A SeaCraft owner again!
 

I just purchased a '71 Seafari located in East Weymouth, MA. It's an 4cyl. i/o model in need of extensive electrical work, and the appropriate TLC to restore it to use after 12 years in storage. It is on blocks, and the trailer upon which it will travel is here with me in the Florida Panhandle.

I MAY need some generous gentle soul to move it and store it temporarily if I am unable to drive up to get it quickly, but my current plans are to drive up and get it near Labor Day.

Pics to come.

That's good news father. Good luck gettin her home.

Here she is: Out drive is intact, just removed for winterization.

Congrats on the nice find Father.Good luck with it.I'll be looking forward to future pictures and progress with it.

What a good deal you got! I was watching it and couldn't stand it. If I was some what closer I would of bid on it but after getting the 25' from up there I didn't want to take that trip again. Looks like a great boat! Glad someone up here got her and even happier to see you back in a seacraft! Congrats

Yeah, the distance is a problem. It's a 2900 mile round trip to get her.

I looked at a bunch of 20 & 23' models, but finally I decided I still think the 20' Seafari is the boat to have. This is my 3rd Seafari, but my first with an I/O. I already have a lot of spares for this powertrain from a '72 Glastron I bought to get the aluminum trailer underneath it. That's the trailer I'll be pulling to Mass to get this boat.

RT cost estimate is about $1200. Still, that adds up to getting this boat for around $1600.

Fr. Frank,

Congratulations and looks like you will not even need to change the name ;-)
I both live and work in the area so please let me know if I can be of any help.

Sweet find, Padre. Post some more pics of that blue lid when you can. I need to have one made and that looks about right.

Looks pretty clean and well maintained for a '71 Padre! I rode in Pianewman's I/O Seafari and was impressed by it's ride and low planing speed! And nice canvas too, with original style Navy top and zip out hatch over the helm. Is that a galley seat? I've never seen one mounted behind the helm, but looks like it has the thru hull for sink drain on stbd side.

Frank - $10.40 WTH . . . That has to be a new record low price for a seafari. I can help move it if you have a place to store it. You might consider Uship rather than the drive. I'll bet you could get that delivered to you door for about $800.

Thanks Tim. I have it listed on Uship to get bids on shipping it here rather than driving up and back. I have to get it out of the owner's yard by the end of August, and it has no trailer. I was worried I might have to pay to have someone put it on a trailer and move it to a storage lot and block it up if I cannot get it shipped in a timely manner.

I have a 19-21 single axle aluminum drive-on trailer here to put it on. My 20' Chaparral is in the water, and the trailer sits empty, so it's ready for the Seafari.

Previous owner is the 2nd owner, having bought the boat in 1976. He says everything works, but it has only been run on a hose quarterly or so from 2002 to 2010, when it was winterized, and he thinks the manifold and riser need to be replaced, as well as the impeller. I'll just do a major service on the motor and drive, including bellows and gaskets, etcetera.

The fuel upon which the motor was last run in the spring of 2011 was put in the tank back in 2002, (along with regular Stabil or Seafoam, again he's unsure), but the motor started right up 8 1/2 years later, he said. He says the tank is over 3/4 full, and it is the 28 gallon tank. I'll need to drain that and inspect it. Fuel tank was replaced with a new aluminum tank in 1995, same time as the transom was re-cored and trim tabs added. he's not sure, but he thinks the new tank was not foamed in place.

Water Rat, he says the galley seat was there behind the helm when he bought the boat in '76.

He also said the original engine wiring insulation is getting brittle, and it needs to have a complete new harness made for the motor. (The boat wiring was replaced in '96).

The canvas Navy top is custom made by the PO himself and his wife, and dates from around '96 or '97. I wouldn't know how to copy it, but if you really want to copy it, I'll lay it out and take extensive photos when I get it here.

I'll keep you all updated. Right now, I wait anxiously....

[500UOTE=Bigshrimpin;229891]Frank - $10.40 WTH . . . That has to be a new record low price for a seafari. I can help move it if you have a place to store it. You might consider Uship rather than the drive. I'll bet you could get that delivered to you door for about $800.[/QUOTE]

U - ship is a good option but best price I could get on my seafari from Massachusetts to NC was $1200 with most phone quotes from local movers costing $2000-$2800. Most shippers will want at least $2.25 at a minimum to over $3 a mile so you can do the math. I rode with my neighbor who was a professional shipper for seafox and payed his Gas in a new diesel 3500 plus tolls and gave him $300 for his time and ware on his truck. The tolls up north were $200 bucks and that's going around many of them. He knew the way to save on the tolls but said I 95 all the way would be close to $300 alone. NJ turnpike is like $80 or more for the one toll alone pulling a two axel trailer so if you pull a single it will be less. Diesel for the 850 miles X2 was around $500 alone. You are twice as far so figure on a $1000 in gas and at least $200 in tolls so your figure of $1200 is right on the money but maybe more definitely not less. NO body will do this for $800 or any less than $2000. I would figure on at least $ 2500-$3000 to get it shipped to your door. You could do it for half and save money if you had the 3-4 days to ride the road. Still a nice boat for a GREAT deal either way you go. If you can find someone pulling to Massachusetts that needs a load back then that may be your best bet. Hope it works out well for you and if you make the trip yourself let me know if you need help in NC if you have problems passing threw. I will be glad to help.

Another vote for finding the right guys through uship.com. In my experience, pro boat movers tend to think that everyone that wants to move a boat is a millionaire...

I got my 21 delivered from Detroit to SD for less than 75 cents a mile using uship. Fortunately, no major toll roads that i know of. I had several bids to move it for less. One guy went to look at it with an F150 and retracted his bid saying that it wasn't a 21... Must admit I was blown away by its size when it got here.

Due diligence before trusting someone with your new old SeaCraft goes a long way.

I can lend a hand as well if needed and could possibly give it a place to rest until you get here I have 4 boat stands if needed as well

So far, uship bids are running around $2500-$2800, mostly. Some of them are ludicrous. The very first bid was for $4200, but he said I had to book within the hour as he was leaving home and wouldn't be able to contact me thereafter. I respectfully declined.

I have already pulled this single-axle trailer empty over 500 miles to help someone else move their boat, so I know I generally get 15.9-16.1 mpg at 55-60 mph. 53 gallons up
I figure fuel economy pulling this boat on a single axle trailer should be similar to or better than what I used to get pulling the Fishalot II on a tandem trailer with the same F250 diesel truck, about 12.5-13.0 mpg at 55-60 mph. 66 gallons comin back
That works out to about 120 gallons of fuel, RT, plus my "fudge factor" of 15% = 140 gallons x $4.00 per gallon average = $560 in fuel costs.
Add in 4 nights in a motel, $65 per night average, or another $260 (with my Clarion clergy discount).
5 days of on-the-road meals for my wife and I = $200.
Tolls & Miscellaneous expenses $180.
Total = $1200 not counting my time.

If my wife insists on a day touristing in Mass, add 25% to that total to reach $1500. [at least :) ]

Good find, congrats!

You are going to like that aft canvas.

Something to keep in mind on hiring a boat mover. Get a copy of their Certificate of Insurance, make sure it's commercial/for hire insurance, not just a personal policy, because he is "for hire" and falls in different category. Get a DOT number from them too. Good luck! Nice find!

Thanks, everyone. I'm currently planning on making the trip myself, as I'm frustrated with Uship already. I had one person insist his fuel costs to run to Florida were more than $2000, and that didn't include his getting paid.
I also just realized that my ZUMA GPS says its 834 miles to East Weymouth, but Google says it's 1399 miles.
????
I think I better recalculate...

If I'm around and you need a hand getting loaded let me know

Nice find Padre. Even has fish on the rear altar.

You have to see the area if you have never been before.
Fly in and rent a car for a couple of days. Throw her in the back of a u haul and drive home. Leave at 9 pm and you`ll be in Carolina before rush hour.

Ok, Sandy. You'll have to explain that one. How would I get it off blocks and into a U-Haul?

Getting it out, I can figure.

Nope, Sandy. Uhaul too expensive.
24' truck $1800 for a one-way rental, plus airfare, plus fuel @ 8 mpg, plus other stuff.

Even at 2800 miles RT, it's still possible to do it for about $1500 if nothing goes wrong. (Just need to do less sightseeing).
FUEL = $860 (including 15% "fudge factor")
LODGING = $260
MEALS = $200
MISC = $180
TOTAL = $1500

I'm holding out for the solution to having a 7'3" door and a 7'6" beam. :eek:

Reciprocating saw and a few metal blades

Penske 22 & 24 trucks have a 7'8" door, but the cost one-way is over $2K.

I'm planning to leave here on the 28th, load early on the 30th, spend the rest of the day in the Attleboro area, then head back on the 31st.

Good luck on your trip, be careful and enjoy that fine bote once you get it. She looks like an unmolested beauty.

Fr.Frank, I am right in that area; please let me know if you need any help.

Chris, PM sent.

Fr. Frank, replied to your PM.

Fork lift or a flock of very small Penguins with opposable flippers?

Wow, that looks like it's in really good shape.

Congrats, Father Frank!

3096 round-trip miles later, She's home!

Chris Downey, aka Water Rat, met my wife and I for breakfast Saturday prior to helping me load this beauty on to my trailer. But Chris showed up with 4 additional persons! According to Chris, they wanted to meet someone who had this "Seacraft disease" so badly he would drive 1500 miles just to pick up an old boat!
I gently explained to them it wasn't an old boat, it was a Seacraft.
After breakfast together, and then looking over the object of my affliction, the extra folk went on their way, (shaking their heads, I'm sure). Christ labored with me for over an hour to get the boat loaded, demonstrating his true character! The previous owners, Jim Petersen and his wife Elaine, were extremely gracious. Jim advised me that the boat has original power in it, and needs some small TLC and maintenance, like manifold and elbow, bellows, etcetera. But it comes with a large custom-made Sunbrella navy top, with side eisenglass, and aft curtain.
So after two days at 13.6 mpg, including driving some of the worst roads in North America, here is "Sunday's Child", in front of the church.

PS: Did you know that the toll to cross the George Washington bridge into New York while pulling an empty trailer is $27?
I had to pay to cross a bridge and then drive on roadways so bad that they should be paying me hazardous conditions pay to drive on them! I actually bent my left spindle on the trailer driving this thing across the roads of New York and Pennsylvania. No other state I drove had roads as bad as these. I completely wore out the "new" left tire on the trailer, but fortunately had no flat.

[RANT] $27 is more than the tolls I pay to drive the entire 850 miles to the Florida Keys!

This trip was lovely, and absolutely confirmed how beautiful America is everywhere, and also confirmed how great it is to live in Florida, where roads don't end up with frost heave.

More to come, but I will start a new thread in Repairs/Mods as I go through this.

Congrats on a mission completed! I cant imagine how happy your are to be back home. The G. Washington bridge was $32 for north bound with a dual axel empty so we took another bridge west of there to save the toll. I think the other bridge was only $8 to $10ish. Good thing is the G Washington is free heading south bound. I would really suck to pay that 27 bucks twice! I'm sure the New Jersey turn pike emptied you wallet as well if you took it too. I forget what road parallels it that we took to save a few bucks but man the tolls up north are ridiculous. Any way glad to see you made it home safely. Nothing like home sweet home!

We actually went back via I-95 to CT-9 to CT-66 to I-691 to I-84 to I-81 to avoid tolls. Overall, my GPS said it added about 35 miles to the trip, or about $12 in fuel costs.
I-84 across NY and Penn was brutal!

Yes the bridge toll and roads are terrible when I brought mine back from jersey I was able to see daylight under all 4 tires on a bump with the boat on the trailer!!!
Empty trailer down and back spent $60 on just tolls
Glad you made it without any issues

Congrats! Feller I just bought mine from went 1300....I didnt go quite that far!

Fr. Frank, the pleasure was all ours; it was great to have the opportunity to meet both your wife and yourself and I'm very glad to see you are all home safely. Everyone on this site knows what a great resource you are; they should also know are are a very nice guy to boot, but your wife is much nicer.

And thanks for taking some of the heat off me; I'm not sure if my friends and family took some comfort that others have the disease worse than me or if they were horrified to find that we are out there in greater numbers than they originally thought.

A Seacraft Owner Again
 

Hey guys,

Sounds like you had enough help, Fr. Frank. But I was not paying attention or I would have come down to watch... I live about 10 miles from Weymouth!

Glad you made it OK

Jon Brush<-----used to the tolls and traffic after 35 yrs in NE.
Boston MA and Shelter Island NY
New owner of 76 Sceptre

After driving up "there" a few years ago, I now understand why people lease cars!!! I would not ever, ever want to regularly drive my owned vehicle on those roads disguised as pot holes!!