it's "new" to me...19' '89

Just bought a 19' aluminum Crestliner, 1989, with a 120 Evinrude on it.. open bow, sold as kind of a fish & ski deal...gonna be my fishin' boat...

it's been in the family since new, my uncle bought it, gave it to his son, who gave it to his son, who sold it to me for $2G...the boat is basically solid, lots of cosmetic dings on hull due to having been kept a few seasons on the water in a slip. As far as maintenance and winter care, been well taken care of...and just got a good bill of health on the motor.

The boat has this aluminum extension off the transom, which the OB sits on...not sure what this is called. Is it a "splashwell"? anyway, my cousin tells me that it collects water from the inside of the boat, and has a drain plug, that doesn't drain unless the boat is on the trailer.

Seems like a PITA to me, and am wondering if any of you veteran Crestliner owners have come up with a handy fix on this.

Thanks,

Dan L

Re: it's "new" to me...19' '89

Nice boat and I'm sure you'll love your new boat.
Do you have any model information on it?

Re: it's "new" to me...19' '89

it's listed as an 18' Phantom. I've been working on making it the fishing boat of my dreams.
I removed the livewell, which was broken, and way up front in the bow. IMHO it took up a lot of good storage space, of which there is little enough, anyway.

I've added a 24v deep cycle battery bank to run my new Minn-Kota 70lb PowerDrive bow mount, a 3 bank on-boartd charger.

Ran into a nasty mouse nest full of smelly mouse urine under the passenger side back-to-back...I didn't want the back-to-back anyway, so I dismantled it, and have been scrubbing the vinyl floor covering. Pretty much got the mouse p*ss smell out...next step is to install some pedestal seats.

I updated the fishfinder to a Humminbird 383c. Actually, I've had that unit for a while, so I just had to install a transducer, power cord, and unit mount.

She's a solid boat. I had it on my boat whips for a week. Didn't leak a drop.

Dan L

I'm getting there. Bass season opens here Saturday...I don't think i'm going to make it.

Dang!!

Re: it's "new" to me...19' '89

Mine is a 21 foot Phantom that I bought used 3 years ago. I love the open bow/fishing platform configuration in the front. Does yours have the livewell in the rear also? Mine only has the one in the front and if yours has the rear livewell I'd love some pictures of it so I can add one to my boat.
Good luck fishing and I plan to be on Conesus or Honeoye lake bright and earlt Saturday morning.
Good luck and happy boating.

Re: it's "new" to me...19' '89

Mine was configured as a "fish & ski". It does have the convertible open bow area, from "cruising" to "fishing" which is cool. I'll just be using it as a fishing boat.

the only live well was in the very bow of the boat. Due to its rectangular shape, in a triangular space, it was really a waste of space. I took it out, and converted it into the space for my 2 trolling batteries.

I'm not crazy about having the batteries way up front, as I've read that having them bounce around a lot is not good for them, but space-wise, and proximity to trolling motor made it the best choice. I don't drive my boat fast in big water anyway. I'm on Keuka, not that huge a lake that I have to go tearing around in white-caps. My 56 year old back can't handle that anyway.

Just waiting on my jumper to connect the 2 12v batteries, and the extension kit to connect my on-board charger to my starter battery, and I'm about 100% ready to catch some fish in it.

Re: it's "new" to me...19' '89

Sonds like you got a good deal on yours. I paid about $3800 for my 17.5' Phantom. It had the convertible bench to platform in the back which I ditched and am building two side benches for the kids with gear storage. Stroage is an issue on this boat but we are re-designing it. I have th fornt livewell also. Mine is kindoff triangular shaped. I am pulling out the convertible sitting area in the front and doing a full width strorage chest under the platform for more gear. I am buying two Engel coolers just the right size to fit under both consoles for our food storage. I will have brackets to keep them from moving around. There is enough room under the aft transom deck for two batteries and an emergency 6 gallon fuel cell I think. I am adding a foldup table surface next to the Passenger seat console that will sit on the folded swivel seat and make a great spot for the campstove.

WE use the boat as a ski/fun swim/grill platform in the summer with 4 kids and convert to fishing in the autumn and winter. My only reL gripe with this boat is the windshield is too short and is in the way in every way. I wanted to replace it but suspect the cost will be prohibitive for a couple years. I am thinking about raise the front glass angle (tipping it "up") and have new triangle glass peices cut at my local glass shop for the sides. I have an Evinrude 115 in mine, 97' motor with 81' powerhead. (Don't know why-before my time.) The boat runs about 35 mph with the gps, I hope to raise the speed a bit with a whale tail and a newer prop and a good wax job.