20' Seafari: The Resurrection

[Capt Terry]

Bushwacker-
Thanks Denny. Good tips. If my scupper is leaking it must be very little. My bilge pump never comes on automatically, except when getting up on plane & is probably washdown water. Last time out we anchored 2-3 hours before skiing; pump never came on automatically (and yes I tested it recently in the driveway). With it stored under roof I never remove the transom plug.

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by McGillicuddy

Congrats on the the Seafari. I too, had a SeaCraft hauled sight unseen from the other side of the Big Muddy. Pretty sure its some kind of unrecognized disorder.

Scuppers tend to leak. They probably need replacing and are about & 5 ea., online. Moeller also has a flaring tool for about $35. These scuppers are very efficient underway, but not at the ramp or sitting still.

The other leak tendency is at the seam between the hull and cap. This will saturate the cabin and eventually you'll have a wet sleeping bag on a cold night @ Lake Powell or Havasu.
Addressing those two things are easy and offer some peace of mind.

The little placard does tell you about the boat. It will state make model and location of mfg., and maybe a couple other things. Hull ID should be in upper starboard corner of outer side of transom.
First 3 letters are Mfg., "SEC," or other depending on the year and manufacturer, 4th is model, 5th is length (a 0 for 20', a 3 for 23', etc.). 4 & 5 may be vice-versa? the rest are no., mo. the last 2 are the year of manufacture. Post a pic and we'll help you sort it out.

Cheers,

McG

Thank you, sir, I really appreciate all the info!

I do plan to re-seal the scuppers, as it looks like someone did the job
already but not very well...

The transom on my boat has been replaced, and they neglected to
save the HIN. The boat is registered as a '69, but from the looks of
things it's a '72 or '73. The plaque behind the steering wheel is all that
remains of the original numbers.

I missed that yeller one if Fullerton! As you know, however, going through
hell and high water to drag a boat across country makes for a damn
fine story.

Cheers!

[Capt Terry]

Tony- I thought from your photo the slope of your windshield looks like my 76 Seafari. Bushwacker's 72 is more upright. Am away from home and old brochures. Don't know what year it changed. Check it out. That should help narrow it down. Another thing- from just below the steering wheel to the deck mine is shite fiberglass. Bushwacker's looks like brown Formica or vinyl.

[McGillicuddy]

Dogbomb,

Post some pics of the cockpit and cuddy.

My '72 has diamond pattern non-slip deck. That, or '73 may have been the last year of that.

Mid '70's Potter added a bit of a shelf around the bunks. A useful feature me thinks...

Cheers,
McG

[Bushwacker]

Potter made a number changes to the cap and inner liner over the years. One major hull change was the shift from the original Moesly design with 4 narrow stringers (see 1st attachment below) to the 2 wide box stringers. If your boat is a 72 or earlier like mine, it should look like the first pic below, which shows where I added a second battery between the 2 stringers under stbd seat. The 4-6" deep area was filled with foam to the top of the stringers and painted with gray paint, so I simply dug out the foam and found enough room for a big Group 27 battery box. That area should be covered with glass in the later models.

It looks like the change to the wide 2 stringer system was made by just connecting the inner section of the inboard stringer and the outer section of the outboard stringer of the earlier design with a couple of layers of glass. The 2nd picture below is the 2-stringer hull of a Seafari owned by a guy near me that he had butchered to turn it into a CC. (At least we got the cap off it for Skip & Carla's Seafari 21!) He claimed it was a '73 he had inherited from his dad. Looks like Potter may have used a wide piece of foam as the form for the stringers, which were hollow on the 4-stringer models, and installed about half way thru the layup. I have seen other restorations of '73 models with 4 stringers, so I believe 1973 was a transition year, when both 2 and 4-stringer hulls were made. I believe he may also have raised the deck a couple inches when the switch to the 2 stringer system was incorporated. If a boat has the raised deck, the scupper depression will be 2-3" deep instead of about 1" deep like it is on mine.

Today I found a picture in a 1974 brochure (2nd .pdf attachment) showing the white fiberglass bulkhead configuration and raised windshield that Capt. Terry describes in his boat. (note the additional non-opening panel at bottom of WS in lower picture; upper picture of white boat is from '72 brochure and does not show that extra panel.) I've noticed that the center of the V in the windshield is only about 6" aft of the hatch on the later models, but that distance is about 18" on my boat. Potter evidently moved the bottom of the windshield forward about a foot to create more room aft of the windshield, but if he didn't move the top of the windshield as much, that would create the more steeply raked appearance on the later models that Terry mentioned. Last pic shows the plywood bulkhead in my boat that's attached to the cap and inner liner with screws at top and bottom and appears to be covered in some sort of (badly faded!) wood grained contact paper. Based on the brochure, I believe the windshield and bulkhead change, along with the raised deck, larger gas tank/smaller step down for cabin door, teak cabin shelves, and glove compartment at top of bulkhead were all incorporated on the 1974 models.

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

Potter made a number changes to the cap and inner liner over the years. One major hull change was the shift from the original Moesly design with 4 narrow stringers (see 1st attachment below) to the 2 wide box stringers.

Wow, thank you, you are a wealth of information!
My stringers look just like yours, and someone has
already scooped out the foam in that spot (presumably)
to make room for a battery.
I'm going to say that mine is a '72 or earlier.
The trailer was made in 1972, and from the rust patterns
on the frame I'm going to say that the bunks are in the original
position, so I'm guessing that the trailer and the boat have
always been together. This would make sense and is another
way to date the boat, I suppose.
Thank you again for all you help, it's much appreciated!

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by Capt Terry

Tony- I thought from your photo the slope of your windshield looks like my 76 Seafari. Bushwacker's 72 is more upright. Am away from home and old brochures. Don't know what year it changed. Check it out. That should help narrow it down. Another thing- from just below the steering wheel to the deck mine is shite fiberglass. Bushwacker's looks like brown Formica or vinyl.

Yes, I'm starting to think mine is a '72, as it looks very much
the same to Bushwacker's in the stringer design.
Also, mine has the horrible brown vinyl covered panels, which
have faded to a strange sunset hue and are also quite eaten by
hungry termites...
Those are on my list of things to replace!

[Dogbomb]

Originally Posted by McGillicuddy

Dogbomb,

Post some pics of the cockpit and cuddy.

My '72 has diamond pattern non-slip deck. That, or '73 may have been the last year of that.

Mid '70's Potter added a bit of a shelf around the bunks. A useful feature me thinks...

Cheers,
McG

Here are a couple of pics of the cabin and deck surface (courtesy
of the previous owner as I haven't bothered to take any of my own yet.)
The cabin has no shelf and the deck is diamond pattern.
I'm guessing the boat is a pre-73?

[FLexpat]

Dogbomb - Just got back from a week on the San Juan arm of Lake Powell - really hope to see your 20 there someday. I haven't seen a single SC there.

Capt Terry - We did tow sports all day long in smooth fresh water and only saw 5-6 other boats each day til we got back nearer the marinas. Pretty incredible there for playing.

[Capt Terry]

Originally Posted by FLexpat

Dogbomb - Just got back from a week on the San Juan arm of Lake Powell - really hope to see your 20 there someday. I haven't seen a single SC there.

Capt Terry - We did tow sports all day long in smooth fresh water and only saw 5-6 other boats each day til we got back nearer the marinas. Pretty incredible there for playing.

NICE! Been retired almost two years. Interruptions have affected boating frequency. But it's wonderful to avoid weekend boating & all the wakes! Can usually find a smooth enough section on Lake Hartwell, SC. Once in awhile dead flat- particularly fun for slalom or footing!