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Anyone have any first hand experience with these boats. I had narrowed it down to contender or fountain and then this boat caught my eyes. Only concern is that it was tournament fished for 2 years. Are these boats as strong and well constructed as the fountain/contenders? Can I expect the hull to be in good shape after 2-3 years of hard tournament fishing? The boat is powered with trip 250 etecs. How about the ride in various sea conditions? Thanks for any information.
I have a 2005 32 with twin verados that I like very much - 425 hours so far and not a single crack or defieicency. Wush it had more formmidable bolste5rs like a Fountain, that's it...Rides very well in any type of sea and have had it is some pretty bad stuff crossing to the bahamas. Very dry ride - one of the well kept secrets in the big CC's....
I am sure you have been on plenty of contenders. Do you find that the wellcraft is as solid as the contenders? I loved how when my old contender 27 hit it was solid...no rattles. I figure this boat ought to have been beat pretty bad, or at least run alot. It is on its second set of motors (05 etecs) and it is only an 03. Tournament fished 2-3 years.
I am sure you have been on plenty of contenders. Do you find that the wellcraft is as solid as the contenders? I loved how when my old contender 27 hit it was solid...no rattles. I figure this boat ought to have been beat pretty bad, or at least run alot. It is on its second set of motors (05 etecs) and it is only an 03. Tournament fished 2-3 years.
I have not been on more than one ot two contenders and not in a SKA fisihgn type environment..sorry...just reporting my experience and how it has held up......
I've got an older Scarab 302 and I've been very happy with the quality and the ride. I can run into a 4' chop with the tabs down and not get beat up or get wet. I upsized my trim tabs to 12" x 12" and it really helped keep the bow down. Another great thing about Wellcraft is their customer service, they have been very helpful faxing me engine performance numbers with different props and engines and construction drawings for some questions I had.
Hope this does not work anybody up but I am not looking to get a boat like a century or a sailfish. Want a little stronger/better constucted boat. Seems like the wellcraft is more on the contender/regulator side than the sailfish side...or maybe right in between.
I've got an older Scarab 302 and I've been very happy with the quality and the ride. I can run into a 4' chop with the tabs down and not get beat up or get wet. I upsized my trim tabs to 12" x 12" and it really helped keep the bow down. Another great thing about Wellcraft is their customer service, they have been very helpful faxing me engine performance numbers with different props and engines and construction drawings for some questions I had.
Russ
I'm with Russ on this, I also have an older Scarab 302 and have the same opinion. I also upgraded the tabs to the 12 X 14 and it makes a huge difference.
I have seen the newer 35' up close and they look to be built twice as strong as my Scarab and with the cuddy, generator and AC you can't go wrong. Though an SKA boat will most likely be the open model. The tripple E-Tecs would seal the deal for me.
We have been tournament fishing Wellcraft 32 and 35's for a few years and have sold many others that are on the tournament trail. We have also sold a bunch to guys that used to run Contenders. All I can say is that the boats are holding up VERY well, even more importantly the owners are very satisfied with not only the performance but the way the boats are holding up. A couple of weeks ago at the Southport, NC FLW tournament, they were running in up to 8 foot seas and the ride was as good as you can expect under those conditions as well as being dryer than most other boats like it I have been on. In "normal" conditions the ride is excellent and pretty darned soft when comapared to others.
Hte best thing about the 35 is the dry ride of the boat, it really is incredible how little spray is thrown up. Setup right with triple Optis it'll run right at 60 full of fuel in good conditions. The construction is very good from what I have seen and the older style 35 that you are looking at has an excellent layout with a transom well, flat deck, and tons of storage/fishbox space. I would not hesitate for a second to purchase a 35, they are the best bang for the buck in the large CC market and one of the best kept secrets as well!
Hope this does not work anybody up but I am not looking to get a boat like a century or a sailfish. Want a little stronger/better constucted boat. Seems like the wellcraft is more on the contender/regulator side than the sailfish side...or maybe right in between.
If you are looking for a stronger/better constructed boat than a Sailfish then I would not consider Wellcraft to meet your needs. I have owned both and currently have a Sailfish. Just my personal opinion and, no, I am not worked up......
Thanks Bean. It is not that I think that sailfish is a bad boat at all...I think they are great. I am just looking to be a step up from that class in constuction. Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I will be going with a 31 contender with verados. Going to look at it hopefully by the end of the week
2003 Wellcraft 35 center console 
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