Ayuh,... Wellcraft Project

[Bondo]

Ayuh,... I drove through the county fairgrounds on Wed. or Thursday mornin' lookin' at the usual Junk that's there,...
I spotted a trailer somebody welded up,+ never finished,.. No axles, but a complete 9 ton tag-a-long...
I figured there's about 100' of 4" channel iron,+ probably 60' of 6" channel...
Next isle over there's 3 pretty nice, heavy-duty axles,....
Hmmmmm,... The makin's of a trailer for my Old Town Atlantis.... Hmmmm....

Fast forward to Saturday mornin',... There's now a couple of barges, On trailers, there on consignment...
1 is a little 17'er, with Volvo power,+ a single axle wagon,... No Good to me...
Beside it is a Ratty lookin' white boat on a Sweet tandam axle Caulkin's trailer,....
Hmmm.. I'm thinkin' swing by the house, Drop the Merc. motor/ drive off it,+ keep right on goin' to the landfill....
Well,....
I bought it for an $800. bid,... $942. out the gate....
I get home,+ get ta Lookin' closer,....
It's an 85/86 Wellcraft, 23 Nova XL....
The 350Mag is waterlogged,+ pretty much Junk,...
The aft seat,+ sundeck are totally Rotten, which caused the motor to fill with water....
The forward seats are abit sun worn, but not too bad...
The cabin upholistry is thread worn, but Not really all that bad...
I dig Deeper,....
There's NO Rot...
No cockpit sole Rot,....
No stringer Rot,...
No transom Rot....

Now I can't bring myself to Junk it....
I'm thinkin' I'll drop a motor in it,+ Sell my tin barge,... I don't Trust it anymore Anyways...
I might look alittle Funny fishin' out of a Nova,....
But I'm also thinkin' it'll be a potential Money Maker as well as a steppin' barge to the Old Town Atlantis project...

Pictures to follow.....

 

[25thmustang]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Sounds like a decent find. Nothing wrong with a solid hull and a good trailer!!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Congrats on the good luck!

The real question is...why don't you trust the Islander?

 

[bob johnson]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....



I am wondering if the GOOD NEWS in your thread got deleted?????

cause i cant see anything to be happy about!!! ha ha ha

maybe you got a nice trailer...but all that work you need to go through...luckily you ahve a landfill that will take old boat hulls


I went by a marina that was having a YARD SALE...lots of neat stuff...but i saw a ton of marinas on the river in that area...took a drive around...my head is spinning from all the trailered hulles with inboards sitting with for sale signs on them...everywhere... there was even an abandoned lot with several large boats at various stages of decay..one more solid looking hull with the words FREE on the side and a phone number

they had three rednecks trying to get it off the stands and onto their trailer!!!

I was jealous...it had a nice Bimini top about the size i needed on it.....!!! ha ha

there are sooooooooooooooo many boats that cant be givenm away... and most are inboards in the 20-30 foot range..



bob

 

[Philster]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Welcome to the Wellcraft family! Some people call 'em Novas a "Baby Scarab" !

 

[seabob4]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Love Nova's! Drop a 454MAG in there and give the Philster a run for his money!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

they had three rednecks trying to get it off the stands and onto their trailer!!!
...but all that work you need to go through...

Ayuh,..... I resemble that remark, thank you....
And many of Us don't view that as Work.....

Welcome to the Wellcraft family! Some people call 'em Novas a "Baby Scarab" !

Thanks,....
That saying is Much More Popular than even callin' a 4cylinder iron GM motor, an Iron Duke....
My Bud, Bob, with the Scarab 50 said the same thing...

It appears the drive,+ transom are Good,... So,...
The scrounge for a replacement, of atleast the Quality of the 350Mag that lived there is on...
The motor is already on it's way out,... Needs another hour or so of my time...
I've got a line on a couple of core motors, in varing degree of disrepair....
Gotta go look at another 1 that is rumored to be a "Runnin' 260"....
Might be the answer for this season...

No pictures yet,... Just got home from work,+ headed for the wash rack,...
Tomorrow maybe...

The real question is...why don't you trust the Islander?

I think I posted a thread about repairing the Hull Separation.... A search might find it...

 

[PigPen4x4]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I love the old Nova's.
I had bought one sans engines/drives and was crushed when I learned (with a tape measure) it was a twin 470 boat, not V8's as I was told.
Congrats on your find!
PP4x4

 

[mattb1974]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Ayuh,... I drove through the county fairgrounds on Wed. or Thursday mornin' lookin' at the usual Junk that's there,...
I spotted a trailer somebody welded up,+ never finished,.. No axles, but a complete 9 ton tag-a-long...
I figured there's about 100' of 4" channel iron,+ probably 60' of 6" channel...
Next isle over there's 3 pretty nice, heavy-duty axles,....
Hmmmmm,... The makin's of a trailer for my Old Town Atlantis.... Hmmmm....

Fast forward to Saturday mornin',... There's now a couple of barges, On trailers, there on consignment...
1 is a little 17'er, with Volvo power,+ a single axle wagon,... No Good to me...
Beside it is a Ratty lookin' white boat on a Sweet tandam axle Caulkin's trailer,....
Hmmm.. I'm thinkin' swing by the house, Drop the Merc. motor/ drive off it,+ keep right on goin' to the landfill....
Well,....
I bought it for an $800. bid,... $942. out the gate....
I get home,+ get ta Lookin' closer,....
It's an 85/86 Wellcraft, 23 Nova XL....
The 350Mag is waterlogged,+ pretty much Junk,...
The aft seat,+ sundeck are totally Rotten, which caused the motor to fill with water....
The forward seats are abit sun worn, but not too bad...
The cabin upholistry is thread worn, but Not really all that bad...
I dig Deeper,....
There's NO Rot...
No cockpit sole Rot,....
No stringer Rot,...
No transom Rot....

Now I can't bring myself to Junk it....
I'm thinkin' I'll drop a motor in it,+ Sell my tin barge,... I don't Trust it anymore Anyways...
I might look alittle Funny fishin' out of a Nova,....
But I'm also thinkin' it'll be a potential Money Maker as well as a steppin' barge to the Old Town Atlantis project...

Pictures to follow.....

Bondo, does your keyboard have an "Ayuh,..." key or do you type that every time?
Sorry off topic just wondering.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I catch plenty'o fish in my Wellcraft.
Fish can tell the diff between a old Bayliner or a 50' Hatteras???.

 

[Don S]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Ahhhh yes, the Nova's Remember fondly of outrunning the USCG 41 with a 26 nova with twin 350's. No CF numbers (yeah, lived in CA then), no CG Gear (life jackets and the like) Great fun, till I realized there was no gas and I was supposed to trailer the boat. Thank gawd the trailer was backed in the water and it was a hit n run.

Too bad the company name was all over the truck. Had a call from the CG next day.
No fines, but one 'ell of an azz chewin'.
Man that seems like a long time ago, and that was in 85.

Sure hope you get that barge runnin' Bondo They are neat looking boats.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

You best not junk it.

So when are we dropping in a fresh motor

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I catch plenty'o fish in my Wellcraft.
Fish can tell the diff between a old Bayliner or a 50' Hatteras???.

Hell yeah!! I swear fish see my V20 and just jump right in. Almost takes the fun out of fishing. <pinches self to wake up from dream>

 

[Bondo]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

or do you type that every time?

Ayuh,... Everytime...

Just alittle Update,+ of course,... Pictures....
She's a Keeper, atleast for awhile...

The motor is nearly out,... Gotta bring home the Sky-Hook to yank it...
It's a very soggy, Wet 350....Not alotta salvage there...

The drive is an Alpha 1, the transom assembley seems to be a Much newer unit, Excellent shape.. Even the finish...
The drive checks out, so far,.. It's on the bench...

Got a line on a SBC 400, with 77,000 original miles,.... In Runnin' Condition he says...

 

[pcosky]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I just had a buddy give me a 23' Chaparral that he just wnated rid of....I may be in the same, pardon the pun, boat as you looking for a SBC if the engine is frozen. Too bad since I used to drag race Fords and have a couple SBFs sitting in the corner of the garage. Still, boats are a lot of fun to work on and quite relaxing to be on even if it is in the driveway for now.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Wow, Bond-O, nice find. That boat has some serious high freeboard! Should serve your needs well.

Looking forward to seeing your project pics.

 

[Philster]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I like the ol' beer can in the one photo. It's almost a requirement on a fixer-upper. Nice touch.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I just had a buddy give me a 23' Chaparral that he just wnated rid of....I may be in the same, pardon the pun, boat as you looking for a SBC if the engine is frozen. Too bad since I used to drag race Fords and have a couple SBFs sitting in the corner of the garage. Still, boats are a lot of fun to work on and quite relaxing to be on even if it is in the driveway for now.

If it's an alpha 1/gen I or pre-alpha, you can always go get a transom bracket for the Fords and bolt it up. Not that it makes it much more cost effective, but at least you wouldn't be out the price of a long block.

 

[pcosky]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

If it's an alpha 1/gen I or pre-alpha, you can always go get a transom bracket for the Fords and bolt it up. Not that it makes it much more cost effective, but at least you wouldn't be out the price of a long block.

Thanks for the info. Fortunatley I have enough old racing buddies that owe me favors and run Chevy that getting a block and rotating asembly is not a problem if this one is shot. It was winterized and oil fogged in '02 according to the tag on wheel. I know it has not been run since nor been out of the mine since, so it can't be too bad I hope.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

Re: Ayuh,... Went to the County surplus auction Saturday,.....

I like the ol' beer can in the one photo. It's almost a requirement on a fixer-upper. Nice touch.

Ayuh,.... With the beer cans,+ plastic Pirate toys I found,....
I gotta believe that 1 of it's last outings was to Pirate's Weekend....

I brought the Sky Hook home today, the motor will be on the ground by 0-dark:30....