1977 23 Restoration
 

Well guys, this boat might be blasphemy for some you but it’s the most bad ass SeaCraft ever.

After 10 years of running my SeaCraft with a single 200 Yamaha, the transom was shot and fuel tank started leaking. My mechanic said time for a new boat. I went to share the terrible news with my wife and she said just have it rebuilt, I’m not getting beat up on some other boat. Bottom line is, we love this boat. I have been on hundreds of boats in my life and the 23 SeaCraft hands down is my favorite boat. The 23 just outperforms so many bigger boats.

So the 18 month journey began. I am the third owner of the boat with all of the original paperwork including sales receipt from 1977. $14,000 with twin 115 Mercs out the door LOL! I love the original potter hulls and did my best to keep the boat as original as possible. I kept the liner, ribs in the sides, hull vents and was dead set on the original bright lines on the floor. Only four original 1977 parts remain. The compass, console and two aluminum vent protectors in the bow. After some back and forth decided to keep it as it always was, yellow. Exterior is Federal Yellow and interior is Matterhorn white.

Enclosed the transom and kept the curve in the transom, raised the floor 4” in the bow to 2.5” in the stern. Armstrong full floatation bracket. No wood in the boat. 130 gallon fuel tank and 15 gallons of water. Fishbox behind the rocket launcher and bilge access. Anchor locker box in the bow cap. 50 gallon live well in the transom with a second live well plumbed to the box in front of the console. Center console is cored and glassed to the floor moved forward. Fuel tank is 130 gallons moved forward to compensate for the weight distribution. 15 gallons of fresh water behind the fuel tank. All of the pipe work was done by Birdsall Marine. Full Garmin electronics, set of new twin 200 Yamaha Four Strokes and all the other stuff.

Water tested today for 5 hours. Boat is just incredible. Still some items that need to be installed and touched up but very impressed the way the boat handled and sat in the water.
What a difference not having to deal with that splash well and looking at the bottom through the floor of your boat. Best of all, no wet feet with three guys in the cockpit! Love the bracket.

A big thank you to all of the folks on Classic SeaCraft. Such a great resource for the SeaCraft community. I definitely read a million posts on things before and during the restoration process!

Rear view

Looks fantastic! hope
you get many more years out of her.

Looks great, I have 72 23' banana boat as well. please share the performance once you get her dialed in. I have dual 150 yamaha 2005 F's. New 200's weight about the same those, I believe.

Thanks SeaChuck. Ran the boat yesterday with 3 guys, 40 gallons of gas and 5 gallons of water. I was able to get up to 3600 rpms. Boat ran 31mph with 11.6GPH burn and 2.7MPG. I did not even touch the trim tabs. What kind of numbers are you seeing with 150s? Weight was the same 150 vs 200 in 2020. IÂ’m running 19M - 13 3/4 three blade props. They seem to be the right fit but still need some hours to determine.

Thanks Tom123!

That boat will move right along with 400 ponies.. with the floor up 2.5" did you run the scuppers straight out the stern? how high do they sit with the twins? I have a 75 inboard 23 and I just picked up a 73 bare hull that I plan on turning into a outboard rocketship, like this must be myself. I just am worried about having enough height above the waterline with the scuppers going straight out the transom. The inboard has a custom transom livewell which I would love to add to the outboard but I'm almost certain a 30 gallon transom livewell and twins will be WAY TOO MUCH weight for a twin outboard bracket to compensate for..

The scuppers go out the transom. 7 3/4” bottom of the hull to bottom of the scupper. Had the glass bottom boat scuppers filled in. Keys really are distribution, raising the floor height and a massive floatation bracket. I know the Armstrong is expensive and people bitch about electrolysis but they have the best tub. Personally I also like the bracket to have a V versus a flat bottom again my preference. Lawrence has done a ton of SeaCrafts and knows his stuff. Not my first Armstrong, never had an issue. Do not waste your time with a project like this and a BS bracket. You will ruin the boat.

Next is the fuel tank. This is another area where people completely mess up. Tank should not be in the bilge. Kick that thing forward. I took about 12” out of the box in front of the console. My boat will sit better in the water once I load some things in the front of the boat and put 80-100 gallons in. Picture shown when I water tested literally had nothing in the console or forward hatches. Make sure to spend a few extra dollars and get some baffles in the tank to prevent sloshing. I also went with the thicker gauge aluminum. Coal tarred, foamed and glassed into the boat. Lastly nudge that console a bit forward. Will also help with weight. Batteries in the console above the waterline.

Good luck with your boat! They are show stoppers for sure.

Sorry don’t know how to add multiple pictures on a post. Here’s the scuppers from the inside. Connected with hoses to the scuppers.

very nice indeed - a rocket with a soft ride

Congrats! Would love to hear the numbers once you break her in. So, did you go with a level deck? Do you have pics of the bow?

as for my 150's, I don't know the stats, I have fished the boat many times with my buddy and recently purchased it from him. He was never concerned with stats , He used it for a Taxi cab to his house in Grand, Ba for many years and had it always fully loaded. He had the transom completed with Armstrong bracket , new 142 gallon tank moved all the way forward to the step . He always kept 6 gallons in the 5 gal bucket....these boats will handle the load.

I just removed the top and console and will be replacing the original floor. Hope to remove the top layer and core, add some aluminum plate for fastening top and console, and raise deck with Nidacore or like 2" higher. will report back on the stats hopefully in about 3 months......they do have the same props as yours. Plan to use for a couple years and repower with 200's down the road.

I have been lurking around this site for years and the yellow boat I have is actually a 2nd 23' 1973 boat with a single Armstrong, which I acquired about 2 years ago and completely gutted. Originally was the "Reel Smoker" from south Florida and Keys , I believe it's transom Armstrong conversion rebuild was on this site many years ago. I plan on getting the white boat, with dual 150's, useable , with not much time spent on cosmetics , and ready for use this spring. then starting the complete redo of the yellow one with my daughter and new husband.

Thanks everyone with sharing this wealth of knowledge, I got a lot of work to do

No I have kids and a wife who love the step up in the bow. We have cushions for the front. Recessed bow rail still needs to be installed.

Looks awesome Matt !!!
What bow rail are you putting on it ? And thanks so much for the one you gave me !!
I really appreciate it..........

Steve

i would love to see more pics!!! video even!

Hey Steve! Thank you! A long journey in the boat for sure. Hope all is well and glad to hear the hand rail went to a good home.

I got a new recessed hand rail from Birdsall. It’s more like the 2000s tracker model with the legs welded on. Just have not had the time to get the boat up there. I’ll post a picture once it’s installed.

Will do. The weather has been a bit cold for this Floridian over the past few weeks. Hope to get back on the water next weekend.

Weather was great yesterday and did about a 60 mile run. First two times cruising the ditch and this time was its maiden voyage in the ocean. Probably about a 2’ chop inshore. Boat performed very well. I was able open it up a bit and saw some really good numbers. Solid cruising speed was 3400-4000rpms which was basically 30-40mph. At 3400rpms boat ran 28.3mph,10.5gph and 2.7 miles per gallon. There was about 100 gallons of fuel onboard Punched it and we were in doing 56 mph in a hurry with plenty of throttle left. Wife told me to back off so didn’t get all the specs. I was also curious about the trim tabs and boat planning with the bracket and twins. I didn’t even need them at all when powering up. Overall things are looking real good. Very happy camper. Only issue I am having is learning how to use all these electronics. Man going from my old school SeaCraft to this is like another world. Definitely need to reach out to garmin and get someone to help me dial it in.

Rocket ship and "throttle to spare" sounds fun!! What props are you running?

Thanks Blackfin26, it’s definitely been enjoyable and a change of pace for sure! I’m running three blade Yamaha reliance props 19m x 13 3/4. They seem to be a good fit. Need to get some more hours on the boat to confirm.

Nice work. How far forward did you move the fuel tank. Can you tell me how far back from where the step would have been?

It’s about 28 inches back from the step up. I took about a foot out of the hatch in front of the console. Hope that helps.

I can help you with all the garmin stuff.

Thanks Kmoose. Looks like I got most of it. Let me get some more hours on the boat so I can ask you a few specific questions. Appreciate the help.

Quick update after about 20 hours and things are looking great. All the electronics are tuned in and working perfectly and just finished the initial break in with the Yamahas. Love the motors and amazing what these new transducers and electronics can do.

I am going to play around with the props a bit. Wide open with a light load it was running about 5500rpms at 56-57mph. My Yamaha dealer said they should be running about 6200rpms wide open with the same conditions. Probably going to try a set of 3 blade 17p vs the 3 blade 19p that I am currently running. I’m open to any suggestions. No issues at all currently with planning. Honestly don’t need more speed just want the correct props on the boat.

Overall I have always been a bracket guy for many reasons. Totally changes this boat with the space in the cockpit. My SeaCraft was the first cut out transom boat I had in decades and that splash well after 10 years was killing me. Definitely worth the investment in my opinion.

Most important topic is the weight distribution. After years of going on SeaCrafts and reading endless posts on people putting twins on these boats, I made sure to do whatever possible to shift the weight forward. I have seen some true abortions. Boat sits level in the water and I have no wet feet for the first time ever. Any SeaCraft owner will understand the significance of that. A bracket is not just a bracket. It’s flotation. Get the biggest tub you can find. I went with Armstrong for this reason. Some small odds and ends left to complete but thankfully that’s over! Definitely love the boat. If this wind ever slows down in South Florida it will be getting nice and bloody this summer!