Another 25 Seafari goes under the knife

[Blue_Heron]

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

Connor, I haven't quite laid her over far enough to spin out. You can kind of feel it coming and I've been avoiding it. Brandon, The tabs don't curve up in front, but I mounted them so the leading edge is a little higher than the bottom of the hull. Seems to be working, they don't dig in, even in full up position. Minimum planing speed was 13 mph, but thinking back, I was going up river, so actual speed was probably closer to 13 knots. Still, not too bad.


I put in some more work today. Swim platform brackets mounted with 316 Stainless 5/16" through bolts and plenty of 5200:





I drilled and countersunk all the screw holes in the swim platform and put the final coat of 545 on the platform and engine cover:







I hope to get the masking for the non-skid done over the next couple evenings, so I can shoot the Awlgrip and get the parts back on the boat. Next on the list is to install electronics and outrigger bases.

She's coming together.

Dave

[strick]

I may have missed it but whats the hole on the top of the engine cover for?

strick

[77SceptreOB]

What happened to all that pretty new paint on the skeg?? Hehehe!

[Blue_Heron]

Originally Posted by strick

I may have missed it but whats the hole on the top of the engine cover for?

strick

It's for the socket for a removable pedestal seat. The P.O. had a fighting chair mounted there and I decided to keep it. It's not pretty, but it's functional

Originally Posted by 77SceptreOB

What happened to all that pretty new paint on the skeg?? Hehehe!

I cheaped out on the paint job and didn't use etching primer, so the paint's flaking off where it went on bare aluminum.

Dave

[seafari25]

Yep I'm probably gonna need glasses. That 13 sure looked like a 12 the other night Nevertheless, great minimum planing speed! I think I'm around 16 right on top, but not much bow rise with tabs down, when coming on plane.

Brandon

[Blue_Heron]

So, I've had a minor setback. One of the things I've had on my to do list was to pull the outdrive and check the engine alignment to make sure the engine hasn't settled against the mounts.

The good news is that the alignment is good, the bad news is that I discovered I've got a bad prop shaft seal and it leaked some gear oil and took on a little less than an ounce of water. I don't have time before my Keys trip to mess with it myself, so I took the outdrive over to a shop in Cross City to have the seals replaced.

When I pulled up to the shop, I noticed a variable deadrise hull poking its nose out of one of the bays. At first, I thought it was one of the newer copy cat hulls because the lines were a little different than what I'm used to seeing in a 20 SF. But the bow light and cleats looked vintage. On closer inspection, it turned out to be either an original Moesley 20cc, or a very early Potter, still with the original I/O drive in it, and still in original unrestored condition. Pretty cool.

Dave

[hiliner222]

Wow, nice job on your 25, she's coming along nicely. Hope my 20 comes out half that nice. Keep up the good work and posts.

[Blue_Heron]

Thanks, Hiliner. Good luck on your Seafari. You'll have a nice boat when you're done.

Here's the highlights of the weekend's work. If you've been following this thread, you'll recognize the 1/2" blue tape:







I've been doing some more rigging and hardware too. I'll try to get more pics up this weekend.

Dave

[strick]

I like that you took the time to do the original factory deck paint scheme. I would not have had the patience to do all that. Almost finished with the trim on mine!

strick

[Blue_Heron]

Thanks, Chuck. The layout and taping only took about an hour and a half, so it wasn't too bad. An advantage is that the original pattern breaks up the inconsistencies you get in the non-skid when you use the salt shaker application method.

Dave