Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Hello all. I have just signed up for membership to the forum because I found a few posts about Raven Boatworks and Raven Countach 2300 on a Google search here. Not too much info about Ravens on the web (or anywhere else) If anybody has learned anything new about the defunked company I would love to here about it. I have had my Countach for over ten years and have spent a lot of hours updating, rebuilding and repairing broken old junk that came with the boat originaly. Now I'm in the middle of replacing the floor and some stringers, possibly even the transom, then a complete re-paint of the boat and trailer. I'm in the "is this POS realy worth it" stage and trying to get interested in my boat again. It's been paid for for years, that's the main motivator at this point. Reading some of your posts have helped alot. Just thought I would add one of my own and see if anyone can add to the Raven mystery.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

i have never heard of Raven, but is it worth it. where can you replace the boat, at the cost the rehab is costing. you obviously like the boat, get it back in safe operation condition, and ascetically pleasing for you. sure cheaper than payment of the next 10 years. us that money for boating pleasure.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Head over to speedwake.com and search for Raven Countach. There are a few people there who either have or had one and about 4-5 threads about the origins of the company and issues with the boats. Looks like your's is about par for the course on the amount of work needed.

This is what was posted over there on the history.

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]They were manufactured in Martinsville, Virginia.

A gangster named Glen Doyle, well he was a real Crater. I don't know quite how to describe him. He started the company. There were a lot of stories as to how he acquired the molds.

The local county supplied funding to help start the boat business. When the business started going down hill a lot of money went missing.

When I have more time I will post a couple stories about things that happened that I have first hand knowledge about.

The molds for the hull may have been from Galaxie and possibly Regal. The story was that the molds for the bottom were stolen and move to VA to start Raven.

There was a lot of parts taken from Baja under questionable circumstances.[/FONT]

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Good looking boats but, sounds like some build quality issues.
Good luck with it.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

hi welcome.......


sounds like a history and a story ( ^^^^^^)

why dont you take pics and come join us in the restoration forum.

the replys can actually help motivate you to work....or finish the project

comon down

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Wow, less than twelve hours later and already getting replies to my post. I knew I came to the right place. I appreciate it.

I ran accross that Glen Doyle article last night about the same time I found this website. That's kind of what motivated me to look into Ravens history a bit. Sounds like the guy was a bit on the shady side.

By the way Bekosh, nice Wellcraft. I love those boats. My Raven has the same lines as yours but it's about half the quality (or less). Ever get to lake Winnebago? We take the boat up there to Pioneer Marina every year for EAA at Oshkosh. Our boat will probably not make it up this year. Bummer.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

drip n wet said:

Wow, less than twelve hours later and already getting replies to my post. I knew I came to the right place. I appreciate it.

I ran accross that Glen Doyle article last night about the same time I found this website. That's kind of what motivated me to look into Ravens history a bit. Sounds like the guy was a bit on the shady side.

By the way Bekosh, nice Wellcraft. I love those boats. My Raven has the same lines as yours but it's about half the quality (or less). Ever get to lake Winnebago? We take the boat up there to Pioneer Marina every year for EAA at Oshkosh. Our boat will probably not make it up this year. Bummer.

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I love the late 80's, early 90's styling. Not as rounded and Euro styled as the new boats got, but with the conviences like the walk through windshield and swim platform that are missing from older models. Wellcraft builds a good, solid boat. We love our Eclipse.

Lake Winnebago is our regular haunt. We launch down in Fond du Lac and run all over the system. See the "My Google Map" link in my sig.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Very typical story of marginal boat builders. Same types of issues with a lot of our Custom builders here. Some great exceptions, but even Eliminator has some issues with paying suppliers etc. Also, nobody needs to steal a mold, buy an older beater and make the mold from the hull. That's how most of the cross mojination of bottoms happen . . .

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

I took a look at your map. I have been to a lot of the places on both the lake and the rivers. I have been going to Osh with my dad since '77 (since 95 with the boat) and we have got to know a lot of locals. There's a guy there that turned us on to a marina that sells $1.00 bottles of beer and has a great view of the lake while sitting at the bar. I love it up there, can't wait untill July. By the way, I TOTALY agree about the old 80s boats. Wellcraft/Scarab, Formula and the big Chris Crafts where awsome. The new boats are cool too, but I love the "Miami Vice" style big ole noise makers. I think that show was what got me interested in boats in the first place. I think Raven built there boats out of the scrap left over from a mulching chipper but it sure looks cool. I plan to replace what's rotten in my boat plus add a little extra with higher quality material. I just need to come up with a plan and stick with it. I just about got sick when I pulled the floor up Sunday afternoon and saw all the rott, but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal now. I'll takcle it over the next few weeks (or months). The old lady is motivated to dig in too. I'm pretty pumped about it at this stage. Seeing everyones posts and digging around the website has got me feeling a lot better about the situation. I have always loved that boat but I should have taken better care of it the last few years.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

If I get my way, in 5-6 years my next boat will be a late 80's to mid 90's 26-30ft Wellcraft Scarab or Nova. Either twin 350 small blocks or a single 502 big block.

Good luck with the resto project. When you get done you should have a boat better than the original. And down the road, it's always nice to know where all the bodies are buried, so to speak.
I did that job on my last boat. Here are the before and after. I got lucky, floor, stringers & transom were all solid. I just had to replace everything else and repaint. Only took me about 5 months working on weekends.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Looks realy good. Was it your first boat resto? Helluva change going to your Wellcraft, eh? I started out years ago with a 17 ft tri hull that was a lot like the boat you redid. I updated a LOT of things on it and and added some modern looking decals. Everyone guessed it to be a mid 80s boat instead of a 1973. I painted the trailer to match and updated a few things on it to. It turned out realy well. Someone mentioned posting some pics in the restoration forum, I have been thinking about doing that. I'm in a pretty good position to redo mine. I have a lot of "perks" through my job that will save me a ton0 of money and agrevation. Should speed things up quite a bit too.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Yup that was my first resto, a lot of work but very satisfying.

That trihull is what we had when we started hanging out on Lake Winnebago in late summer of 04. We had pretty much stopped fishing and were getting bored with the small lakes near West Bend. So we started hanging out at Streitch's and then hitting the tiki bar at Pioneer. 2 seasons of that was more than enough thank you very much. A little 15ft trihull is not the best choice for running Winnebago, to say the least. Our last outing in the fall of 06 was a run from Oshkosh to Fond du Lac straight into the teeth of a 20mph, gusting to 30, wind. 15 miles at 7mph, at 10pm on a Sat night after a few beers & maragaritas. Well, the wife decided that it was time to find a bigger boat. We bought the Wellcraft last spring and never looked back.

My old trihull is now happily residing with a couple of nice ladies up on the Wolf river near Fremont. A body of water that it is eminently suited for.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

The Tiki Bar. Man I miss that place. We still stay at Pioneer Marina in the boat every year during EAA, exccept for this year more than likely. Still going even if the boats not done (maybe even fly up and camp under the wing but I doubt it). What a waste of some prime real estate. I miss the 24 hour pool and hot tub the most. Sean Tucker gave me the thumbs up while looking at my girlfriends boobs in that pool. Ahh, good times.
I can totaly relate to running Winnebago in a small boat. The first time I ever had mine out of the water was on that lake. It was a blast busting the waves but I felt like the boat could break in half at any minute. The first few years I took a boat to Winnebago, I had a 18ft Seaswirl cuddy. We spent most of our time running up the lakes to a realy cool bar/resuraunt way past lake Buttemore. I can't remember the name of the bar but it was by a bridge that crossed the river. I brought the Raven up for the first time in 1999 and as soon as I fired it up to pull it off the trailer a couple people told me that if I went anywhere near the river I would get busted for loud exhaust (no captians call) so I havn't seen it since. At the time I had a couple of amps in the engine compartment and a big Holly carb that I knew the Coast Guard would shut me down if I had been checked out so I stayed away. The amps and carb have been done away with and this resto is a good oppertunity to check into Captains Call being as my boat is in pieces.

I think I'm going to post some picks of my floor and stringers on the resto forum. My wife and I spent a few hours picking out foam and rotten wood earlier tonight and it looks a little better. I have a pretty good handle on these things for the most part but I do have a few questions about materials and tieing in stringers. If you ask ten people a question you get twelve different answers so I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but every little bit of advice helps. I just need to keep on it and not loose intrest. It has been a blast emailing you though. I appreciate the replies. Everybody here seems pretty nice. Boaters are the best.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

drip n wet said:

We spent most of our time running up the lakes to a realy cool bar/resuraunt way past lake Buttemore. I can't remember the name of the bar but it was by a bridge that crossed the river......

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That would be either Fin & Feather or the Other Place in Winneconne. Or on up the Wolf River in Fremont, The Bridge Bar or Slipknot. Probably the Slipknot. That used to be THE hot spot, until the owner got into a mess of legal problems. <snort> <snort> if you know what I mean.
It's supposed to reopen in the next week or 2 under new management and with a new name. Channel Cats.

drip n wet said:

I brought the Raven up for the first time in 1999 and as soon as I fired it up to pull it off the trailer a couple people told me that if I went anywhere near the river I would get busted for loud exhaust (no captians call) so I havn't seen it since.

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A lot of people run thru hull exhaust up here so captain's call isn't really necessary. But a good set of mufflers would be in order. Maybe one of the "tip" http://tinyurl.com/6n7snt or "insert" http://tinyurl.com/6k8dx5 style. Gotta be cheaper than a full switchable exhaust.

drip n wet said:

....Boaters are the best.

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Ain't it the truth!

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

Man dude. My wife and I spent another four hours on the boat tonight and EVERYTHING is rotten. It's like they assembled it with wood chips at the factory. At one point tonight I was cutting into a striger and noticed the smell of fresh cut wood. That's when I realized the after all the cutting I have done and only now am I smelling this. Turns out it was a solid chunk, but it was wet. The whole stringer and transom is "wicked" with water. I'm going to do a post in the resto forum and see what everyone has to say about it. I have some pics now too. The old lady and I decided that we are going to finish this boat no matter what, even if it takes a year. I'll bet she peters out in a couple weeks.

I'm going to get a set of the mufflers you mentioned, hopefully it will take the edge off but still sound cool. I sure miss going up the rivers in Osh. I havn't been that way in years. Made it to the second or third bridge a couple times but lost my nerve and turned back in fear of getting pulled over by the CG or local police. Sometimes I wish those people had never mentioned the noise ordanance to us. Plus the sign posted right at the ramp at the Pioneer is a constant reminder.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

I just finished my deck rebuild on my 92 23' Raven Boatworks. Same wood issues, cheap material. I rebuilt the WHOLE back of the boat's deck with prime marine grade wood, all coated with E-Bond. I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!!!

I have picks that I will put up.

I LOVE THIS BOAT! It is incredibly strong. Had the boat sitting on bunks only without any stringers at all for over a month or two and no signs of bulling. My OMC is mint. 100 hrs of fresh from orig owner in NC. That's why I'm putting so much into it. I got the boat for 3,000. And I only have 2,000 into it. Well worth it.

I am getting ready to do a float and run soon and will be bringing it closer to home to work on interior. I am considering putting a top on it from Dolfab in Pompano but there are many low bridges here and tides are a pain in the butt.

I will try to connect back and share where I am so far. Just excited that I finally found someone with the same boat!!!

By the way, where does the Countach come from? Was it the style?

Thanks.

Re: Raven Countach restoration (and then some)

RavenFLA said:

I just finished my deck rebuild on my 92 23' Raven Boatworks. Same wood issues, cheap material. I rebuilt the WHOLE back of the boat's deck with prime marine grade wood, all coated with E-Bond. I NEVER WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN!!!

I have picks that I will put up.

I LOVE THIS BOAT! It is incredibly strong. Had the boat sitting on bunks only without any stringers at all for over a month or two and no signs of bulling. My OMC is mint. 100 hrs of fresh from orig owner in NC. That's why I'm putting so much into it. I got the boat for 3,000. And I only have 2,000 into it. Well worth it.

I am getting ready to do a float and run soon and will be bringing it closer to home to work on interior. I am considering putting a top on it from Dolfab in Pompano but there are many low bridges here and tides are a pain in the butt.

I will try to connect back and share where I am so far. Just excited that I finally found someone with the same boat!!!

By the way, where does the Countach come from? Was it the style?

Thanks.

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Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Yer 'bout 4 years late for this conversation,...

But,...
Ya oughta start a thread in the restoration forum to post yer pictures, 'n explanation of yer rebuild....