'89 Seacraft

[elvspec]

Bishrimpin, don't know which part of my post you are responding to as being tongue and cheek. I am being sincere about my effots to resolve a problem. If it was the comment about wanting to test ride someone elses seacraft I'm being honest. I'd like to do a comparison. I had heard nothing but good about these hulls which is why I picked one up in the first place. Don't get me wrong, the boat has a great ride and is quick with even a 150 on it as I mentioned which I originally thought was going to be underpowered. I was surprised. If it is the comment about this boat being able to perform in an offshore condition with a full tank of gas I mean that as well, but I don't think that is the problem. Hope I didn't offend anyone just trying to get some critical answers. Thanks

[ocuyler]

Beau,

I had a similar problem with a 1989 23 open when I first bought it. It had a very wet ride and was disappointing in a head sea.

What I didn't know until later was that the hull had through hull fittings that were leaking. I estimate that upon removing the drain plug, that we had at least 100 gallons (about 800 pounds) of water sloshing around in the bilge while test in 4 to 5's with the occational 6' I was very conserned at the time and she seemed under powered with the 200 HP motor. That changed, however, when we refitted all new through hull hardware.

I also have a 20 open and have sunk it in 3 footers coming over the 20" transom. I would only anchor the 20 in 3 footers if I had 7 to 1 or even 10 to rode to depth. That same 20 has an older 85 HP Evinrude which, amazingly, is NOT underpowered. In fact, the hull seems very light to me.

We sense your disappointment. I agree that if you trial another 20, you'll find a difference. With some images and more details on your set up, we may be better able to offer more specific and constructive comments.

Instead of 3 footers, we in New York are battling the 3 feet of snow we got in the last 48 hours, the same storm that produced tornados in New Orleans. At least you're in the water...

Best of luck.

[elvspec]

Thanks Otto, and all the above that responded. I had already tried and checked all things mentioned and haven't really found anything seriously wrong. The boat is set up as it came from the factory and really has nothing forward of any weight. The more I think about it and read the comments about anchoring in 3' chop the more I think that was the problem. Even though I didn't drop the anchor I was head into the waves and they were close together and so the that might account for water coming over the bow. Just the same when I get a chance I'd shoot some photo's and see if I can get some feedback on how the boat sits in the water.

Otto, try not to freeze before spring. That El nino thing sure put strange spin on our weather pattern this year. The tornados your talkin about hit over in New Orleans but also flattened around 50 houses around the Breaux Bridge area whhich is where I'm from. Thanks again.

[oldbluesplayer]

Beau - I think that close 3' chop is the problem, probably coupled with too little scope - as was said, 7 to 10 scope would be about right on that boat / those conditions.

In a 3 - 4' chop that's close coupled, my Seafari will start poking it's nose into each wave if I don't manage the forward speed properly - it's all about hull length - bow goes up, bow comes down, next one comes too soon - splash !!

anyways, just my .02 worth

Bill

[elvspec]

Bill I think your absolutely right. Just took a little while for my slow brain to figure it out. I'm looking forward to the same experiment in swells. Thanks

[Turfdogg]

Beau,

Good luck with your problem and keep us posted with what you find out. I just bought a '89 20' without taking it for a sea trial. It was a heck of a deal and I have always loved the Seacraft line. I took it out once here in Ocean City MD in January and had a great ride, then covered it up for winter. I am looking forward to some offshore sharking in June and hope I don't run into any problems. A three foot chop seems to be the norm around here.

Tight Lines

[elvspec]

Let me know how it performs. Hope you have an early spring this year.

[elvspec]

Otto, just for kicks I went out and shot a photo of my 20'. If you or anyone lese has any feedback I'd appreiate it. [image][/image]
See the look on my dogs face, he's concerned too. [image][/image]

[BigLew]

One thing not mentioned in this is how you have your anchor/rode set up. It is common knowledge that scope or the ratio of anchor rode to water depth is important; 5+:1. If you are in a short interval between swells having 10-20 feet of chain between your rode and anchor can make a lot of difference in such a situation. The chain will lie on the bottom and need to be lifted by the swell before any real tension is brought to the rode. In a 3-4 foot swell that ability for the bow to continue to ride up the wave and past without being "pulled" down could make all the difference. Do you have any chain between the rode and the anchor? If so, I hope it's more than the 5-6' that the West's and such sell for that purpose. Theirs is generally not enough! It might be for a 1500 lb. 15' runabout, but not for yours and larger craft!
Good luck and to my eye your pic's don't show anything obviously wrong.

[dcobbett]

Beau,

Here is a photo of the '76 SeaCraft I bought last year. Mid 80's 175 HP Mariner (375 #'s?), 2 batterys under the console seat; otherwise, lightly loaded when this picture was taken

[image]http://[/image]

Looks to me as if the surface of the water intersects the hull's chine line behind the hull's mid point, but on the picture of your boat, that break point is well forward of the mid point. Based on that, I'd say your hull may be bow heavy, assuming the boats are similar in other aspects.