[Bushwacker]

I second Connor's advice! You should come to one of our gatherings and see some of these boats up close and personal! If you'll only have 2 folks on board, a 23 is overkill! The Seafari 20 is more than adequate and would be much easier for a beginner to handle. They also seem to be cheaper in the used market than the CC models; most folks evidently just want to fish and don't appreciate the Seafari's versatility. Without the Sceptre's walk thru windshield, it's a little harder to get on the front deck for anchoring and docking, but you just need to have permanently rigged bow lines running back to cockpit, a good deck pipe to the rope locker and anchor chocked on deck or in a roller bracket to easily address those issues.

The 23 is a much bigger heavier boat, harder to handle and tow, requires a bigger thirstier motor and tandem axle trailer, etc. Figure a max towed weight of 4000 lbs for the 20 vs. 6000+ for the 23. I easily tow my Seafari on a single axle trailer (with brakes) with a mid-size pickup. With a 23, the tandem trailer has twice as many wheels, bearings, tires and springs to cause problems, is harder to maneuver, and you'll need at least a 1/2 ton pick-up to tow it, possibly with 4WD on bad ramps.

The Seafari has a 10' long cockpit, so plenty of room for dive gear for 2 guys. It also has a bigger better ventilated cabin than the Sceptre, with 6 1/2' long bunks vs 6' in the Sceptre. The 72 & earlier models have a big step down in the cockpit which is a handy place to put a 70 qt cooler when it's rough to get some weight forward to improve the ride. The later models have a small step down and a bigger gas tank. As Fr. Frank will tell you, it's incredibly seaworthy for a 20' boat. Getting the CG right is key for a good ride. If you balance it right, you can plane at 12-13 mph and ride through 3-4' seas very comfortable, sitting down! I ran mine 160 nm to the Abaco's a half dozen times back in the late 70's/early 80's with a light simple 115 Evinrude with no problems. I made one 60 nm trip back across the gulf stream from West End in seas up to 6-8' in 4 hrs, a 15 kt average. Fr. Frank has had his Seafari out in much rougher stuff than that. Have made some nice long trips around the state in mine the last couple of years, so search my posts (click on my username and then on "Show all users posts") and you'll see what can be done with this amazingly versatile boat! If you want more info on the Seafari, PM me with an e-mail address & I can send you some pdf files of old factory brochures I scanned. Denny