New 21' Seacraft info

[planenutz]

I am looking to downsize from a Albemarle 247 Express to a new 21' SC. Any information on this boat would be very helpful. Has anyone had any customer service problems recently, and/or any quality issues in the new 21's. personnally have not been able to find any problems in the 21's I have looked at, but I keep reading a lot of horror stories about Tracker Marine & Bass Pro Shops

[Mark]

I've fished off the new 21's and they seem like a great boat. Just yesterday I saw a new 21' being used by the U.S. Coast Guard here in Florida. I'm not sure about customer service issues though.

[ScottM]

I've been on one 21' ('97 or '98 w/200 Merc OptiMax) for only for a short ride, and it's a really nice boat. Much more boat than the 20', but not much less than the 23' if you know what I mean. It's almost as if SC took the 23' hull and chopped 2.5' feet off the back. Even though it's only 11" longer than the 20' (19'6" vs. 20'5"), it's a lot heavier (1600# vs 2500#) and rides better. To me it's the perfect compromise between a 20' and a 23'.

[Scott]

There is a member here who has one (I'm sure more than one) and Scott is right about it looking like a chopped down 23...
I know Jack "Pair of Jacks" really likes his boat ... You look at it quick and you think its a 23!! Great looking boat !!!

[joey]

I bought one new in 98' and fished it pretty hard for 6 years and sold it for 5k less than I paid,not to shabby.However I've been kicking myself ever since,I loved that boat!Can't afford a new one now.

[bj]

I have a 2003 21 w/200 Merc Efi that I bought new 1 1/2 yrs ago. I agree with the above that it is more boat than the 20 and only slightly smaller than the 23. I have also had a 1977 23 Sceptre and a 1969 20' CC. Both of these were great boats. I love my 21' and plan on keeping it for a while. The only problems I have had with it is the paint on the hatch door frames in the lower transom are peeling and the tach doesn't work all the time. I had to purchase the boat from a dealer about 225 miles from me since he was the closest at the time. Since then a closer dealer has took on the line and that is where Seacraft told me to carry the boat to have these poroblems looked at. So far that is all they have done because I can't seem to get a straight answer out of the dealer. This has been going on for about 6-8 months. I have not pressed them since none of this is major but I plan to soon. Whether or not it is the dealer or Seacraft giving the run around I don't know. I suspect it is the dealer. I do know another 21' owner had these same paint problems and Seacraft paid him to have them repainted. As far as things I don't like about my boat , I don't like the fuel mileage with the EFI. Obviously this can be solved with a 4 Stroke or DFI. On an average trip fishing 15-20 miles offshore and slow trolling for kings I seem to always get around 2 mpg. I also don't like the storage up front for the anchor. The livewell works fairly good but any rainwater or spray makes its way in there and if you don't remember to pump it out you are carrying around an extra 200-250 lbs. The boat came set up perfectly from the factory and there are no handling or performance quirks like I hear so many new owners gripe about on other brands. Overall I love my boat and would do it all over again but it would be nice to buy from a local dealer. Sorry this was such a long post but maybe this will give you some help. Feel free to ask any more questions.

[planenutz]

bj, thanks for the reply, this is just the kind of info I am looking for! I haven't started talking seriously to any dealers because I want to sell my Albemarle first. I really like the 23' but I have to keep reminding myself that I am downsizing not just replacing!!! How does your 21' handle in rough water & does it have a tendancy to roll while drifting? Also what is your normal cruise speed on average? Do you have any other complaints or issues with the Optimax 200 EFI? Thanks. Ben

[pair of jacks]

I have a 2000 SC21 and really love it- BJ, your post is right on the mark on all counts- I had the same paint peeling problem on the transom doors, although my dealer did pay to have it repainted by my marina- at the time I bought my boat at the AC boatshow in 2001, the nearest dealer to me was 90 miles away in Wildwood NJ which was a major pain, although now there is a dealer in Pt. Pleasant which is about 2 miles away from me- the anchor storage access is also pretty bad, if you have to get at it in a hurry you have issues- you have to get down on your belly and reach in for it ! The livewell also does collect all rain runoff and you must pump it out before leaving the dock unless, as you say, you want to carry around a couple of hundred extra pounds- that being said, the boat is very fast and versatile- I can fish the shallows of the bay or head offshore- I have been caught out in some nasty stuff and the boat is excellent- overall, I am very pleased with it. Also, I noticed my leaning post footrest was cracked after I had the boat about 3 months- it obviously had some water in it and had froze at some point- SeaCraft did in fact ship a brand new leaning post to my dealer who drove up from Wildwood and installed it and even threw in a backrest for it ! SeaCraft also shipped me a supply of gelcoat and paint for the transom doors in case I wanted to make the repair myself (which I did not)before my marina did the repair. Overall, I can not complain either about my dealer, McKee Yacht or SeaCraft ! I recommend the Sc 21.

[bj]

I think the 21 handles the rough stuff very good. I have to trailer about 45 miles to fish and sometimes it is blowing a lot more than expected when I get there,so I have fished on some days when it was easily 4-5'. I fished in a king tourney when it was 5-7'. Needless to say it was no fun but the boat handled it fine. That day we tried the beach for 2-3 hrs.with no luck and decided to run off about 15 miles. Even with the very rough conditions we were able to run over 20 mph but we got wet. If you do decide on a 21' be sure to get the tabs. It makes a big difference You can put the nose down and run in a good chop without any pounding at all. I think it is one of the best riding 21's out there. I talked to a guy at a boat show who sea trialed a 21 Regulator and the 21 SC on the same day and he said the SC had a much better ride. He bought the 21 SC. I think the roll at drift is not bad for a deep vee. The variable deadrise helps with this. As for speed the top end is around 42-44 depending on load. The fastest per the gps has been about 45-46. I really don't know what my best cruise speed is but probably around 30-32. I usually run as fast as the conditions will allow and don't worry much about the mpg since as long as I don't run wide open and keep it below 5000 rpm the mpg is not all that different at various rpm's. I have the 200 EFI which is not the optimax. The optimax is Mercs direct fuel injection and I believe it would probably get at least 50-75% better gas mileage than mine.

[joey]

Boy,Now I remember why I had my 21 for 6 years.Just left the edge of the reef with it blowing 30 out of the NW in my bigger custom boat,it's a perfect fishing platform,but a beast in a head sea.So,Planenutz,I'd say go get yourself a 21 and enjoy her!