Wellcraft 200XL 1978 Back to Life

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I just found wellcraftboatowners.com. Lucky me.

I have a low hours (Like 150) 20’ 1978 XL200 I bought from the original owner. It is a 350 Chevy with the OMC I/O. The boat was used in fresh and seawater in the early 80’s.The boat was well cared for and stored under cover in a pole barn in NW Oregon for 30 years. The hull is RED. Need I say more?

I sold a 20’ aluminum jet, common to this area of the world and thought I was out of boating. I kept hearing about this near new boat that was never going to see the water and got it cheap. I still winter the boat in the same pole barn. An open boat in this area is not really practical, but I like it.

Last winter I serviced everything and got the engine fired and the drive working. All relays that control the Starter, Trim, Drive raise, etc, were non-functional and were replaced one after another. Fuel sender, fuel pump, and coil, were replaced. I have a new aluminum intake and carb, but wanted to get the original package working. I still have the original Mallory points distributor. It seems to be working with no corrosion inside. One of the exhaust manifold down casting was cracked. I replaced both with good used parts.

Additions include Humminbird Helix7 chart plotter, radio and antenna, wash down pump, master power switch with fused power distribution points in the engine bay and in the cuddy cabin, marine radio with speakers, stainless flame arrestor, spark plugs and wires, and a good bilge cleaning. Wellcraft used non stainless steel staples on the upholstery, so I have rusty staples coming apart and some stitches are pulling out. 30 years is a lot to ask for stitching.

I find the hull seeks both directions a low speed as badly as my flat-bottomed jet. I was surprised. Any comments?

The quirky spark interrupter for 4 cylinders, that activates when engaging the forward or reverse throttle control, has killed the engine multiple times at a bad moment. Probably I just need to raise the idle speed a bit. The original carb works, but the idle jets are probably dirty.

The out drive down function is unpleasant without someone watching the progress. It goes down fast and can hit hard. The down contact is the only thing that is not fixed yet. It would be nice for the contact switch to cut a relay to the down motor function.

I have a dock in an estuary of the Columbia River. I keep the boat on an inflatable float system next to the dock. Oregon weather dumps a lot of rain and I have a waterproof cover, but it pools water and is a pain to clear off almost daily. I developed a system of fiberglass tent poles from EBAY in the form of an X from front to back including the drive station to the engine area. I drop the nose of the cover under the railing to spill the water forward. All this pops up the cover and water rolls off. You can even work inside with the cover on.

So, what’s next for this winter?
Everything works on the dash and instruments, but I would like to build in the chart plotter and have some nice new Faria Chesapeake white instruments. I find the black plastic panel can be replaced by a ½” white polypro panel and I can fit everything in with a, 4 in 1, tach, speedo, trim and clock. After looking underneath the dash, he rewiring process is a bit daunting, but making a good working diagram and marking everything, should make for a neat project.

Any comments would be welcome.
Roy

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