So what's with these boats ?

B

bgreene

Banned
I like the classic lines of the V-20 but read widely different opinions that range from:

" Ride is harsh, pounds, transoms are weak, fairly flimsy " ...........to

" Great riding, seaworthy, well made boat "


For those that own these boats, appreciate some feedback.
Thanks
 
:sun:try riding in some 20' boats keep in mine their is no perfect boat for all use. but if you ride in any boats of the same size in the same conditions you will see the v20 will be one of the top runners. you be the judge!
 
They are the perfect Delaware Bay and Inshore boat. The ride is largely overrated as they will and do pound in any kind of chop, tabs help. They are lighter than they look and it shows in the construction. In my opinion they are not that well built, but have managed to last in some cases for 40 + years, so go figure. The perfect motor is a 150 which make them economical to run, and the cockpit space is second to none in the 20' class. Transoms, floors and rot areas are no different than any other boat of the same vintage.
 
Welcome to the site!!

" Ride is harsh, pounds, transoms are weak, fairly flimsy " ...........to
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Well the CC rides best of all as far as I can say. I have never rode in the Dual Console but I bet they are a close 2nd. And the Cuddy, they ride nice but tend to be a bit heavy up front and tends to bang at times.
That said those that have added Trim Tabs love the ride and they are a great close to shore boat and have tons of room! You can dive, tube, fish, curz, anything!

Flimsy??? Who ever said that has never been near a V20!! They are solid rock hulls! You will find nothing new that is as strong!

" Great riding, seaworthy, well made boat "
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You can bet your life on it!! I took a 10 foot wave over the bow, and filled the boat to the gunnles with water and she went thur like a champ! after some bailing that is! But the boat was un hurt!
I will say there is not another 20 footer out there that I would feel safer in!

transoms are weak
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Considering that they ran for the most part from 1970 to 1994 that makes the oldest 40 years old and the newest 16 years old they do pretty good!

Yes there are plenty that need work but for there age there are plenty that re just fine, and if you are not afraid of some work you will have a great sea worthy boat for cheap!

I sold mine 3 years ago after 9 years as I have grown out of it with chasing Tuna, Shark, 30 miles off shore for Cod and such.
But if I could afford 2 boats I would buy anoter one in a second for inshore!

Look in the for sale section, Willy has one sweet cuddy for sale right now!
 
Do they make a 20 ft boat that doesn't pound? Heck do they make a boat under 25ft that doesn't pound in sloppy conditions. Plus if it is that bad out even a big sporty may not pound but will make you turn green and blow grits. I've been in some pretty nasty chop making 100 + mile round trips and I haven't met a sea I could not run 12 -15 mph in. Was it comfy? Nope. Did we come back 2" shorter? Yes. Did I have to have fillings replaced? Yes. But it wouldn't have been comfy in any other boat either. A bigger boat would have been more confortable but still not comfy.

Look at how long they made them and how many they sold over all of those years of production and it is easy to see what the fuss is about. I would recommend looking in the History section off the main page at the brochures for each year. Read what it says about the V20/21. It pretty much sums it up.

I wonder if the new boats of today will even hold up for 16 years? Let alone 30 yrs. Doubtfully.

I would like to ride in a cc.
 
any ride will be harsh if you choose to run 4 footers at 3/4 throttle. i've owned a few boats in this and other size classes and i will say this boat is one of the best 20's i've owned, ridden in or fished from. i've had the boat 20 miles offshore and never gave a second thought about getting home. you dock a boat in saltwater for 30 years and you'll surely experience some rot. the real lure of these boats is that there are so many of them, you're sure to find the right one at the right price. for someone looking to get into boating cheap, you wont find a more solid reliable boat for the money. buy with confidence and enjoy.
 
Allow me to add to the comments. One of my first boats many, many, years ago was a V20.. I loved it, but it was too small for my growing family and my plans to go far offshore.... so I sold it and moved up to a 30' luhrs... good boat but after a few years it needed more repairs than I could afford.. plus the dockage fees were eating me alive. Went through several other boats in about the same class, finally ending up with a 25' John Allmand. (Great solid boat in all honesty) But as things have a habit of doing, time and age catches up to all of us, including me. I finally went back to a V20 simply because I can trailer it and avoid all those nasty dock slip fees, and it's easy for one person to launch and retrieve. It's ride is mostly dry due to the extremely wide flare on the bow... more so than the average carolina flare you find on boats. (FYI, In the right conditions we used to take tons of spray on the 410' long Destroyer I was on in the Navy... there is no such thing as a completely dry boat.) My boat is a 1978, and the transom is as solid today as the day she was built. Yes, you can and will find these boats with soft transoms that need replacing... it all depends on how the boat was treated and what maintenance was done to it during it's lifetime. I feel safer in my V20 than I did in my 30' Luhrs. It's a solid, well built boat that can take a wave that would swamp another boat, shake it off and look for more. It will get you home when a lot of other boats will not, and that's what I was looking for more than anything else. Find one, buy one, use one... you'll be like us and fall in love with it. Guarenteed!:beer:
 
also, keep in mind that this is THE original deep V hull and as such has not kept up with technology. it wont give you the same soft re-entry of a potter hul but when you're out beyond sight of land and it starts to kick up, she'll get you home.
 
The only other boat of this size I ever spent time on was our 2120 Sport cabin Parker. The Parker was built better (however significantly more $$$) but the ride in the V 20 is with out a doubt much better. Trying to find a 20 foot boat that rides better for the $$$ you spend on a V 20 would be very hard to do.:party:
 
Don't know what type of use you will have for a boat, but there is no doubt that they are roomy, solid fishing machines. I, however, use mine on relatively small inland wakes in Indiana and it makes a great family boat. Used to put the kids down in the cuddy with the hatch open and a windfunnel for a nap. It does great pulling skiers and water toys. The clean, open cockpit is a breeze to clean out when kids track in sand and mud on their feet. And even though using it on small inland lakes where I do not get true ocean chop, we do get insane chop coming from all directions on weekends with so many go fast boats and wakeboarders (man, can a wakeboard boat kick up a wicked wake!) Been on all kinds of boats in these inland lakes and none has handled it as well as my v20 cuddy does.
 
"Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates". Great boats! I have owned mine since brandy new 1989. But as in any boat or mistress, pull out the wallet and let them take what they want or you will never get to where you want to go.
 
BG. you realize your asking a bunch of v 20 fanatics for their opinion of their favorite toys, so i'll add my thoughts.
they remind me of taking your moms station wagon to the prom, not the fastest or shiniest(except lumber's) or coolest, but definately the one that will get the job done & you home.
 
And, like Mom's station wagon, has plenty of room for the fun stuff. Cuddy version is a lot like the wagon's back seat!
 
phatdaddy said:
BG. you realize your asking a bunch of v 20 fanatics for their opinion of their favorite toys, so i'll add my thoughts.
they remind me of taking your moms station wagon to the prom, not the fastest or shiniest(except lumber's) or coolest, but definately the one that will get the job done & you home.
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BG, we all love our V's. Take a look around at the photo gallery, then look at the price and quality of new or newer boats similar to the V (if there is such a boat!). Finally, follow the classifieds on this forum and go get yourself one. I am certain will will not find a better boat for the money.

Enjoy the adventure!
 
You Trailer this ALONE, routinely,? Please Help me with a checklist as I'm new and not so confident, YET. 1984 20' Step V, 1989 150 HP Mercury outboard. 1987 LoadRite Trailer W/ elec winch.
Thanks
 
Oh gosh, yes, I trailer it alone all the time. I have even trailered it from Indianapolis to Scituate, Mass. and back twice. Although I was with the wife, kids and dog, I was the only driver (can't get wifey to drive the suburban with the boat on back). Typical ride where I live is about 2 hours each way to get to a decent lake. I launch it and retrieve it by myself all the time too. Piece of cake, and I am 47 years, a bit height challenged (5'8"), not very strong, and a bit overweight (190 lbs.). I sure learned a lot over the years though because we had a boat since I was about 5 years old.
 
dmhallene said:
You Trailer this ALONE, routinely,? Please Help me with a checklist as I'm new and not so confident, YET. 1984 20' Step V, 1989 150 HP Mercury outboard. 1987 LoadRite Trailer W/ elec winch.
Thanks
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Hi.. Thanks for your PM. I answered your post here rather than in the PM you sent me so everyone could see/read my reply. Yes, I trailer my boat alone (most times) and routinely. :sand: My last big trip was bringing it up from it's winter home in Florida to New Jersey. (1600 miles, give or take a few). Most times it's just a short 25 mile trip to the river where I launch. My tow vehicle is my 1998 Jeep Cherokee with an automatic transmission and a 4.0 Liter inline 6 engine. The trailer is equiped with brakes and each wheel has a bearing buddy on it. (Make sure your trailer wheels have Bearing Buddy's also). I consider having brakes on the trailer a necessity due to the fact that my Jeep, while having tons of towing torque, is actually a fairly light vehicle. Given the mass and inertia of the boat and trailer, brakes on the trailer are necessary for emergency stopping.

You will need to carry with you at all times while trailering the following items:

Spare tire
Jack that can fit under your trailer axle
Tubeless tire repair kit
12V compressor
Can of "Inflate-a-flat" or similar product
One (and two is better) extra wheel bearing kits (two bearings and a seal). (Make sure you have both inner and outer bearings as their sizes can differ).
Greese gun filled with wheel bearing greese
Slip lock (Channel Lock) pliers or a large adjustable wrench
Small sandwich baggy filled with cotter pins)
A roll of paper towels
Lug wrench

With the exception of the spare tire, all of the above fits into a milk crate, and it's a simple matter to just throw it into the back of the car before you leave home. Additionally, you can buy spart tire mounts that bolt to your trailer and allow you to mount your tire to them. The better units even allow you to bolt an entire wheel and extra hub assembly to the mount.

I see by your post that you have an electric winch on your trailer already. There are tons of cheap China import winches on the market. Stay clear of them. The last thing you want is for your winch to fail in the middle of a retrieve with others waiting to use the launch ramp. Get a good winch. Hopefully your winch has some sort of remote control that allows you to operate it from a distance. (Powerwinch and Dutton-Lamison winches are both great heavy duty units that allow you to do so). I use a 4000# Powerwinch personally. It has a lanyard that connects to a switch on the unit. That way I can stand back by my boat, pull the lanyard to activate the winch and guide my boat while the winch pulls it up onto the trailer. Easy as pie.

I'm 66 years old and it's no big deal to launch or retrieve my boat. If I can do it I'm pretty sure anyone can. :beer:
 
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