25 seafari conversion to CC
 

I lucked into a 25 seafari for the right price to do a rebuild conversion. I know this is a debated hull for conversions and input is welcome, but she will be a CC.

I suggest looking at the cg calculator. This hull likes weight forward. I was set I mean DEAD SET on OB conversion. The cg calculator and others convinced me it was not a good idea to get the performance I wanted. I never considered a cc here. They are really discouraged here. Somebody turned my boat into an ob. It had drain plugs everywhere. I figured out later water must have come in drains and caused lots of rot.

I miss the deck space already but I decided to embrace the design. Flexpat, cdavisb, and strick (who’s a 25 hater ;) are experts on this hull. I’d start with flexpat and talk theory with him. Chuck, terry, and no bones are quite knowledgeable too. Those guys have actually discussed the design with the creator. They are a wealth of knowledge.

Flexpat and I decided on LS swaps. I started my LS before Volvo embraced it. I’m too far in to go back now. But he’s got plans on his current project to do much what I am but on a 23 using vp’s setup and I’m doing a bravo 3.

I appreciate the input! My father has a Bertram 20 with a volva penta duo prop engine and it runs great, but he spends more time on maintenance than he does boating. There is absolutely not a sliver of a chance that this boat is getting any kind of inboard engine.

Outboard plus CC conversion will, for certain, create huge cg problems in that hull(I owned one). You will need a LOT of weight forward, pig iron, fuel tanks, batteries, fish boxes that will have to be kept full, whatever. Study up on cg and do the best calculation you can.

Yes!!! There's a reason Potter never produced a 25' CC. He told me one day " We just couldn't get it right"
You better think this conversion idea thoroughly..

Just a suggestion:

The hull has such a good ride that you can put the steering station and console(and weight) much farther forward than a normal CC. The Seafari helm seat is in the middle of the boat. You could go a little farther forward than that.

If it still is very stern heavy, think very large tabs, custom fitted to the hull steps. Its been done at least twice and is surprisingly effective.

25 Hater 😆

Y’all are so pessimistic about CCs lol she’s going to turn out great

Good luck with it. If you can do it, it will be a first.

Be sure and read the threads on hull repairs. There were not enough bulkheads in the original build and that led to problems you can avoid.

Good luck with your project, post some pics and let us know how it goes. There's a 25' conversion project that's a bit ahead of you on THT for reference.

This hull responds well to trim tabs, absolutely necessary. Recommend zip wake interceptors if your budget can allow them.

wgscott329

Thanks for posting your project here on CSC. Looks like you are well on your way....If it turns out anything like that beautiful 23 you re did it will be a success. Not sure if you have ever had the pleasure of driving the 25 yet?

cdavisdb (Conner) has the most experience of us all with the 25... he had one for years and made several Bahamas trips. It's a great ride in a head sea as are all seacrafts. The 25 will turn into a sharp bank like a F16 fighter jet. It's a little unnerving the first time you try it but don't worry it will not flip over... you could almost reach out and touch the water if you have long arms. I had a 25 with a 350 duo prop. The thing I did not like about the boat is that it is very sensitive once on plane. just having people moving about on the boat is enough to change the attitude while at speed and you may reach for the trim tabs. It was suggested above that auto trim tabs would be a good idea. We are very much looking forward to this project as it's not been done before here. There was a 25 center console up in the North east Bigshrimpin may remember it better then I do and have some input...Thanks for posting If you load your pic to a desk top they should load up right otherwise I can flip them over for you..

strick

Y'all want me to include the 23 rebuild here or have another thread for it? Just getting around to fixing the cracked keel on the 23. Next is stringers.

Thanks for the compliment Strick! I hope it turns out as good as the first 23, I think it may even turn out better! Got the new transom for the 25 cut out and almost ready to be installed. Cool pic of the of the 25 transom cutout overlayed on the 23 transom.

I remember the 25 CC conversion that was on the Cape, well Bourne I believe (not intending to start a debate about what is and is not "the Cape"). Seemed to be fairly dialed in but my memory is fading so maybe Bigshrimpin can chime in with a recollection. The auto tabs also seem like a great retrofit to deal with the significant dead rise. I've wondered how twin 200's, transom mounted but spaced fairly far apart, would do? Less tender at slow speeds and on plane?

Post away...interested about the cracked Keel...did you have the original wood keel still in the boat? freezing temps have been blamed for expanding and contacting of the water logged wood keel in the past.

strick

My understanding is that the reason it didn’t behave right is that Moesly intended for it to be built with the ballast system he had designed (and patented!).

https://moeslyseacraft.weebly.com/up...st-3503358.pdf

But Potter never built it with the ballast system! The comments regarding the 25’s sensitivity to CG location and trim tab use imply that a ballast system might very well have helped alleviate some of the reported handling problems. And the additional bulkheads required for ballast tanks might have also provided additional stiffness to the the hull!

Perhaps adding some rubber bladder tanks under the deck which can be filled and drained without the use of vents would allow you to adjust the CG location on this hull while underway like Carl Moesly intended!

Get post Denny!
This dead rise on the 25' will never be a good planning type hull.. I would like to hear more from Connor he is experienced. As is, without that forward weight , traveling in a heavy following sea, or entering an inlet with a incoming tide, would be nightmare. Getting from Point A to Ponit B would require a ZigZag course....

Richie Carvalho owned this 25 and before Big Fluke.

https://www.chapmanfuneral.com/obitu...?obId=20630303

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...e_Carvalho.jpg
http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...7/IMG_1361.jpg
http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...9&d=1489063563

From BigFluke:

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/...e_Carvalho.jpg

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...t=20269&page=4

I floated my 25 without power a few times (and broke Strick's 25 once) . . . The hull definitely NEEDS weight. Strick scared the Sh#t out of me the first time he banked the boat at speed.

I've been told the hull needs weight (down low) to sit right in the water and not just weight forward. I got to discuss the 25 hull with a former Navatek employee that worked on the 25 project for 4 years. He lives in MA now (his wife still works for my employer). He wrote Matlab code for measuring the ride in quantifiable numbers, put thousands of hours on the hulls and talked in depth about the different configurations at Navatek.

"adequate stern weight" was something he mentioned . . . Steven Loui also used those words in a post.

"With the big block sterndrive giving it adequate stern weight, it runs much better than the other two SeaCraft 25s I have that were originally rigged with a smal block sterndrive and the other that I retrofitted with a single large outboard on a porta-bracket"

Connor and other owners might be able to shed light on their configurations.

I'm pretty sure you don't need long arms :) That ride was eye opening. Do you still have pics on where you reinforced the hull in the front? I seem to remember someone cracked their hull by front stringer or bulkhead

Thank you! I had seen the add before BigFluke purchased it. This version with bow fish box filled with ice for weight and the sterndrive seemed the best compromise. Cap looks well integrated also. Hope this ones turns out great. Super project.

This is the second cracked keel I have fixed, and I’ve seen a few others with a nearly identical crack. It seems the 23 has a hard spot in the keel, forward of the center wooden stringer, before the bow eye. I basically grind a ton away on the inside, lay a bunch of glass on the inside, and then grind back to my fresh glass from the outside to eliminate all the bad spots. Easy fix if the boat is fully apart. I’m not a fan of the wooden center stringers, so they have been removed from both 23s and the 25. The 25 will only retain 2 of its original 7 stringers by the time I’m done.

Banking like a jet fighter is fun once you get used to it. The hull will actually spin if you go over far enough. Experiment with it and you discover that you are still in complete control. Odd but true. Warning your passengers is a good idea. I did have to play with the tabs if people moved around. You get used to it.

My configuration was was pretty good, small block duoprop was much lighter than the original twins and balanced the lack of ballast tank fine. The boat handled fabulous as is. It was even better with lots of weight added forward. When going on a long trip, with the forward hold full of water and as much weight forward as possible, it rode even better, bow down slightly and somehow seemed more stable. Not sure how to quantify that, just a feeling.

As I ran it, it was the most seaworthy hull I ever experienced. It didn't matter the conditions the hull felt rock solid, big, short following seas, tropical storm conditions on the beam, anything I ever experienced, A look around might scare the sh#t out of me, but the boat never felt like it was anything more than a walk in the park.

Screw with the cg too much and it might feel like a different boat.

I bet it drives just like my dads Bertram 20. You can nearly dip a rail turning in that boat.

started on stringer repair on the 23, they were both blown out at the bottom and need lots of love, also got the 23 transom tabbed in, old through-hull holes patched up, and 25 transom cut and glassed on both sides, quick sand and its ready to go in the boat

stringers on the 23 have been getting some love and are almost ready for new foam, transom of the 25 is ready to be installed hopefully by the end of the coming weekend

Are you planning on building the grid stringers like your other 23? Coring the sides?

This one will have a partial grid to allow for some deck hatches port and starboard in the rear, but I'll be keeping a good portion of the original stringers towards the front of the boat. The 25 is getting a full grid with lots of hatches.

I’ve ridden in Connor’s 25 in 5-6’ swells. Very soft ride, and like all Moesly designs with original-type power, it would plane at relatively low speed, like about 12 mph!!