1984 V20 Upgrade Santa Barbara

[DustyCajun]

New member here. Me and my buddy Hoober were out having a few beers at a local German pub in Santa Barbara a month ago and decided to go check out a 1984 V20 Steplift cuddy cabin that was for sale at the harbor. One look at the hull and the wide open fishing platform in the stern and we’re off to his house to get some cash! Beers and boat buying, what can you say!



The boat was used by the Santa Barbara Sailing Club as a race spotter, thus the huge S B S C letters on the hull.



It was a dirty, oily, greasy mess with about 20 pvc tubes mounted everywhere to hold race flags.



We have been spending the last 4 weekends getting her ready for spring fishing in the Santa Barbara Channel. Sanded off the letters and cleaned up the hull. Have not had the time to get to the bottom paint, that project is on hold.



Can't figure out how to get more than 5 images on here, so will post more on reply.

 

[DustyCajun]

The old cabin door was shot, the black plexi glass was melted.


Took the door apart and put some beech wood veneer in place of the plexi. Added stain and varnish.

Cleaned up the hardware and mounted the door, it came out nice.


Added a new slammer door to the rear battery area as the old wood door was toast. Also mounted a center rod holder down the middle for bounce ball trolling for halibut.

 

[DustyCajun]

Installed diamond plate rod holders on the sides. These covered up most of the old holes left by the flag holders. These are also used for bounce ball trolling.





Installed two new rod holder sets on each side transom.



Replaced the old wood kicker plate that was on the stern and installed the
kicker motor.



Removed the old dashboard and all of the old wiring. Put a piece of Starboard in and mounded the compass, GPS fish finder and fuel gauge. More to be added here.

 

[Destroyer]

Dusty, you are on the right course for sure. Got a good boat at (I hope) a good price, and you're moving ahead at flank speed on restoring her. Would you please explain to me (and some of the rest of us I'm sure also) what "bounce-ball" trolling is? I really don't think I've ever heard of it and i'd like to know how it works. In all cases, welcome aboard, don't be a stranger and keep up with the pictures...we love boat porn around here, especially of V20's. Beer and boats.... a winning combination.

 

[DustyCajun]

Thanks for the welcome Destroyer. Got the boat for a steal. I have to say this site has been great for research and inspiration in getting this project going.

Here is a basic layout of the bounce ball set up. Fished in 60 to 100 feet of water with a whole squid or sardine pinned to the hoochie.



It is a proven winner for Halibut fishing along our central coast.



We are going after them on Saturday.

Can you tell me how to get the photos directly inserted into the thread?

 

[phatdaddy]

welcome dusty, you are indeed lucky to have come across an 84 V, as we all know. that is the best year.

you need to upload photos to photobucket, then copy the link for forums to your post & it will show up as the pic.

 

[Destroyer]

welcome dusty, you are indeed lucky to have come across an 84 V, as we all know. that is the best year.

you need to upload photos to Photobucket, then copy the link for forums to your post & it will show up as the pic.

Dusty, thanks for the diagram of the bounce ball rig. We don't have Halibut here on the East coast, but we have Fluke, which are cousins of them. Going to have to try it and see how it works.

As to your question about posting pics, Phatdaddy was right on the mark with his reply. Open an account with Photobucket, (www.Photobucket.com) then upload your pics to your account there. Follow the directions on that site for copying your photo here. Just make sure that your photo has the tag both before and after it's name. As an example [img] my boat [img]. This site reads that tag as a photo and displays it as such.

Oh, and don't listen to phatdaddy (or anyone else for that matter) about which year hull is the best. Everyone knows that the best V20 hull was the 1978 issue and the best V21 is the 1996. Cheers.. :beer:

 

[charlie_the_tuna]

I noticed on those halibut, some are left sided and some are right sided. I find that odd.

 

[GREYWOLF]

Welcome dusty
You are doing a lot of work fast . congrats on the find you will love these V20 boats for fishing they are very stable and dry boats , I see you already have tabs on her they make the ride even better, I also agree with phatdaddy 1984 is the best year

 

[willy]

Good job on the reworking of that beauty, except for 86 and especially 92 it was probably the best year

 

[RidgeRunner]

You had me at "hoochie".

Welcome to the site. Nice fish those halibut. Cousin to the flounder I assume. Good eats.. Keep up the great work on the V. I like the door a lot. Bright work makes a boat, and anyone that has ever refinished one can attest and appreciate the fact that it is tedious work.

 

[DustyCajun]

Destroyer - I have seen some articles on the inter-web thing of east coasters using the Halibut bounce ball rig for Fluke. You should check it out.
http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f9/big-fluke-halibut-secrets-9555.html

You need to slow troll this rig at 1.5 to 2.5 knots which usually requires a kicker motor.

Charlie Tuna - the California Halibut’s eyes can be either right-sided or left-sided, unlike other species of flat fish which are left-sided.

Greywolf, - We took the V20 out for a test run last weekend. She ran great, got her up to 35 mph on the existing 115 HP Mercury. Even managed to get some blood on the decks. Only issue was a list to the port side due to the kicker motor, so we picked up some Nauticus Smart Tabs to trim her out.



Installed and ready for action on Saturday. Anybody out there use these?



Based on popular opinion, it appears that the best year of the V20 is coincidentally the year you own! So 1984 it is.

 

[SkunkBoat]

....So 1984 it is.

Yes, It is!!!

 

[Destroyer]

Destroyer - I have seen some articles on the inter-web thing of east coasters using the Halibut bounce ball rig for Fluke. You should check it out.
http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/f9/big-fluke-halibut-secrets-9555.html

You need to slow troll this rig at 1.5 to 2.5 knots which usually requires a kicker motor.

Dusty, the link didn't work, so I fixed it for you here. That's a great read. THANK YOU for posting it. Since I'm a Downrigger fisherman anyways, that method is going right into my "must use" book for future reference. My kicker is a 9.8 Mercury engine, so slow and steady is not a problem. I may give that "toad" method a try also. Looks fun.

 

[DustyCajun]

The new smart tabs worked great yesterday. Much easier to get up on plane, solved the list issue and increased fuel economy.

Next up, new rod box inserts for the gunnels, ordered and on their way!




The boat came with none.

 

[DustyCajun]

Next project, a custom filet station at the stern. Used some of the old PVC tubing from the sailing club flag holders for the base of this station. The legs of the filet board unscrew from the top for easy storage.




Nice to clean the fish at sea and not at home! Sits at a perfect height to cut fish.

 

[bradford]

Cool, Welcome Dusty!

 

[DustyCajun]

Have not posted progress in a while. Installed a new Bimini Top

And a bow railing

With a new Windlass for the anchor

Added the rod boxes on the sides

And just put down a top coat on the deck. Still needs another coat.


The boat has been producing the fish.

Filling holes and painting up next after the summer season is over.

 

[Destroyer]

Dusty, those are some great pics... thank you!!! The rod holders look great, the anchor windless is first class ... and the cleaning station is a great idea... all in all you're making her into a very valuable and useful boat, and she looks great. Well done sailor...well done.

 

[spoggy]

Welcome dusty! Nice work so far. BTW, 1977 had the best hull and interior layout. Don't feel bad, I'm sure that 84 will work for you :nic: