Info on sea crafts
 

I'm looking to purchase a 1989 seacraft 20. Don't much about these boats. Ran across one and love the way it looks. How do these boats ride. The one I am looking at has an Armstrong bracket on the back. What are some of the thinks I should be looking for be for I purchase. Does this year boat have wood stringers? Thanks ChrisAttachment 12197

They're one of the best riding 20' boats ever made, until someone screws up the CG by hanging a heavy 4-stroke motor 30" further aft on a bracket! That can be corrected by moving console, batteries and gas tank forward. If it tends to porpoise a lot, it's still stern heavy!

All SeaCrafts except the original Moesly 21 have fiberglass stringers. Go here to learn all about SeaCraft boats!

Old SeaCrafts
 

1977Chris,
A.) I think Denny's SeaFari was made two years before you were (1975)!
B.) Sometimes at that age they have loose screws, like their owners!

Thanks for the info. Porpoising would be a problem. Make for a rough ride. I haven't taking it for a ride yet. It only has a Yamaha 115 on it. I was going to switch it out with a 150. If you set the motor a little lower on the bracket would that help with the porpoising?

a 150 4 stroke would be pretty heavy, or did you mean a 150 2 stroke?

No, motor height will not affect porpoising very much. Need to correct CG to fix that, although more stern lift will help. (trim tabs, 4B prop and an AV plate fin) The Armstrong bracket also doesn't have as much flotation as a Hermco, so check to see if it'll self bail at the dock with scupper plugs out.

I think the 115 is a bit lighter than a 150 so that helps some but I suspect it would be better balanced with an even lighter 2-stroke.

I was thinking 4stroke. But I could go with a 2 stroke. I haven't test drove it. I was thinking that 115 would be to small for that boat

20' seacraft is a great little boat. Smooth ride is perhaps its greatest attribute. '89 was a Tracker boat. gofastsandman might be able to offer insight on that era. typical concerns are the scupper tubes/ supports leaking, the gap between the cap and gunwales leaking, and the floors or transom getting soft due to water intrusion.

115 yamaha 2 stroke is good. yammie 4 stroke is a little heavy but workable.
When you employ a bracket you will usually end up raising the motor. rule of thumb is an inch per foot of setback.

If the bracket is not a flotation version I would probably shy away from the 150...

Check out bushwackers bracket treatise here:

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...ad.php?t=19779

Good luck! and welcome aboard.

Bracket
 

Looks pretty dialed in. Go for a ride see how you like it. I wouldn' change anything. Adjust your fore and aft balance if necessary, and enjoy 38 mph & great economy. I'd jump on it if the price is right. Good luck.:cool:

That's a very common misconception, because modern wide beam hulls designed to handle the weight of 4-strokes are so inefficient compared to Moesly's patented Variable Deadrise Hull! That's why you see lots of new 8' beam 20' hulls with 200 hp on them! The VDH hull was tested extensively at Mercury's Lake X in the mid-60's and found to be 10% faster than conventional deep-V hulls with the same weight and horsepower! The 19/20' hull was designed in about 1964 for the largest outboards of the time, which were the 260-300 lb I-6 Merc and V-4 OMC's, of about 100 hp (rated at powerhead, so about 10% less at the prop!), so it actually rides and handles best with the small (by today's standards) and less thirsty light weight motors. Many were sold new with 85 hp 2-strokes on them! The Tracker models are actually a bit longer and heavier and have 25" transoms, so'll they'll handle a heavier motor a little better, but all of the 20's are relatively light. They ride well with their relatively slender 7'6" beam, but they will start to go airborne in seas of about 3' at speeds over 20 kts due to the light weight, so if you plan to run offshore very much, less is more! In those conditions, you won't be able to use much more power than it's already got!

Thanks for the great info. I keep going back and forth. Should I by new or use. I live in central FL. We have a lot of lakes in our area. But I wanted something I could take in the lake and ocean. I've been looking at a lot of new bay boats. I'Be been looking at the new 20 ft sea hunt for $36,000. Something keeps bringing me back to the seacraft. A lot cheaper. But used. And might need some loving care down the road. I just think with the right motor and set up the seacraft is going to make one hell of a boat.

Today is NOT a good day for me to be commenting on Tracker.

After the first ride, any new boat becomes used and worth substantially less, so you might want to drop that from the equation. 'nuf said.

When the 20 Seacraft was in production one of the best motors for it was a 2 stroke 115 (~330 lbs I think) - it was pretty awesome; efficient and handled really well. If I recall correctly that was crankshaft horsepower and not propshaft horsepower so a modern 115 is equivalent to a good bit more and is a whole lot more efficient. I think that Yammie 115 is about 380 lbs and the Armstrong brackets are Al (not being made of stainless is good there for a whole bunch of reasons starting with mass). The HP seems right to me and the weight aft only slightly high.

As far as being an all-around hull (inland and ocean), you would be hard pressed to find a better one.

I think that year was all composite, or close to it and you should verify with others, but the chronic rot (deck & transom) issues should not be significant.

One advantage of an older boat is that it has been 'seasoned' to the point that you should be able to see any problems.

Have fun with your decision. :D

The other thing to keep in mind, more HP does not ALWAYS = faster and better riding boat. In this case listen to all these guys, that motor is plenty for that boat and possibly too heavy as it is.

If you want a boat with a 150 Yamaha VMAX on it this is not the boat to buy. I never want to steer people away from Seacrafts because I love them, but at the same time dont try to make this boat into a go fast fishing boat because its not a Pathfinder or Maverick, it's a Seacraft that was not designed to have a 500 lb motor hanging on it. Hope you consider everyone's advice and knowledge on this situation.

If I do decide to purchase it. The only change I think I will make is take the 4 stroke 115 and put a 2 stroke 115 on it. you guys have been a lot of help. THANK YOU!!

Wow, I think most of the guys on this site would agree: that decision is a no brainer if I ever saw one! For a several reasons:
1. That new $36,000 boat will depreciate about like a new car!
2. The SeaCraft will not only likely have a lot of optional extras that have been added like a GPS and depth sounder that you would have to buy for the new boat, it will hold it's value very well if you take care of it. These boats are widely respected as one of the best riding and best built boats of their size ever made.
3. Don't know much about Sea Hunt, but the SeaCraft hull is a solid fiberglass laminate with huge fiberglass stringers. They were considered premium boats when new, basically the BMW's of their class. Check out the laminate schedule comparison below. The increasing price of oil and the resin made from it have put significant cost pressures on boat builders, so there is a big incentive to minimize the use of expensive glass and resin in new boats. Solid fiberglass hulls are becoming history, as documented in this article.
4. Carl Moesly used to say "The price of a new boat tells you what the builder thinks he can get for it. The price of a used boat tells you what other folks think it's worth!" Back in the 70's, the SeaCraft Seafari had the highest resale value of anything in it's class. So what are they getting for a 30 year old Sea Hunt these days?! Take a look through the For Sale section to see what some nicely restored 40 year old SeaCrafts with new motors have sold for!

Does a Hermco Bracket work a lot better on these boats instead of the Armstrong bracket. What's the difference. Is the Hermco Bracket a lot lighter?

That sales brochure that Bushwacker posted above was the one that got me leaning towards Seacraft in 1978. It proved to be 100% true!

The salesman in Homestead could not believe that a man with 4 children in my income bracket had opted to pay cash for a Seacraft, he said I was unusual. I told him I had done my homework!

I kept my Seafari for 20 years, sold it to an idiot, who sold it to three more after him. My son bought it back about 3 years ago and wanted to know why I was crawling over it, outside and inside so much. I answered as truthfully as I could, "I cannot believe there is not one stress crack on this boat still!"

I took care of it very well, but it saw its share of rough seas while I had it and I'm sure it caught hell after I sold it! Remarkable quality even today! The ride in heavy seas left the others in the rear. She never failed to get my family home safely.

Can't wait for my son to have some cash so I can get her ready to go again.

Charles

I went from an Armstrong to a Hermco XL on my 23'. Didn't weigh them but the Hermco offers a lot more "flotation" or displacement. With today's repowers primarily 4S weighing more than 2S the added flotation helps keep the tail end up at rest or drifting.

also Armstrong is aluminum.... I don't care how well you seal it the surface between the transom and the bracket will eventual start to corrode ... fiberglass is the way to go ....

That would be a wise course of action. = )

Having trouble trying getting a bank to finance an older boat. Is there any banks that finance older boats? There asking 19000 for the boat. Banks want me to put 12,000 down. That's crazy. Any other options that you guys know of.

signature loan... there re some other lenders for older boats ... but I cant remember...

The Hermco bracket was designed by Bill Potter specifically for a SeaCraft, so transom angle is a perfect match. Since it's all fiberglass, it's probably a bit heavier than the aluminum Armstrong, but it's flotation tank is much larger, so that would offset any extra weight, at least when at the dock.

I'd run it with the existing motor before considering a 2-stroke. Main advantage of a 2-stroke will be a stronger mid-range/hole shot that will help it get on plane quicker. The 25" 115 E-TEC weight went to 405 lbs when they put the V-6 lower unit on it, so it may not be be that much lighter than the 100 hp Yamaha. If you really want to reduce motor weight, the I-3 90 hp E-TEC at 320-335 lbs would run at least as strong as the 100 4-stroke. Terry England gets very good performance out of a 90 on his modified 19' Bowrider.

Check with Keith at Trident Funding. You will probably need a survey which is a good is a good idea anyway

This tells me the bank thinks the price is high.

The first flag for me is the bracket on an open transom.
Who did the work?

I would put the motah back on the transom. Does the seller have the original teak splash
well gate?

I have this hull and would be happy to call them and ask questions.
Cheers,
GFS

Sandy is a wise man concerning the bracket/open transom, I'd have to check that out very carefully!!!

Chris, I would be curious as well with who did the work and what was actually done prior to paint. This boat has been on Craigslist for many months. As I see often, good deals on SeaCrafts on Craigslist go quick, other sit forever. Go test drive the boat. That will tell the real story.

Also, didn't this motor also have like 1500hrs?

That's a great point. usually when a boat is for sale a long time there usually something wrong with it. I haven't seen the boat in person yet. Yes. The motor does have a lot of hour on it. I was going to see if he would sell the hull only. I was was going to offer them 13,000 with motor and 10,000 without. I'm have second thought on this one already. I definitely don't was to rush into something

Glittery things-
 

Chris, Always be careful of both shiny Paint OR Lipstick - I've seem them both "mess a brother up!"