Bottoms Up 23 Build
 

I have been lurking for a few years now and watching the bulls here getting inspired. I should know better have a good friend finish a bay boat build in 5 year while friends laughed. Including me. I just like building stuff. It makes me happy.
I have been trolling Craigslist looking for years a a deal popped up on a 1968 23'. The build plan is not to kill myself in the summer heat. Florida can be brutal through October. I picked up the hull in May and have a good start. Doing a little when I get a chance. I have trouble letting a project sit without finishing it. I will pick up the pace next month.

Plan is to gut all the wood. Replace the floor and transom with Cossa board. Replace tank with two 64 gallon Moeller poly tanks. Hang an Armstrong bracket. Fix the t top and powder coat. Cleanup the original console. Simple right?

Great find! Welcome to the never fully ending project world of a SeaCraft owner!! Enjoy!!!

I have the stringers cleaned out. My plan is to overfill the stringers and raise the deck 1.5". The transom is now ready for the Cossa board. I have it cut to shape and is ready to be bonded in. I want to hold off installing because it's a pita to climb over repeatedly.

Here are the pics

Here are the tanks I plan on ordering this weekend after one last dimension check for deck clearance. $270 each off amazon

Looks like you are making good progress and planning with the right materials. My only concern would be with a plastic tank. With new and varied fuel additives in todays market I would have concerns with how they could impact longevity of the tank. I you plan on having a removable hatch for access I could see it but if you're decking over it solid I would spend the coin on a good aluminum tank that will last for decades if built and installed properly.

Thanks for the advise. I just had to throw away a newer tank that was installed with foam. I did a lot of reasearch on this and know the risks of plastic tanks. My bay boat is 12 years old and has May problems with water in the fuel. I don't use ethanol free gas because of the price and convenience. The biggest change I've made is to use a 2 micron separator. The maintains that has protected my system. It's the same filter the fuel polisher guy used. I've had good luck with that plastic tank.

My biggest risk I properly installing. I have 1/2" on each side and will need to line the stringers with neoprene. The bottom will also need to be fully supported. This will take some work as the bottom changes pitch along its length. I'm planning on shaving foam blocks down to fill the gap then glassing them in. They will also get a layer of neoprene. I don't have plans for a removable hatch but I have an idea that I may try. What about a indention delineating a cut line? That's what my bay boat has with it's plastic tank.

1968 23' SeaCraft ? What is your hull I'D ?

I can't type into a iPhone. It's a 1986 23'

Made some progress this week. Got the console holes filled and started to fare them. The compound didn't fully kick and gummed up the sandpaper. Now I need to get it all off and start dating again.

I also got the under deck raceways plumbed. Tomorrow I plan to build forms to pour the foam.

I decided not to bond in the transom yet. It is nice to climb in and out over the lower cutout.

Got one stringer filled and shaped then ran out of foam. Spent some quality time with the grinder removing gelcoat in preparation for the deck.

The first 64 gallon moeller tank showed up a fit great. It even came with hold down brackets that should work. I need to rethink the fuel vent line routing. The tank is higher and the old route my have a low spot for fuel to collect in the line. Ordering the second tank today.

Looking good
 

I am doing a 1973 23 I'm a little behind were your at but close. My deck is cut out just about the same and I'm cleaning out transome now. I think I am going to get my transome done going to crown it be for I rebuild and reform stringers. I'm a little worried about the hull/ gunnels staying in form if I cut it up to much at once I don't know if this happens but my gunnels got a little flimsy when I cut the deck and transome out. Did yours get a little play in them. Still trying to post pics but I'm having a hard time

I left my cap and liner intact and the gunnels are still solid. I also left the outter transom skin.

Took a hit from hurricane Erma. Rebuilding a house in Marathon that got flooded by an 8’ storm surge. Should be done around Christmas then back to the seacraft.

Haven’t had a chance to work on the seacraft since hurricane Irma. Totally flooded my house in Marathon with 18” of storm surge. I should be done with the remodeling by Thanksgiving. Then back to the seacraft. I got both 64 gallon fuel tanks just before the storm and they will work great. I also bought all the resin and glass to install the Costa transom. It’s all waiting on me.

[URL="http://www.rentalsfloridakeys.com/middlekeys/keycolonybeach/MA820/?"]http://www.rentalsfloridakeys.com/middlekeys/keycolonybeach/MA820/?[/UR

I’m done with the hurricane damage repair in the keys. Started back on the seacraft. Finished the stringers. Added a insulated fish box and cooler. Ran the drainage lines for the coolers.

Started working on the fuel tank install. The tanks are to be fully supported. So I flipped them over and laid glass on them to creat a mold. It was a little flimsy so I stapled wood supports to hold the shape before I glassed the form in the Boat. I’ll knock out the wood after it cures then cut some holes in it with a hold saw and pour some foam under the form. It should work or I’ll have a big mess. I just don’t want the foam to pop the form upwards.

I created a mold of the anchor hatch receiver out of mdf. I painted it with enamel and sanded it. I screwed it to some melamine. I added clay radius and a coat of wax then pva. I sprayed the pva to heavy and it dried with a lot of air bubbles. I then laid 1.5 oz cs in all the radi. After two Coates of 1708 I waited for it to cure. Popped right off with no effort. The air bubbles did show up in the final part but it is very usable and will make a great anchor locker.

The reason I tried the anchor part first was to learn how to mold a deck with the same method but on a bigger scale. I already templated the deck and transferred it to a few sheets of melamine. I made all the hatch receivers out of 3/4 mdf. The middles are filled with 1/2” ply. I Ran a gutter along the transom with recesses for the scupper drains. I also made a1/8” disc to recess the fuel tank access cover.

The rest of the pics

Getting rid of the t-top, console, and leaning post. Will be replacing them with new ones in interest of saving time. Here are some picks of the old ones if anyone is interested. The top needs some welds repaired. I filled the holes in the console and it will need fared and painted. I have all the console parts.

Console, t-top etc
 

Kraken,
I might be interested in your console etc if it will fit in my 20 without too much effort - do you have rough diamensions? Please PM me....

Pm Sent. I'm getting started on a 23 project i could use some of those parts for.

I need to put in new console in my 23 as well. What did you find to replace it? Do you know dimensions of yours?

Here is console hardtop and leaning post I found. Needs upholstery and the top needs the aluminum welded up. Any know someone the can do the aluminum support for the hardtop near Cape Canaveral

Molding up the deck this weekend. Using coosa blue water 15.

Sunshine Welding at the Port made the top on my 23. They have also made fuel tanks for me. No complaints.

Thanks I’ll run up to the port tomorrow

I popped the deck off the mold. Came out pretty good. Should have gotten the seams tighter on the melanin panels. There are small areas the will need touch up. All the gutters came out good. Will get it trimmed up tomorrow and test fit. I will put it aside and finish bonding in the transom.

Just need to finish up the bilge before I can bond it down

The trimmed deck fit great Transom will go in this weekend

Test fit

BT welding did mine with a hard top.

2” Coosa is bonded in. I want the bracket as low to the water as possible. What is my best option for trim tabs? Tabman usually recommends 12”x12”. But I’m worried about the actuators interfering with the bracket

Making good progress even with your storm damaged house in the Keys..

I see you plan on using an Armstrong Bracket. You may have to cut holes
for the rams like we had to do on junior's 23 Sceptre with a Hermco !

Attachment 17429

Attachment 17430

Kraken, go with the 12 x 12 Bennett Bolt tabs. The actuator mounts at the back end of the tab (notice in NoBones' picture the actuator mounts in the middle of the tab) and the top of the actuator is 9.5" up the 13 degree transom (I'll double check that number today). That's about as low as you can go. It looks like the top mounting edge of my brother's bracket will be 26" up from the keel with no notches cut. For reference my 12" wide X 8" deep Bennett tabs the actuator is 13.5" up the transom. I'll have him post some pictures on his re-build thread.

I have Bennett's short ram and notched the flange a little.

I did double check and the Bolts are 9 3/4" up the transom. As I mentioned if you lay a 2" board across the top of the upper actuator brackets it's 26" from the bottom of the boat. The aluminum brackets, such as the Armstrong, have a different platform height than the Hermco pictured. Good luck.

Check out the Bennett Bolt edge mount tabs. The upper actuator mount is only 6.39” up the transom versus 13” with the standard tabs

Actually Corey that measurement is against a 90 degree transom angle. Our 13 degree SeaCrafts move it up to 9 1/2" to 9 3/4". It's one of those tricky things ya gotta look out for. Check with Tom at Bennett, he can confirm. I saw the same drawing you saw in their ad/brochure, however not a lot of 90 degree transoms out there. Plus the more negative trim you use during install makes it even higher. They recommend 5/8", we did 1/2" and it looks fine.

Hate to do this, or admit this, however there is a thread on THT where Tom confirms this. 9 1/2" is 4" below my original Bennetts.