My $600.00 20' Seafari
 

As some of you know,I saw a boat that looked exactly like a 20'Seafari on my local craigslist for $600.The seller had listed it as a "Seacrest"
When I saw it,I said to myself that this has to be a Seafari and maybe the seller didn't know that.
Needless to say some of this sites experts set me straight and said get your butt over there and buy that boat,it's not a Seacrest,its a SeaCraft.
I got a hold of the seller and we had a great talk about the boat.I told him it was a Seacraft.He promised to give me the first shot at it as I was the first caller.

After that he changed the name to Seacraft.He was a man of his word and held the boat for me,and I drove the 3 miles from my house to his,and bought it for $600.00.
He told and showed me all the calls he got for it once he changed the name to Seacraft.He got calls from the Carolinas. he had no idea of what he had,but realized pretty quick after all the calls that it was a special boat.

***By the way There is no hull id # but there is a number given to it by the state of Mass.
it's a 1969 hull and if I'm correct hull ids weren't required then.There is however a riveted on Seacraft capacity plate listing the hp at 140 and people at 6 etc.***

This seller was a great guy,polite,honest,air force retired F15 ground guy.We hit it off right away and he said he would snd me the history and chain of owners.It spent most of its time in vermont on lake Champlain,and previous on the CT.shore.

Anyway the boat is in incredibly good condition,not a single stress crack,hatches are all solid,The hull is remarkable in its condition,never been bottom painted and the gelcoat is extremely good.There is one gouge just below the outer chine,but its tiny and only into the gelcoat and not the glass..Even the cuddy that he said was bad is in very good shape the only thing is the carpet on the inner headliner is missing,and there are no cushions(fine with me)
The trailer is also in very good shape.
The engine,a 1985 ish 150 HP VRO may be locked up,as it wont turn over,but he said the guy who had it said it ran great,maybe some oil solvent into the cylindes would break it free.It seem like an awful big motor for that boat.
I'm not really sure what my use for it will be,but I may just use it as it is and have fun with it.Maybe a used four stroke in the 115 to 130 hp range,What do you think.

**Oh yeah,the transom was done over in 2000 by a professional shop in VT,and seems very solid.

Well I've rambled on enough so here's a few pictures,my batteries in the camera died so this is all I have for now.
I have more questions for you all so I'll post more pics of the tiny few problem areas as i get to them and will need your help.
Any advice or ideas,please feel free to throw them out there.**One thing's for sure,the name has to go"
Thanks all


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Hey John,

That boat looks to be in GREAT shape! That's a hell of a deal for $600, even if the motor is junk! From the looks of the top cap above the bulkheads, I'd say it's probably about a '72! The edge of the cap, just below the instrument panel is straight on yours but was curved on earlier models. A '69 model would have been a Moesly boat, which I believe had an aluminum bow rail with 4 stanchions in it, while your is the later 3-stanchion SS rail. Will send you some more info to the email address you sent me. Denny

Awesome deal!!

The second leads to a 3rd, that's all I got to say. :D Cool bote! Enjoy

Great Find. Welcome to the addicted.

Actually I'm addicted to a few things.At one point I had five boats in addition to my 23 Tsunami.I sold all of them,and with the exception of only one of them,I wish I never sold any of them.
I'm addicted to rods and reels and trolling spoons and other salmon related fishing gear.I have at least 40 rods,30 reels,mostly Shimano and daiwa line counter level winds,got at least a thousand spoons and 50 flashers and attractors on board not to mention a load of dipsy divers etc etc.The sickness never ends.
Funny I cant seem to get enough rod holders on the Tsunami,between the rocket launchers and riggers and gunwhale rod holders I'm up to 26 rod holders.

I would love to find another 23 Tsunami or Sceptre in good condition,I'd put that one up on the great lakes as well.I'd even paint it red like my tsunami,just a different name.
Addictions come in many forms,but boats and fishing gear are a far better addiction than drugs or a bar room,although the drugs and booze would be cheaper.:D

Nice find!

I'll give you $1200, double your money. :D

Great find!!!. I had a 75 merc on My 72 and if 2 growed up men were fishing at the same time water would be coming up in the floor through the scuppers a few inches deep. , Id think with a 150 Johnnyrude it would be ankle deep!!!

I know the feeling,same happens in my Tsunami.If it wasn't for the flappers I made for the scuppers we'd be in ankle deep water when fighting a fish.

How was the 75 Merc in the performance dept??

Just shoot me now. 600 clams? The transom job was probably 3k.

Pull the plugs and post a pic of them. That is a light lil pig and is perfect powah for her.
I better stop now.
Completely jealous,
GFS
600 clams?

Sandy, who cares it's a "Seacrest".
I think John bought a cheap copy of an Answer.
(That will help you sleep better!)

a little under powered out the hole with a load and no speed demon on top end but she did ok, with just 2 people she'd run 32mph.

I rigged a few with 20' Seafari's and SF's with 85 hp Johnson's and inline 4 cyl 85 Mercs back in the early 80's. They would cruise at 23-25 mph, and top out in the 33-34 mph range. With Bennett trim tabs, they even got out of the hole reasonably well, and could stay on plane down in the 12-13 mph range.

I did rig just one with an inline 3 cyl 75 hp Johnson "Stinger" in '83. Customer bought a used 20' SF hull with twin electric-shift 55 hp Evinrudes and brought me his old boat so I could de-rig his 3 yr old 75 hp motor off his old boat to put on the SeaCraft.

It was slow to plane, but actually topped out at 34 mph with a single person on board, the same top speed it got with the twin 55 hp's.

(I remember he asked for extra-wide 9"x18" trim tabs. He was another of those crazy SeaCraft nuts who took his boat to the Bahamas regularly, and he put a SeaGull 3.5 hp kicker right on the transom next to his main engine).

Another question for you 20' Seafari guys.

Lets assume I can get that engine running fine,and decide to use it,(although I doubt it)The transom cutout just seems awfully low.What is to stop any wave from rolling into the boat??? Wouldn't that happen with any mid rage outboard?.
I see no way of keeping water out.I know that i could do a new closed transom with a bracket but that aint going to happen.

If i was to fall into the water on the great lakes,I may die from hypothermia,but at least I won't become part of the food chain and be eaten by a sharkIt might be a different story in the Seafari when fishing the ocean.

In my Tsunami with the I/O I have that nice high transom that laughs at the waves.If it's real lumpy and blowing,I'll just put the ass at the waves and troll with them following me.Unless its extremely bad I feel perfectly safe.
I'm not so sure I'd want to do that with the seafari

Such is my life...

They don't call them SinkCraft for no good reason...😜

John, that's a very valid concern, as I think the low transom sinks more outboard boats than any other single cause! I felt the same way on my first return from the Bahamas during one stretch of NE winds with big following/breaking seas that I couldn't see over when standing at the helm! That's why I now have a bracket! Potter evidently had similar thoughts, because after the V-6 motors came out in the late 70's, he designed an add-on raised splashwell tub that was an option for the 20! (see pics below) Capt. Terry has a very nice teak-trimmed version on his '76 Seafari that he bought new.

A little over 3 years ago, forum members Pianewman and Jerry1 conspired to get Don Herman to pop a mold off an original tub that Jerry provided! Suggest you send a PM to hermco to see if Don still has that mold and can make one for you! Denny

When did John change his name to Ryan? I`m confused.

Could I get an Answer on the View?

Bushwacker, that is a great solution. I think there was another one as well. Mine had a splash well with a hatch in front of the engine(which leaked unless siliconed). The well was full of water most of the time(we loaded heavy) I don't think the well was nearly as high as you show, but can't remember exactly how it was shaped. Battery were in the stern on the sides,no seats. The boat was a Mosely.

So the Moesly outboard version of the Seafari had no seats at the back? First I've heard of that! I have a '69 brochure, but it only shows the I/O model. Maybe your boat had a splashwell like this Bowrider?

The original splashwell on mine, and I think on all the Potter 20' CC models except the MA, was no higher than the seats. (pics below) I cut a hatch in it for access to the fuel filter, bilge and trim tab pumps; I mounted some 1.5" chrome brass trim to edges of the piece I cut out, put some foam weatherstripping on it and used some "hold-down buttons" to compress the foam. It was fairly water tight, provided I replaced the weatherstrip about once a year!

My $600 20' Seafari
 

As Bushwacker mentioned here is the splashwell I purchased from Potter (Seamark) awhile after I bought my Seafari in 1976. I added the teak to it to support a Coleman grill when at anchor and it also serves as temporary seat. The cutout in the teak needs to provide enough clearance for the outboard tilted up and a bit more in case the engine bounces on a road pothole.
Capt Terry

Attachment 10611

Thanks, Terry, I was hoping you had a picture of your fancy splashwell! Your teak looks good! So it didn't have any teak on it when you got it? Seems like I've seen pictures a splashwell tub in a brochure that had teak cupholders built into it. Maybe that was a one-of-a-kind made just for the brochure! Denny

Same deal here before my transom enclose.
Used the engine well space as a rocket launcher ;)

Now why do some boat owners do a great job taking care of thier boat and do most things right,and then go and hack a few things up?

Here's a few more pics of my recently acquired Seafari.The boat is in exremely nice condition,and looks well cared for,but then one of the owners went and butchered uo the area where the steering cable exits the inner transom wall.It looks like they used an axe to make the hole.They also cut out a small piece of the stbd stringer where it meets the transom and let the foam get saturated and never glassed in the top surface of the stringer.
Inn fact the entire bilge area is a mess,nothing as far as cruicial areas are rotted,but they used cheap plywood for some of the work and that has rotted.
You would think that someone who went through the trouble and expense to have a new transom done,would take the same pains on the other details.
Looks like I have a little work to do.

I think the 150 outboard is toast so I'm going to keep my eyes open for a good used smaller motor,maybe something in the 100 to 115 hp range.Preferably a four stroke.Also have to do something about that low transom cut out.
I know that I'm not getting into a major restoration on this boat,but I want something reliable.

Anyone tell me if they think a 100-115 would perform well,and any pointers on what used four stokes to stay away from and which are good.I would go with a 2 stroke as well,but its easier to just skip the worry of trusting an automatic oil injection system.I'm an I/O guy so my outboard knowledge is limited,could use some help in that dept.

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You're right John, original owner was probably very meticulous but a subsequent owner, maybe the one who installed that motor, must have been a real klutz! Those gouges in gelcoat look recent, so good thing you rescued that boat when you did!

No point in getting a full height splashwell tub until the splashwell itself is watertight! Most newer outboards have all the control cables, wiring harness and fuel lines going into one opening on the motor cowl, so it's easy to make a neat installation by running everything thru a watertight rigging tube. If the old steering cable is shot, I'd switch to hydraulic steering, so then you could replace that big cable with a couple of hydraulic hoses that are also easy to seal. I'd cover that big hole with a piece of 1/2" starboard or PVC board and then mount the rigging tube flange up high and near the transom so most of the lines going into it will be aft of the seat opening.

Regarding the stringers, your hull has the 4 narrow stringers, so what looks like a hole in the 7th pic is really just a cut through a layer of glass over the top over the 2 stbd stringers; the stringers themselves, which are only about 2" wide at the top, are completely intact! My boat didn't have any glass there; the space between the stringers was just filled to the top of the stringers with flotation foam and everything was covered with grey paint or gel coat. I cut out all the foam between the stringers under the stbd seat and found there was enough room to mount a 2nd battery between the stringers (see pic below; notice all my rigging is up behind the seat to keep area under the seat open.) Even with the 2nd battery there, there was still enough room between the batteries for 100' of line and my stern anchor. Although we cut out most of the splashwell when I had the transom filled in, I'd also recommend installing a watertight hatch in the bottom of the splashwell to provide access to all the space under there, where you can mount a bilge pump, Racor filter and trim tab pump.

As for motors, a 100-115 hp motor is plenty of power that will let you cruise at 20-25 mph, with a WOT in the low to mid-30's, and if it's relatively light, plane at about 12 mph. Lighter is definitely better. And I wouldn't be afraid of an oil injected 2-stroke, at least an E-TEC. They don't smoke and the oil pump is a solenoid controlled by the computer and appears to be very reliable. It has a couple sensors to warn of either low oil or no oil pulses. If the latter, it won't shut you down but will go into safe mode with a 1200 rpm limit.

Wow, that's nice!

I have a 2000 Yamaha F100. 20" shaft It's about 370 lbs.There is one on the cape with a 25" shaft on CL. They want too much, though.

I think the corrosion resistance is good. It doesn't like more than 15" pitch for the prop with a 4 blade. It has carbs, and you have to drain them if you don't run the boat with E10 gas.

They suffered from an accelerator pump that gives out. $130. That and too much pitch makes it bog. Mine isn't fixed, but with a 15" pitch prop, it's fine.

I'd do a timing belt and zincs as soon as you get it. Thermostat, too. My plug wires were iffy at 14 years old.

I can work on it, so I like it. Good mileage. Mine has 800 hours on it (at least) it was a Florida rental before I got it. I bet you get 34MPH at WOT. 5MPG cruise, and quiet.

I think the F90 is about the same thing. I think the later EFI models are nicer. Some Four stroke Merc 90s of this vintage have a Yamaha power head. I am biased against Merc corrosion resistance. But you are a lake guy, right?

Seeing as the 150 Evinrude appears to be toast,I've been looking for some alternative with a little less weight,and maybe less hp.

I came across a 1972 1150 115hp tower of power Merc outboard.I'm not sure what the compression should be but the test was as listed below. "He claims"

Condition is fair for age. Comes with working tilt/trim. Compression - 130, 115, 130, 130, 135, 135.
Please note, you will not be able to just put this on your boat and run, but it will run with a little bit of work.
The guy wants 300.00 for it. he also says the carbs need cleaning or a rebuild. I hear these engines were pretty good.
What do you think.Is it worth sinking some money in this motor,(I'd have it done not diy) or do I look for something else.

The 150 Evinrude that came with the Seafari is still locked up.I've tried everything with no luck.Last try was a mixture of two stroke oil and deep creep,and WD40 rust penetrant.I filled the cylinders with it,and let it sit for three days.It still wont turn with a breaker bar on the flywheel nut.
The starter gear spins,but doesn't want to rise up to contact the teeth on the flywheel. The battery is fully charged.

Wow,I looked at some late model used E-Tecs but holy cow,talk about big bucks.If I go that route,I'll be doing what I planned on not doing,which is dumping a lot of money into this boat.

Before you give up on the old Evinrude, try some Kroil penetrating oil.

I'll give the Kroil a try.Any particular retailers that sell it?? Auto parts stores like NAPA maybe? or someone like McMaster Carr.?

search them online. They usually have a 2fer sample pack that is less than the normal price on 1 can.

Those were nice very light motors (less than 300 lbs) but a '72 is pretty old, even older than the '75 115 Evinrude I bought new and ran for 31 years! Mine still ran good after ~ 1000 hrs and never left me stranded in the entire time I had it, but it was getting hard to start when cold; I think it may have needed new reed valves. Those old motors are pretty simple and easy to work on if you have the factory manual.

If it was run in saltwater, I'd be a little concerned about corrosion, and the power trim may prove troublesome, as I don't remember those early units being particularly robust. I'd also wonder if it's due for some reed valves, as they tend to fatigue over time; replacement with the fiberglass Boysen reeds might be a good move, if they still make them for that motor. Fr. Frank knows those motors well and could tell you what to watch out for. Also don't know what the parts availability is for that motor; might be better off with a Black Max motor or a V-4 looper, either of which would probably burn less gas. I'm sure Big Shrimpin knows the V-6 Mercs well and could probably fix you up with one! I believe most motors of that vintage ran the control cables in one side and the wiring harness in the other side of the cowling, so it's a little harder to do a neat rigging job on them by running everything thru one rigging tube. If you're gonna pay some one to work on it, then having a good nearby dealer is probably more important than anything else!

Thanks Denny your help is very much appreciated as well as all the other members who joined in my tedious topic.Thanks to all of you.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined and have always done my own work on just about everything.
However as I get older my desire to do bullwork is lessening,and I find myself not wanting to attempt to do do something I'm not familiar with.
Of course I say that,but I just got a quote from a carpenter to do a little work on a tiny back porch on my home,and found his quote of 4,000 to be way over what it should be.
I started thinking,"Hell,I could do that myself for 1500 bucks,and use the rest to put towards a newer outboard"
Now I'm falling right back into that trap again of doing stuff I wanted to stop doing.I guess I'll never learn,so Forget all that stuff I just wrote.

I started thinking that a 72 motor is too old to put a lot of faith in so I'm dropping that idea
.I think I'll keep looking for something around 1995 to 2000.
Any models to stay away from or models that are good,please let me know what you think.I don't know a whole lot about outboards when it comes to which is good or bad.

I'd ask on the Hull truth,but I'm not a fan of that site,I find it to be full of know it all's and everything ends up in a shouting match and beat up of whatever product or manufacturer it is that's being discussed.

BTW any idea of what the 150hp(about 1984-1986) on the back of this Seafari is worth for parts.??

Hey John,

When you only have $600 in the whole boat, I can relate to how hard it is to wrap your mind around the idea of spending thousands of $ on a motor! I went thru the same thought process when I bought my new motor and bracket, spending about 3X what I had originally paid for the whole rig back in 1975! However, when I now look back at that decision 9 years later, I realize that I've taken almost 20 very memorable trips in it, many of which I would probably not have taken with the old motor. So if you figure that it's the memories of what you do with the boat that really count, then I've concluded that it was money well spent!

The Johnrudes are the only motors I'm really familiar with, and I'd avoid any of them made in the late 90's when OMC was in it's death spiral, maybe 97-99. A colleague of mine was the Chief Engineer at their Stuart, Fl. test center during the transition from OMC to BRP, and he said OMC was buying off a lot of deviated parts from suppliers during that time. The designs were fine, and any bad motors may not have survived too long, but I'd be wary of a low time "unproven" motor of that vintage! However he was very impressed with the BRP organization and he said anything made by them (2000 and later) are very high quality motors. BRP continued making carb'd motors for a few years (as Johnson's), but focused new development work on the DI (Evinrude Ficht and E-TEC) motors.

I'd look for a 2000 or later Johnson V-4, as they're much lighter, simpler and cheaper than 4-strokes but very reliable and easy to work on. The newer clean technology motors (both 2 & 4 strokes) run much leaner and are more susceptible to minor fuel starvation problems that can cause overheated/scored pistons, etc. A carb'd 2-stroke will probably tolerate minor fuel system blockages that can kill a newer high tech motor! I think I'd also avoid the early Merc Optimax motors, but Big Shrimpin, Doodlebug and/or Fr. Frank can all provide good advice on the Mercs.

Tower of Power
 

John, I think Gillie runs a Tower of Power Merc on his Seafari. He would have an idea about the performance. He's been thinking about a repower for some time though because he out running around in the Pacific where if something breaks you just might not end up on a nice sandy beach with coconut trees having Ginger and Mary-Ann fight'in over you!

Hmmm...Ginger or MaryAnn...umm yes please.
Oh Gilligan, be a good lad and bring us some more coconuts.

John, the 60 degree omc/brp 150/175 is a great choice at 365 lbs.
These eagle series motahs are very simple, strong, and thirsty.
The carbs do not have lo speed jets to clog, just air bleed jets which run off the main jets.
They were made to handle crap gas around the world. The fuel systems are almost all plastic and rubber so e 10 is to be avoided no matter who says what.

Ah, The Spurious Truth. Where 95 % of what I read is 5% accurate.
Amen on that.

The whacker of bushes is correct as usual. Avoid 97-99. They also had some early casting issues from 92-93. The design was beefed up in 94. If the early motahs have any hours on them you are probably fine. Most grenaded long ago if they were suspect.

So from 92- 96 john rudes or 2000 - 2005 brp Johnson carb motahs are a good choice.
Part out a motah for 2-3 k if you really sell everything. You should see the stupid prices for ficht bomb parts.

Also the carb motahs have great parts availability and the prices are good for boat parts.
They made a ton of these ocean pro/ocean runnners.

Cheers,
GFS

nice lookin boat for the money. same as mine. I have a 150 merc motor if you need one. its an older straight 6 and less than 300 lbs. the lightest 6 ever made. my boat is powered by a 115 mariner . goes plenty fast enough for me.

Bigeasy,

I would 2nd the BRP Engines and weight ratio. I just picked up a 20' Sceptre in California Last week. Already pulled and sold the Engine. I am currently shopping for a 150 or 175....

88,89,90 or 94 thru 98 and 2002 to 2005 Johnson DI. The 98 and earlier are carb motors. Dam near bullet proof and super easy to fix when something goes wrong on the water. Parts motors are easy to come by.

Most people do not realize but once Bombardier took over OMC they cleaned up the act Fast. I have seen the 2002 to 2005 Johnson DI engines with 2000 to 3000 hours and still running strong. Probably the Best buy for the Money.

Now if you want to go the Carbed Route... I would highly suggest looking for a Whole Boat. You can buy the Whole boat Cheaper than the Engine Only go figure. Once you pull the motor and controls... then just Pop the boat back up for sale on the trailer with no power. It should sell fast. Makes for a Nice Engine Stand during the swap.

I know Bigshrimp will chime in here on the Mercs as some point better fuel economy but i cant work on them so i have to stay on the Johnnyrude stuff.

Gillie is running a 115 merc Tower of Power in the Pacific he is on the same side of the country as me. I think he said he was getting around 34 mph with that set up.

Either way you go... Nice Score on the Seafari.

Robert

Wow what a find, as u said 600.00 was a steal. Love the yellow color too