Life after a SeaCraft ?
 

Thinking of selling my girl - a '75 23' Tsunami. Been 16 years since my resto. She runs great and is perfect. It's the natural progression - wanting something different for the sake of something different.

My question - what 24'-26' boat rides as good as or better than our beloved SC. I know I speak blasphemy but there are other boats - I'm looking for either a cuddy like my Tsunami or a CC

It is hard to even consider this move asI brag about my boat all the time and really have no boat envy. And, its not written in stone but I'm dabbling... I'm not that much of a speed demon, cruising usually at 26mph but I do like a boat that runs in everything from a short 2'3' chop to larger swells, and in all sea states. It must be built like a brick sh*t house. Not rock when fishing. Be dry. Fuel efficient as possible for a deep V or variable deadrise... For coastal fishing but mostly beaching and getting from point A to B. Sounds like the Holy Grail !

Boats I like:

245 Edgewater
26 Regulator

Have thought of Rambo, Conch, White and Bluewater, Competition, SeaVee, Contender, Carolina Classic ( too much of a fishing machine ). Boats like Whaler, Parker just do not have the ride I've become accustomed to. I love the Carolina Classic 25 but its a lot of boat and really for further offshore fishing than I do. If a 26' Fortier was faster....

Also, many of the boats mentioned are too $$$, have limitations or less than desirable attributes...

Thoughts ? I know I know... blasphemy...

Please - At this point, don't ask about the sale of my boat - if and when I sell her, I will put her up for sale here giving enthusiasts first crack..

Thanks for your thoughtful input...

I was thinking 26 regulator in my mind when I read this but I see you have that listed. Get ready to shell out twice what they were used a decade ago. Ive been watching the market on them for a while and they have gone up a lot but so has everything in 23' foot plus. I seen a rare regulator express the other day that was a cool sled. It would be more "Dry" as any CC may leave you a little wet but that is what wings are for I guess. Good luck on you journey. Im still but hurt over loosing a 1996 26 FS with twin 225 mercs for 12k that needed some tlc even 10 years latter. Just wasn't fast enough on the draw. I was next in line and the other person ahead of me purchased it and relisted it for 30k a week latter. You wont find a bare hull for 30k now.

Add 3' and look at the 29' Blackfin Combi

Just my .02 cents as a boatyard guy on Cape Cod.

The 26 Regulator is WAY better built than the Edgewater. No contest.
I also think they ride better.

And the Regulator Express (one of our customers has one) rides horrible.
The weight distribution is all wrong. Wallows, and feels unstable (probably why they only made them for a short time.)

Good to know... Ive never been on a Regulator Express but do know there were not many built. Like you mentioned that may be why along with not being as popular as the cc.


I used to know a guy that did work for regulator years ago before passing and he told me the fit and finish fell off some in the 2000s. But after talking to a few people who have toured the shop in the last in the last few years they have said regulator has been putting more efforts into that these days and the boats have been updated well. Im sure its like any boat builder, there are good years and better years to own but most people that buy the 26 seem to like them and keep them or upgrade after a few years to 32s.

This is real easy....
Find a 27 SeaCraft...
They are out there !!

Thx guys. 26’ Regulator has always been a dream boat for me.. never wanted twin engines ( 2x maintenance etc ). And, a decent used one is $70-80k. Many friends have them but they were into the 80 mile run to get to the Tuna grounds - that’s died off a lot. Now they use em to just get around. The express has a cruddy cabin layout and although it’s a regulator and less $ - never did it for me. Good to know about the poor ride.

Looking for a boat I’ll keep for the next 15 years or so. By then, I’ll be in a much different phase of life... I’ve had great boats my whole life - from my 1st 1960’s, 17’ Montauk as a kid to my current SC (which is by far the best riding boat I’ve owned )...

As others have said, it's going to be hard to replace the SC. I know McKee Craft made a 24' deep V cuddy in the mid/late 2000's but I've only seen one for sale years ago. Contender made a few 25' express boats with a bracket and you could always convert or find a 25 Blackfin express with a bracket? And I've always thought the Contender 31' fish around would be a great upgrade in ride from the 23 SC and then a 26' Regulator.
Those 27' Blackfin fisharounds with outboards look amazing and have a great reputation if you can find one. Will you be trailering or slipping?

When you have space your friends figure out a way to sneak in ! :rolleyes:
2017 34 Regulator on the hard in front of my shop at 442 ...:eek:

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If that is not bad enough, my buddy has his 23 Contender getting a paint job and wrap inside my shop..:(

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Sooner or later my Seafari will be back in getting wrapped up..

27 SeaCraft is what I'd look for first but what about putting a bracket on a 25 or 26 Bertram? It would be a project but you could get exactly what you want.

26 Jupiter.
As far as Contenders....A friend has a new 29 with twin 300s. Other than being super fast, he likes the room and ride on mine better as he can’t run it any faster in a 2’ Gulf head sea.

Funny you say that, someone looking a bigger boat going from a 23 SC would probably be very happy with a 27. Unless you wanted all the new shinny bells and whistles the new stuff has to offer.
After getting the 27 I have stopped looking at mid sized hulls as much... Now to find the time to do something with it.





If you could find a nice 86,87 year 27 CC that was in good shape you couldn't go wrong. It would save you a lot of coin and put you in a lot bigger hull than your 23. Set it up with newer twins and build it the way you want it and still be in for half of the cost for a used Regulator 26.

Calling Todd’s Lures! Doesn’t he still have that 27?

I had never heard that the 26 Reg Express was a crappy ride...good to know.

Boats that I may look at after next year without kids at home:
27 Blackfin Fisharound
27 SeaCraft
29 Blackfin Flybridge and Combi
35 Contender Side Console

You are so ruined.

I’ll never get rid of this seafari 25. I’d love to get a master angler 27 but I’m sure none in Hawaii. I’m sure I couldn’t afford any of these but if seacraft didn’t exist this would be what I’m looking at.

Sportfisher like Viking, Jupiter, Paul Mann custom
Bertram
Yellowfin
Seavee
Contender
Maybe the right whaler like an outrage 330

We have three Blackfins at our boatyard we take care of. A 38, a 32, and a 29.
They all ride phenomenally.
I don't know what kind of black magic they put into their hulls, but they definitely are one of the best riding boats I've ever run.

One of those is nothing like the others haha!

Cool! Their forum has very good information. The 29 Combi outboard runs very differently, but still quite well - 47mph. I've talked with the owner of 2 29's - a Combi with twin 300 Etec G2's and other 29 Flybridge with the standard inboards.




Sandy-I'm very ruined...…….Ansley may be mostly online for her senior year at Manatee High. So, opening the 2nd office over there in PBC will ruin me even more with that offshore so close while spending a week or two there each month. The 18SF is at Loggerhead marina in Jupiter inside on a dry rack just sitting there! Ready to go fishing??

The 35 Contender is a Cary splash and not a great ride even loaded down. They are popular right now to rebuild as 3 people I know personally have restored them. They are ok at best ride wise but have lots of room. Much better hulls out there in that size class that would run circles around them in seas.

If I was to take on another project build it would likely be either a 30+ Baha, a 32' Tempest or a 31 Fountain. All very affordable but likely require full, deck off rebuilds.

Moose-Not a fan, huh? Dave Pascoe reviewed the Blackfin version of the Cary 33 below. He loved the boat. He uses the phrase “knife through butter” and goes on to say “It's got that certain same "something" as old Bertrams and SeaCrafts do, and which is why we find so many of them being restored.”

Here is the Pascoe report:
https://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/blackfin_33.htm

Contender bought the mold from Blackfin who got it from Cary. It was popular for quite a while.... 1990-2014 as a Contender. Have you been on the custom pilot house 35 Contender, the one that was your diving buds? What was your take on the down side to the ride? Did the pilot house modification accentuate the 24.5 degrees deadrise roll at anchor? I have heard that the hull CG changes a bit when the 300 plus gallon tanks are low since the hull was originally built for inboards. I have never heard that the ride was bad.

Bigshrimpin posted a great article on the hull truth about Cary and Aronow a while back.

Hey Snookerd, I know a guy who has a Contender 35 side console, and have been out on it a couple of times. My observations, compared to a SC 23. 1. It's a big boat - wide and long, and trailering would be much more of an ordeal. He wet slips his. 2. It handled 2-3' choppy stuff with ease, cruising around 30. 3. Interesting layout, the guy and his GF use it a lot, weekending, 3-4 day cruises in the Exumas, snorkeling and just getting away from civilization. Has a gen and AC. 5. He stepped down from a larger sporty, and absolutely loves it. 5. It felt & seemed pretty solid. Good luck!

Bmaj-Nice! Thanks for the information.....Unplugging from the world is the thought and the Exumas are high on the list. The 35 seemed to be the better offshore boat with gen, a/c, ect. vs. the WA/Cuddy Intrepids. Not a good boat drifting in a sea though.

I spent quite a bit of time on Dan’s and we both shared the same opinion that the hull for its size delivered quite a beating in head and quartering seas. While Dan did lighten it up considerably during the build, the commercial load more than compensated for the loss. I think the boats overall width all the way to the bow created too much lift into seas. This was exaggerated due to wide outer lifting stakes that went all the way to the bow. While the boat has good deadrise inside of the strokes the overall deadrise thru the length of the hull was not enough to allow the bow to “cut” thru the wave. Compare the hull to a 25 SeaCraft with forward deadrise like a knife. This is what the 35 contender lacks. IMHO the 32 Contender rides considerably better than the 35.

Below is a comparison of the contender and his current Tempest hull.

30+ too big for my needs.

Economics are a variable too. If $ were not an issue... I'd own an Everglades. Or, a Downeaster with a diesel.
I have restored a few boats and I really would love to put that type of work behind me. The reason I did my SC is that I wanted a boat I couldn't afford - so, I made one -- with the baseline of a solid SC hull - with the finished product, a fraction of the price ( and A LOT! of sweat equity )

25 Bertram was always an idea - love the hull, but I've heard it does not ride as well as the SC, it can pound, rolls and rocks while at drift.

25' Contender - porpoises a lot - heard the 21' is THE Contender.

And, it's a tough market for buyers ! Not a lot of stock out there. Everyone want to sell their boat for the highest premium.

I'm keeping my ears open... Needless to say, the 23 SC is a tough act to follow ( like having The Stones open up for you at a concert ! )...