Could be a new owner..
 

Hi everyone.

So cutting to the chase.

I recently ran across an Answer 21 cuddy cabin. He is coming to deliver the boat tomorrow and perform a sea trial. After doing some serious research i found out that Answer bought out the Sea Craft mold after they disbanded. So essentially i am thinking about buying a Sea Craft 20 Cuddy. Forgive me if this is blasphemy. But i need a little info on the boat. I know it has a soft spot over the gas tank hatch. Easy fix in my experience. But what other things should i look for in this boat? Also, why and how did the Answer Marine Corp mold go from 20 to 21? Did they count the swim platform? Any info would be great. Thanks so much!

Re: Could be a new owner..
 

Its not a Seacraft. They do look similar on the topside however, the hull bottom is different. Answer never used a Seacraft mold. Thats not to say its not a nice little boat, but it is not related in anyway to Seacraft

Re: Could be a new owner..
 

Is the dead rise different? Hard to believe that they would have so many similarities but be of different molds. Almost like Answer Marine stole the design. The dead rise is what sold me on the boat. Heard nothing but good things about Answer and Sea Craft.

I was just back reading on an article and it looks like Answer Marine bought out the Continental Marine molds, not the Sea Craft. Sorry. Bad info on my part. Thanks though.

Re: Could be a new owner..
 

Notice there is a major difference in the number of lifting surfaces and vertical chines on the Answer Marine boat. It has only two lifting/planing surfaces per hull side, compared to the Seacraft's three.

The Answer 21 cuddy is not a copy of the SeaCraft Seafari 20', but rather the reintroduction of the Continental/Barcone 21' cuddy.

Answer bought the molds for the Continental/Barcone 21 cuddy cabin (actually 20'6"), whose hull cap was, in fact, a pop-off of the Seafari 20' (19'8")that had the required 3 major alterations to avoid patent infringment: cabin access hatch, dashboard and helm station, and aft bulkheads for the cabin. They used the same hull molds to make the Answer 21 center console which was used by so many law enforcement agencies in the SE United States from about '84 to '90 or so. They tried shortening the 21' to a 17' center console for Florida Game and Fish Commission (now called Fish & Wildlife Commission), but excessive hull rocker made it porpoise easily without perfect trim.

Interestingly enough, Answer Marine is the company that bought out SeaBird back in the mid-70's. As I recall, they went out of business in the mid 90's after losing their very lucrative boat contract with the state of Florida to Mako Marine in '89 or '90.

Re: Could be a new owner..
 

Thank you for clarifying that for me Frank. That was a great breakdown. So i guess the Answer wont ride as well as the Seacraft but i will still give her a go. Heard good things about her. Thanks again.

Re: Could be a new owner..
 

Answer Marine made a very good boat. The hull design is inspired by the SeaCraft hull, but with 1/3 less steps. It still rides pretty well.