A California Seafari with a New England Accent

[Dogbomb]

Just like many of you here, I've owned a lot of boats over the years.
When I was 14 I bought a 16' mahogany Bristol with a 283 Chevy
and a straight cut v-drive.
Spent hours repairing rotten wood, rebuilding the engine, and water
skiing at Lake Havasu.
Sure, it eventually sank, but I learned a lot.

Since then I've had 22 boats pass through my slippery fingers.
Some were great. Some were trash.
I loved them all and they all taught me something.

But I was always looking for that perfect boat...

Every year a group of us heads south for two weeks to boat camp at
the Bay of Conception on the Sea of Cortez.
We fish, ski, drink Mexican beer and sit around the campfire telling lies.
Well, mostly we drink beer, but there is always lots of time on the water.

One year, we met a guy with a 20' SeaCraft, and through some twist of
fate he took us out to fish the wrecks near the big point.
The weather turned on us that afternoon and we ended up riding uphill
into a howling wind. That SeaCraft was so kind to our kidneys, and
rode so well in that ugly slop that it left a lasting impression on me.

Fast forward 30 years.
I'm getting to that age where I don't want to settle for second choices.
Tired of getting beaten to death in the Catalina channel, I decided that
I was going to find a SeaCraft like the one that saved our skins that
day in Baja. I soon learned that locating one on the west coast was no
easy task, and I wanted something specific: a 20' Seafari in yellow.
With original gel coat. And no bottom paint. And it had to be an outboard
because I love the smell of two stroke oil on a still afternoon...

So for the last five years, I've been a demon on Craigslist,
eBay, the boat trader and I've ghosted this site religiously,
checking out the for-sales and the Seafari stories
and the wisdom that y'all dispense so freely.

About a year ago, I saw that a member in Massachusetts (bigeasy1)
scored the yellow Seafari I had been fantasizing about.
I spent an hour looking at his
pics and wishing that boat was in my driveway.

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw he had it up for sale.
I suddenly felt unreasonably nervous and excited.
I couldn't think of anything else.
I developed a facial twitch.
I spent an hour drawing Seafaris on a bar napkin...
I REALLY wanted that boat,
but geography is a bitch.
The only thing separating me from my yellow SeaCraft
was the entire USA.

I tried to talk myself off the ledge.
Shipping is expensive.
I had never seen the boat in person.
The only time I'd been to Massachusetts was for the Boston marathon.

I'm not prone to flights of fancy and I don't gamble, but
I couldn't get the idea out of my head that that Seafari wanted
to head west.

So I called John.
We hit it off instantly.
Great guy. Honest, New England stock and I knew I could trust him.
I told him my plan, and he didn't think I was nutjob, which is
a miracle in itself.

I scoured the internet looking for an economical way to get a hunk
of fiberglass across the continent. I got all kinds of bids from all
kinds of folks. Most were crazy expensive, and some just
sounded crazy. I was beginning to give up hope, when I received
an e-mail from a boat transport service that was bringing a 36' sailboat
to California from Massachusetts and had room on the trailer
for a 20 footer. He said if I could make the deal today he would
give me one hell of a good price.

So I did.
I overnighted the cash to John, contracted with the trucking company,
and then realized that I had bought a SeaCraft.
Finally.

John was kind enough to meet the shipper and to spend three hours
loading the boat onto the flatbed trailer with forklifts and tons of
help from the staff at his business.
Those guys worked their butts off on a sweltering afternoon, and
I can never hope to repay them for their efforts.
It's folks like this that make me realize that there are still good
people in this mixed up world.

So today the boat is between Oklahoma City and New Mexico,
and it should be here early next week.
Then the fun begins, and I can get to work making my SeaCraft
vision a reality.

Sometimes doing something unconventional pays off, and I think this is one
of those times. Thank you all in advance for your advice
in the coming months, putting up with my dumb questions,
and ignoring my bad choices in beer and grammar.

And thank you again, John, for making this all happen.

Now, I have to sell that Donzi...

(TLDR; I bought a SeaCraft)

[77SceptreOB]

Great story, congrats!

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by 77SceptreOB

Great story, congrats!

Thank you for taking the time to read!

[Capt Terry]

Congrats. As I recently posted to Bigeasy1, yours is almost the sister to my yellow'76 Seafari we ordered from SeaCraft. It used to be used for offshore, trolling, snorkeling and skiing. Now in upstate SC only Watersports. Best wishes!
Am sure you'll love it.

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by Capt Terry

Congrats. As I recently posted to Bigeasy1, yours is almost the sister to my yellow'76 Seafari we ordered from SeaCraft. It used to be used for offshore, trolling, snorkeling and skiing. Now in upstate SC only Watersports. Best wishes!
Am sure you'll love it.

Thank you! Your boat is a beauty, and I was inspired by your story.
Mine will spend quite a bit of time on the lake, pulling skiers and
confusing the locals...

[crsavage1]

Neat story. Congrats on the new boat. Gives me faith as some of us are still on our searches....

[cdavisdb]

Just my kind of story, thanks.

Being able to make that kind of effort will be the basis for an unbeatable relationship with a yellow Seafari.

I've had two, a twenty and a twenty five. Incredible boats.

Have fun!

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Just my kind of story, thanks.

Being able to make that kind of effort will be the basis for an unbeatable relationship with a yellow Seafari.

I've had two, a twenty and a twenty five. Incredible boats.

Have fun!

Thank you very much!
I think you're correct; the process of obtaining this boat will make
it that much more special.
I appreciate you taking the time to read!

[cdavisdb]

I know what you feel like, looking and looking and looking for something that never seems to appear. Even when you find one, sometimes it takes a while. Took me a couple of years to persuade the former owner to sell me his beloved 25 Seafari.

[coltblue69]

Great story and great boat. I've had mine for 38 years and it never let me down. Good luck!