Any one own or know someone with a NovaIII?
 

I'm looking at a 1988. Twin 350's w/alpha drives..... looks in great shape but since its winter I obviously cant water test....just wondering what other opinions are of these boats. It looks to be a very solid boat and has a good profile for offshore duty's. Any comments or suggestions on what to look for or keep an eye out on these boats?
I know that some of the Wellcrafts had transom rot problems (as in the case with my old Scarab around the exhaust tips) Does that apply to these older Wellcrafts as well??

Thanks people

The Nova 3's are real nice boats for the size and price. They tend to be faster than Chris Crafts and Sonics of the same size and vintage. They do have stringer rot problems around the limber holes on some of them so check carefully. There is also a real clean one for sale on our website- www.cbpba.com -check it out for comparison. Obviously if you have a 43 Black Thunder, you can sell your Nova :p

be careful with the alphas. if you ever up your power you need to change drives. Under current power they will be fine but its just something to keep in mind.

A buddy of mine has an 88 Spyder, same power and drive combonation you are looking at. He has had little trouble with it ,other than normal wear items. drives are still fine, engines have been replaced, and cockpit material redone. the bolsters are made of wood tubs so they rot badly. It is a great riding boat and runs pretty well for its size and horsepower. Should be mid teens to low twenties depending on condition. Good luck!

There just happens to be TWO for sale on eBay, an '86 and a '88.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1876845415

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1876808380

Wally-
They're a great boat, and it's probably even better with the SBc's and Alphas. A great deal of Novas had twin BBC's, and had balance problems.
My Formula 242LS is a similar boat, and I have never had any problem with the drives, and I have upped the HP on the engines.
You just won't have much problems with an Alpha and SBC's (I strongly recommend drive showers and external reservoirs though). The Alpha also has appx. 31% less hydrodynamic drag than the Bravo too, so the boat would slow down if converted.

Nice cabin in those Novas too!:D
Jim

insptech- 43 Black Thunder?? I dont have one of those! I wish i did!!! :D
And what are limber holes??

arks-yea i saw those two! The one in WI is even kinda close to me here. I may have to make a raod trip and check that one out!

jafo - yea i have seen a few with the BBC's but thought the same about weight....plus they look to have a cramps engine compartment so i didnt want to take up yoga to try and change spark plugs!!! :) The cabin is one of the reasons i like this boat. Its somewhat if a good size boat and it seems to have a biger cabin then the scarab had!

Any others with comments or suggestions? :)

I own an 85 nova II............It was a good riding boat (for the size / price). Had 350's with alphas. The drives are pretty reliable with that power. However when I upped the horse to about the 425 or so mark, every now and then I'd trash a verticle shaft or lower gear set. Also, it got a little squirly over the 70 mark. I'd say your weakest link will be the alphas if you ever go up in power. I averaged a little less than a drive a season (100 hours of use - and driven HARD). I have an 85 nova II with no power (drives included) I'm looking to get rid of in fair shape..............if you'd like more info, PM me, and I can send you some pics / info.

RJ

Hey Wally my dad has one and he loves it. The boat does good in rough water for the bottom design and handles very well. For the size there is not 27 foot boat with more room inside. The boat is designed very well. I also found one on eaby today that seemes to be a good deal. Here is the link: Nova III Hope this helps.

The guy in our club selling his Nova has a 43 Black Thunder now, nice move up. But that is why he is selling the Nova. Limber holes are the holes drilled in the stringers to allow water to flow down to the lowest part of the bilge. After they are drilled they need to be sealed so that water will not soak into the stringer at that point. Wellcraft apparently didn't know this during the 80's and a lot of their boats have stringer rot problems near the limber holes. If you suspect a stringer is rotted there use a hole saw to cut out the laminate near it and look at the wood for rot. A cut of this nature can be easily re-glassed if the stringer is intact. If you do by a Nova with good stringers make sure you coat the inside of those holes with some type of sealant-resin or marinetex.