Scuppers

[Reel Smoker]

Fellowship,Thats what we did, fill in the old drains going thru the deck and went thru the transom,its twice the diameter now than it was before.It works great.If I had two persons on a corner of the boat I would have 4 inches of water at times.Now I can have William the "REFRIGERATOR "Perry on a corner not a drop comes in. Capt D.

[Scott]

Reel Smoker
Thank you for the information and welcome to the site....

At some point I would really like to hear some details around what you did and how you did it ... and better yet maybe a picture or two (I think I speak for several of us on that point). If you've been lurking around the boards in the past couple of weeks you'll see that this has been a topic on and off....Steve has shared his modification with us, not to mention some get pics, and I know I would like to see what you've done.....especially with the closed in transom.....that has come up more than once around here.

Would also like to hear of any other modifications you've made.....what year hull and motor do you have?? Etc…
Thanks again
Scott

[Reel Smoker]

Hello Scott,First i'd like to say hello to all Seacraft owners out there. Today I heard about this site and could'nt wait to check it out.I have a 1973 Seacraft center console powered by a 225 Evinrude which pushes it just fine but I'd like to hang a 250 in the future.I found this boat in someones back yard about 5 years ago,got it for 2500.00 with trailer and a blown 200 merc, I thought it was a great buy,not really knowing about these boat I did hear though that they were awesome. Ihave done a lot of changes since then,butlast year I took it to a guy in Stuart that really impressed me.The transom was very rotten so I figured It was time to get rid of the problems.Cut out the floor livewell and closed the transom.In the center Mike made me a livewell that works great intake on 1 side and overflow on the other.Mike the guy thatdid the work suggested when he replaces the transom to get rid of the 2 holes that drain the 2 side rear compartments to the rear,he said this was 1 of the reasons the transoms would eventually rot. He ran them out the sides thru the fiberglass, this was another of the many changes for the better that I was able to benefit from. Another was the scuppers like I said before they work great, this was what convinced me to take it to Stuart Florida.In the floor I wanted to use the old livewell area as a cooler so I asked Mike if he could build me an insulated compartment so I can use it as a fishbox.I works great also,,He put a pump underneath so I can pump out the water, no more going up on a plane to get rid of the water or using a bucket.Looking from the inside ,4 matching doors with access to the pumps. The Armstrong WIDE body bracket is the way to go being that it gives you excellent floatation,some folks were telling me that the boat was going to squat at the stern therefore drawing more water ,harder to get on plane. They were wrong,it now floats 1 and a half inches higher and get up on plane quicker and rides so much better. When I first took it for a spin it felt different,very different alot lighter and looser from the stern.It run charters usually four people and me and she runs great.Also as you can imagine the room that you'll gane by removing the old well and closing the transom is unreal,I can fish 3 persons at the rear now.I dont have a scanner to send you pictures but I have a friend that does ill have him send them to you and you can post them ,cause I have no idea how to do any of that.Hope this helps.I have only read a couple of comments on this site,Im going to read some more and maybe I can be of more help. Capt D.

[Scott]

Capt. D

Sounds like a real nice boat you have there!!!
As far as the scuppers go....Do you have any details of how your boat guy put those in for you(location of the new scupper...and the material he used to put it in) I would guess similar to what Steve did with his....

Brackets ... I've looked at that one also....One guy up here uses Stainless Marines bracket...and Trayder listed several other manufactures.....including the one Potter designed and built ...Seamark....That says alot when one of the original builders/owners makes a bracket for his old hulls!!

Cant wait to see some pics....

Thanks again
Scott

[Reel Smoker]

Scott, He put them right in line with the originals that went thru the hull .He cut out the bottom of a thru hull plastic fitting about 2 inches in diameter, That way it drains as much as possible when water runs towards the corners were the original drains were before. When he closed in the back he also did a channel so water can rum either to the port or starboard side.anyways he used a flex hose from that thru hole to the scuppers.Mike up in Stuart has done several this way,his shop is called Wildfire Marine.He closes up transoms,mounts brackets etc.I did not want to trailer my boat up ther but when I spoke with him and saw some pictures I knew thats what I wanted. All the problems I had before are solved. Water not coming in , More room, a live well that actually works right and you dont have to bend down to get your bait,pumps easy to get to, Fish box,easy to get in and out of the boat not like before in was a hassle,I can back down now when its rough, much better ride,I can get into shallower water to get bait,Plains quicker, over all I dont need to spend a fortune on a new boat,These changes made the boat alot more enjoyable. Ill try to email you some pictures. Would you be able to post them? Capt D.

[Reel Smoker]

Scott about the bracket,I have a friend with a 72 boat identical to mine he used a smaller bracket that did'nt have the buoyancy chamber and his boat squats alot,for that matter draws over 3 inches more that mine.If someone decides to put on a bracket go with a wide body, I'm telling you it will make all the difference in the world,you'll love it. How long has this Seacraft board been open? Thanks Capt D.

[Scott]

Capt D

Thanks again for your information ...

This Forum started up around the end of February 2002 by Jason Goldfarb AKA Trayder...as far as the website.. we'll ask Jason those details.... We all owe him a great deal for what he has done by facilitating this site.... The information that is exchanged and shared around this site is tremendous....especially for those of us in the beginning or middle of a restoration. Without this site I couldnt converse so easily with guys like yourself to get ideas for my restore.

Jason I said it once .... and I'll say it many more times THANKS FOR THE GREAT WEBSITE [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

As far as the pictures go...your more than welcome to send then to me....however I will just end up sending them to Jason (admin@classicseacraft) so he can put up your own page with your story about the boat and pictures...Sorry Jason...I'm making more work for you [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Oh yeah....All of the brackets that I've looked at, either on the boat or inquired about, are the floatation type....as you suggest I dont know why you would put a non-floatation bracket on your boat...I'm sure thats how the originals started out...but why would you put one on now with the other available ....I guess there's a reason for everything...

[ April 07, 2002, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: Scott ]