1974 20' sceptre -buy it?

[wallymotor]

Hey all

I found a 1974 20' Scepter that appears to be mostly original... including the engine, a 70's era 150 Johnson "gt". I have been reading everything I can on seacrafts to educate myself so I know what I'm getting into. This will not be my first restoration - I'm just trying to get an idea of what the seacrafts in particular tend to need as they age.

I just got back from a preliminary look at the boat. The Hull#'s are right. I took a moisture meter and the transom and foredeck both had low readings 15-20%. I see so many transom rebuilds on the older seacrafts I expected it to be soaked. Could the original transom on a 1974 still be sound enough to run as is for a few summers? Anybody else know of a boat from the mid 70's with the original transom?

Going back this weekend for a more in depth look at the hull. I plan to crawl around under the boat with a small mallet and sound the hull for delamination or soft spots. Any tips or particular things I should look for?

My understanding is there is no wood in the hull stringers to rot ...they are hollow box section fiberglass. Also don't kow if it 's possible to get a look in there as the liner is glassed to the hull right? The cockpit sole felt solid and firm, but I forgot to put the moisture meter on it.

Any advice would be appreciated to help me evaluate the structural integrity of the boat as I'm trying to avoid major fiberglass work on this project.

[CHANCE1234]

You mentioned most of the things to look at. The transom COULD be okay. See how many things are screwed or bolted through it. Everyone of these more than likely lets water in. Sticks 69 CC's transom looked surprisingly good for original. Lift up and down on the outboard to see if the transom flexes at all. If the deck feels good, leave it for now and save up to do it in the future. Check the cap for soft spots too. I will be raising the transom up to 25 inches vice the stock 20 inches to help less water come over the stern while drifting or in a following sea. Where are you located, these Seacraft nuts on here are everywhere and for the most part willing to help look over a boat if they are available. The definition of major fiberglass work differs with everyone, so if a transom is major fiberglass work you may want to look at boats less than 39 years old. Post up some pictures if you can. We love pics and they can help identify some issues.

[Bushwacker]

Welcome to CSC Wally! There seem to be Sceptre 20's coming out of the woodwork lately, which is surprising, since they are one of the rarest model SeaCrafts. I personally like that layout very well because the bow access is nearly as good as a CC, but you have a huge cockpit without that cc taking up all the space! Strick's current restoration should give you a lot of ideas for it.

Regarding the transom and deck, my '72 Seafari is all original, with NO soft spots anywhere in the deck. It's 1/2" balsa core, except for 3/4" plywood where the seat pedestals are mounted. Don Herman, who closed in my transom and installed one of his brackets, said it was one of the driest transom's he'd ever seen on a boat that old. My point is that if it was well taken care of and all holes properly sealed, the transom isn't necessarily soft just because it's old! I believe there are 2 major things that kill transoms in the 20, besides improperly sealed holes. One transom leak source, which I've seen on '72 and earlier models, was the baitwell inlet/exit under the port stern seat.

Carl Moesly came up with a very clever design consisting of a 4" diameter Phye plate/cup right at the waterline inside the baitwell. There were a bunch of 1/8" holes through the cup and transom that let water run in and out, with a big 3/8" hole in the center through which water entered via a piece of 3/8" tubing that ran down through a bracket and extended just below the hull. The tubing was cut off at a 45 degree angle and provided a very strong stream of water into the bait well when you're up on plane. The screw-in plate kept the water out when you didn't want to use the bait well. The only problem was that the cup was installed thru the core and bonded to the outer skin with polyester putty. That stuff is fairly brittle and if it cracks it will let water into the transom core. I think Moesly ('68-'69 models) put the sealing plate on the outside which would have kept the transom dry when the baitwell was not in use, but Potter put it inside the baitwell, so the core could be exposed to water all the time. Mine had started to leak but my boat was only 3 years old when I got it, so I caught it before it got too bad, dried everything out with alcohol and resealed everything with epoxy. Ran it that way for about 25 years with no further problems before installing the bracket. Don filled the hole with a Coosa plug and glassed over it, since one of the bracket bolts went right through that area. I think Potter eliminated the under seat baitwell starting in about '73, so that '74 model probably doesn't have it.

The other area that can let water into the transom is the gap between the inner liner and transom core under the aluminum trim in the engine cutout. This was also sealed with the brittle polyester putty which could crack and eventually let water into the core. The dealer I bought my boat from warned me about this and said that on all the new boats they sold, they removed the trim, routed out that brittle putty, and resealed it with polysulfide sealant (Life Caulk), which remains flexible and won't leak. I did the same before installing a new motor on the boat and I think that's what kept the transom dry all these years.

The 20' hull is pretty much bullet proof with the all glass stringers. The laminate schedule is similar to a 25' Bertram, so they are seriously overbuilt! There is a wood 2x4 in the keelson, but there is so much glass over it that even if it rotted out, it wouldn't matter since all the stress in a beam like that is in the outer fibers anyway. The only problem areas are the brass tubes in the vertical scuppers and forward fish box, which tend to corrode over time and start to leak, but they are easily replaced. There are a number of threads you can find by searching on "leaking scuppers" that show how to replace them. I believe Potter raised the cockpit sole in about '73 or '74 to improve self bailing capability, but if you repower, I'd stay with a light 2-stroke under 400 lbs to insure the boat remains self bailing at the dock. Those old cross-flow 150 GT's were very simple and strong (but thirsty!) motors, but the modern DI 2-strokes are still relatively light, with fuel consumption numbers that can match or even beat a 4-stroke. The VDH hull is very efficient and will easily run over 35 mph with 115 hp if you don't load it too heavy.

Sounds like you might have found a pretty solid boat! You might want to check on the fuel tank condition, which is very easy to do on a Sceptre or Seafari because of the removable hatch. I pulled the tank on mine when I got it and found that someone had dropped a brass nut in the bilge before the tank was installed, and there was some galvanic corrosion starting there, but I was able to clean it up, patch it and paint the tank. I'm still running the original tank. They weren't foamed in at the factory and tend to last a long time if installed properly. Good luck and keep us posted on what you find! There is a wealth of knowledge on this site if you have any other questions.

[eggsuckindog]

the transom sounds like its fine, as does the floor if you didn't find any soft spots just walking around. The areas that have fastners are the culprits but if sealed well should be fine. Sharp looking boat at rest I will say, and fast. You should be able to see the stringer system thru a bilge access panel in the splashwell, I made mine a bit bigger to make it easier to get to my bilge and livewell pumps and get at the wiring but you certainly can see in there. That needs to be sealed well at all times as thats the only bilge access for water intrusion, the splashwells on all of them will handle alot of water without issue