New Member, Old Boat, Unsure of Year.

[Sparehead]

Hello All,

I’m new. I’ve been lurking for a while now and have been enjoying the site. A while back I came down with this irresistible urge to restore an old boat. That led to lots of research coupled with my personal preferences and to cut this story short I have a formerly unloved Seafari 20 sitting in my backyard under a portable garage. I think I saved it from being scrapped. I’m not in a rush and have been half-jokingly telling people I hope to have it all restored by retirement, which should be a long ways off. I should mention I’m no expert but I have worked with fiberglass before.

I got the boat with no outboard and a transom I assume is rotted. The hull otherwise looks pretty good. The worst damage I could find was what must have been a hit to the starboard rubrail which resulted in a little cracking at the joint and some stress cracking in the hullside gelcoat. The cap has been drilled into and will need re-coring too. I plan to take the boat down to the bare hull and build it back up using some of the newer synthetic core materials. I’d also like to eventually finish it off with an outboard bracket mounted to a full height transom.

My state doesn’t require it but I think I’d like to get a proper title anyway. The boat was last registered using another state’s registration number for its SN. I have the papertail on the boat but the last owner never registered it and thought it was a 1986, which was the year of the trailer. He only bought it for the outboard. I haven't had any luck in trying to contact the prior owner. I believe it’s an early 70s model and was hoping someone here might be able to help me pinpoint its year.

The original Seacraft tag is fixed inside the port cockpit area. The model is “20 OOB” and it has a four digit serial number starting with a 2. A few other distinguishing characteristics include a wide cut dual outboard transom (though it only had a single) and this boat has the four hollow stringers with foam between them.

Ken

[Bigshrimpin]

Ken - 1972 and earlier seafaris won't have a HIN number stamped on the transom. They had a sticker right under the steering wheel with 4 or 5 digit Hull ID (model and Hull number). 4 hollow stringers is 1972 or earlier . . . 1970, 1971 or 1972.



In 1975 or 1976 they changed a few things like the windshield design. The later windshield design is a split window (see picture). The earlier one doesn't have the split window.



There were no seafari's built after 1979.
http://www.classicseacraft.com/broch...production.pdf

[TomParis]

pictures would help too Ken = )

[Bushwacker]

Welcome aboard Ken, and thanks for saving a Seafari, one of the more rare but most versatile of all SeaCraft models! Big is right, you have a '72 or earlier model, but my guess is that it's a '72 if you have the load capacity sticker under the helm. 73 and later models had the sticker below the helm. Mine is evidently an early '72, because it has the sticker on the port side of the cockpit, just aft of the cabin bulkhead and below the teak trimmed shelf.

Regarding the new synthetic core materials, check out surveyor Dave Pascoe's thoughts on the subject! There is little test data on the newer materials; he likes end grain balsa core because it has much higher shear strength than the foams, and unlike the foams which don't naturally absorb resin, it wicks resin into the grain, so it bonds very well to fiberglass!

When you're looking over the boat for damage, there is one area on a Seafari that should be checked. There is a small bulkhead just forward of the head location (forward of the hinged lid between the bunks. That bulkhead is tabbed to the inner stringers with some heavy (~24 oz) woven roving, and if the boat was run hard in rough seas, sometimes that tabbing will come loose.

Good luck with your restoration and post some pics, which tend to stimulate ideas and suggestions from this gang!

[Sparehead]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll add some pictures when I’m home later. I suppose this would be the place where a jewel in the rough can be appreciated. The Mrs. and mom-in-law were recently giving me crap for building a bracket to hold the stern that was “nicer than the boat” (their words).

So it sounds like I’m looking at a 72 at the latest. Whoops, I meant to write port side not starboard side regarding the capacity sticker. It’s located in exactly the same spot as Bushwacker’s, just aft of the cabin bulkhead. By the way, pictures of your nicely restored Seafari and many others on this site were instrumental in leading me to find my own Seacraft. The red boat is new to me but she’s a beauty too. Before I even looked at the boat I knew it couldn’t be an ’86 from reading the material on this site and the Moesly site.

I’ve already read a good deal of Mr. Pascoe’s material while scouring the web for information. I’m not yet set on deck material(s) and that’ll be a way off, but I’m pretty sure I’d like to use Coosa board for the transom, which should happen much sooner. I do still occasionally waffle on whether to use a bracket or keep it simple and just build a well around a motor hung on the transom.

It’s funny you mention that little bulkhead between the stringers in the cabin. As I recall from when I looked over the boat that was repaired once, poorly. If my memory is right it's currently a piece of plywood tabbed in with a single layer of woven roving. My plan is to remove the cap and deck and rebuild from the bottom up so in the grand scheme that will get sorted out. The stringers themselves looked undamaged throughout.

[Sparehead]

I thought I had more "before" pictures. I'll be sure to take some from each stage of the operation. That first picture was how I found it listed on Craigslist. The white stuff on the bottom in one pic is Citristrip loosening some iffy bottom paint. There were lots of old barnacle spots under that. I haven't done much more than strip all the old junk out and cover it. I meant to get the trailer out from under it before the snow but didn't get that far.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by Sparehead

. . . I do still occasionally waffle on whether to use a bracket or keep it simple and just build a well around a motor hung on the transom.

It’s funny you mention that little bulkhead between the stringers in the cabin. As I recall from when I looked over the boat that was repaired once, poorly. If my memory is right it's currently a piece of plywood tabbed in with a single layer of woven roving. My plan is to remove the cap and deck and rebuild from the bottom up so in the grand scheme that will get sorted out. The stringers themselves looked undamaged throughout.

You've done an impressive amount of homework! Nice bunch of pictures! You've saved yourself a lot of work by chemically stripping the bottom paint. I had mine soda blasted and it did so much damage to the gel coat that I ended up having to fill and fair the entire bottom! At least you have a nice cabin door and steering wheel hub which are missing on many Seafaris that are this old! Do you have the windshield for it? That opening windshield is a great feature that you can't find on modern boats! If you're missing the windshield, try using the search function, as I think some poor misguided soul on here recently posted about planning to butcher his Seafari to make a CC model the hard way, so he might have a windshield he doesn't want! That thru hull on the port side indicates that it had the galley seat at one time; so do you still have it or is it MIA? That seems to be a pretty rare option, but one that I've found to be very useful.

Regarding the bracket decision . . . I think that depends on how you plan to use the boat. If you plan to run offshore a lot in big seas, it is nice to have that solid transom, and that big swim platform is nice if you're a diver. However if you can find one of the full height splash well tubs Potter started making about '76 or so, it provides equivalent safety, and the boat is balanced much better and will ride better without the bracket. Modern motors are so much heavier than the 300 lbs the 20 was designed for, and a bracket + heavy motor seriously screws up the balance on the 20! Don Herman popped a mold off of one of those brackets, but was going to scrap it so forum member Rickg rescued it and took it over to our gathering at Terry England's place last September. I think Terry, brother-in-law Doug, or Vezo II now have it. A good shop could make a nice part using that mold!

Do you have soft spots in the cockpit sole or front deck? That whole inner liner is bonded to the top of the stringers with Potter putty, so it's not easy to remove! You have a 4-stringer hull, which I personally think is stiffer and stronger than the later 2-stringer design; those stringers are hollow fiberglass and never seem to have any problems, so there is no reason to remove the whole deck unless you think you have a bunch of wet foam under it. It would be MUCH easier to just cut off the top skin and replace the core than to pull out the whole inner liner or even the top cap for that matter. And I think you can get to that forward bulkhead through the front hatch under the bunks. I think it's pretty well bonded to the inner liner, but Potter made a mistake trying to tab it to the stringers with such heavy roving, which is so stiff it doesn't like to make sharp bends. . . a couple layers of 1708 laid down with epoxy would bond much better!

[Vezo, Part II]

Doug returned Dons mold to me back in the fall and I now have it here in SC, where I have much better resources to pop the first one. Having assisted with building nine Jersey Speed Skiffs from a mold over ten years ago, I have to say that I have never seen a mold in better shape. Definitely a 10 out of 10. Impressive.

I'd love to see a photo of this part installed because looking at the mold is like looking at an old photograph negative. Plays with your mind. Only other option is to build one then try to convert the 1976 SeaCraft Seafari, the Blank Canvas, I still have in the yard from I/0 to outboard. I'd like to sell this hull.

Vezo, Part II

[Bushwacker]

Here are some pics of the splash well tub, I believe from a forum member who loaned his part to Don to make the mold. Don does great work, so I can definitely believe that it's a first class mold!

[Vezo, Part II]

Thanks Denny! Looks similar to the splashwell on my 79 MA! And sure does serve a purpose. Now I wonder if anyone has a mold for the upper shroud/rod/cup holders and bait station/cutting board. I have one from a 25' SeaVee but have not attempted to match it to the splashwell. Cool stuff.

I have the ability, resources and facility to fill transom of 76 Blank Canvas Seafari, cut and remove original I/O transom cap, build to 25" and a splashwell. Be a cool project but probably financially an overall loss. For now, I plan to compound original gel coat and see what is still there. Minimal crazing for her age, and may not require wet sanding. Even the dog house/engine box is in great shape. Just hate to part her out because she's a very strong candidate for a complete rebuild.

Regardless, I am so happy Don did not crush the mold in his dumpster, and I was fortunate enough to acquire it. (Thanks Rickg!)

Vezo, Part II