Vintage Seacraft 21' -- 1963

[3rdday]

Ok, so back to the ladies question. I know I was side-tracked Marveling at this boat. Any Ideas on what this boat is worth in its current condition ? ? ? I really think she would like to know and I am curious also.

[Fr. Frank]

What's it worth? Given a cost to have restored of over $30K, and a value restored of about 2/3 of that, it's not worth much from a strictly financial point of view.

But when has any SeaCraft fanatic ever worried about that? What a tremendous boat to restore!

I'd estimate it's worth around $1000, knowing how much even partially restoring it will cost. It's not a financial investment, it a sentimental one.

[mumble]

The beam is eight feet. I don't know if that's wider or smaller than other Seacraft models, but eight feet is what it is.

[htillman]

Pretty sure same as a 1977 23 Sceptre

[3rdday]

I believe 8' midship and less at the transom!
It would make sense since Moesly was first a pilot, he was very clever in his designs, he probably applied aviation principals. Most airfoils are thicker in the front and narrower in the back.
Sailboat hull same way. As water/ air moves around the thicker mass once it reaches the thinner mass it almost pushes the airfoil or hull forward. The water has been displaced or separated and wants to "come back together" so it helps to move the object forward.

[Bushwacker]

Good pictures Brian! The "21" is the most Classic of all SeaCrafts in my mind; probably has more clever features in it than any other model. This boat is definitely a sistership to the "UNOHU" which I posted pictures of a few months ago, except top appears to be fiberglass, like the one in Carla's brochure. Clever idea - only needs 1 bow, very light and obviously durable if it's lasted 44 years! Think I like it better than some of these T-tops that put a lot of weight high up on the boat and hurt stability. Top is also sealed to top of windshield (which was needed because this IS a wet riding boat!) Only difference on the UNOHU was that center section of windshield was hinged at top, so it opened out like a big scoop, providing lots of ventilation, a feature you'd expect on a boat designed in S. Fla.! I believe the sliding deck hatch could also be raised at front to act as a scoop to ventilate cabin.

In the inside shot looking fwd you can see how the cabin bunk extends all the way out to the seat, allowing for a 7' long bunk with a fairly short cabin/fwd deck - another clever space saving feature. Seats were fairly high, but top of windshield was still about 6" above your head. One sat with legs underneath instrument panel with feet on bunks, which were raised about 1' off the deck. Also notice that this boat is designed to be driven SITTING DOWN, so it HAD to be soft riding, which it WAS! The owner claimed the 23's had trouble staying with him when seas got over about 3-4', and he didn't run that fast. He recently sent me an e-mail describing one crossing he made from Lake Worth Inlet to West End, Grand Bahama. Running into a 20-25 kt east wind and 8-10' head seas, he ran just barely on plane at about 12 mph/1900 rpm for about 5 hrs [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] to cover the 60 miles across the gulf stream! Refueled at West End, only took 19 gal to top off the tank! Pretty decent performance for an early 60's design with mid-70's power (350 Mercruiser)!

These boats were built before USCG required flotation foam, so they have a TON of storage below deck. The UNOHU had a rack that held 4 scuba tanks vertically in center of hull just aft of the head. The tanks went down to the bottom of hull, which is so deep there that only the valve and a couple inches of a steel 72 tank were above the deck. Deck would have been about 2' above the keel at that point! The engine box was also taller than this one, up to top of transom cap, I guess because original engine was an I-6 instead of a V-8. Beam is 8',identical to the 23, since Potter made the 23 from the 21 by adding a couple of feet at the transom, adding the clipper bow, and reducing freeboard, which was nearly 5' at the bow, which made the 21' a great boat for heavy seas!

[3rdday]

You know alot about this particular design, what is the boat worth or what would you pay for it? The seller has no idea of what it is worth Any suggestions?

[76Red18]

What's it worth? Given a cost to have restored of over $30K, and a value restored of about 2/3 of that, it's not worth much from a strictly financial point of view.

But when has any SeaCraft fanatic ever worried about that? What a tremendous boat to restore!

I'd estimate it's worth around $1000, knowing how much even partially restoring it will cost. It's not a financial investment, it a sentimental one.

Fr. knows best

[3rdday]

That's the 4th time I have heard that number. The other number was about 1/2 of that.

[Bushwacker]

I think the UNOHU went for about what Fr. Frank suggested or maybe even less, and it was fully operational at the time. Some folks thought it was a little ugly looking, and very few appreciated it's sea keeping ability, unless they had ridden in it.