[peterb]

Dave,

People on this web site sem to have a particlar fondness for the Potter (70's era) boat. I have also heard good things about the next group (CSY?) that bought SeaCraft in the late 1970's. After them it is anybody's guess.

FYI, I bought a 1978 23 CC SeaCraft w/twin 150 1998 Yamaha's from a guy in Cape May last winter.

The things to check for in these boats are the shape of the deck and transom, as well as the engines. I guess that I would call these the big three. You will also want to check the steering (repalcing a 25 to 30 year old steering system can run into some money).

FYI, Finster who belongs to this web site and lives right now the street from you did have a 1970's vintage 23 footer for sale w/a twin engine bracket. It seemed to be well priced.

Also, i feel that the best time to buy a boat in NJ is between now and December. This is because people are looking at dumping their boats at the end of the season.

Have you ever ridden on an old SeaCraft? What kind of boat do you have now? I went from a 21 foot Hydra-Sport to my SeaCraft. I was shocked the first time I took out the SeaCraft. It has an awesome ride. case in point, one day in August I went out of Barnegat Inlet in about a 25 MPH North wind. The seas were steep 3 to 5 footers. I would have turned aorunfd in my old boat. In the Seacraft I went about 25 MPH for 10 miles up to Seaside. We were getting air between the waves, to the point where the props would be coming out of the water. Whenever we hit the water it was with a hard gush, not a hard thump. It ended up being the best day of the fluke season for us.

I will be down in your area during Thanksgiving week fishing out of Barnegat Light. If you have never been on a Seacraft and want to check one out, just let me know. We will be Black fishing, as well as chasing migrating bass.

Peter