1975 18' sf

[dave s]

Link to my rebuild thread on THT: http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-...contender.html

Pic of her back in water.

[Tashmoo2]

Dave,

I am doing rebuild on same hull as yours. Intersting to see the top of stringers cut and foam exposed the same as mine. I found water in the very bottom of mine all the way forward to bow.

The gap between the top of stringers and bottom of the deck was between 3/4" and 1". I dug out all the old foam and raised the top of stringer so there was about a 1/8" gap between the new deck. I debated raising the deck 2" to make it self bailing. I'm 6'2" and decided not to because my knees did not feel comfortable above the gunnell.

I am going to run my wires from the motor to console using the existing channel on the starboard side. I forgot to measure the location of the opening next to the fuel tank well.
Will you do me a big favor and measure the length of the opening and the distance for outside of transom to aft end of the opening

thank you

[dave s]

Originally Posted by Tashmoo2

I am going to run my wires from the motor to console using the existing channel on the starboard side. I forgot to measure the location of the opening next to the fuel tank well.
Will you do me a big favor and measure the length of the opening and the distance for outside of transom to aft end of the opening

thank you

The opening length is about 24", tapers slightly top to bottom.

The distance from the aft end of the rigging channel opening to the inside of my transom is 71", so if it was finished with 1.5" core and the inner and outer skins, it would be about 73".

[Old'sCool]

Very nice! One of my favorites.

[fishfullthinking]

Dave,

Very nice. I also fish out of Boca and maybe see your boar getting splashed soon. I keep thinking about getting re-finished 18 or 20 but have not come across one yet. I fish 17 mako and get totally beat up every time I go out. 18 is a beautiful boat. Good luck with your re-build.

Gene

[dave s]

Gene, this SeaCraft may not be ready for a few years; it's a learning experience for me, so I'm taking my time to build it as I want to.
If I was in a hurry to fish it, I'd just raise the transom cutout to 25", put it back together as much as original as possible, and rig an old motor.
I like to fish offshore for swords and deep drop, so I'm sometimes over 20 miles out and 30 miles from home, so I'm thinking of making it a small, economical, but capable boat.
Thinking of the closed transom, which then requires some bracket or extension, the raised deck for self bailing, and then more freeboard, and the open layout, with a lot of under deck storage. A newer four stroke motor for the economy would be nice.
My Contender is great, but is bigger than I need, since I usually fish solo, and with fuel prices now, it runs about $200 to fish offshore for the day. And I usually go out 2-3/week, so it adds up.

Here's a pic of a swordfish I caught solo on the 18' SeaHunt last week. If the weather is good, the boat is capable, but it has a flat bottom and is not really built for the offshore fishing I do. With any seas, it pounds and it can take 2 hours to get to the grounds, plus you're beaten up by the end if the day.
I'm hoping the 18SF will be better suited.

You're welcome to fish with me sometime; we'll fish the bigger boat, the 18' Sea Hunt vs. your 17' Mako!

[fishfullthinking]

Dave,

I am sure it will be a great boat when you are done. I will keep an eye for your sea hunt, Last week and I went out of Boynton and we got a big king close to 50lb. Looks like they added some rock piles to prevent erosion and there is plenty of bait on those rocks. Keep posting your progress.





Gene

[Tashmoo2]

Dave,

My 1st Seacraft was 23 ft and we fished it up to 50 miles off shore. The 18 ft boat has that same Seacraft feel in a head and following sea. I am really impressed with it, especially when you consider when it was designed.

Thank you for the dimensiions.

Ed

[dginge]

Dave

I'm enamoured by your project. I own a 77 sf 18ft
Let me ask you, is there any wood in the stringers at all or just foam filled glassed in boxes? I know that the floor is wood sandwiched fiberglass and I learned the keelson Is wood cored. Thank you.
David

[dave s]

No wood in the foam filled stringers; only wood I found below decks, is the Kelson and some small pieces where the through hulls were.
The stringers were a well thought out design, considering it was over 40 years ago, when most boat builders put in wood and set it on it's edge.

I fished on the 18' SeaHunt offshore yesterday, and comparing it to the open layout on the SeaCraft, I will have a lot more room on deck.
And hopefully ride better in the slop too.

I've only ridden in my buddy's renovated 20' SF a few times, and it was highly modified with a fiberglass bracket and 150 Etec.
I remember it rode and fished well but was very wet; we fished in some sporty seas with that little boat.
I would have bought it but they raised the deck and cut the shearline, so there was little freeboard. And he had numerous major problems with the Etec.