23 Sceptre vs 23 CC ride delivery

[BARNABY55]

Well Spoken John,
Plus the gear failure and lines on the leg of the I/O

BTW. What did you catch the other day?

[JohnB]

Scott,
Seatow came out and got us. By the time we got back to the dock 2.5 hours later, NOAA had posted small craft advisories. We were on our way back to the dock. SeaCrafts are great boats, but none of them are much good when not under power and at the mercy of the waves.
First time I have ever had to get towed in.

[JohnB]

BARNABY55,
Slow day the other day,
Managed a couple of dolphin to 12 pounds, a king, some bonitas, and a couple of sharks.
Nice day on the water though. It beat sitting in the office, and we were back at the dock by 2 PM before the storms. Bad storm day late in the afternoon.

[ScottM]

Jon G,
I wondered about the ride of a 23 CC I/O and a couple of weeks had the chance to take a ride, well sort of. My buddy has a 24 Silverhawk with a 300hp MerCruiser, and boy does it ride nice. The combination of being further back in the boat and the extra weight of the V8 really helps to smooth things out. I can only guess the SC rides the same way in an I/O config.

And you have that right, Cape Cod is the SC capital of New England. That's where I'll be looking when it's time for me to get my own. A few weeks ago while fishing out of Stage Harbor we passed a 23 CC I/O with a doghouse - sweet setup! He had 4 130's in the rod holders, you know what that means.

[Miles Offshore]

Thats funny, because there are probably I think more i/o's around here than anything else.Stating to see more o/b's but mostly on the newer boats, I use to fish offshore here alot from one and know a lot of folks that do.(canyons are 65 n miles off the beach)The only time I have seen seal failures are usually when left in the water sitting at a pier. Sea turtles are usually the main culprit but your occassional pallet also finds its way under your boat.Not saying that it couldnt happen but I think the chances are very low, and if it does you are going to be in pretty much the same type of trouble either way(except for the big hole).

[Runco]

I think your chances of taking a big drink over the transom in an OB and getting in trouble is more apt to happen than having a seal go on an IO.
Never heard of a boat sinking from losing a seal.Usually it would just leak,you have to pay attention to any build up of water in the bilge.

[MarkR]

Great Discussion

I guess with a '75 Sceptre inboard I have the best of all worlds, ride, transom and no big hole. I guess the worst cast is the prop shaft or rudder shaft leaving the boat, what are the chances?

The ride thing is subjective but I'd bet a CC inboard would win. Let's face it, these boats do better than most, that's why we're here.

[barnacle]

Newer I/O's are not like the older ones at all. If you have a pre 1986 OMC I/O then yes the boat could sink with that style seal set up. Anything newer if the bellow goes it will not sink the boat. THe water has to pass thru such small areas to enter the boat. Will it leak in fast yes but your bilge pump will keep up with it. If you purchase anything newer then a 1998 maintain it like you should, they are very trouble free. Me im a outboard man but many people love there I/Os. Many I/O's the boat owner can do alot of there own work to them even the newer EFI systems. THe boat owner and even you back door techs can not work on the newer DI's and 4 strokes out there. Outboards are getting so advanaced they should put a lock on the cover to keep the owners hands out of it.

[Lars Koster]

I have a 76 23'Sceptre with a 225 Ficht on the transom. This past weekend I was headed offshore out of Freeport Texas and my EMM cratered 5nm off the jetty. Resulted in a tow from Boat Us, luckily I had insurance and was not 50nm offshore.
It openeded me up to a whole new perspective of feeling helpless when the computer fails, there is nothing you can do. My motor only has 190 hrs and is in excellent condition. DFI is the vendor for Evinrude and it's going to be $700+ in parts only to fix it.
Anyone know of issues with EMM failures on any brand outboard? I need to learn more about why.
Be careful out there and always carry your sea anchor (drift sock) to cut down on the wave action when drifting.

[Lars Koster]

For this post I meant to add...
Friday I fished offshore on a buddy's 01 23' CC with a 225 Optimax in 3 foot seas. The boat is cherry and rides very well with a crew of 3 and all the gear. It does ride different than my 23 Sceptre, even with trim tabs. Obviously my old Sceptre is heavier, especially in the nose so the ride is different and it's noticed on the rentry by the amount of spray curling back over the cowling. I think the hulls are the same and with trim tabs you can push the nose down but can't compensate for the nose weight.
I did like the open bow of the CC and truthfully have always been a CC guy. Both boats have their pros and cons but both also catch fish which is what counts.