six cylinder engine rather than a 4 cylinder). Most buyers got a 235 Hp, with a 200 HP as the second biggest seller. My best salesman regularly got 52-54 MPH in the Pacific ocean with his, which was the same hull, but with a center console deck.

Very good ocean going boat. Hundreds where shipped to south and central America.

Hope this helps.