Potter vs Tracker boats

[Scott1115]

Please pardon all the recent questions - I am trying to learn about the 23 Seacrafts and to determine which is the best boat for me.

Not looking to cause a riot. Clearly the Potter built boats are coveted. Please explain what is so bad about the Tracker boats. Is it the fit and finish? Is it the quality of the components? Did they change the weight or dimensions of the hull?

I've seen a few '98 and 99 hulls that the owners claim to be built by Silver King and they claim them to be well built - best built SC 23's ever - any truth to this?

Thank you,
Scott

[Islandtrader]

Without getting flogged by the faithful here...this is my take. There are difference's between Moesly,Potter, Tracker and who ever else made the boat. However any hull that is over 15 years and has been used the known issues most likely have been addressed. I myself would buy the best 23 Seacraft out there in my price range, regardless who made it.

[FLexpat]

Originally Posted by Islandtrader

Without getting flogged by the faithful here...this is my take. There are difference's between Moesly,Potter, Tracker and who ever else made the boat. However any hull that is over 15 years and has been used the known issues most likely have been addressed. I myself would buy the best 23 Seacraft out there in my price range, regardless who made it.

Ditto

[TomParis]

the most important part is what he said, any boat over 15 years old might have issues so ask questions like has the fuel tank and tank lines been replaced, is it the original transom, is the deck still solid or has it been replaced. But like other have said, assuming there are no issues or the issues have been restored/replaced a 1972, 1982 or 1992 Seacraft is still a great boat to have!

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Scott1115

. . . Clearly the Potter built boats are coveted. Please explain what is so bad about the Tracker boats. Is it the fit and finish? Is it the quality of the components? Did they change the weight or dimensions of the hull?

I've seen a few '98 and 99 hulls that the owners claim to be built by Sea King and they claim them to be well built - best built SC 23's ever - any truth to this?
Scott

I've never heard of Sea King, so don't know anything about them. As Island Trader said, any boat that's fairly old can have issues related to wear and tear, abuse, and poor maintenance. On boats that are now 30-40 years old, how well the boat was cared for and how many owners it's had is probably more important than anything else! Some restored boats on here have sold for much less than the cost of the restoration, and are terrific bargains compared to what they're asking for equivalent new boats!

Just because a boat is old does not mean it's in bad shape however. My 1972 was only 3 years old when I bought it, and except for the bracket addition, the transom, decks and fuel tank are all original and still in great shape. When Don Herman filled in the transom cutout to install the bracket in 2006 he said that was the driest transom he had seen in a boat that old. The dealer I bought it from (Brown & Hauptner Marine) said the "Potter putty" between the cap and top of transom was brittle and tended to crack, so on new outboard models, they removed the aluminum trim from around the transom cutout, routed out the joint and resealed it with a flexible caulk like Life Caulk, before installing the motor. (I suspect most dealers did NOT do this!) Since I bought the boat with no motor I did the same thing, and I also removed the leaking water inlet/outlet opening in the live well under the stbd seat and resealed it with epoxy, as this was also an obvious transom killer.

Fuel tank corrosion can be an issue, especially if the tank was foamed in. (Moesly never foamed in the tanks and neither did Potter, at least on the early models, although I have seen them foamed in on later Potter models, although I'm not sure if that was original tank.) Don't know if SeaCraft Industries, Tracker and other later builders foamed in the tanks, but I suspect they did.

As to which were the "best years" for a SeaCraft, I would say that any of the Moesly-built boats (the 21, 19, 20, 27 models, plus the 25-30' race boats, built in 1969 and earlier.) probably had the best glass quality. Moesly was racing the boats and demanded top quality, had well trained and paid workers, plus he routinely drilled out plugs from hulls to check glass/resin ratios to insure maximum strength! Potter learned everything he knew about boat building from Moesly, and appears to have built good boats. Although I have seen 2 examples of fiberglass stringers coming loose (one 23 and one 25' Seafari), these are very rare incidents that may have been due to rotted bulkheads causing loss of lateral support to the stringers. As you can see in the many major restorations documented on the site, the basic hull and stringer construction all of these boats is extremely robust, requiring no work at all, except to possibly remove some wet foam.

The Moesly and Potter boats used balsa core in the decks except in areas where seating and hardware is mounted. I believe SeaCraft Industries, Tracker and later builders may have changed to plywood, which is cheaper, heavier, and much less resistant to water intrusion and rot. Some of the later Sceptre's seem to be a bit bow heavy due to the plywood under the cabin bunks and pig iron ballast has been found under the decks in the back of some of these boats. There was also one defective mold for the 23 which Potter had supposedly warned SeaCraft Industries about when they bought out his bankrupt company in 1980, but it was apparently used anyway, as I have personally seen one 1980's vintage 23 Sceptre with a slight hook in a couple of the panels back near the transom. You can search my posts for some pictures I posted of it a few years ago. The owner was unaware of it and it apparently had no adverse effect on the handling or performance of the boat, but that's something I would check for if I was looking at a 23.

There are some advantages to the 20' Tracker models, such as the 25" transom, plus they are a bit longer. (19'8" for the Moesly/Potter models vs something over 20' for the Tracker models.) The Sceptres built by SeaCraft Industries in the 80's also have different inner liner with some nice extended boxes under the seats for storage. I believe Tracker only built CC models. Other than some changes in core materials mentioned above, all of the post-Potter era boats seem to be fairly solid, so if I found one in good shape, the fact that it was not a Potter hull would not deter me from a purchase. If you're really concerned about spending big $ for a turn key late model, spending a few hundred $ for a good survey would probably be a wise investment!

[cdavisdb]

Generally, the above comments are right on. Trackers, you need to look at with a more careful eye. There seems to have been a whole lot of variation in build quality. Most seem to be fine, but I've seen one(a twenty) that was so cheaply built that even a minimal visual inspection would scare you.

I'm one of the two guys with broken stringers, a design flaw in a Potter era build, too wide spacing between bulkheads in the 25. It still took 40 years, plus rotten bulkheads, plus some rough seas, before the design flaw showed up. Its a strong boat, no matter who built it.

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Generally, the above comments are right on. Trackers, you need to look at with a more careful eye. There seems to have been a whole lot of variation in build quality. Most seem to be fine, but I've seen one(a twenty) that was so cheaply built that even a minimal visual inspection would scare you.

I'm one of the two guys with broken stringers, a design flaw in a Potter era build, too wide spacing between bulkheads in the 25. It still took 40 years, plus rotten bulkheads, plus some rough seas, before the design flaw showed up. Its a strong boat, no matter who built it.

Slacker here.

Each patient is different. I know someone or a great rigger has my thanks.
Almost everything except the transom cap was sealed. Seal this critical point of ingress.
It`s the sun and fresh water that kills them.

I`ve heard there were some adjustment periods when Tracker moved SC and Mako
to Carolina. Also heard there was a corporate leak while they were still in Sarasota and some workers were upset. Also heard some of that floated north.

True? Who can say. One patient at a time.
Happy with my lay up.
`89 20.sf

[Capt Terry]

Per Bushwacker- Fuel tank corrosion can be an issue, especially if the tank was foamed in. (Moesly never foamed in the tanks and neither did Potter, at least on the early models, although I have seen them foamed in on later Potter models, although I'm not sure if that was original tank.) Don't know if SeaCraft Industries, Tracker and other later builders foamed in the tanks, but I suspect they did.

Hey Denny- My '76 20' Seafari fuel tank had screws to the stringers, but was also foamed between the tank and the stringers. The tank corroded along the sides where the foam held salt water and probably cleaning bleach as well. Partly my own fault because the caulking around the cover was such a pain to remove, I never replaced it. I like GFS's idea to put some cord or heavy monofilament around the cover gap and caulk over that, so once you pry up some caulking simply pull the monofilament. My tank lasted almost 30 years, probably replaced it about 2004.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

. . . It still took 40 years, plus rotten bulkheads, plus some rough seas, before the design flaw showed up. Its a strong boat, no matter who built it.

. . . plus some rough seas . . . Connor is a master of understatement! Check out this post about one of his typical Bahamas trips!

Despite the bulkhead issues, if I was looking for the best riding SeaCraft and wanted something more versatile than one of the race boats, I'd pick the 25 Seafari! With 25 degrees at the transom, it's an even deeper V than the race boats, but has an 8' beam instead of the 6' beam of the race boats The ride of the Moesly 21 is similar to the 25 and more stable at rest with about 20 degrees of deadrise at the transom, but they're even more scarce than the 25! Went for a ride in Connors boat where he got it airborne in some 6' swells at about 20 kts and the ride was unbelievably soft! Check out post #214 in this thread!

[Terry England]

Originally Posted by Scott1115

Please pardon all the recent questions.......

Not looking to cause a riot.....!

Thank you,
Scott

Thanks Scott.
Capt. Chuck just about got everybody settled down from the last 2-S vs. 4-S brouhaha and you come along stirring up the camp fire!
Did George Soros send you a check to do this?
Gee willikers, in the first place everybody knows Moesly's are better than Potters and Potters are better than Trackers.
Secondly, Sea Kings were OUTBOARD Motors sold by Montgomery Wards made by Elgin, Martin, Scott Atwater or OMC. (yes 2-S)
Quit causing trouble!