Seafari Stern

[oldbluesplayer]

What I notice in yours, is the port seat hatch hinge width, is much narrower than the starboard side hinge width, like by about half; not the case in mine. Also noting where the upper motor mount bolts are, in relation to the rest of the splashwell structure, granted the Suzi and the Johnson may have different motor bolt patterns, though I would guess not all that different - I'll have to measure mine for the length of the bottom of the transom cutout - It also looks like your transom doesn't provide a full back to the seats.

I wish I had the same pic available, don't right now, but have these two which I think will show some of the difference -



I'm out of town tonight, but will shoot the comparable interior / transom / seats pic this weekend and get it up here - I'm convinced there are 3 variations showing here. By the way, mine is a '73.

Nick - do you have a built in fishwell under the port side seat, like mine, or a lift out baitwell, like the specs page talks about, or just open storage?

I think maybe from this pic, you can see that there is darn little addional width on mine, past the motor.



If you go to the home page here, and look at the 20 footers, I'd say mine looks just like Hammer's 20 CC, while your's appears to be just like Tim Dugans 20CC.

So back to rebuilding the stern section, doing away with the seats, and building an improved splashwell / gate, kinda like that 18 cc - if you put in a subfloor, or extended the cabin sole, so that the batteries, one on each side, were raised up, and easier to get to, would that have a significant impact on balance, or create other issues?

I'm beginning to like this design concept alot, and am tempted to lay it out over the winter, but really want to figure out the variables and get it right - as it stands, looking back on my recent transom rebuild, there are a bunch of design related things I wish I had done different, rather than just rebuild the way it was - just for example, putting a larger radius in the lower corners of the transom notch, and then having the side of the notch be vertical, rather than sloping....

groping... and learning... and having fun

Bill

[cSickNick]

Hum ..... very interesting. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

I see your point. From looking at others in the 20' section, I would say as a guess that transoms changed later in 1973? I think only Mike D transom style can take dual motors, I doubt that my opening could take dual motors?

As for the port stern deck box hinge, that pocket was probably for added clearance for the solid rotory cable steering system versus the older mounted cable/pully system mounted in the splashwell.

As for my stern boxes, i have mounted the trim tab hydraulic pump and SS racor filter in the port box and use the star box as my emergency anchor locker.

I cut a Bomar hatch in the middle of the splashwell, made a shelf on top of the main middle stringers and mounted the 2 batteries inside with a dual battery switch.

- Nick

[Mike_D]

The suzi 115 has been great. I had it in the 30's on gps and it pushes fine with five men on board. Ill post some more pics this weekends of cutouts in the splashwell where the battery is and so.

Mike

[gaulois]

Mike D- Thanks for the info. Your "Zuke" 2 cycle has not given you any trouble such as reeds, electronics, etc?
Im wary of 2cycles, other than the 1979 70hp rude I had.
But my merc 225 was great for about 2yrs (new engine), then the problems started- reeds, electronics, etc etc etc.
Also, the post about the splash board is great. I think I will probably do that. Im jealous of your functioning scuppers however. As soon as I get down to Miami, Im going to analyze the situation. Someone had mentioned that Whaler sold kits.
Thanks everyone. It seems like the Seafari group is a pretty tight bunch, which is great. I had the 23CC, and no doubt they are incredible boats, but like one of you said- the Seafaris are- less weight, need less hp, are seaworthy because the bow is covered, and....you can sleep in them, which is great. Ive got about 3 weeks left before I transfer out of Maine. Cant wait to attempt to solve the seafari probs.

[gaulois]

Oldmanblues-
Mine is also red. The original gel is in great shape, other than the oyster gashes on the bottom. Thats an old 115 you have. Its still pushing the boat ok you said (w/200lb son!).
Ill send pics as soon as I get back to Miami.

[oldbluesplayer]

for comparison with Mike D's, and CSN's (which are back on pg 1)



I did some measuring, my seat lids are 19" wide, and the bottom of the transom cutout is 21 1/2" wide. Nick - would be interesting to know what yours are, in comparison - just from the two equal pix, it looks like yours is considerably wider - I'd be willing to be that two 70's vintage motors of 60 - 70 hp could be mounted in there.

So getting back to the original question by Gaulois - doing something to improve the stern seaworthiness is really going to depend on which flavor you have - Mike's is the most wide open, yet already has a good splash board, Nick's is pretty open, especially for how far out he goes, yet he's reported no problems, and mine is really alot tighter than I thought, and I've had no problems, so far, even trolling in 4 - 6's..... but I still don't really feel comfortable with it.... and on one occasion when my son hooked up with a big bruiser, which was stripping line out fast, and my first inclination was to back down on it, but then I looked at the swells, and turned the boat to chase the fish.

Nick - your placement of batteries, fuel filter, trim tab pump, etc, makes alot of sense, also tells me that you don't have the fishbox under the port seat - here's a pic of mine -



It's amazing how much different these same boats are!

G - yes - thats an '83 Johnson 115 V-4, this was a one owner boat before me, guy bought it new in 73, repowered with this motor in 84 (leftover 83) he was probably 50ish when he bought the boat, now in his 80's, hadn't really used it much the last 6 years, and wasn't a troller, was more of a drift fisherman - the old chum bucket was still in the boat when I got it - I don't know when they changed power ratings on outboards from at-the-powerhead to at-the-prop - but it gets up and goes nice - a shade over 30 measured by GPS, which is plenty unless it's flat calm out.

Bill

[Ikan Besar]

As far as taking waves over the stern, it was a concern of mine as well so I had the original battery box and livewell raised full height when the new transom went in with the idea of putting a "gate" forward of the engine but have yet to do so (when conditions are that sloppy in S. Florida, I simply do something else that day). So far, the new floor being nearly 3" higher than original has taken care of most water issues entirely. Anyhow, here are the redone stern area compartments - the base of the livewell is at floor level so it drains via gravity:

[PressureDrop]

ikan - were can i find some more pictures of that thing, she looks like a beauty.

[gaulois]

Hey Bill,
Your boat is practically identical to mine aside from yours having bottom paint. Mine is a 73 also and has the exact stern that yours has with the stern compartments/batteries.
My port side box was converted into a live baitwell. Im not shre what Im going to do about that. I used to troll in SFla and would troll w/ fresh ballyhoo, and keep live bait in the well. When I hooked into schoolie dolphins, I'd drop a deep line w/ live bait fish for any possible hunting Wahoos below... Ok, so back to reality- Im analyzing this all virtually as I am separated from my boat. But from all the help on this board, I have come to the conclusion that the scuppers were leaking, and thats why they were pulled and glassed/texed over. To restore scupper action, likely the best is to route out the stern, but Ill have to think about that. As for the stern seaworthiness, I think the idea (I forget who it is) of building a foldable splashboard is the simplest near term solution. Its too bad that Im leaving, otherwise I would shoot over to NH and check your boat out. I live near Biddeford on the Saco River, not too far from NH.
Ikan-Besar- You did a beautiful restoration job. V. impressive. Where in S. FL? Looks like fly rods you have. Do you fish in Florida Bay at all? I used to go quite a bit with a smaller boat I had, and then I did go with my 23CC, but its a bit skinny in a many spots, and I was limited as to which basins I could access. Didnt want to damage the turtle grass for future fly fishig generations. I also used to put frequently at Flamingo, and cross Fl. Bay to lower Keys, Key West, then on to the Marquesas.
I would agree with you that if you choose your days, there is no reason really to be obsessd with waves washing over the stern, but since I plan on going offshore/crossings quite a bit, the weather can change very quickly way out in the Gulf Stream. It can be frightening, and if your engine quits, which according to Murphy is always a possiblility, a protected stern would lessen an already deteriorating situation.
Ok, Ive babbled enough. Great input, thanks everyone.

PS- One other question. Looks to me as far as re-canvassing the bimini goes that the best is to use the original design where the canvas snaps to the windsheild. Seems as though it would avoid some splash/spray...

[gaulois]

Hey Nick,
You have the same model stern that I have. Even though Mike D's stern is different, his folding splash board would work.
I like that idea- a rather simple solution. The rattling is probably nerve racking....
What kind of engine do you have nick? Is that a Suzuki 2 stroke? If so, is it reliable?