New here also

[Terry England]

Er Iff'in you need to sort out the Booty, ya' need some deck space -
(Dat be 'ol Two Tooth Deckhand Doug sort'in - he's big as a walrus, but he put da' fish in de boat!!)

AArrrrrrrr!

[tommy54]

Thanks for the encouragement, being in the boat rental business in Wisconsin is tough. Such a short season and so much work, haven't had a day off since the first of April. It's also great fuel for daydreaming about running around in the gulf this winter. I took a 16' flat bottom skiff to Bokeelia two years ago, got hooked on the Pine Island sound/Cayo Costa boating, and promptly bought the first Seacraft that popped up for sale in Wisconsin. I trailered it 1400 miles to Port Charlotte(had an offer of a cheap place to stay for a couple weeks) last winter and blew up the engine within an hour. I had it rebuilt even though its only a 20" shaft and I would really like to raise the transom 5". I have a pregnant wife and a 6 year old, so the word safety is now in my vocabulary. I need to break in the motor, so I'll try to get some pictures of the boat up. Thanks for the warm welcome, education, and entertainment.

[Terry England]

Originally Posted by tommy54

Thanks for the encouragement, being in the boat rental business in Wisconsin is tough.......I took a 16' flat bottom skiff to Bokeelia two years ago, got hooked on the Pine Island sound/Cayo Costa boating, and promptly bought the first Seacraft that popped up for sale in Wisconsin.....

Arrrrr, Tommy me boy, thairs a lot of Vikings up yur way, but the're a "tight bunch" - you got to pry 'em up off of their wallets - and you need a big crowbar!!

Speakin' of La Costa Island. Me an Jose Gaspar used to lay low there for a spell when the Spanards or the Federallies were lookin' for us. Back in 2014 we had a Seacraft Pirates Gathering there at Cabbage Key and Cayo Costa. If you go to this SeaCraft Site Log Book and look under the Gathering Tab you can find it about #14 or #15 down from the top. Lot's of pictures there.

The main reason I had to "open the hatches up" on the Marshtackie is I need a good boat to take all the provisions I need to build the Pirates Lair out on Cayo Caosta. Me carpenters and blacksmiths need compressors, generators, nail guns, various kinds of saws, cords, hoses, drills, screw guns, plus 20,000# of building materials - all pressure treated plywood, pilings and lumber!!!!. So she's an excellent hull for hauling freight with minimum power and the old Bowrider refuses to plow no matter how much hundredweight you stack on the foredeck. I think 'Ol Carl put a little bigger forefoot on the Bowriders and she runs high and proud regardless of the load.
This is a picture near the end of the work with 5 or 6 sheets of Masonite, tools and a healthy ration of Grog for the crew! (I had me painter air brush some rust streaks so no Scallawags would steal her from the moorings at night, - they'er very authentic!!!!)

[tommy54]

Thought I'd revive this thread. The rebuilt Johnson Oceanrunner has a lean sneeze that can't seem to be cured. I had hoped that the old motor would give me a year or two of service, I've had pretty good luck with 2 strokes on our chase boats. I think I'm going to take the leap and buy a new motor for it. We don't need to run fast, our lake is only 7 miles long. I'll be taking it down to Pine Island at some point this winter, but I won't be in a hurry then either. I like the 369lb weight of the Mercury 115 4 stroke. Some say you need a lot more horspower, but I'm happy with the power right now, and I want to keep the boat light. I'd want to go with a 25" shaft, so she may go under the knife to raise the transom. I had hoped to wait for the off season to do that, but this engine is stumping every mechanic around.

[tommy54]

I decided to sell the 115 Johnson and mount a Yamaha 90 fourstroke EFI that I pulled off one of my rental pontoons. I know it will be bit underpowered, but I'll prop it so it works. Problem is, the wood around the engine mounting bolts is wet and a bit soft. I could trim the old motor up, stand on the cavitation plate and jump up and down without any flex in the transom. Can I mount the Yamaha and run it for the rest of the year? I'd prefer to tear it down and do it right, but I don't have the time right now and I really should have a chase boat. Any opinions are welcomed...

[billythekid]

it will be fine, if you can bounce on it and its not flexing you are fine, at this point its safe to say any of the seacrafts from the 70s have or had a rotten transom, the fiberglass front and back is alot stronger than you think.

[Terry England]

Originally Posted by billythekid

it will be fine, if you can bounce on it and its not flexing you are fine, at this point its safe to say any of the seacrafts from the 70s have or had a rotten transom, the fiberglass front and back is alot stronger than you think.

x 2

[FLexpat]

X3
If it bugs you then put some 1/4" aluminum plate on the inside and outside of the transom and use the motor mount bolts to sandwich it. You can run it for a really long time like that.

[McGillicuddy]

You'll be fine. 90 ponies is fine, even in gray. You'll want a stern lifting prop, something described as "easy to turn," meaning little cup, mild rake progression and fairly large blade area with a fairly straight front edge and nicely curved rear. that sounds kinda, well... anyway a semi-cleaver, probably 13-3/4 x 14 or 15 pitch. Make sure you are able to dial it up to max recommended rpm full of gas and peeps and ginger ale. I always suggest the quicksilver black diamond as the starting point. cheap, kick ass prop perfect for a 33 mph 20' seacraft with 90-115 hp. Yamaha's own semi cleaver is also a decent starting choice. a 4 blade with maybe a little less diameter will also fit the call. You'll want the anti-cav plate about 1-1/2" above the keel with the plate parallel to keel.

[Capt Terry]

Originally Posted by FLexpat

X3
If it bugs you then put some 1/4" aluminum plate on the inside and outside of the transom and use the motor mount bolts to sandwich it. You can run it for a really long time like that.

Another Moesly approach suggested to me by Skippertee was I added aluminum angle iron to the engne bottom holes on the inside of the transom. This was .25 thick x 2" x 2" and about two foot long (fits between the stringers). The "L" shape provides a lot more moment of inertia (stiffness) than a single flat plate. A double flat plate would be quite stiff as well, but requires removing the engine. My top holes were in better shape.