Thread: 20 Seafari
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Old 02-14-2013, 07:32 PM
Bushwacker Bushwacker is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: N. Palm Beach, Fl.
Posts: 2,456
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NICE rig! Welcome to CSC! The original navy top on my '72 Seafari had a zippered opening above the helm so you could stand with the top up, shown in the picture below from a late 70's Bahamas trip. A good canvas shop could probably add one if yours doesn't have it. The Weblon material in that original top is tough stuff and it lasted for years. It doesn't stretch like Sunbrella and it's watertight, although you may have to seal the seams occasionally. I also added a sun top to shade the back half of the boat when anchored. Can't have too much shade in the Bahamas or S. Fla. in the summer!

That anchor bracket is a real handy feature on a Seafari! Because of the limited bow access, I had my anchor chocked on the front deck for years, but with a roller bracket and a good hawse pipe, you can deploy and retrieve it much quicker! (Make sure the hawsepipe is centered over the anchor locker so the rope doesn't pile up on the flared part of the hull, and use about 20' of chain which also helps the anchor set quickly!) There are times, like trying to anchor over a good lobster hole, when getting the anchor down quick is a big deal!

You might want to check the bracket mounting to see if there is a backing plate under it, as it can generate huge vertical loads in the deck if you're anchored in rough seas! I epoxied a couple of layers of 3/16" plywood under the deck beneath the bracket and center cleat when I installed mine. I used a couple of thin layers so they would conform to the crown in the deck. Before installing them I installed some 1/2" plywood backing boards under the original bow cleats in the raised "toe rail" area. The bottom of the 1/2" boards were then flush with the rest of the underside of the deck, so I extended the large thin boards all the way out over those boards under the bow cleats. All holes through the cored part of the deck were drilled oversize, filled with thickened epoxy and then redrilled, to keep water out of the core. West Systems says you need 3 coats of epoxy on the plywood to waterproof it, but I used MAS epoxy because it's thinner. If you thin the first coat with about 10% with lacquer thinner, it'll soak into the wood a lot better. Here's a link to my photobucket album with some pictures of my installation. http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z...chor%20Roller/
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'72 SeaFari/150E-Tec/Hermco Bracket, owned since 1975.
http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z...Part2019-1.jpg
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