Advice on 18' wellcraft 1987

Dboii

Seaman
Joined
Feb 28, 2017
Messages
51
Hey whats up guys im looking into upgrading to a bigger boat.Theres this guy close to me trying to get rid of his 1987 wellcraft center console. The engine is a 115hp yamaha 4 stroke im not too sure on the year or hours but he used it this year a couple times so im guessing it runs. I will hopefully be talking to him tomorrow and get a little bit more info on the engine hrs and year. What do you guys think this boat is worth? The outside looks decent i will try taking some more pictures tomorrow. ive read about checking for soft spots and all that also the compression on the engine should be within 10 from each other from what i understand. something that turned me off a little bit was the epoxy patches that he had on there i included some pics. let me know what you guys think thanks in advance
 

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porscheguy

Chief Petty Officer
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Jan 17, 2013
Messages
441
10PSI variance is nice but I?ve seen engines with 30-40psi difference and the engine runs fine.

The trim anode is in dire need of replacement. That?s a pet peeve of mine because they?re pretty cheap and easy to change. Not doing so is a sign of some neglect.

Try to get it for as little as possible.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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47,307
being a 31 year old boat, I would be worried about rot

in fact, this pic looks like a deck-over

fetch
 

BTL

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Feb 22, 2017
Messages
106
being a 31 year old boat, I would be worried about rot

in fact, this pic looks like a deck-over

I just bought the same boat recently, an '89 to be exact. My boat has that little "step" too. I don't *think* that's a re-decking, there's a divider that slides in just behind that step to separate the engine well from the main deck.


To answer OP, I paid $2800 for mine. But it was re-powered with a 150 Mariner, had a brand new (never seen water) lower unit, and a really nice canvas T-top. The first thing I did when I went to see it was look for soft spots, and I was surprised to find a rock-solid transom and a hard floor, so I'm guessing these boats are sealed up pretty well. Has plenty of spider cracks in the gel coat, but nothing structural. It hadn't been used in several years so everything needed work, but I'm getting there and am still happy with my purchase.
 

garbageguy

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
1,531
... trying to get rid of his 1987 ...something that turned me off a little bit was the epoxy patches that he had on there i included some pics. let me know what you guys think...


Likely a project boat. If the motor and trailer are good, might be ok, for very low$. What's that last picture? Maybe if you start pictures of the whole thing, then get in closer, it'll help you get input on it
 

BTL

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Feb 22, 2017
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No Title

Oh and if you don't end up buying the boat, ask him if he's willing to sell the 2 hatch liners that go in the rear compartments. I need new ones and can't find them anywhere!
 

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82rude

Rear Admiral
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May 8, 2012
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Wellcraft must of made some fairly solid boats back then.My brothers 18 footer with the lousy 470?merc is very solid .Horrible 4 banger but a super solid boat.Actually the more i think of it the more that motor never stood a chance.Previous owner though an electrician must of been last in a class of 1000 and my brother just is brutal on boats and has supremely bad luck.Lucky for him his admiral has demanded a new ship!
 
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porscheguy

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
441
Actually it wasn?t so much that the boats were solid, it?s just that wellcraft built A LOT of them. For a time they were one of the biggest, if not the biggest builder. The V20 Steplift is the best selling recreational/fishing boat of all time. Wellcraft built it for over 30 years until the geniuses at Genmar had the bright idea to modify the design which finished it off.

Back to my original point, wellcraft built A LOT boats. Some were great, many were decent, and a few were junk. But because they built so many it goes to reason, there would be more than a few old ones in circulation.
 

82rude

Rear Admiral
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May 8, 2012
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Point i was trying to make was about how good they seemed to age.We did test drills on my brothers and the wood was excellent which surprised me greatly.But never fear if anybody can destroy a great boat its my brother,lol.
 

Dboii

Seaman
Joined
Feb 28, 2017
Messages
51
Thanks for all the advice guys the boat was used for commercial fishing and they ran it hard. The seller doesn't know how many hours on the engine and the boat needs quite a bit of work. He wanted 5k for the boat I had to pass thanks again
 
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