23' Sceptre - Roll call!
 

I was trying to think of all the 23' Sceptre owners that are active on the site. I know quite a few but would like to meet more...

So post up guys! and include a pic or two of your ride. Also if you have any unique adaptations to your please list or show them. It may be beneficial to other 23' Sceptre owners.

So here goes, I'll start.

Unique features of my boat

1) Custom aluminum/fiberglass hardtop with a removable/fold down crow's nest tower
2) Custom built Fiberglass Splashwell Bait station with 20 gallon tank/sink/cutting board
3) Custom built reproduction of the Teak louvered door and header piece

I've got a '73 Tsunami with a hardtop, some custom seating & a Hermco bracket

...and here is the seating.
I'm still learning how to post photos. Sorry

I had a 23 Tsunami I don't think it gave as good a ride as my 23 cc. Any others feel the same?

The hull is identical so it depends on where you're standing when a judgment on ride is made. The helm on a Tsunami/Sceptre if considerably closer to the bow so from a driver standpoint it only comes to reason the ride is better for the driver of a CC over the express. That said the Tsunamis are more weight forward and seem to have a better CG at cruise keeping more of the forward dead rise in contact with the water when traversing offshore conditions. More hull in the water equates to the boats ability to "bridge the gap" in a tight chop and reduce hull to wave impacts.

And while we are discussing differences, I might as well go on with my bias and claim the express to be drier than the CCs, have more areas of comfort for passengers, More usable deck space, a dry place to put things and they serve as an awesome platform for a dive and spearfishing boat. Camping on a CC sucks as well. That said there are some disadvantages to the express..... Bow access sucks, especially if you are big boned. Walking a big fish around the boat is limited due to bow access. Gunnel space to access bow is almost non existent and sunbathing is normally performed behind the captain causing safety issue while driving. :D

In my totally slanted and bias opinion I feel the Tsunami has an edge over the CC in overall passenger comfort and offshore performance while the CC rates much higher in the looking cool factor, fishability and anchoring. For what I do my Tsunami is the best option but if I had permission from the Admiral I would own both.

Here are some pics of my "Class of 74". She is no show boat but she gets the job done well.

"That said there are some disadvantages to the express..... Bow access sucks, especially if you are big boned"

Quit bragging!! :)

He`s pretty smart for a moose.
Think he went to Whatsamatta U!

and she has a "Non-Skid" Dash!!!

Picture No. 1 - The last gunboat of the Confederate Navy
Picture No. 2 - Mel the sunbathing Autopilot Consultant
Picture No. 3 - Three "Toads" - Flipper-less, Derelict Doug, El Capitan Moose.

79 Sceptre
 

It never ends!

Interior
 

I'm adding coolers in front of pedestals for foot support.

Interior
 

I will finish her up this winter. I'll probably do some sea deck or Ocean grip in a few places. The fuel tank access will be redone with 1/2" Coosa 26. My fiberglass skills are much better after a couple years thanks to this boat.

'77 Sceptre I/O. Pic is before I got out the angle grinder and sawzall - ongoing rebuild is in my thread.
Attachment 11304

Now she is sporting a new Coosa/epoxy transom and engine beds. The stern cap is currently getting upgrades and I am learning how to shoot gelcoat. Bravo 1X replacing the old Alpha and the 260HP/350 Merc stays 'til I have enough cash for a proper (350-450HP) replacement. Decks will get redone soon (I hope) and she goes back together looking kinda stock.

Tsunami/Sceptres are the kings of deck space! who wants to sit up front anyway...:D
Personally I think they are some of the most underrated hull layouts on the water.

Beautiful refurb! I really feel bad now. Love the helm seating. What does one of those cost?

Tsunami, Sceptre, CC - who cares. I have no complaints at all about the performance of mine. Allows me to shove the kids crap in there for the beach and cleans up to be a great fishing platform during the striper run. Handles the rough 2-3' short-chop that comes up quick around here and is just as smooth in 3-4 swells. No boat does it all, but she does enough.


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Thanks but don't feel bad. I've done nothing but write checks over the years. No real talent here. I just saved to have pros do a little work each year. I think we're pretty much done finally after about 9 yrs. This winter will only see repair work, nothing new except maybe coaming pads.

I'll have to look up the price for the seats and get back to you. I am blessed with a short memory for pricing.

They are from a company called Nautical Designs out of Pittsburgh and they were cheaper than I could have had them made locally. That is what I'd been trying to do for 6 years. I lost a lot of deck space but gained a ton of storage and still have plenty of room on deck. They've been great for us.

LOL - I had them bookmarked in my wish list spreadsheet but was scared to ask for pricing yet.:eek: But those seats are EXACTLY what I'm looking for.:D

I can't say enough good things about the seats or about Nautical Designs. The company was great to deal with and has great service even two seasons post sale. They are very responsive and professional. Call them. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The seats have really changed how my family enjoys the boat. I have young kids so being able to just get on and go rather than simultaneously herding cats while pulling things from the cabin and getting organized mean the day starts and ends with a little less stress.

I like those Nauti Design seats too. I remember very pricey but they fit the application perfectly. Can you take a picture aft looking forward to show the space to get into the cabin ?

I've thought of making them as I want to say they are near $1800-2000 a pop … Sound about right ?

When I called (found the company through a google search 3-4 months ago) the glass was double that and then about 1K or more with a seat. I almost spit coffee all over my computer thinking that a seat and ice box where going to be way more than I spent on a Hermco bracket. EDIT: Found the old email. 6400 for two, only the glass and storage compartments, no seats, no shipping. As of April 2015.

Here is my 74 Tsunami.

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And a lovely late fall day going after stripper on the CBBT. The weather picked up that afternoon and we took plenty of white water over the bow coming in. Learned how CSC's earn their reputation that day and my dad has never questioned why I bought such an old boat since.

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abl1111 - this is the best shot I have. I hope it helps.

I'd rather not talk price without permission from John but you guys seem to have the right neighborhood. I was closer to abl111's number but have fairly spartan storage compartments, just 2 drawers and 1 shelf, no elaborate tackle center and not a ton of expensive drawers.

Looks great ! It narrow's the passage way to the cabin a bit but it does provide great seating and storage - the latter of which my wife wants. Everything's a trade-off.

I'm still playing with the idea of using (2) big, heavy-duty boat chairs so I can use them when I need and ditch them when I don't.

Making a 23' boat 'do it all' has it's challenges - the one thing the wife loves is the fact that no matter how snotty it gets in our moody Bay, it's always a smooth, dry ride.

Thx for the pix.

Wow! some beautiful work by all of you,I'm amazed by such beautiful work.and incredible detail

I'm a little late to this,but here's a few pics of my 74 Tsunami(as though I haven't bored you enough with lots of pics already)
Took me three years to do the restore,as I paid for everything along the way.and doing some horse trading for some of the stuff.
As for custom things there aren't many but the seat bases were formed out of aluminum tubing so we could slide 125 quart coolers under them.
The radar arch was a custom fit model made by Atlantic Towers. the arch came with six launchers but it now sports It came with six launchers,but have since added six or eight more.
You can never have enough rod holders,I think I'm up to 22 of them at this point.
I had a friend make the canvas work out of Sunbrella Supreme(aka seamark)also has a zippered drop down rear curtain,and a full aft canvas.
I replaced every core except the upper bow deck,had to do the transom,-engine beds,-motor box,-all hatches-etc.Used marine ply with epoxy resin to glue the cores together and used vinylester and polyester for all the glass layup.
I got rid of the bait wells that were in the transom cap.With the exception of the radar and the engine(260hp Mercruiser)everything else was purchased new.
I sprayed the hull with Epifanes two part linear urethane,and it's held up incredibly well,other than a few dock rashes.

With the kicker and four down riggers at the stern and rear gunwhales the boat sits low in the water,and lists a bit to the stbd side. Looking back I wish I didn't overbuild it with so much glass and would have used a composite all leading to a reduction in weight.

I love this boat.It is so good in every way It's six and a half hours away at my camp in west NY on the Great lakes (l.Ontario),and every time I get a chance to get up there,I'm excited as I was the day I first got it.
The help and information on this site is so very good I have to thank all of you for the help and insight to keep going on this restoration.

BTW, the seats pictured near the end were a recent purchase.They are very comfortable and look good in this size boat.A bit pricy(about 300.00 ea)but well worth it,so much more comfortable than the seats in the earlier pics. Best price by far was Amazon,they wer over $100.00 less than the lowest seller.


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Really bringing me back to my Waukegan days when I had the fever bad... Your helm looks like my brain in those days (mid 90's). Spoons, flies, flashers, dipseys, lead core and riggers... makes me want to dig up some pictures and scan/post.

I had an old Pacemaker inboard back then and a few larger boats in-between but now I have a 23 Tsunami and looking forward to getting her out on the water (Florida East).

My 87 scepter before and after the hardtop. New trailer as well.

1976
 

What a long strange trip its been

Sweet looking ride.
What did you use on the hull for that beautiful finish?

tons of prep and sanding. awlcraft 2000 sprayed by a pro.

Have not been on here a lot but here is my 81. Twin Zuk 140's and a hard top. Thinking about putting teak covering boards on the gunnel. Anyone do that to their Sceptre?


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scepter 23
 

Hi, new member here. Just picked up a 1980 23 scepter, here are a few photos, 225 Yamaha x long shaft. first on the list clean, wet sand and compound hull.
home base -long island n.y.

I don't have any recent pictures of my 73 tsunami. It has held up very well. I need more money to hopefully get it like big easy's.

I just took on a sceptre project, found this thread and would like to bring it back from the past if anyone has any new contributions would love to see some pictures!