Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

[jck3120]

Hey guys,

Just sold my 76 19.5' Sea Ray and bought an 87 Wellcraft Nova 23 XL with the 7.4L engine. Was surprised to see that it was the Alpha One outdrive, but apparantly they didn't switch to the Bravo on these until 88? Regardless, what do you guys think of these boats? Anything to watch out for? Boat has been rack stored and maintained by a marina, and it seems to be a real solid boat. It has the thru hull exhaust and it sounds real nice. Will get a pic for you guys here in the next couple days!

 

[86NovaII]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

As long as you're careful the Alpha will survive. No big hole-shots, no big air and it should hold up.

 

[arks]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

I agree. Alphas were rated to 300HP and a stock 454 has 330.

I had a 23 Nova XL for 18 years. I installed a switchable exhaust on mine. Good handling boats, and they take rough water well. They were built with fiberglass-encapsulated wood, so check the stringers and transom for any soft spots. If the bilge was kept dry (I mean D R Y) it's whole life then it'll be A-OK.

Pictures please!

 

[Therion]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

I agree. Alphas were rated to 300HP and a stock 454 has 330.

I had a 23 Nova XL for 18 years. I installed a switchable exhaust on mine. Good handling boats, and they take rough water well. They were built with fiberglass-encapsulated wood, so check the stringers and transom for any soft spots. If the bilge was kept dry (I mean D R Y) it's whole life then it'll be A-OK.

Pictures please!

Pardon me but I'm new to boats and was wondering where these areas are located and how you check them? I am looking at buying an 87 Nova XL.

 

[arks]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

Pardon me but I'm new to boats and was wondering where these areas are located and how you check them? I am looking at buying an 87 Nova XL.

Stringers are the structural, usually vertical supports between the hull and engine mounts. On the 80's Novas, they were fiberglass-covered plywood. The factory drilled 'limber holes' at the bottom of the stringers to allow bilge water to drain. Those holes were not properly sealed and if the bilge remained wet, the plywood would soak up the moisture and eventually rot away. The stringers would APPEAR to be OK until the weight of the engine pushed a mount thru the fiberglass skin. Very time-consuming and expensive to fix correctly.

The transom is the rear of the boat. Again, Wellcrafts had plywood sandwiched between the inner and outer fiberglass. This plywood is (I think) 1 1/2" thick. Transom rot happens if water gets past any missing or damaged sealant, usually around the outdrive, swim platform mount, or bilge drain.

Best way to check for water intrusion is with a non-contact moisture guage, but they're very expensive and difficult to interpret without experience. Another, less sophisticated way is with a plastic-faced hammer. Tap the suspect areas and listen for any difference in sound. Usually, a dull 'thud' indicates a bad spot. Again, experience is necessary to really understand it.
I highly suggest you hire an independant marine surveyor to check the boat. He'll know exactly what to do. They are worth the cost! Look here: http://www.marinesurvey.org/index2.html

 

[Therion]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

Thanks ARKS, do you know if an 83 Nova II 29 footer with twins had the same trouble areas? Because I am considering that boat too.

 

[arks]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

Yup- same basic hull.
BTW- the Nova 2 is 26 feet not 29.

 

[nova23zz502]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

Yup- same basic hull.
BTW- the Nova 2 is 26 feet not 29.

agreed!

 

[nova23zz502]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

Nice boat though 23 deg. hull runs well in the rough. Tight on the center line but worth it.

 

[MASHHADI]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

hi guys i agree that its very expencive!!

i have a nova too but i have no idea what year it is i think its somewhere in the mid 70's , i got it with a broken outboard for a good deal, so im planing on instaling single or twin outboards but i wanto find out what the capacity transom and weight of the boat is without engines?????? if any help please??
and about the stringers and transom my opinion is dont wsae time and dont risk using a boat that you doubt, i have rebuilt a 1979 glastron tri -hull, i know with a smaller boat its not a big deal but i changed the stringers transom and deck too and this is the best way to go if you get a boat.

it will take a lot of time yes unless you got an extra hand, what i would sugest is do it yourself!! there are many great posts on this site that can help you and give you great ideas and make your life easy!!

so what i would think is just do 1 thing oppen the boat cap and inspect the hull properly and thats the best way to find out thats what i did.

once you do that and you wanto change the stringers\ transom before cleaning up and removing the old ones take ur mesurementsthats step two
then just go buy the best marine wood lightest weight the better it isso thats step 3
step 4 just get some resin fiberglass and filler

so all you need is wood, fiberglass, filler and resin and propper mesurements it will take a long time but it will coat much less if you will do it yourself

if any help needed this site is he best place to find it

good luck!!!

 

[Fjandy]

Re: Bought First Wellcraft...87 Nova 23 XL w/ 454

I love my Nova 23xl. Sadly, after fixing the stringers and some other minor issues, she got upstaged. I'm going to put her on the block this spring. The upside is, I'll be taking her down to sleep next to the "new" boat and she'll get plenty of run time. I don't think she'll last long though as people, like me, love that old style and big motor.