Classic SeaCraft Community

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- General (http://www.classicseacraft.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=4)

- - done. (http://www.classicseacraft.com/community/showthread.php?t=14659)

OK, let me start off by saying that the changes that were made to my 1971 20' SeaCraft were specific to my needs and very likely are not the changes that someone else would make. Secondly, my only contribution to this project was a wish-list of changes, and my checkbook. I did none of the physical labor myself.

This all started by my having a '76 SeaCraft 18' that I had work done on and wanted to modify it even more but couldn't bring myself to have it gutted after all the work that I had already paid to have done to it. Therefore, I sold the 18' and started looking for a 20' built in the decade that Bill Potter owned the company. I spent a short while searching boattrader for a 20' that I would have COMPLETELY rebuilt. At the time, I was living in Atlanta and ended up finding the boat in South Florida. I picked up the boat and towed it to North Carolina which was the initial intended location for having it rebuilt. I say rebuilt because I don't think what I had done would qualify as a "restoration". Anyhow, the North Carolina part of the plan had a few hiccups, so I towed it back to South Florida where I chose Wildfire Marine in Stuart to do the work....or more accurately, to build a new boat for me.

Before towing the boat from North Carolina back to Florida, I removed the engine, original console, fuel tank, t-top, etc. When the boat arrived at Wildfire Marine, it looked like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/1.jpg

My wish-list of things I wanted done to the boat was two typed pages long and included the broad strokes of the overall plan as well as smaller but still important features that I wanted included (more on that later). The first thing on the agenda was to thoroughly gut the boat as such:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/2.jpg

and continuing onward, remove it ALL:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/3.jpg

ALL of the existing outer shell of the boat was retained, including all of the outer skin of the transom. The transom was raised from 20" to 25" as seen here (notice original mustard color of boat) :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/4.jpg

Out of respect for those without a high speed internet connection, I will jump forward about 75 photos at this point. Obviously, the floor had to be raised so that this could finally be a self bailing boat without plugs in the scuppers, fear of leaving it in the water or any other such concerns. Fly fishing is my primary endeavor with this boat, so the gunnels had to be widened out to 7.5" in order to make hanging rods under them possible. Additionally, those original width gunnels in the 20' are narrow enough to be A) uncomfortable to sit on, and B) a possible way for me to break my neck when stepping off a dock onto a wet boat. Also, those half height seats in the transom had to be changed to be functional, which I felt would be best raised to gunnel height and reduced in length from several feet down to just 17" fore-to-aft. I wanted the base of the livewell to be at the same height as the floor so that draining it would be a function of gravity rather than pumps, or me on hands and knees with a bucket. Here is a shot of the newly widened gunnels and full height aft compartments:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/5.jpg

After an exhaustive search over the course of nearly a year, I was simply unable to find a console that I thought was appropriate for the boat. Then to make matters worse (better?), I had the opportunity to ride in Other Tom's Whitewater at last years Dania flea market get together. I had been intending to go with an overhead electronics box but noticed how much better the visibility was with all the electronics mounted in the dash and nothing hanging under the t-top at all. This really made my console search seem just about impossible because those consoles that work out so great in the SeaVee/Contender/Whitewater/etc boats are really designed for a boat much larger than a 20' SeaCraft. After finding several consoles that would have sort of worked with a lot of cut-and-repair glass work to get them how I wanted, Mike at Wildfire Marine said he would just make a console from scratch for me if I could come up with some measurements that I liked. I spent one Sunday afternoon with an Exacto knife and some 1/2" Foamcore making a dummy console on my living room floor. I then put it in a U-Haul trailer and towed it from Atlanta to Stuart where a few measurements were changed slightly to allow for better mold release, and a plug was made to make a mold from. The console is 28" wide instead of the overly wide console that originally came in the boat. It allows for very good walk-by space and still holds plenty of electronics for a coastal boat. Here are two shots of the custom console:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/7.jpg

The livewell mentioned above, drains at floor level so as to prevent any headaches due to pump failure, and to make it as simple as possible. Here is a view into the livewell, which is small for those who are really into livebait fishing, but as stated earlier, fly fishing is my primary thing, so it is quite adequate for my needs:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/10.jpg

Here are two shots that are out of order but are good overall shots to show how the boat looked the afternoon before the engine was mounted. The only non-white accent on the boat is the stainless rubrail. There will be no "name" painted on the side of the boat, no brand name logo on the boat, and sadly there has to be FL numbers - I would have preferred to leave it as generic as possible. The forward casting deck is the only thing retained from the original boat. The drain for the fishbox in the casting platform was rerouted back through a macerator pump in the bilge so that there are no holes through the hull except for the livewell pickup now. The two scuppers drain directly out through the transom at floor level:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/16.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/17.jpg

Jumping ahead once again, this photo was shot this afternoon with an adult weighing over 225#s standing next to the transom with the boat in the water. A 426# 4-stroke engine mounted on the transom, no plugs in the scuppers, and dry feet. This is probably only of interest to those of you who have spent time in an 18' or 20' SeaCraft, but it was one of my foremost goals and the reason for raising the stringers 2.5" so the floor would finally be well above water level :

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/11.jpg

Even with the 4-stroke engine tilted well out of the water, the waterline is quite acceptable. A new 75 gallon tank was added below the floor and slid as far forward as possible in order to distribute the weight away from the stern. In addition, both batteries are under the seat portion of the console so the boat would sit as normal as is possible for what is a tail-heavy boat to begin with:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/12.jpg

Although fly fishing at night is not one of my preferred activities, the lights are all there if I need to see where the steering wheel is. There is a halogen flood facing forward off the front of the t-top, flourescent tube under the t-top over the dash area, six red LED lights under the gunnel, and a light inside the console for finding that hard to find sandwich:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/13.jpg

While there are still several minor tweakings to be done, it is pretty much exactly what I wanted. The people responsible for the boat looking the way it does are:

Wildfire Marine - all glass work, painting, console, rigging, problem solving, etc - Ph.772.286.1925
Bausch Enterprises - t-top
Birdsall Marine - leaning post (32" Mini Rocket Launcher).
Fantastic Plastics - dash enclosure, console door, fly rod racks, leaning post lure tray.
Pompanette - 30* rod holders
Accon - 6" flush mount pull-up cleats
Southco - latch pulls
Loadmaster - trailer
Suzuki - engine, 140hp 4-stroke
Garmin - gps and fishfinder (182C and 320C)
Icom - vhf
Bluesea Systems - switch panel
Floscan - fuel management (admitted overkill on a boat this size)
Lenco - trim tabs
Polyplanar - speakers and MRD-60 stereo
Custom metal work was done by a Pratt & Whitney employee who made the polished stainless transom plate (pure vanity!), lure tray posts, and most importantly, custom flush mount hinges without that rattling center piece - I don't like noise!
I'm sure I am forgetting someone, but that is the bulk of it.

Here is Capt Chuck driving the boat this afternoon:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/14.jpg

and here is the purpose for the boat in the first place. Although we jumped some large 100# class tarpon yesterday, this is the first fish I landed with the new 34 year old boat:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/15.jpg

If I get motivated, I will post shots of all the details such as the custom hinges, racks, etc etc. However, motivation is in short supply right now

Wow! That is one fine ride! I like the small touches like the lighting. Love the smooth, uncluttered interior as well.

Wanna sell it? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Fantastic, Super Seacraft! Now thats what I call a head turner. Congrats and lots of luck. - PF

WOW,WOW,WOW absolutely awesome.I like the red,white and blue pic.Goto go back and look at them again.

Mark . . . It's perfect. I love console and the wider gunnels (- the liner). Looks really sharp . . .

Ditto everything else said mark- awesome!!!!!

Very impressive! As previously stated, the clean look is awesome!

Mark

I will have to say that your SeaCraft is the finest restoration of a Classic that I have ever seen http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung.../Fool/appl.gif

Thank You for allowing me to share in the christening of your long awaiting DREAM BOAThttp://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...arge/Drunk.gif

BTW: I won't divulge everything that hit the deck http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...eeDevilEek.gif

Congrat's Mark!It is killer!I'll trade you the Michael Fitz and The Hellsbay and Momma and the kids!Enjoy!Joey

Mark,
Congrats on getting her splashed, it must be quite a feeling. You did an excellent job designing the layout and everything came out perfect! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Now the feet belonging to that 225# adult, was that what he quoted you or did you weigh him yourself? [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

In the pic of the boat underway, looks like Capt Chuck is trying to make off with the goods!! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Scott -

My Boga-grip tops out at 60#s, so the estimate of 225# is just a wild guess [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Here are some "detail" shots inside the boat -

The capacity to store fly rods under the gunnels was an absolute necessity:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/a2.jpg

As rods usually slide as far aft as they can while bouncing across the ocean, I wanted them to go ahead and start off all the way against the back wall so the grips couldn't slide back and the rod then be resting on the graphite:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/a1.jpg

Also notice in the photo above that the lid lifts via a molded in recessed area - I really wanted to avoid any latch pulls that weren't absolutely necessary.

Flush mount hinges without that floating center piece(s) proved impossible to find at a satisfactory quality level. That center piece also allows for a certain amount of rattling when the lid/hatch is closed. So, heavy duty standard stainless hinges were inverted, tapped from the bottom, polished, and used upside down as flush mount hinges - A bit costly to have done, but nice and quiet when running over chop:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/a3.jpg

The list of similar details is rather large and would take many pages to show them all, but my 20 hour engine break-in ended today, so the fishing begins and the detail photography ends. Thank you all for your patience wading through these images :-)

Mark,

Congratulations! Well done.

What are you naming her - Blank Check?

Very classy! That pic of it by the dock needs to go in a publication of some sort. It came out so nice that it could be the poster boy for the 20 footers. I'd like to know were they got those little black plastic guides that come out of the transom for the hydraulic hoses. I need to buy a couple of those. I'm getting closer [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Strick

Otto - that might be a rather appropriate name for the boat [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Strick - give Mike at Wildfire Marine a call (772.286.1925). He rebuilt the boat from scratch and knows where all the parts and pieces came from.

Holy Moly! Mark, that boat is SCHWEEEEET! Wish it was still located on the Ga. coast. Some awesome ideas for my 20' which I thought was pretty fresh. Now I understand the whole concept of raising the stringers 2.5"! Would it be possible to have another console popped from that mold? Simply impossible to have a T-Top with that monster in mine. I'd like to know how you like the 4 stroke 140, too. Man, Congradulations! You've got to be stoked! Nice job on the console plug, too. Best of luck! Now, Go Fish!!!

I suspect you can have as many consoles made from that mold as you like. All I did was come up with the dimensions that I wanted and make a dummy console out of foamcore. Mike at Wildfire made the actual plug and the mold. He has the mold sitting there on the shelf and could certainly make you a console. Give him a ring sometime, number is listed above.

As to the engine, it is going in for its 20 hour thing this morning, after which I am good for 100 hours between services. WOT on it gets me right around 36 knots, or just into the low 40's mph (at 6000 rpm). When cruising at 4000rpm, I am burning 4.9gph and moving along at 23 knots (not sure how many mph that is). I started out with an aluminum 14x21 prop on it and it was sluggish as well as unable to get past 5000rpm. I switched on day 2 to a stainless 14x20 prop and it made a world of difference: finally able to get the engine to turn 6000rpm, much better hole shot, and a speed in line with what other SC20 users are getting with the same engine (41-43mph). I like not having to remember to add oil to the reservoir each morning [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Mark-

Congrats on a rebuild like I have never seen before. I have not seen one other project that compares. Your thought and design with Mike from Wildfire's craftmanship is a winning combination.

It may be time to put the camera down for a bit, get Bill Potter, Mike Sternberg and yourself together to create on hell of a line of sportfishing boats.

You have created the finest SeaCraft afloat, now get out there and enjoy.

WOW that is the sweetest 20 ive seen by far. Question for you guys, If you were a sea craft executive and you saw this boat, Would you be a little embarrased that a 28 year old boat looks so much nicer than whats coming from your factory? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Wow, I broke out in a sweat, Outrageous!!! The guys at the station watched as I scrolled through those pics in the link, they are inspired. Congratulations, Jim [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Mark, One word.....OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!

Hammer

Mark …
Talk about a once “Diamond in the rough”
I know we have all seen that Diamond advertisement about the four C’s ….Well you’ve just redefined the meaning of the Four C’s ….

Custom, Classy, Clean and Chic

What a beautiful “One of a Kind”

Best of luck with her !!!!

PS .... You let Capt Chuck take the wheel?!?!?!? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I agree with all the comments above! That is truely something to be proud of.

Speaking of names "One Of A Kind" would work too.

Quote:

PS .... You let Capt Chuck take the wheel?!?!?!?

I'm the only one he knows with a 225+lb arse http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...smiley-075.gif that he utilizes for R&D and shifting Boat Ballast http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...smiley-010.gif

Mark,

Great job!!!! Nicely done ... classic.

Nice choice of power too!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Congratulations on the fine boat, and thanks for taking the time to not only post the photos, but to also give a very detailed and useful explanation of what you went through. - aaf

Mark . . . I am wondering if you have any pics that show the raised the stringers before installation of the floor and the maybe some pics of the floor being installed. I'm at this stage in my own project and I'd love to see how the pros do it.

Quote:

I'm the only one he knows with a 225+lb arse http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung...smiley-075.gif that he utilizes for R&D and shifting Boat Ballast

Put you and me in the boat and we can test the "raised the deck so the water doesn’t come through the scuppers and get our feet wet modification" [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

Bigshrimpin,

I have this habit of taking a lot of photos...sort of a symptom of being a photographer! I have hundreds of photos of this boat from start to finish with EVERY stage covered. What I didn't shoot, Mike at Wildfire did and I have copies. However, I am in Florida until October and most of my photos are on my computer in Boulder, Colorado - I would not be able to email you any images until I return to my house there [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

----------------------. Speechless! Beautiful!

That boat is unreal. I have a 20 im restoring as well and hope to make half the boat this one is. Mark Im at a critical stage Im getting ready to put a entire new floor in but before I do, you had mentioned that you moved the fuel cell forward how far? and how does the boat ride now? I kind of have the concern of te boat being to heavy in the rear once I strap the suzuki on. I already raised the stringers 2.5 inches like you suggested before sounds like ill be happy with this. I was wondering if you had a couple of measurements off hand. Whats it measure in the rear of the boat from the bottom of the keel to the new floor height. and what are the dimensions of the the rear bait boxes you installed? Your boat is awesome and a true inspiration to get mine done. thanks for any advise and tips you can pass my way.

I'll get all those measurements to you tomorrow. the boat is "in the barn" due to this little disturbance named Frances but I'll make a few measurements for you in the morning. However, as to the measurements of the two aft compartments, I would suggest making them whatever dimensions YOU are happy with. We just played around with different front-to-back measurements on mine until we came up with what felt right - there was no strong reason as to why mine are the size they are.

The 75 gallon tank was shoved all the way forward until it hit the beginning of the casting deck.

I think it rides pretty well. Hole shot suffered with the first prop I tried (14x21) but when I went to the 14x20, it performs quite nicely. The images above show where the waterline is when at rest. My feet stay dry with no splashwell and I no longer own scupper plugs - both of these features sure are nice for a change.

WooWeee!! Dat'some good look'n SeaCraft! Great Job on Her!
You might end up spending most of Your time at the Dock talk'n & show'n Her off ! Now lets see some Fish !
Congrat's!!!! [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Wow is right! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I won't even ask how much $$$ you have invested in the project! [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Mark's project is a Labor of Love. It's like asking how much you spent on your family in the last 10 years - nobody even wants to THINK about that kinda money.

Mark - Good for you, man! Only you're not done. You've got some fun having to do...

Mark - I really like the finish work on the inside of the hull under the gunnels.

Did the guys just putty the sides and smooth it out or did they use the outside of the hull as a mold to make the "liner"?

Bigshrimpin - more glass was added to the sides then "putty and smooth" as you stated.

To others who have asked specific measurement questions, I apologize for not getting those numbers to you but I ran out of town ahead of the storm and left the boat inside a secure building. I am now 500 miles from the boat until Frances passes.

Thanks Mark!! That's really helpful. What a great job!!

A year and a halg ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Mark at the CSC/Dania Marine Flea Market gathering. While there, he spent about one hour picking through stainless fittings and I wanted to scream, "would you just buy the friggin' thing already". However, now I see why his boat looks as good as it does.....he took the time to do it right the first time.

Mark, congratulations on a job well done. Hopefully I will get to see it in person some time.

-Ed-