1974 Sceptre Restore
 

Messed around with the boat today:D. The first thing i wanted to do was get the fuel tank out. It wasn't that bad. Had my neighbor help me out which helped alot. Took maybe an hour to get it out and another 30 mins cleaning up the foam. Here is some pics. I measured the tank it came out to 60' long x 24 1/4' wide x 8 1/4' deep. Does anyone know how many gallons that would be?
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture9.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture8.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1..._picture13.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1..._picture11.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture7.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture5.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ms_picture.jpg

Right about 50 gallons if you subtract the .25". Hope that's not the boat someone was going to convert to CC.

The density of gasoline is 44.9 lbs/cu. ft and specific wt is 5.87 lb/gal, so that works out to 7.65 gal/cu. ft if I did the math right. If the sides of your tank are perfectly rectangular, that would work out to about 6.93 cu. ft. using outside dimensions, or 53 gallons. Per the '79 brochure (http://www.classicseacraft.com/broch...ure/index.html), it may have a 47 gallon tank in it, but that may be for the O/B model. The tank in the Seafari is about 5 gallons smaller in the I/O model because of shorter length due to engine space. The top of my Seafari tank tapers down at the rear on top and the bottom tapers up at the front to allow for removal, so the sides are not perfectly rectangular. It holds about 34 gallons. Later Seafaris with a smaller step down into the cabin, starting about '74, supposedly had a 50 gallon tank.

You might consider having it pressure tested to check for leaks. That could save you the cost of a new tank!

Translation
 

length x width x depth (in inches)
60" x 24" x 8" = 11520 sq inches divided by 231 = 49.870 gallons

It'sanoldtankbill

Cleaned the tank a little bit today. Was looking to possible re use this tank but after flipping it over i heard a bunch of something inside the tank move around. Not water or fuel but whatever it is clumps of rust i guess it is alot of it.
The tank actually looks in good shape from the outside for a 38 year old tank.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture1.jpg
It had three rubber strips on the bottom that i took off. What are those strips called?
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1..._picture-2.jpg
The only thing that i could make out is the date of 6-74 on the tank.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...s_picture2.jpg

Any advice if raising the deck is necessary if i plan on adding four stroke power about 150hp. thks.

The 20' hull was designed in the mid-60's for 2-strokes of NO MORE than 300 lbs! When you start shifting the CG aft with a heavier motor, it won't handle or ride as well as the original design. If converting from an I/O to an OB, I'm guessing you're planning to add a bracket? The Sceptre and Seafari have a little more weight forward than a cc model so they'll handle a heavy motor a little better, but if you mount a 500 lb motor AND set it back 30" on a bracket, my experience is that a wet deck will be the least of your problems!

Plan on adding trim tabs, a 4B prop and a Doelfin or equivalent to the motor to lower your min planing speed from the mid-20's to the low teens where it was designed to be. You'll also want a bracket with the least possible setback and the most flotation you can get (a Hermco, available in 18", 24" & 30" setback) to help with self bailing at the dock, although that still won't offset the aft CG shift when you're up on plane. And if you don't like wet feet, yes, raise the deck a couple inches! My boat is just barely self bailing at the dock with a full gas tank and no one aboard, an that's with a 420 lb motor on a 30" bracket! I keep the scupper plugs in most of the time except when diving, and then I use Fellowship's "Vortex" plugs with the rubber glove check valves, which do a fairly decent job of draining water off the deck.

I have read that most rebuilds raise the decks 3 inches for the added weight of four strokes. Does the bracket need to be shorter or longer for better ride? How high would you raise the deck?

The rearward shift in CG is what hurts the ride, so you want to minimize that shift. Less bracket length/setback = less CG shift, so go with the lowest setback that will allow motor to be tilted out of the water. The E-Tec's have an adjustable stop to limit upward tilt. The V-4 models (115/130) are pretty low profile and would probably work on an 18" bracket, since my V-6 would work on a 24" bracket. The V-4's are relatively light at 375 lbs and would be my first choice for the 20' hull. The 115 has more mid-range torque, so a stronger hole shot but the 130 would be maybe 3 mph faster on top end.

1974 Seacraft Sceptre 20 ft.
 

HI Bushwacker,

I just became the owner ( by way of my Dad) of A Seacraft Sceptre 20 ft. it has been sitting around for 10 yr. in my dad driveway. I know it is a classic hull, and Iwould like to bring it back to life. Is it worth it?