Vintage (rare) Aquasport Xscape 180

[captben31]

Here is my baby, a 1977 Aquasport Xscape 180. Acuired in 1993, restored in 1994, and in full service up to this day. The original 1976 85hp Johnson Seahorse kicked the bucket in 1995 and was replaced by a 1995 Mariner 75hp. In 2000, the Mariner ceased up due to lack of maintenance that we paid for and was claimed to be done by the mechanic. It was replaced with a 2001 Mercury 75hp after winning a lawsuit against the mechanic. She's got a 2007 Lowrance Color GPS/Depthfinder and an Icom VHF. I've also replaced the gas tank with a 20 gallon tank after the old one rotted out (a known Aquasport problem). She may be small and old, but is the most seaworthy small boat I've ever been on. I've taken her out 11 miles for small Bluefin Tuna at the Cholera banks off of Jones Beach with ease. I can go out, troll for 2 hrs, and head back, burning only 15 gallons. She pulls off 34mph at 5200rpm WOT and cruises for 24mph at 4000rpm.  Photo taken May 1, 2009.

Paid $2,000 in 1993 for her. Best money I've ever spent so far. It's going to be a bittersweet day when I upgrade in a few years.

[Marcq]

Hey welcome  captben31   Nice boat, sure don't see that model often, any picture on the interior ?

Marc..

[captben31]

Hey, thanks for the welcome Marc. Unfortunatley, I don't have any pics of the interior but I'll be sure to take some and post a few. It does not have the same interior anymore as it came with. I took the bolstering out and the seats/bow cushions are now white instead of powder blue. It's also rigged heavily for fishing, so I have the 128qt cooler mounted up front which is removable, 7 rod holders at the stern, and 2 more up on the bow. I can comfortably fish 4 (including myself) on any given day.  

[Capt. Bob]

Ah,
Brings back memories of my first boat (the original ROM).
Terrorized south Biscayne Bay and points east with it.
Great lookin' boat.

[MarshMarlowe196]

Ah,
Brings back memories of my first boat (the original ROM).
Terrorized south Biscayne Bay and points east with it.
Great lookin' boat.

ROM?

[Capt. Bob]

Ah,
Brings back memories of my first boat (the original ROM).
Terrorized south Biscayne Bay and points east with it.
Great lookin' boat.

ROM?

"Reef or Madness"

[MarshMarlowe196]

Ahhh...  so the CCP would be the third generation of "Reef or Madness" ?

Sweet boat name, by the way  

[captben31]

Here are some more shots as requested. Not bad for 32 years old!  

[RickK]

 

[Marcq]

Cool   Man I love these old boats

Marc..

[Capt. Bob]

Vintage Aqua Porn  

[lynnstrick01]

Talk about bringing back memories, I had a "rainbow" I think it was made by Chris Craft looked much like that,  The previous owner was a cabinet maker and had installed lots of storage spaces, all marine plywood of course, It was a great boat, but with all that added wood it was HEAVY, kind of like fishing from a bathtub, didnt handle waves very well, strictly fresh water or VERY near shore and only on GLASSY days.

Without all the extra weight how does yours handle rough water??

[captben31]

It handles the water great. Of course because of her hull design she pounds a bit, but I've been out in some serious stuff (not on purpose). I'm located in Freeport, Long Island NY and I take her 11 miles out to the Cholera Banks for small Bluefin and Mahi in July/Aug. While I only go out there when the forecast is for 1-2ft seas, there have been times when an unexpected sea breeze kicks in and I have to go through Jones Inlet in 3-5 footers with an occaisional 6.

I was also caught off guard in the bay when the Labor Day Derecho of 1998 hit. If you go to google and type in "Labor Day Derecho of 1998 - Long Island", you will see what I was up against. More than 4 people lost their lives in a matter of 20 minutes.

It started as a hot late summer day with a 20% chance of scattered storms. My father and I normally don't wander more than 20 minutes from the dock if they expect bad weather. It gives us enough time that if we see something on the horizon, we can get back with no problem. It was so hazy out, you couldnt see the storm building. Even NOAA weather was quiet locally, talking about storms in Pennsylvania. All of a sudden, the storm alert beep came over NOAA, it was too late.

We looked up and out of the haze was a green/gray mass from northwest to southwest. We high-tailed it back, but the storms were moving at 70mph! It caught up to us and ate us up halfway home. I put the bow of the boat into the storm and prayed. The storm brought countless waterspouts as the green clouds skipped across water, 90mph straight-line winds, cloud to ground lightning all around us, and golfball size hail. One of the waterspouts came onto land as a tornado by Baldwin, just about where we were adjacent water-wise. Overall, Long Island had about 20 small tornados reported and (2) F2 tornados, a rare event. Eisenhower Park lost nearly 120 trees in the wicked weather and power was out for days in some areas.

In the end, the boat suffered a few stress cracks on the topside by the windshield, a shattered windshield from the hail, a busted windshield arm, and 2 shaken but not stirred captains.  The aftermath was unbelievable. Everyone was caught off-guard. Sailboats and occupied boats were capsized, occupied boats were blown onto the marsh, and jetskiers were floating around without their jetskis.

But we made it and we repaired her in 3 days. So I think it's safe to say she's sea worthy when things go sour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_S ... y_Derechos

[MarshMarlowe196]

I just read about the "Labor Day Storm" you're referring to, and all I can say is... WOW .  I never knew storms like that existed, but I guess that's because they tend to occur mostly up north, according to Wikipedia.  The way they described it makes it sound like a short-lived hurricane on steroids.  Winds peaking at 115mph, lightning striking 10-20x per second.  Holy Jeez, luckily and thankfully you're still with us.  

That's a good boat  :pl:

[captben31]

My father and I were very fortunate. I was doing some more research on it and NOAA said that the squall line was long anticipated all day, plus they tout that they gave a 15 minute warning. 15 minutes on a storm that's moving 50 -70mph is not a warning for those on the water and nothing to be proud of. Plus, they're "long anticipated squall line" was spelled out as a 20% Chance of Scattered T-storms.  

Storms like this come along maybe every 10 years or so. I was 22 at the time and never saw one in my life before and haven't seen one since. Hopefully I never see one again.

I still have scars on the boat from that very day, and I keep them there on purpose as a reminder about how devastating mother nature can be....and how fast things can go wrong. Since then, I got myself a hefty pair of Polarized Glasses to cut through the haze and get a little extra time to boogey on home before it's too late.

I have a picture laying around somewhere, when I find it, I will post.