'85 23' Sceptre project
 

After keeping my eyes open for one for the past handful of years, I finally found a 23 SeaCraft for what I would consider a fair asking price for a project. i traveled on down to central FL to get it earlier this month. This was the one listed only here in the classifieds. I know some, many, are Potter only people. Not to start a war, but I don't fully buy into that thinking. So here I am with an SCI hull.

Unlike most internet chronicled threads like this, I am not immediately trying to build a show piece out of this boat. I plan to make a solid, safe fishing boat. That's not to say I won't do some cosmetics along the way, but I intend to have it in the water fishing in 2017.

Power: the boat has unknown condition 1986 140 evinrudes on it. I intend to take a little time seeing if these motors will run. I want to run the hull and see how it responds to the weight so I can make the best decision for me on how to repower prior to spending the money. They'll also be easier to unload on Craigslist running.

The floor, stringers, and transom all feel solid. The fuel tank hatch is soft, and the bow is soft at the pulpit. Wiring is of course a wreck. Fuel tank seems to be okay, but it'll be coming out for inspection.

Picking it up in FL:

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Tank and live well hatches removed.

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Uncovered some interesting things in the bilge, old food wrappers, can of sardines, thermometer...

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The lip around the edge of the fuel tank coffin is pretty big. At first glance today it appears I may have to trim the lip back a little bit to get the tank out.

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Fuel tank label isn't too legible. Enough to see the manufacturer. I pulled the sender and the tank is nearly full. Lots of fuel to get rid of...

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I also started ripping out fuel lines and wires, but the thunder rolled in and I had to cover it up and get my tools in. Pick back up with stripping wiring and emptying fuel tank on the next work session.

Doing some more thinking while I work my life away in Civil3D...

Bilge access is sub-par. Initial thinking is to cut out the in-floor livewell and leave that space open for bilge access via a high quality deck hatch like the Armstrong ones. Anybody care to weigh in on that idea?

Second thinking on that, that could be space for oil tanks if I go with 2 stroke(s), or batteries if I go 4 stroke(s), or possibly both oil tanks and batteries.

When I replaced the tank in mine, I spent probably 10 hours trying to dig out the tank from the foam (there was about a 1/2" gap on one side and 1/8" on the other). After 10 hours of busted knuckles, I took a sawzall and finished the job in under an hour. Of course you'll need to buy a new tank after that. Mine ('89) looked better on top than yours, and there was quite a bit of pitting on the sides and bottom.

I don't like batteries in the bilge. Too many things to go wrong. Same with oil tanks. Even if nothing happens offshore, forgetting to pull the plug when on the trailer could cause/cost you major problems.

I'm going to be doing a full tear down on my Sceptre, and that large bilge area will become storage or a fishbox (with a small bilge behind it). Too much real estate there for that tiny livewell. If you do cut out that livewell, you may need to recore the hatch. When I had mine off, it looks like they counted on the livewell to add stiffness.

Generally I agree on the batteries. My reasoning for even considering that here is because there's not really another good place for 3-4 batteries. The stern storage boxes, but now I lose a lot of storage there. Only other option would be in the cuddy. I had a sea hunt with a battery in the bilge and moved it out of there to the console. Left the oil tank down there though.

I thought about the fish box idea in that space. My hesitation to make it into something is the lack of bilge access. It really sucks trying to fit two hands and still be able to see through a little hatch in the splash well. It would also cut down on weight in the stern. I know some have mentioned that the non-potter sceptres have a bow heavy reputation, but bow heavy enough that I don't need to worry about moving weight forward even if I decide to put 800+ pounds of twin engines on the back? I really need to make the decision on what engine setup to go with before I make any major progress putting anything back together.

More work completed today. Almost completely de-rigged with the exception of the nav light and hydraulic steering. Working around the twins on steering cylinder and shift cables today answered the question on what to repower with. Big single it is. Just not enough room to comfortably work on twins with an 8' beam. BOLO for me in your local areas for a deal on a single 30" shaft 300.

Winding down for the weekend, beer in the pool while the grill gets hot :D

Whoops, it's sideways on my iPhone. Don't hurt your necks!

I have to eat my words regarding that aforementioned decision to go with a big single. This deal was too good to pass, so I'll be hanging twin 150 Optimax. We won't be racing any big new super-CC's, but we won't get left in the dust too often.

Got them home and laid in the garage. Gotta get them up on stands today and order a lifting ring or find a universal puller kit that has the right size flywheel threads.

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If my memory is correct the threads in my 225 EFI are metric in the flywheel. It's a piece of cake to make a puller versus buying the Mercury part. However for $23 that's hard to beat.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mercury-Mari...E8vHhA&vxp=mtr

Have the Rudes come to life?

Don that lift ring is what I'm about to order. It's Crazy that the Mercury branded ring is like $120.

The rudes have good compression. But there's good bit of water in one of the lowers. Neither trim works. Just decided it's more than I want to spend on them to still have 2 gas hog right hand rotation motors in the end. About to go drop them off to a buyer. The Optis cost me all of $2800 for the whole package all rigging, smartcraft gauges, SS props, everything. They have a lot of fresh parts, injectors, compressors, etc. The guy was getting them up to speed for offshore and got a deal on new zukes.

Oh yeah, marine pricing is crazy, especially name brands. Quick story, my high pressure fuel pump went out checked around and the marinas/repair shops wanted $650 to replace and a smooth $350 for the just the pump, of course the Mercury brand. I took it all apart and Googled the Walbro part number and I got the exact same original part from Summit Racing for $99, free shipping. Works perfect. Sorry I''m a cheap bastard!!

Free advice is worth what you pay for it, so buyer beware.

I'd try to find a plastic fuel tank. Ethanol and water seem to eat so many aluminum tanks.

I'd hold onto the fishwell, but not install it. Install a hatch cover into a glass panel you make. Then see what you like and sell the one you don't want.

And if your fuel tank hatch has a plywood core, rip it out and put nidacore or divinycel in there instead. Weight and rot is the enemy.

Finally, the pro tip I learned here is to embed 100lb braid fishing line in the 3M 4200 or 3M 5200 you use to install the fuel tank hatch so you can remove it reasonably easily in the future.

If the OBs are heavy, you may want to get the batteries forward to compensate, but others here are far more expert on CG location on the cuddy shaped Seacrafts than I am.

Thanks for the tips.

I am not a fan of big plastic tanks. 30 gallons, sure, but not 145. In my opinion a properly prepped and installed aluminum tank is the way to go. Again, just my opinion.

The fuel tank hatch will be recored. Sealing a deck hatch with 5200 would be impossible to remove. 4200 only slightly better but probably still won't come out unscathed. It's screwed down and doesn't need adhesive, just needs to be water tight, and easily removed and reinstalled/sealed for inspection if needed. Silicone caulk for that.

1 1/2"-16 is the threads on the flywheel center hole, I was going to make one myself a long time ago but my local friend that has a large machine shop didn't even have the odd ball fine thread tap to thread the piece to screw in. Also the cost of the odd 1 1/2" -16 pipe die was too much to make since especially with these ones ebay. I purchased the one like in the link but with the jacking bolt and spacer so I could lift or remove the fly wheel with the same piece. It was only a little more for the extra parts to adapt it into a puller also. Same seller has them both ways. You can always make one that fits the wheels three bolt holes on a spreader bar easily but the ring works much better and for the cost its a no brainer in my opinion...

Sika 291 works great!

Progress has been super slow. Engagement party, people in town most weekends during the summer, work 50+ hours a week...ugh. Hadn't touched it in almost 6 weeks.

Finally spent this past labor day weekend getting some work done on it. Finished removing the remaining transom fittings and hardware. Cleaned out the old screw holes and motor mounting holes. Drilled some other test holes to see how shakey the transom core is. Eh, has some bad spots so I injected some penetrating epoxy. Pretty solid overall though. Going to roll with it for now, if I end up falling in love with the hull and ride, as everybody expects to with a SeaCraft, then we can go back and do a full transom, bracket, and newer power later on. Let the penetrating epoxy cure for a day and then filled all those holes with thickened epoxy.

I have the sanding supplies and face mask ready to go to town. The filler/fairing compound and the high build primer should arrive at the house by the time I finish up sanding.


Sorry, no boat pictures...But


I know many of you could be interested in this too. But I sort of impulsively dinged my boat project budget. My original plan was to attempt to flip it for a few bucks, I think it was a great deal. But now only -$700 later I'm not so sure I want to sell it. Serial number dates is to 1917. It's mostly correct, but has been refinished and has an incorrect mainspring housing, so it's not the perfect super high dollar collector that the serious guys are after. Fantastic shape though, and still think $700 is great for a 99 year old, WWI US Gov. 1911.

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It's really early on to concern my self with electronics, but couldn't pass the deal. Just picked up the majority of the electronics for the boat. Furuno NavNet VX2 10.4", 24" 36 NM radome, GPS antenna, sounder box, heading sensor, and all the cables (everything minus a transducer and mounting bracket), for $350.

Here and there as I get a few minutes over the past couple of weeks I've been filling nicks and dings and sanding. Finally caught a normal work week and weekend. Primer is on.

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Project is still under way. For the sake of time, and my spare time, I've decided to sub out the 'glass work. The hatch recoring is in progress now and I'll be dropping the boat off on Sunday for him to fix the soft spot in the bow and fill in all the helm area. My new 'glass guy does freelance work on the side and has a day job doing 'glass work for a major, big time boat manufacturer in this area who sells boats worldwide. It'll be a quality job.

I've located some 30 gallon plastic barrels and am emptying the tank finally. Have about 60 gallons of trash out of it now and maybe 1/2-3/4" left in the bottom of the tank to try to get so I can start pulling it out when I get the boat back from the 'glass work.

Made progress today, but I'll be spending tomorrow replacing a pool pump, hanging some ceiling fans, installing toilet parts, changing my truck oil, watching the Clemson game, and going to a barbecue bourbon and bluegrass festival. Hence the reason for having someone else do the glassing.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered selling the thing already and going and buying one of these cheap 24 Albemarles that's ready to go today. Time is a precious thing these days

cheap bastard
 

not at all just a very smart consumer and excellent idea ,,,,,,will save everyone the price gouging of marinas and ''genuine'' mercury parts that over 90% are manufactured by someone else and probably over half outside the country.......again awesome idea!

So I don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but some of the work you have done makes me believe your the guy to ask.

The "lip" that the gas tank deck cover sits on, I am assuming that the tank was put in and the lip was made after.

I too, have a 1986 23 Seacraft Sectpre and took the gas deck cover off of mine as well. I think my tank is good for now, but now that I took it up I was thinking how would I ever get that out with the lip there?

What route are you going to take, or have you taken? Sawzalling the tank scares the crap out of me, even empty. One spark and a gas fume is all you need to have bad news.

I heavily agree with the post above suggesting a plastic tank. It is the only way to go now in my honest opinion, and cost wise is usually the less or same of a replicated fab tank.