What defines a "Classic SeaCraft" from the rest?

[ptruluck]

Pardon a question that probably has been asked (I am sure) many times before. I searched previous forums and maybe did not search enough to find the answer. Could probably use some help in how to search by category so as not to duplicate subjects already covered in the past.

Anyway, I have a 20 ft 1986 SeaCraft CC. Can anyone tell me what happened with the company and/or the mfging of the boats and what seperates "Classic Seacrafts" from the rest? Which years are Classic Seacrafts?

Is there any consensus that that the quality or the craftsmanship was not as good on these later boats like mine?

Any inherent issues I should be aware of?

Is there a differnece in the value of "classic v. non-classic" assuming the boat is very good condition?

I have thick skin, so appreciate all answers and any insight.

Thank you-

[Fr. Frank]

There are different opinions on what constitutes a "Classic SeaCraft", but many generally figure pre-Tracker, so 1986 and earlier.

[ptruluck]

Thanks very much - so it sounds like my boat "makes the cut" as a "Classic SeaCraft"....good to know.

Anything else I should know?

[Fr. Frank]

Anything else I should know?

Yeah. The Search function on this site is the finest marine library tool in the boating world.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

It seems to me that the word classic is a subjective word that is excepted by the general majority of people to depict what they feel about something.

10 years ago it meant Potter Built.
Now it’s pre Tracker
I wonder what it will mean 50 years from now?
Who knows maybe one day even Tracker SeaCrafts will get some respect.

clas•sic (kl s k)
adj.
1.
a. Belonging to the highest rank or class.
b. Serving as the established model or standard: a classic example of colonial architecture.
c. Having lasting significance or worth; enduring.
2.
a. Adhering or conforming to established standards and principles: a classic piece of research.
b. Of a well-known type; typical: a classic mistake.
3. Of or characteristic of the literature, art, and culture of ancient Greece and Rome; classical.
4.
a. Formal, refined, and restrained in style.
b. Simple and harmonious; elegant: the classic cut of a suit; the classic lines of a clipper ship.
5. Having historical or literary associations: classic battlefields of the Civil War.
n.
1. An artist, author, or work generally considered to be of the highest rank or excellence, especially one of enduring significance.
2. A work recognized as definitive in its field.
3.
a. A literary work of ancient Greece or Rome.
b. classics The languages and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. Used with the.
c. One that is of the highest rank or class: The car was a classic of automotive design.
4. A typical or traditional example.
5. Informal A superior or unusual example of its kind: The reason he gave for being late was a classic.
6. A traditional event, especially a major sporting event that is held annually



FellowShip

Just for the Grins

[ptruluck]

Thanks for the insight....I am a novice and while I know a little bit about Seacraft's long and respected history....still not sure what happened between "Potter built era" boats and Pre-Tracker. Was my 1986 a Potter built boat? If not, was it generally mfg'd to the same high standards and quality standards of Poptter built boats?

Thanks for any more information you can provide.

[Finster]

You'll have to take a look at your HIN then match it up with one of these. This table is for the most part accurate though we have dad minor discrepancies.


SEC = SeaCraft Inc (Potter 1969 thru 5/80)
CSY = Carribbean Sailing Yachts (1980-1982 23'& 27' SeaCrafts only)
SIC = SeaCraft Industries Corp (1980 thru 1987 other SeaCraft Models) (Potter on Board of Directors approx 1 year after sale)
TXY = Sarasota Marine Corp ('86-'88 CSY Parent Co)
SIC = Tracker SeaCraft of Fla (1987 thru 1990) all models
SXC = Stern Craft Corp (1994 Silver King Parent then Tracker Parent Co in 1995)
MIC = Silver King Boats (1994-2002 Mako Marine Parent Co)
MRK = Mako Marine (2002 Parent Co SeaCraft from Tracker)

[Bushwacker]

I would respectfully suggest that the most classic of all SeaCrafts were the Moesly boats that started it all, from 1961 to 1969, ie., the "21" and it's racing relatives, the 19' Bowrider, 15' Scampi, the 27' flybridge Sedan cruiser, and the 20 CC and Seafari models. See Moesly SeaCraft web site for more info.

Potter built good solid boats after he bought out Moesly, but his designs were more evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, as Moesly's were at the time. The 18 and 23 were the only hulls Potter designed. The 18 appears to be just a 20 with a couple of feet cut off, while the 23 was loosely based on the 21. The 23 is a great riding boat, but my good friend that owned the 21' Unohu, which he ran hard for 27 years, making several Bahama crossings every year, many of them with 23's, claimed that every time the seas got over about 3-4', the 23's would have trouble staying up with him, and he didn't run that fast! His first 2 engines (he literally wore out at least 3-4 engines, and several outdrives and sets of heads!) were I-6 Mercruisers which cruised at about 18 mph (regardless of sea state, until it got up to 10-12', when he'd slow down to his min planning speed of 12 mph!). When he started running V-8's, cruise speed went up to 22-23 mph, and he'd hold that in seas up to about 6-8'. Not sure exactly what changes that Potter made to the hull in going from the 21 to the 23 other than more length and less freeboard, but the steps don't seem to be as deep on the 23 and it looks to have a little more deadrise on the outer panel, which might hurt low speed planning and maybe increase running angle, which could make for a harder ride in the 2-3' square waves (equal height and spacing! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]) that are common on the Little Bahama Bank.

From the many projects documented on this site, it looks like Potter changed the 20's from the 4 individual f/g stringers to 2 wider box stringers about 1973 or 74. The first gas crisis occured about then and the cost of gas and resin spiked, so maybe fewer stringers was a cost reduction measure, but the later boats seem to be just as solid as the earlier ones. There have been a couple of isolated cases of loose stringers documented on 23's, but with no apparent hull damage, so there is evidently so much glass in the basic hull layup that even a loose stringer is no big deal!

It also appears that the Tracker models started using plywood in the decks instead of balsa core, which made them significantly heavier, but certainly no less solid.

Having said all that, any boat built by humans is susceptible to the occasional production line screw-up (remember the "Friday-car" lemons that Detroit used to occasionally turn out?!), but the early SeaCraft designs were so robust that there was ample margin to accommodate the occasional quality lapse. With cost pressures being what they are today, I suspect few modern boats are as overbuilt as the SeaCrafts and probably the Bertrams from the 60's and 70's.

[FELLOW-SHIP]

So lets see now I think I got it.


1. Mosley SeaCraft = ""“ C L A S S I C S E A C R A F T ”""
2. Potter built = CLASSIC SEACRAFT
3 Pre Tracker = Classic Seacraft
4 Tracker = Seacraft
5 Tracker after 50 yrs. = Classy SeaCraft

FellowShip

Just for the Grins

[fishing_fanatic]

Mine was a Classic when it was built!