Erik's possible Seafari 20

[Erik]

The deck is solid...the trailer is in very good shape...the mechanic who overhauled the engine vouched for it and said the guy spent a lot of money on it. That box behind the captain's chair is a storage unit. I'm taking a sea trial tomorrow morning. If it looks good I may offer $3000 and take it from there.

[fdheld34]

Erik...to give you an idea of what you can get for that price!!!!
I sold my Seafari with redone transom and Hermco Bracket (all work done by Don) and freshwather 1991 Merc 135.
all new gauges, tank, wiring etc etc...and heavy duty trailer for about $500 more than this guys asking price!!!!
Is it worth $3000...mabey???
I have had people vouch before but!!!!!????!!!!!
Feel them out!!!
-Fred

[Erik]

I'm glad I posted the pictures. The amount of $ he put into that motor will dictate his response to a $3000 offer. I know he can't expect to get his money back, so I'm not worried about that. It's the same old game...he is attaching an emotional price to the boat. Of course I'm not trying to be a jerk, but based on the sea trial, I will make an offer.

[Bushwacker]

Eric,

You got a lot of good feedback from some real savvy guys! Gillies comment on the cabin teak got me looking at the pics again and I think he's right about the water leaks. I noticed some water stains on the anchor locker bulkhead also. I noticed that it has a nice looking HD vinyl rub rail like I put on mine (bought from a SeaCraft dealer in the late 70's). It may not be the original rub rail and it's possible they didn't seal the holes from the old one! It should be pulled to check for holes behind it. When I pulled my original aluminum rub rail, there were 2X more holes in the cap than there were screws in the rub rail! You won't see leaks there until you start punching into big seas. When I got over to the Bahamas after my first crossing, it looked like someone had turned a firehose loose in the cabin! I also noticed a seam in the overhead carpeting, which means it's been replaced because the original carpet (some of which I still have in mine) had no seam in it. Was probably replaced because it got wet from the "rub rail hole shower" that I experienced!

Here's a few more "negotiating items":

That square piece of starboard in the center of the gas tank hatch is weird and a toe stubber to boot, so wonder what it's covering up?! Same with the piece of starboard under port seat pedestal. It's common to use a Phye inspection plate over the fuel tank sending unit for access. Those plates are almost flush with the deck. Ask if the fuel tank is original and if it's ever been pulled to check it's conditiion? (Easy to do on a Seafari because of that hatch. Most boat builders just foam in the tank, which insures that the foam will hold moisture against the aluminum and cause it to corrode through in about 10 years! Most boats also do not have a hatch over the tank . . . you have to cut up the deck to get it out! SeaCraft never put any foam around the tank, but no telling what some previous owner may have done.)

There are rust streaks coming off the port transom towing eye, which means it should be removed to check for crevice corrosion! (stainless steel + moisture - oxygen = major corrosion risk!) I've seen 3/8" diameter eyes that corroded down to less than 1/8" inside the transom! There are also some strange holes in port side transom that have streaks leading down from them - what's going on there?!

The rust on the TNT motor housing is a big red flag. If that system dies, it'll cost more to fix it than the motor is worth. To prevent that the outboard should be pulled off the transom so you can get to all sides of that housing to clean off the rust, paint it, and spray some undercoating on it to prevent it from rusting through! Not a big job but you might have to rent a hydraulic engine hoist.

Those plastic drain tubes in the splashwell are probably cracked and leaking. Should be replaced with brass or they will kill the transom! Following the sea trial, pull the drain plug to see if any water runs out, with bow of trailer elevated. Any water in the bilge means the scuppers are probably leaking.

Despite those negatives, if there are no soft spots in cockpit sole or front deck and transom is solid (figure at LEAST $2K to have a soft transom professionally replaced in Fl., maybe more in NY.), I think that boat would be a good deal at $3K! A little Polyglow and varnished teak and it would look like a new boat. But I love Seafari's, so I'm a little biased! Good luck on the sea trial! Denny

[Erik]

Great pointers!!! The only soft spot I saw/felt is right at the step down into the cabin. He has a board there and I pulled it and felt it. I am unfamiliar with the TNT motor housing.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Erik

Great pointers!!! The only soft spot I saw/felt is right at the step down into the cabin. He has a board there and I pulled it and felt it. I am unfamiliar with the TNT motor housing.

Soft spots are grounds for price negotiation, although fairly easy to repair and one in the step down is really not a structural issue. That striped non-skid pattern is also much easier to duplicate on a repair than the diamond pattern molded into gel coat like mine has.

TNT stands for trim-n-tilt; the motor is the white cylinder with wire coming out of it on the port side between the engine mount brackets. The two short cylinders are the trim cylinders and the long one is the tilt cylinder, which may have been overhauled, because top of it looks new and paint is different color, but hard to tell because of all the marine growth on the rest of it. I think that pump motor is the most likely thing to fail on that engine due to water getting into it thru rust holes. Sounds like a good guy that did the work on the motor! You might ask him about condition of the TNT system, because a good honest mechanic should look over entire motor to see if it's worth spending $ for a powerhead rebuild. Denny

[Erik]

He said it's fine...I showed him the pics.