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Does any body know about a Wellcraft 196-XP

Are you in need of information regarding "the way it was?" Or are you are a walking "who's-who" of Chris-Craft fiberglass boats? Share what you don't know—or do know here.

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Bad Ass Boat
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Does any body know about a Wellcraft 196-XP

Post by Bad Ass Boat » Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:38 pm

I just bought this Wellcraft cuddy didnt pay much attention to it. I got a good deal on it I stole it. A dude lost his job in Lake Powell in Utah and was down to his last 40 bucks. Its a got a 280 hp Mercruiser 5.7 engine. Any way I got out the paper work and in the paper work there is a original article dated 1981. This boat cost close to $20,000.00 in 1981! The interior has teak wood through out the boat and it has a kavlar reinforced hull. The whole hull is hand laid fiber glass. Top speed on this boat was clocked at 54 mph no BS! One picture shows the boat completely out of the water on the prop! Is there anybody out there have any knowledge on this boat? I wonder how many were made? I know this isn't Chris Craft but just wondering if anybody knows anything about this boat. Thanks Roger

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tom king
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Post by tom king » Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:43 pm

where are the pics?

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:04 am

I can share what little I know. The interesting thing is that all of these companies were very interwined during this period, just as Chris-Craft was with others prior to WW-II. Boatbuilding has always been that way...

Wellcraft was founded in 1955. By the early 60s as fiberglass was coming on to the scene, Wellcraft used racing as a way of developing and testing hull designs, much like many other manufacturers were doing.

If you study the lineage of all of the major players back then, you'll find a lot of overlap. Arguably, Don Aronow was among the biggest names. He was the founder, designer, and mastermind behind Cigarette. He also created Donzi, and Magnum.

Other big name designers of the day were Ray Hunt and Dick Bertram who were absolutely instrumental in developing the Deep V hull design. Bertram cruisers, such as the "Moppie" are absolutely legendary...and Ray Hunt deserves a lot of credit in Bertram's success.

Aronow hired noted naval architect, and fellow boat racer, Jim Wynne to give Bertram and Hunt a run for their money. Aronow and Wynne jointly started Formula Marine in 1963, designed a 23-footer and and a 27-footer and went racing. Both boats won a number of races. Aronow and Wynne sold the designs and molds bout a year later. The designs became the basis for many Formula cruisers to follow.

After the sale of Formula, one boat that stayed with Aronow and Wynne was the 17-foot Formula Junior. The boat was revised and later introduced as the Sweet 16, the first model of Aronow's new company, Donzi. This was somewhere about 1965.

If you are a Chris-Craft history buff, you may recognize Jim Wynne's name, as he designed the running surfaces of the Lancer's, 19- and 23-foot Commanders, and later the XK19, 22's and 23's.

The point to all of this is that offshore powerboat racing was hitting its stride in the 70s and into the 80s, with all of these legendary names competing from a design standpoint as well as on the water.

Wellcraft also had a pretty solid race history in the 70s, fielding teams in Stingers and Scarabs, competing directly with Cigarette, Formula, and Donzi among others.

Wellcraft's claim to fame—plain and simple—was their association with the TV show Miami Vice. The show ran from 1984 to 1989. I can't tell from your post whether your boat is literally a 1981, or possibly from a later year, but either way, you are pre "Vice."

Prior to Miami Vice, Wellcraft was a pretty full spectrum boatbuilder. They built runabouts, center console fishing boats, and cruisers, and go-fasts. Their cruisers such as the Portofino, San Remo, St. Tropz, were pretty posh for their time.

The Stinger series was their "go-fast" model, followed by the Scarabs. There were a full range of these boats, as you could buy Scarabs from the low 20-foot range up to the high 30-foot range, as I recall.

I want to say that your boat was referred to as the "Sunhatch" 196XP. It has a pretty deep V hull. I don't know whether it is a 24-degree deadrise at the transom, but it is pretty close. It would have had a Mercruiser Alpha series drive—about as good as it got in the early 80s.

As part of the "Offshore Racing" inspired marketing speak, almost all of the manufacturers spoke of "Kevlar Reinforced Hulls." Sometimes it was just a 4-inch wide piece of cloth at the keel or chines....just enough to justify use of the "magical phrase."

Your Wellcraft was probably built in Sarasota...right around the corner...about 5 miles...from the Chris-Craft plant.
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Wow thanks for the reply!

Post by Bad Ass Boat » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:33 pm

Wow Bill you really know your S--t! I'm blown away! Your prefect for the club! Here are some stats on the boat From Power Boat mag from January of 1981.
Mercruiser 260. 350 cid indicated top speed 53.5 mph. recorded top speed with radar 53 mph Measured top speed in the 1/8 mile 54 mph time to reach plane 3.48 distance to stop from 35 mph is 180 feet. Heres some other info. Length 19.6 Beam .76 Hull weight 1880 pounds with out engine. Constuction hand lay up. Passenger capacity 1375 pounds
Retail price in 1981 $18,850 not including trailer! yes your right the boat was made in Florida the plant shut down and they moved to California. Been trying to find the phone number in Cal but cant find it for the factory. For some reason you cant find any of these boats on the internet or infor on production how many units. Will post some pics later Thanks guys Roger :D

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:46 pm

I am pretty sure the Florida plant is still open, but if you read the trade pubs there may be a few that don't wether this current recession. It is really a tough time in the marine business now.

If the stats were honest for their day, 54 mph in a fairly deep V family boat with pretty average power was pretty darn fast.
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Well Craft 196-XP

Post by Bad Ass Boat » Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:03 pm

I have the original dealer book and the fatory phone number is on the back. The number has been disconnected. There was sombody on the internet stated that the factory in Florida was closed and they moved the manufacturing facilitys in California. I looked on the net and can't even find the phone number for the new facilitys for Well Craft. The mph stated for this boat is the test results from the original test run in 1981. It sounds too fast for me too considering that this boat alone weighs in at 2900 lbs. The owner of this boat said he had it up to 53 down at lake powell. Lake Powell is at 3000 ft I have been told. Considering a lighter Chris Craft XK-19 WITH A corvette motor only does 50 Mph I found this hard to belive my self. And the XK-19s are very light in comparison.

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:15 pm

I agree with you on all points. I had a 23-foot Deep V boat with with a 454 Magnum, through hull exhaust and Bravo drive. At one point I was pretty tweaky with this boat, sending props off to be Lab finished and so on. My goal was to see how fast I could push this boat without making internal modifications to the engine or drive.

Plain and simple, I never got the hull to its advertised top speed. And there were many attempts made on GPS, on perfect water, low fuel, no additional passengers, no cooler, freshly waxed hull, with a tail wind.

Maybe Wellcraft was friendly with the editor? Ever notice how the companies with the biggest ads get the most attention? During this period of time, Wellcraft was quite a large advertiser...among the largest.
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Post by Thommyboy » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:16 am

Wellcraft is part of Genmar. Their website gives their address as Cadillac, Michigan. So Genmar probably moved Wellcraft's operation into the Four Winns plant.

Just google "Wellcraft" and you'll get their website.

Andreas

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ice nine
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Genmar Michigan

Post by ice nine » Thu Jan 29, 2009 2:34 pm

The production for Wellcraft has officially moved to Cadillac, Michigan. The plant is now referred to as Genmar Michigan since there are more than Four Winns built there now.

As for a few particulars, the Stinger series was a boat that Wellcraft built in 1980 and 1981 but it was a 165. The Stingers were made famous by none other than Chris Craft and competed head on with the Scarabs of Wellcraft fame. That name was changed on the Chris Craft's to Stinger from Scorpion in 1981 right at the beginning of the Dale Murray/Chris Craft era.

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