Wellcraft V20 CC vs SC 20

[dirtwheelsfl]

Got a buddy looking to get rid of a 73 Hiliner, down here in FL though

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by Bigshrimpin

The first generation v20 until 70 - 78/79 were built like crap. The later years were a bit better.

I re-did the stingers in one built in the mid to late 70's and I wasn't impressed. It was a long time ago so I don't remember the details but seems like the lay ups over the wood stringers were thin.


They do have one thing going for them and that is the flare. I think that's what attracts people to them.

[Capt Terry]

Maybe some folks like the V20 for avoiding spray on occupants. Another opinion is the deep flare does not provide enough gradual isplacement of water and hence buoyancy as the bow plunges into a wave, particularly with a following sea. Saw the ill effects of this on a drone video of a boat broach coming in through the Jupiter inlet. It was not a V20, but a little larger boat with lots of bow flare.

[cdavisdb]

Deep flare and avoiding spray are not always connected. Not sure about the v20, but my old Seabird 24 had a lot of flare and wasn't anywhere near as dry as my Seafari 25, which has very little flare.

[flyingfrizzle]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Deep flare and avoiding spray are not always connected. Not sure about the v20, but my old Seabird 24 had a lot of flare and wasn't anywhere near as dry as my Seafari 25, which has very little flare.

That is so true, like on the v20 it looks sexy but that don't mean it will preform well though.

[Bigshrimpin]

v20 in a quartering sea above 2ft is like taking a saltwater shower and getting your azz kicked at the same time.

[Bushwacker]

I personally know of 4 V-20’s in S. Florida that busted up with cracks in the hull and have heard 2nd hand reports of a couple more. The V-20 which had significant cracks after a rough gulf stream crossing with Reiland and I that Capt. Terry mentioned belonged to a mutual friend. Although I had a few screws come loose on my Seafari, he had significant damage in addition to a 4’ hull crack. His saddle tanks broke loose at the welds, he had a crack in the cabin bulkhead and his seats had disintegrated! Reiland’s Moesly 21 had zero problems as usual. I knew of at least one V-20 with a hull crack where the owner just painted the bottom and sold it, so I would NEVER buy one that had bottom paint on it!

Another colleague that had a V-20 also had a Phd in engineering, so of course Dr. Marv took his apart to determine cause of failure! He found several problems:
1. The bottom of the plywood stringers were cut off square at 90 degrees instead of being cut at an angle to match the hull dead-rise. This created a sharp edge for the hull to flex around.
2. The glass wasn’t wrapped over the top of the stringer, but was just tabs between the hull and sides of the stringer.
3. They apparently did not use enough resin to thoroughly saturate the wood where the tabs were located. The laminate was fairly dry; most of the resin had evidently soaked into the wood away from the glass. Result was that the stringers had broken loose from the tabbing and were just flopping around loose in the hull!

Regarding the hull design, Dr. Marv said that most of the flare in the bow is in about the top 4-6 inches of the hull so it doesn’t have much reserve buoyancy. The result is that when he punched into a big head sea at slow speed or a following sea at any speed, he had several inches green water come over the bow, up the windshield and over the navy top into the back of the boat! I never had green water come over the deck of my Seafari, although I was out diving a few times in seas up to 5’.

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

I personally know of 4 V-20’s in S. Florida that busted up with cracks in the hull and have heard 2nd hand reports of a couple more. The V-20 which had significant cracks after a rough gulf stream crossing with Reiland and I that Capt. Terry mentioned belonged to a mutual friend. Although I had a few screws come loose on my Seafari, he had significant damage in addition to a 4’ hull crack. His saddle tanks broke loose at the welds, he had a crack in the cabin and his seats had disintegrated!

One guy I worked with that had one also had a Phd in engineering, so of course Dr. Marv took it apart to determine cause of failure! He found several problems:
1. The bottom of the plywood stringers were cut off square at 90 degrees instead of being cut at an angle to match the hull dead-rise. This created a sharp edge for the hull to flex around.
2. The glass wasn’t wrapped over the top of the stringer, but was just tabs between the hull and sides of the stringer.
3. They apparently did not use enough resin to thoroughly saturate the wood where the tabs were located. The laminate was fairly dry; most of the resin had evidently soaked into the wood. Result was that the stringers had broken loose from the tabbing and were just flopping around loose in the hull.

Regarding the hull design, Dr. Marv said that most of the flare in the bow is in about the top 4-6 inches of the hull so it doesn’t have much reserve buoyancy. The result is that when he punched into a big head sea at slow speed or a following sea at any speed, he had several inches green water come over the bow, up the windshield and over the navy top into the back of the boat![/LIST]

More pics of lake Champlain please.
You will be missed tomorrow for mini season.
No Kevorkian contraption.

[bgreene]

The other side of this interesting discussion ......

Wellcraft V20/V21 wasn't really intended for heavy offshore use.
Its been a lake, bay, inshore ocean all purpose cuddy, at an affordable price, and as such I believe the most selling, or longest selling model boat ever produced in the USA.

The 40-60 gallon fuel tank supports this as mostly an inshore boat.

Unfortunately, there were few Seacraft 21 cuddy's built......and almost none remain.
The 23' Sceptre......well, try finding one that doesn't need a new transom, deck, bow, tank etc and the costs to go with it.

So, in short, different boats for different uses, and costs.