Purchased a Seacraft / Not sure what I have
 

I recently purchased a 20-foot Seacraft Safari. Who has more knowledge about seacraft boats in order to find out exactly what I have and what it's worth.

It's worth what you just paid for it

Not much, given the condition it appears to be in now. However, if you are looking for a base boat to restore, you can't do much better than a Seafari. You will probably spend some serious $, but when you are done, it will be something far better than you can buy new and probably cheaper, assuming you do most of the work yourself and don't need to go as Gucci as Chuck. The performance, durability and versatility of my 20 exceeded anything else on the market then or now.

If you are looking for the most Seacraft for the $, find one that has recently been restored. Nobody profits financially from a major restore.

always a good find... what year ? is there a motor with it ? transom condition ? lets see some more pics.

I have to agree, A old seacraft hull is worth what some one is willing to pay on the current market.

True value, some may be tons of cash. But fact of the matter many of the older hulls with rotten transoms are going from free to around $500.

Its like base ball cards and nascar collectables, the book value of my nascar collection is 1.5 million. The ebay sale value may only be 1.5 dollars on a open auction with no reserve.

Restoring it and having one of the best boats ever made....Priceless!

Thanks for your encouraging words of wisdom, Chuck. I am just trying to learn more about what I have. What I am not looking for: quotes from dead people, inert rhetoric, and people that take everything as a joke. I went out on a limb to make an investment on this and am looking for true blue information about it. The whole "It's worth what you paid for it" grandpa speak is not at all helpful; especially if you don't know what I paid for it. I hope that other members of this community are a little more helpful and professional.

Here are more pics...

Not being a wiseass, but financially that boat is worth nothing, or next to nothing.
I would venture a guess that if you were to restore & repower and then sell it, you would be lucky to get what you have in to it.

Chuck is correct. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay. Value is determined by the market or should be anyways. I don't think central banks are involved in the used SeaCraft market...
Judging by the looks of it in the pictures, I wouldn't give you $500; if it were a 23' o.b. powered cc that looked to be in the same condition, I might triple that, because a 23 project is what I REALLY want. It all depends on you.

Mr. Bear, Capt. Chuck is right, however you should look at two things before you get too far into a rebuild. 1. Take a trip through the "for sale" section to see what these boats are going for in whatever condition they are in 2. go to a boat show and check out what a new boat this size cost. There is a rather wide gap.

If you are VERY handy and not in a big rush you can rebuild it and get a boat much cheaper than new and just like you want, plus the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Don't forget whatever you think it may cost, rule of thumb, double it. Good luck.

Here's my opinion, You are a moron!

Pics of the Nascar museum?

Ugh, investment ? Out on a limb ?

If you went out on the limb for more than $500 for your dream boat, you
cannot afford to restore it !!

Rule number 1 on CSC, Do not question the "Grandpa's" here be because thats what the majority of us are !

You have NO clue what the base of the membership is all about...

So with that said keep coming back with BS remarks and you can
go over to THT with the rest of the MORONS ! You will not even be allowed
to comeback on here..

Hope this clears things up for you !


Sincerely,
"Grandpa Boneless"

Insulting Capt Chuck? That's some bulls$&t. Marsh bear don't come in here and be a dick. The boats worth what you paid for it. Look at the for sale section there was a professionally restored seafari with a newer motor asking 14500. Full restoration, that's a new transom, tank, rewired, hydraulic steering, painted, 2009 150 etec. It was also an outboard model which is more desirable than an io.
If you think any hull is an investment you need to rethink your strategy.
And like no bones said we are all long time members and friends here and more than willing to share experience and tips.

mr mushbrain
u bee barkin up dead dogs azz

mee maw will wip ur azz fer bad mouthin mr cap chuck

hav nice day

sam

SeaFari
 

Marsh Bear,
Rule No.1 - Don't mess with the moderators - it will be painful if you do! They have secret powers!
Rule No.2 - Do not ask "What is my boat worth?" - we are all "upside down" with our rides and we're OK with it. It's part of the cult here, but it's a good cult - like the Boy Scouts. You start it as a Webelow and someday you might be an Eagle Scout but there are a few little steps along the way. Proceed cautiously - and don't trip off a Claymore!
Rule No.3 - Wear Safety Glasses when using an angle grinder or sawzall. Invest it a few Tivek suits. Tape up your sleeves and let 'er Rip. If you pull an
"afishin86", see if Kmoose can use your cabin top. Mel doesn't nee too much head room, but more than Ken has. A 25 Septrefari, awesome!
Rule No.4 - lighten up Bud - If you can't take a joke, you shoudn't own a boat. However, you do have the best ride out there.

Trying to be a nice moderator.........but my secret "moderator power ring" was stolen by GFS!!

However Mr. Marsh Bear you stepped in a really big pile of poop!!! Wipe your feet.......

Sir
Is this really your feeling here?
Where do you draw the line from "grandpa" and "experience" ?
I have been an owner, seller and enthusiast of SeaCraft boats for over 42 years like a big majority of our forum members.

For you to come on this site and think my response was old school coupled with inert rhetoric and quoted from Dead people only shows your immaturity.

BTW: Going out on a limb and purchasing a boat without knowledge of what your buying is like taking a bite out of a Dog Turd because it looks like a Tootsie Roll.... :mad:

I am also one of the Administrators of this website, Your comments are not welcome

Marsh Bear,

I'm one the young guys here, I grew up with the Mighty Zeppelin and Bobby Dylan...a simple " come on, guys" gets the conversation going in the right direction.

You have a Moesly era Seafari, I'd guess, 1968,'69, maybe '70.
If you cleaned it up and got it running it might be worth $2-4000 to the right buyer.
But the down side is there is little interest in and old i/o.

However, if you're into it for your for your own use, the value could be priceless. The Seafari is a very versatile and very capable little boat. Many have made the trip to the Bahamas in south FL or the runs to oil rigs or the gulf. That old motor or a modern replacement offers a 4-5 mpg cruise and makes a wonderful little pocket cruiser if you will.

Our friend Denny (Bushwacker) is perhaps its greatest advocate having done circumnavigations of FL and the Bahamas in his, and Csick Nick has put 200+lb giant Blue fin in his cuddy off Stellwagen and other hallowed grounds of MA.

Get her scrubbed and see what she looks like. The early ones were very strong. Her bones might surprise.

I urge you to learn all you can about this boat. They are worth the effort. Bowrider65's father invented this hull. She has a complementary website that provides a wealth of information, reviews, ads, and real history. Here is a link to the site:
http://www.moeslyseacraft.com/literature.html

Start using the search engine as well, but remember spelling - its a Seafari not Safari.

Yours definitely looks like the camping edition with the head and maybe the camp stove and sink under the passenger seat (I cant really tell).

Good luck and ask away, most of the guys remarks weren't meant to offend they just wanna buy yer boat cheap ;) But you gotta play nice cuz we're nice peeps, most of the time. Seriously, Like Don said, they just want you to know to look at your restoration budget, and then double or triple it. Or more.

Cheers,
Gillie

O.K. I gotta laugh.
If the young guy grew up with Zeppelin & Dylan, what the hell did the Grampa's grow up with?

Doesn't matter what the boat's worth really, matters what you want in a boat. This place can show you how to do virtually anything.
Unless you're disrespectful to the membership.

You only get to moderate pictures.
Sent you a new ring.

Lets be fair here...when you asked what the boat is worth...you really got a concise answer. It may have been a little trite, and not the answer you wanted, but it was the correct one.

Now your reply was a little over the top (already covered by others). We are a helpful bunch, but you have to keep the tone down until you have at least 250 replies...:p(joke).

Now to answer a your question...IMHO if you paid under $500 your good. Clean it up and you might make a few bucks. Unfortunely Seacraft is not a Wooden Chris Craft so investment grade its NOT.

So now just ask away and we will help you out.

Marsh Bear,

Make sure it's the boat you want - Just finished restoring a 76 20' Sceptre I/O (transom, engine rebuild, gas tank + some finishings). I love I/O's for the weight balance and mpg - and the V8 302. But I'm sentimental - it's absolutely a bad economic decision compared to an outboard. With restores, you might get back 1/2 your restore dollars back if its an outboard, less for an I/O.

Good luck!

Thank you all for your help. It's been a wealth of information from everyone. I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone with my comments. I just figured Chuck was thinking "Who's this idiot"? It was one of those days and my words were off base and out of place; for that, I apologize.

"After that my guess is that you will never hear from him again. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone."

Virgil --- "The Usual Suspects"

Good!! Neither do the CSC regulars care if you are gone! We're talking about the SeaCraft folks who actually add something to the well being and success of this site.......not like your useless dribble.

Thank You for the reply, we needed to verify your IP address.

The museum is boxed up and has been for some time now. It lays out across about 1/3" of my mothers attic space. Many boxes, many dollars and many failed expectations.

But.....I have them cause I like them or did at that time, one day I will buy an house in Florida and display them in one of my spare rooms once the kids are gone and I am retired. I will invite yall grandpa's over to gander at the collection if you all are sill around.

Marsh Bear , This site is one of the best sites on the net far as a group of people that are kind, caring and willing to help. The other boating sites are not so friendly and you will get mixed replays when it comes to asking for help. There are few bashings over here and for the most part little to no name calling, trolling or bad natured post. Sometimes things don't get out to a good start and people may take things the wrong way. I meant no harm in my comments as well as I don't think the others did either. These boats can be worth priceless amounts to some and bring very high premiums. Metan has made a ton of cash restoring SeaCraft hulls. There is not much money to be made in restoring them and flipping them like some one would do with a house or such. They do hold their value tho. One well built classic seacraft hull kept in the same condition will bring the same return year after year or gain value. Not many boat manufactures can say that. Not many hulls are even worth restoring to start with. To me these hulls are a timeless piece of history and will never go away anytime soon. I think many other boats will come and go but there will be very few along the way that will be worth the effort to save an keep alive. Your hull may not be valued high far as market value but it sill hold a very high value far as an classic design that was well before its time when produced. Very well worth saving and worth the time to restore. Some people can do the work them self and have a very nice hull. In the end for a reasonable amount invested that will be way less than a new production boat. It will also more than likely be a better built and smoother riding boat once complete. Not to mention you can fix it up or design it just how you would like it. I have seen some older potter era (1969-1980) seacraft hulls get listed for over $100,000 and one listed for near that. The quality in these builds are second to none and they are nicer than most other comparable hulls out there. I have seen some that were done to a lesser standard but still turned out to be very nice restores. They were done in some ones back yard with pride and joy and still sell for over $10,000 in the end once they part with them. When it comes to worth of one of these hulls it is a hard value something like that. I am one of the few lucky ones that have a very rare seacraft race hull. Only like 10 built and 3-4 left existing. You would say its got to be worth a ton and to me it is priceless. In todays market it maybe disappointing to see what it would sell for. What Im getting at is a SeaCraft hull has a totally different type of value. It has heritage, classic looks and lines. It has a deep, rich history that was started by one of the best builders of his time. The boats were light years ahead of their time and copied over and over threw out the years. When you get to build a hull like this and bring it back to its original stature or to your personal likings there is a certain pride that comes along with that. The value holds in that experience and in the outcome of your completed project. It comes after many years of hard labor and work you put into you hull that you love like a kid. To some its just another boat. To most up here its a little more than that. It is not for some one that wants to buy in cheep and flip just for an fast profit cause there is not none there to be had. But for some one that wants something special that is different from what every one else has, that comes with the rich history and back ground these hulls have, then it may be for you. There are so many knowledgeable, helpful, and smart people on this board willing to help you along every step of the way. Knowledge from many different back grounds ie- engineers, home builders, professional boat builders, designers and on and on. The wealth of knowledge found here and direction, all for free to those that have their heart in it and willing to listen. This site is more than a place to show off our seacrafts, (that is welcome too) but a place for sharing information, helping one another out and for friendships to develop and form over many miles all across this country. All because of a common interest in these respected classic hulls. Not to go on and on but take it for what its worth. If you can make it threw this long babble of words (im not even looking forward to reading back threw it) Take the time to get to know the people here, introduce your self properly and be part of what makes this site great.

Well said

Pretty sure I an one of the younger guys.... and I Think frizzle may be close but slightly new model than me. ... I grew up with van halen... ( the David Lee Roth version ) .... the time and money you spend will be lost forever .... unless it is for your enjoyment... B.O.A.T. Break Out Another Thousand. ...

Just had a birthday yesterday mater of fact, born and grew up in the 80's so no grandpa here... But gotta say the grandpas are what makes this site what it is. The old farts know what they are talking about most of the time. There are a few of us younger ones to carry it on but we are a small slice of the pie.

LOL... I turned 43 in oct last year .... AND ... My youngest daughter is due any day now for our first grand....

MARSH BEAR, I was born in '59 right here in Florida, a 3rd generation native Floridian, I've no grandkids yet, and I bought my first boat in 1967 (an 8' punt), and bought my first SeaCraft in 1983, yes, you guessed it, a Seafari 20'. I own a Seafari now, and it is my 4th Seafari 20' I've owned over the years. I began working in the recreational marine industry in 1976, and left it as full-time employment in 1989 to pursue ordination to the priesthood, to which I was ordained in 2000. I'm still a full-time priest, but also work part-time at west Marine so I can get the Associate Discount!

No one else has said it, but I want you to know I recognize your contrition for your hasty response, and as one of the "old-timers" on this site, I forgive you for your hasty remarks, and I absolve you.

It was a rough start, but welcome to Classic SeaCraft!

Pax Christi,
Father Frank Gough

He posted the boat for sale on savannah craigslist for 2500.00.

Holy CRAP!!! Have you seen that ad? I'm keeping my Jersey mouth shut.

Maybe he is related to Mikey? $2500...ouch.

No, did you read the description of the boat, the references to the site, the web addresses listed? Jesus _ _ _ _ _ _ !

Looks like he doesn't have a title either. "Ownership will be transferred by a 'Bill of Sale'"

Yea, he put it on thick after getting the boot from us!