21 vs. 23 Opinions

[alarie]

Hi all,
Wondering if anyone has any time in both a 21 and the 23' SF? I have spent a lot of time in the 20 and 23, but I am considering moving up to the 22, but the 21 looks interesting as well. Deeper, wider, heavier than my SF 20.

Any comments on the ride of the 21 as it relates to the 23?

Thanks,
Peter

[peterb]

Peter,

What 22 are you talking about? I am confused (nothing new)

Peter

[alarie]

oops, I mean I am considering a 23, but the 21 looks nice as well...

[peterb]

I had a 21 foot Hydra Sport before my 23 foot SeaCraft.

The 2 feet is a very big difference, not in the beam or the rear, but in the front. A world of difference when you are driving. Since you mention it if you moved up to a 23 the ideal thing (IMHO) would be a closed transom and bracket setup. I still have an open transom. People who have closed them and put on the bracket have sworn that it makes it a much bigger boat.

The other thing to consider is that your costs move up as well (such as bigger engine and worse fuel performance, everything else being considered equal). But then again the 23 can probably handle certain water conditions better than a 20 or 21.

Good luck

[Ikan Besar]

I've spent a good bit of time in both the 23's as well as the new SeaCraft 21 and they are not nearly as different as the literature would have you believe. The 23/21' are very similar (think of the 23' with 2' chopped off the back of the existing hull). Neither the 21/23' have much in common with the 20'. Look at the weight alone and you'll see that the 20' is a significanly smaller and lighter boat than either of those two.

The 21' can take on much nastier conditions than the 20', significanly more freeboard, but you'll need a larger vehicle to tow the 21'.....and a bigger engine to push it. The 21' is a really nice boat that doesn't seem to get as much attention as it likely should and is layed out far better than the new 20's. If my current 20' was stolen, the 21' would be on a very short list of replacements.

As seen in the photos below, I have my 20' redone to mimic many of the layout features of the 21'. I simply didn't want to deal with towing the heavier boat. Costwise, it would have been about the same for me to buy the 21' or have my 20' redone. The similarities are pretty evident in what I was trying to do:

current issue SeaCraft 21' -



my 20' before completion -

[Old'sCool]

That's a really nice 20 Ikan!!

[thehermit]

Love those raised boxes at transom.

[alarie]

Thanks for the opinions, Mark. In looking at a 21 on the trailer, my gut feeling was that it was closer to the 23 than the 20. The 21 does look like a nice boat, and I am finding that the 20 is sometimes a bit small for how I wish to use it. Of course the 23 is just about everyone's dream boat, but my feeling is that it is a little big to keep on a trailer, especially with a bracket.

I have a Tahoe that can tow just about anything, so that is not a real issue; the engine size is a concern for gas, but the 200 on a 21 will still be kinder than a 250 on the 23...

Regards,
Peter

[pair of jacks]

While I have not been on a 23, I have had a 21 for 6 yrs (bought new). I bought it for the big boat features it has and I have not been disappointed. Its capable of handling rough water, had nice deep freeboard and lots of storage. On the minus side, under console access is tough, anchor access stinks, and I would much prefer a above deck leaning post livewell rather than the in-deck. Many of these downside issues are very common on cc's of all makes. Overall, I love the boat-it allows me to go offshore with confidence or fish the bay shallows. It's more than fast with the 200 Opti on it. Hope this helps.

[joey]

I bought a 21 new in 98 and fished that thing hard for 5 years from OC Md. to La.,Central Fl and here in KW.I wish I never sold it.It's wet,but what little boat isn't? It's a big 21 feet,feels and rides like a tank.I think you would be very happy with one.