1969 27' SeaCraft Race Boat For Sale

[Bigshrimpin]

cayman . . . It's the race boat hull . . . I suspect it's similar to the progression variable deadrise hull. Maybe someone in the know can comment.

[FlyingTime]

Originally Posted by Bigshrimpin

cayman . . . It's the race boat hull . . . I suspect it's similar to the progression variable deadrise hull. Maybe someone in the know can comment.

Yes, similar concept...

[Caymanboy]

Maybe someone with better knowledge will know. But from what I see, all original SeaCraft hulls have lift strakes that progress inward (for lack of a better term) as it goes up the hull. Any strakes on any other hulls, (other than Sailfish) look like they are an addtion. Hard for me to drescribe but look at the bottom of your SeaCraft and look at the bottom of this boat, that and this bottom has a flat section that looks like a Jupiter. I don't know much about the race hulls, but no SeaCraft I have seen has that.

[65Bowrider]

These raceboats are different from what we are accustomed to seeing in a SeaCraft. These were not sold to the general public.
In the latter portion of the 60’s (1967?) the OPBA rules committee changed the regulations for racing boats dramatically and very little notice given for proper preparation. In addition, they allowed 3 outboards.
Moesly determined that if he wanted to stay in the racing game, he needed to design & build an all out racing boat. (Up to this time he had raced his standard 21’ hull).

For those interested, a quote from his story:
“There was not much time between the 500 Bahamas and the Miami to Nassau race, not enough to design, build a plug, mold, boat, rig it, test it and get to the starting line on time. The design had to be rough water capable to cross 100 miles of rough water, the Gulf Stream, and the tongue of the ocean. There were 80 miles of shallow calm water between Cat Cay and the Berry Islands. The boat would have to be good in rough water and fast in calm water, a real conflict in design. I used my longitudinal variable dead rise, but at my horsepower and speed, I did not need the outer panel. I was not designing for John Public. I did not need the stability of a wide beam, nor did I need a good beam for load carrying and slow planning speed. I was eliminating the interior space needed for a fisherman or a family. I did need a long V bottom length to help me bridge across the trough of a rough sea from wave top to wave top at high speed. I had to design her mean with the least amount of boat for the horsepower to give us high speed in calm water with the least amount of wetted skin surface. A fine entry was needed to cut thru the water and not push against the waves. With these guidelines, a design was quickly drawn up.”
The first boat built was called “My Racing Machine”.
“Another additional accessory was a built in water ballast tank in the bow, down low, that could scoop up about 300 pounds of water in one minute or dump it. This was to hold the bow down when going into head seas and wind. With the hull out of the water, you don’t go any where with the nose high and the transom and props out of the water. The wind resistance slows you down and the propellers are not pushing.”

The mold was built for a 30-foot boat, but the transom was adjustable to be able to build a 25-30 foot boat depending upon who wanted and what size they needed for which race they were going to run.

These were very special-built boats, made for speed.
The original motors hung on the transom were I believe, Mercs 100’s.
Lots of interesting stories from “back then”, but hope this helps in understanding a little more about the differences in design.