Seafari Stern

oldbluesplayer · #1 10-27-2005, 05:31 PM

G -

I agree with CSN - I hadn't had an outboard since 1988, been I/O ever since, till now with my Seafari, and I was worried about the OB cutout, and apparent lack of freeboard back there - mine is still cut for a 20" shaft motor.

But, I've been out trolling in what became 4-6's, including stern to, and quartering on the stern, and have yet to take on water (knock on wood). When I did my rebuild of the transom, I thought alot of building an inner splashwell wall, and may still do it, but after a number of outings, I'm much less convinced I that even need one.

Of course, I have a V4-115 hp Johnson, lighter than your 235 - didn't get a chance to reply to your other post before, but yes, I can hit 30 mph (gps measured) easily in smooth water, with me, my 240 lb son, and a full tank of gas, the battery is in the starboard rear compartment, the port rear compartment is a built in fishwell, not removable, and was full of water and fish (blues), so some extra weight in the back as well.

Bill

cSickNick · #2 10-27-2005, 07:10 PM

Bill/G,

Mine is a 25" shaft Zuki DF140 at ~420lbs. The previous motor was a Yami V4 115HP (looks the same as the 115HP Johnson, was there a lawsuit, cant recall)which moved it along nicely.

Anyhow, i need to think about it more this winter, but i may raise the rear boxes to the gunnel height and make a folding splash well door or close in the transom/bracket idea.

In my opinion, these boats needs some work in the rear more to keep people in the boat [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img], rather than seas out.

- Nick

oldbluesplayer · #3 10-29-2005, 11:27 AM

CSN - where do you boat out of? keep it in the Saugus River? - how long a run out to Stellwagon ? I assume you were out chasing little tunny? I have, so far, mostly launched out of Hampton, NH, but have also come down to Gloucester and launched from there.

this whole Seafari stern topic is certainly interesting = wonder if we can get Don/ Hermco to get some direct insight from Bill Potter on the performance of his bracketed Seafari?

Those half height seat boxes in the stern do present some interesting thoughts, if one really wanted to get into some major redesign/ rebuild. Mine has an integral fishbox on the port side, when I redid my transom, I thought about cutting that out, as it slopes inward, inside of the port stringer, and has a drain out thru the transom, near the center. removed, I could have put a second battery on the port side, balancing the one in the starboard side, and then also had a clear shot at putting two knees in, off the stringers, up to the outboard notch - that would have been the ultimate stiffening redesign, but I wanted to preserve the fishbox and the original design - but in use I find those rear seats just about useless, nobody likes sitting back there with the engine noise right next to you.

I really like what Peter Alari did with his 20 CC, and now I'm brewing a thought, along the lines of, raising the height of those seat boxes by about 6 - 8 inches, maybe a little more, but not to full gunnel height, still low enough to be able to reach down in to the hull to work on stuff, and then building a wall across between them, to increase the splashwell height. A lot of cogitating yet to do on this.

Love to hear thoughts from other Seafari owners.

Bill

cSickNick · #4 10-31-2005, 07:13 PM

Hey Bill,

I boat out of my driveway, then Saugus River [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]. It is ~25nm to NW corner of Stellwagen.

My opinion is that the low stern seats need to be raised. If full gunnel height, access doors can be built so reach down would not be an issue.

I am not sure if all 20 Master Anglers are the same, but they seem to have full height transom boxes. Add a splash board for the motor well, done. Check them out.

For me it is about landing the "big one" on this boat. I need to work off one of the aft corners to have something to lean against and the extra storage space would help!

Let see what others think ....

- Nick

oldbluesplayer · #5 11-01-2005, 01:23 AM

Nick -

take a look in the For Sale page - the 18' CC - good pix of the stern layout... that what you're talking about ?

More food for thought !!!

got a long/lat for the NW corner of Stellwagon ? found it on the charts, but hard to tell what you mean by NW corner - I see that referred to frequently in ReelTime ecellant fishing site - looks like an easy run from Gloucester.

Bill

cSickNick · #6 11-01-2005, 03:12 PM

Yeah,

That 18' transom is what i am talking about!
What do you think? Or other Seafari guys think?
Don't be shy ... [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

NW corner is roughly 42 23.790 N 70 28.015 W
Out of Gloucester is ~12 miles.

Good spot to troll around for tuna during the season along with a good whale show! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

- Nick

ScottM · #7 11-01-2005, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Good spot to troll around for tuna during the season along with a good whale show! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Just don't troll your expensive tuna gear on top of the bank, the blues will have a field day. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Tarpun · #8 11-01-2005, 07:00 PM

All the 20' M's Ive seen have the full height transom boxes as do the later 20SF's of My 20 MA has a molded 1pc full height splash well thats a bolt on. I think it was a factory option. I like the 2 pc. gate better because you can let at least some of the water out and it doen't intrude into the cockpit area.