A California Seafari with a New England Accent
 

Just like many of you here, I've owned a lot of boats over the years.
When I was 14 I bought a 16' mahogany Bristol with a 283 Chevy
and a straight cut v-drive.
Spent hours repairing rotten wood, rebuilding the engine, and water
skiing at Lake Havasu.
Sure, it eventually sank, but I learned a lot.

Since then I've had 22 boats pass through my slippery fingers.
Some were great. Some were trash.
I loved them all and they all taught me something.

But I was always looking for that perfect boat...

Every year a group of us heads south for two weeks to boat camp at
the Bay of Conception on the Sea of Cortez.
We fish, ski, drink Mexican beer and sit around the campfire telling lies.
Well, mostly we drink beer, but there is always lots of time on the water.

One year, we met a guy with a 20' SeaCraft, and through some twist of
fate he took us out to fish the wrecks near the big point.
The weather turned on us that afternoon and we ended up riding uphill
into a howling wind. That SeaCraft was so kind to our kidneys, and
rode so well in that ugly slop that it left a lasting impression on me.

Fast forward 30 years.
I'm getting to that age where I don't want to settle for second choices.
Tired of getting beaten to death in the Catalina channel, I decided that
I was going to find a SeaCraft like the one that saved our skins that
day in Baja. I soon learned that locating one on the west coast was no
easy task, and I wanted something specific: a 20' Seafari in yellow.
With original gel coat. And no bottom paint. And it had to be an outboard
because I love the smell of two stroke oil on a still afternoon...

So for the last five years, I've been a demon on Craigslist,
eBay, the boat trader and I've ghosted this site religiously,
checking out the for-sales and the Seafari stories
and the wisdom that y'all dispense so freely.

About a year ago, I saw that a member in Massachusetts (bigeasy1)
scored the yellow Seafari I had been fantasizing about.
I spent an hour looking at his
pics and wishing that boat was in my driveway.

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw he had it up for sale.
I suddenly felt unreasonably nervous and excited.
I couldn't think of anything else.
I developed a facial twitch.
I spent an hour drawing Seafaris on a bar napkin...
I REALLY wanted that boat,
but geography is a bitch.
The only thing separating me from my yellow SeaCraft
was the entire USA.

I tried to talk myself off the ledge.
Shipping is expensive.
I had never seen the boat in person.
The only time I'd been to Massachusetts was for the Boston marathon.

I'm not prone to flights of fancy and I don't gamble, but
I couldn't get the idea out of my head that that Seafari wanted
to head west.

So I called John.
We hit it off instantly.
Great guy. Honest, New England stock and I knew I could trust him.
I told him my plan, and he didn't think I was nutjob, which is
a miracle in itself.

I scoured the internet looking for an economical way to get a hunk
of fiberglass across the continent. I got all kinds of bids from all
kinds of folks. Most were crazy expensive, and some just
sounded crazy. I was beginning to give up hope, when I received
an e-mail from a boat transport service that was bringing a 36' sailboat
to California from Massachusetts and had room on the trailer
for a 20 footer. He said if I could make the deal today he would
give me one hell of a good price.

So I did.
I overnighted the cash to John, contracted with the trucking company,
and then realized that I had bought a SeaCraft.
Finally.

John was kind enough to meet the shipper and to spend three hours
loading the boat onto the flatbed trailer with forklifts and tons of
help from the staff at his business.
Those guys worked their butts off on a sweltering afternoon, and
I can never hope to repay them for their efforts.
It's folks like this that make me realize that there are still good
people in this mixed up world.

So today the boat is between Oklahoma City and New Mexico,
and it should be here early next week.
Then the fun begins, and I can get to work making my SeaCraft
vision a reality.

Sometimes doing something unconventional pays off, and I think this is one
of those times. Thank you all in advance for your advice
in the coming months, putting up with my dumb questions,
and ignoring my bad choices in beer and grammar.

And thank you again, John, for making this all happen.

Now, I have to sell that Donzi...

(TLDR; I bought a SeaCraft)

Great story, congrats!

Thank you for taking the time to read!

Congrats on Your Seafari
 

Congrats. As I recently posted to Bigeasy1, yours is almost the sister to my yellow'76 Seafari we ordered from SeaCraft. It used to be used for offshore, trolling, snorkeling and skiing. Now in upstate SC only Watersports. Best wishes!
Am sure you'll love it.

Thank you! Your boat is a beauty, and I was inspired by your story.
Mine will spend quite a bit of time on the lake, pulling skiers and
confusing the locals...

Neat story. Congrats on the new boat. Gives me faith as some of us are still on our searches....

Just my kind of story, thanks.

Being able to make that kind of effort will be the basis for an unbeatable relationship with a yellow Seafari.

I've had two, a twenty and a twenty five. Incredible boats.

Have fun!

Thank you for reading!
I wish you great success in your search, and I hope you get the
boat of your dreams in the very near future!

Thank you very much!
I think you're correct; the process of obtaining this boat will make
it that much more special.
I appreciate you taking the time to read!

I know what you feel like, looking and looking and looking for something that never seems to appear. Even when you find one, sometimes it takes a while. Took me a couple of years to persuade the former owner to sell me his beloved 25 Seafari.

Congratulations on the Seafari
 

Great story and great boat. I've had mine for 38 years and it never let me down. Good luck!

Hi Tony , im glad the excitment is still high.As I mentioned when we spoke last, you will find the title and other pertinent paper work under the green tarp in the fwd compartment in the cabin
I did however neglect to include a bill of sale, although the original bill of sale is in the cabin with the paper work.On monday I will email you the bill of sale marked paid from me to you.
I'll call you Monday morning just finalize a few things with you.Im so glad that this boat ended up with someone like you who appreciates it for what it is.
It will be great to see the progress as you go forward with the project. Funny I just got through watching a fishing show that was filmed on the Sea of Cortez, I think it was the obsession of Carter Andrews.Its nice to know that a boat I once owned may someday be plying those very waters of the Sea of Cortez .
It may sound crazy but I'm as excited as you.
Have a good weekend.talk to you soon
.***What's the best time in the morning to call you?

cdavisdb : Yes, the search can be a long one, but it makes the reward that much sweeter!
Thank you for taking the time to read.

Thank you for reading!
I'm glad to hear that your boat has been a faithful companion.
The best testimonials come from actual long time owners!

It may sound crazy but I'm as excited as you.
Have a good weekend.talk to you soon

Thank you again, John!
I look forward to keeping you in the loop, and I value whatever advice
you can throw my way.
The best time to call on Mondays is after 10:30 am California time,
otherwise I'm on the track training with the marathon club.

Antonio, What's a matta' you? You got some kinda' learning disability? Why you buy 22 boats 'afor you get a SeaCraft? You waist too many sunsets, a thinkin' about what you already knew, Pisano.

"Ol yeller" ones are extra cool!

Well, I ain't too bright, and some of those boats had such great
marketing campaigns, cool names or beautiful spokes models
that I was sucked in like the undertow after an El Nino storm.

Besides, how you gunna know the best until you've tried the rest?
;)

The Seafari arrived in California yesterday morning.
I met the shipper at Basin Marine in Newport Beach where they
used the smaller travel lift to remove the boat and trailer from the
big flatbed. It was smooth and easy and I can't say enough about
the quality of service from Mark Winston Trucking and Basin Marine.

After the boat was off loaded, I went into the office to pay the bill.
Had a nice chat with the owner, Dave New. He congratulated me
on buying a SeaCraft, and offered to handle any restoration that
I wanted. I politely declined, as the costs at a Newport shipyard
are slightly out of my budget...

When I came out, there was a crowd gathered around my little yellow
boat. Seems all the yard workers recognized her as a SeaCraft, and
they all said they had never seen one on the west coast, and that
she is a great vessel. It was gratifying to know that folks who work
in the marine industry think highly of this brand.

Now the boat is resting comfortably in my driveway.
I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning pulling things apart,
waxing the hull, and planning the restoration.

I would much rather build something than buy something new.
When I get done, for better of worse, I'll know every inch of this boat,
and if (when) something goes wrong I'll know how to fix it.
I hope.

Now I've got to figure out a way to evict all the big, black, pissed
off Massachusetts spiders from the bilge!

Congrats and best of luck with the project!
Rod

Ya know Bomb, you have a case of the yellows!!! Sweet combination. Oh yeah, nice truck! Ford should never have stopped making them, best little truck ever!

Congrats on your accomplishment!! Good luck!

I like your tow vehicle too.

Tony, I'm glad she arrived safely.
As I'm typing this, the song California dreaming by the Mamas and papas is playing in the background on Sirius radio.What a coincidence.
I am so very happy that this boat went to someone who can only help make them a tiny bit more well known on the west coast.Seems so special to realize that just two weeks ago it was sitting in my yard in Massachusetts,and now is in California and in the future be riding the waters on the Sea of Cortez and pulling skiers in Arizona.
Funny when I saw the pictures of it behind your truck with the palm trees in the background it brought me back to my time at Fort Ord in Monterey,I can even remember the smells of that time in Ca.
I'm delighted that you are so happy with it.Now I'll just sit back and watch the resurrection of it as you bring her back to life.Good luck.

Btw Captain Terry,
I did the same as Tony although I only owned 15 boats before I got my first Seacraft.I wished I hadn't waited so long to do it.Boating wasn't a big thing in my family the only boats my family(grand parents) were on were the ones coming over from Italy.
My father never understood why I was so interested in boats.
His favorite thing was horses,not to own one but to be able to bet on them.
Grew up in an area where phrases like "Fugit about it" and "hey,use guys wanna play bocce" were common speech. Heck my middle name is Armando.

Hah! That made me laugh out loud!
'Cause its true.

Good luck with that!!
;)

Thank you! I think it's going to be a hoot.

Thank you! I do indeed have a thing for yellow...
And I agree; that little Ranger is the best do-it-all truck I've ever had.

Jeepers, we're twins separated at birth!
Beautiful set up.

Thank you! So far I've learned more about New England arachnids
than SeaCrafts. I treated the bilge and cabin with heavy duty bug
spray yesterday, so I'm hoping for less excitement when I get
in the boat today...
;)

Thank you again, John!
None of this would have been possible without you!