New to us boat upgrade!

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
This boat found us as we were originally looking for something much newer. Unfortunately the previous owner passed away over the winter and his widow wanted his boat gone. it's a 1999 Wellcraft Excalibur 20', I went all over it and it appears very solid and just in need of some TLC and an extreme exterior wet sand/ detail as it is bleached out and chalky from the sun. Both my partner and myself are perfectionists with detailing and getting things back to original condition. We had a business for a bunch of years so I'm looking forward to the results. The 5.7L hums beautiful and I'm sure will be a notable upgrade from the 3.0L with acceleration when loaded down. :D

I remember going to the Wellcraft dealer with my father down the road from us in the 90's as a kid and admiring the new Eclipse and Scarabs so it is unique owning one all these years later.

downsized_0406041729.jpg
 

garbageguy

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
1,643
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Nice looking boat. Got any more pics? Here's to getting the season under way!
 

Starcraft5834

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
Messages
1,677
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Open bow to now Cuddy? least it looks like one...... I have a cuddy,, your going to like how that deep v handles :) nice, have fun
 

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Open bow to now Cuddy? least it looks like one...... I have a cuddy,, your going to like how that deep v handles :) nice, have fun

Both are open bow, this one is MASSIVE compared to the Stingray, I'm still shocked how deep V it is and the interior space due to being 1-2ft longer and a foot wider is a huge improvement! I'm 6'2" and sitting in the bow is almost up to my shoulders + I finally fit UNDER a windshield when at the helm!

This one has a ton of storage places where as the stingray had 0, we also got the interior we wanted with the 2 buckets and bench + snap in carpet/ vinyl floor.
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Very nice, glad your patience worked out. And I agree, more pics please :)
 

ssoper

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 14, 2013
Messages
35
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

"waves? what stinking waves"!

Cut through like a soft stick of butter will that boat!:D
 

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

"waves? what stinking waves"!

Cut through like a soft stick of butter will that boat!:D

I'm souped for the first ride! Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks if I get some of the little items addressed. (minor chips in gelcoat that I want to fill and refinish since it has had 6 months to dry out of the water)
More pictures to follow, simply too dirty to have taken any before Sunday.
 

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Fiberglass.jpg

Today we detailed heavy! From the picture the foward part of the shot hasn't been touched where as the shinier part further back was compounded. 9 hours into it today, Everything above the rub-rail is done, it was SO chalky! I had my doubts, we started with wet sanding to 2,000, then 3M compound on the rotary with a cutting pad which my partner did as he has much more patience then I, This step took him the longest but the results were worth it, step 2 we used McGuires polish with a different pad and I followed it up with colgate fleetwax on my Dual Action polisher, I didn't wipe it off, just let it totally set in and if I need to buff I'll do it in the AM.

So far it looks night and day better, but I know we have another 10 hours or so for the sides to go. Found a few tempormental items I need to address- horn that isnt operating currently, bow light that worked last week but not this one (might upgrade to LED), and the radio has zero power, but I'll likely have an audio friend of mine address and bring up to par with a better head unit soon.

Hopefully if the weather holds up, we want to go for the first splash of '14 next saturday:D
More pictures to come soon.
 

thumpar

Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6,138
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Good looking boat!! It is really surprising what a little bit bigger beam can do for the room in a boat. Watch the right hand. That 5.7l will eat as much as you give it.
 

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

That 5.7l will eat as much as you give it.

If we are talking about fuel consumption I honestly Don't know how I'm going to feed it:facepalm: I think we will be doing alot less speed and more time on the anchor. This is going to be a shocker coming from the Stingray with 3.0L
 

gtochris

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 4, 2010
Messages
742
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Bow.jpg

This picture the Port side is compounded and polished however the Starboard side hasn't been touched... I'll get to that Tues/ Wed night this week as my OCD can't handle a disproportionate detail ;) .

Fixed some snaps/ little things that weren't done right. Looking forward to splashing it at the end of the week however a bit nervous until then about the unknown's ... Our lake is finally up to proper level.


I unfortunately read the repair/ rebuilding page a bit too much yesterday and spooked that despite my best efforts of inspection and feeling that this is solid, how even those who know more about boat construction / rebuilding can end up with a water logged rotted hull.
 

ssoper

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Dec 14, 2013
Messages
35
Re: New to us boat upgrade!

Looking good Chris! Are you going to put a keel guard on it?
 
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