Re: Looking for a Wellcraft Gran sport Owner (questions)
Hi Brent, How far along are you with your restoration? What are you doing to it a full resto or just a few things? Maybe we can share a few tips of things you found or that I have found. Nice to know someone else loves this boat too I think they are beautiful boats. Jamie
Hi Jamie,
The boat was a bank repo. The old owners left it to perish. My wife and I were looking at it, took a cleaner and rag to a few items and saw some shine underneath the years of neglect. The engines/trans worked great, the hull seemed OK. A surveyor stated that the keel and any wood supporting the hull had more than enough glass around it to keep the boat structurally sound. I do not intend to go out to the Pacific Ocean, just stay in the CA delta. So we purchase the boat.
None of the systems below worked.
I had to troubleshoot the following systems and find corrective action.
1. Head pump did not work. Rebuilt the motor and the pumps. Had to replace the toilet mount, it was cracked.
2. Clean layers of dust around the air conditioning unit and replace the water pump. Air and heat works great.
3. Replace all DC lighting, only the bulbs were burnt, but I switched all over to LED. The light covers were cracked and discolored, they were replaced. Now it works nice. More lighting than before. My wife is pleased with the light in the head.
4. Galley sink was corroded/clogged. Replace the faucet.
5. All the upholstery had to be redone/replaced.
6. Carpeting was replaced.
7. Generator starter was dead, could not rebuild so had to replace with a new one. Still needs some electrical work, but minor. The generator does work.
Thats about it down below. There are several other items that needed refurbishment. The camper canvas was in OK shape. Just some small rips around snaps need repair. All the screens are new, never used though.
The waste holding tank is just behind the head, under the electrical panel, under the cushion for the aft cabin. Access is thru a wooden cover under the cushion. For some reason the owner had the y valve closed, so the waste could not be vacuumed out from the topside fitting. I carefully opened the y valve and all is good there. Except I cannot get the level indicator to work on the information panel. I have not worked on that yet.
The ice maker in the aft topside works, but the chassis is so corroded, I do not know how long it will last. If anyone out there has a unit that has a decent chassis but does not work, I would be interested in obtaining it.
The thru hull fittings needed repair, along with the packings.
There are other items in the rest of the craft that need attention. I'll get to them one at a time.
Our big project now is to replace the striping paint. Ouch, that is very labor intensive or costly. I decided to reach a middle point. I will do some of the grunt work and have a professional do the new paint or any vinyl striping. I am not much for that kind of finish work. Mainly because I eyes do not work like they used to. Even with glasses.
My only question is this. There is a light in the aft bulkhead of the aft cabin. It is a vertical panel with a white polycarbonate light diffuser. Looks like a few 24" florescent bulbs may be in there. I cannot gain access to it without ripping out the wooden frame around it. So I just stopped there. There is so many other important items to work on, I am hoping I can figure out to gain access to this light fixture. I want to replace it with LED. Can anyone provide information on this item?
I am happy to discuss this anyone that wants to jump in. This project is sort of like a hobby for me, I try to make it fun.
Best Regards,
Brent in the CA delta
