Splashed the 72 Seafari - what I learned...

[fdheld34]

Gillie...looking very nice!!!
Your custom seat storage project came out excellent (you need to go into production/seriously)..and I love your battery switch wiring job..
Couple questions for you
1)Are you running dual batteries. (looks like switch is off/on...but you have isolator)...where do you store your second battery (in your custom helm storage center) ...I cant seem to find the room for a second battery..I only have the stock(I think its stock... molded in fiberglass battery tray in starboard transom storage area...port side has a fixed compartment///does not have a baitwell type storage like yours and others so battery will not fit??
2) Also...where did you get the boat cover..I was thinking of going to Walmart but I am unsure of size?

Thanks, Fred

[McGillicuddy]

Hi Fred,
Thanks for kind words. The seat boxes aren't quite done but they're working for now. The picture of the battery is the "house" battery on a tapered pedestal in the port stern locker. I removed the aerator and use a plug for now. The lower board gets a couple of ss hinges and a vertical board that will semi encapsulate the battery holding it in place as well as providing a little separated storage for fenders, spare parts and fluids, etc. The battery switch is a Blue Sea Systems product called Add-a-battery. It is an automatic charging relay with a starting isolator. When switch is "on" the batteries both get charged as needed while running, but only provide power to their circuit. Circuit A is for "starting" only, and circuit B for "house". If one has failed, you may "combine" the batteries for emergency starting or what ever. My dedicated "starting" battery is in the same place as yours.

The cover came from Costco. $86. Saw them for $76 last week. Size in this brand was "E" 20 to 22' to 104" wide. You need that cause of the bow rail. Its pretty stout. not a perfect fit but for $90 I'm content. I've bought a couple of $60 covers from walmart for my wood boat but they are no comparison to this. I'll get a closeup of the fabric and the box... -- Gillie

[fdheld34]

Gillie,
Thanks for the excellent info...I am going to cut the port transom storage container out to gain access for another battery and will utilize a similar setup (all in due time!!).The Blue Seas System--add a battery ---looks alot more substantial that the isolators that NAPA sells and the way you have them wired makes good sense.
Figured the Walmart covers were not of the best quality...thanks for that cover info as well.
-Fred

[rhody98]

Congrats Gilly, looking good and great job on the seats. I also have been quite happy with the add-a-battery set-up.

[McGillicuddy]

Hey Super Seafari,
Thanks for those side view & ladder pics. The Teak door is really not as good as it looks. The door frame and seat tops and backs are new and mahogany(teak beats the shi!+ out of saw blades, weighs a ton and is incredibly expensive). Teak oil is for sailors who have a lot of time to kill. I like to fish.

Joey (I fish the keys) has a great finish process. Sand to wood, 2-3 coats of epoxy and then however many coats of quality polyurethane you can motivate yourself to do. Right now I have 2 coats of epoxy on woodwork and I'll probably use 3-4 coats of poly. I think Joey uses 3 coats of epoxy and 6-10 coats of clear Awlgrip. Do a search for Joey in the last year or so. His stuff looks like it belongs in the Smithonian...

The pipe insulation is awesome. Stole that from my fishing partners BW Revenge. Helps with the cold weather grip, and the bruising when your out in small craft advisories. I know that's probably not an issue in your boat...I have yet to find out what my wee boat will take...but if it can't be an endles summer, I'm looking forward to the winter.

-Gillie

[seafari25]

Thanks Gillie, I'll search for those posts. I always keep some teak oil on the boat for when the fish aren't hittin. The rod racks and galley supports are pretty weathered from being uncovered as there was no rear enclosure for quite a few seasons. They still turn out greyish coat after coat.

I was thinking that the pipe insulation was your tarp saver and thats what I was going to steal the idea for but thats a good idea using it for a forehead saver as well. The seafari gets stored in a shed at the local marina but I tarp the rest of the boats and windshields are hard on tarps. Great idea!

Must be nice to be able to boat all year round. We have to store our boats for the winter and go snowmobiling.

Brandon

BTW Those seats of yours...sweet!

[McGillicuddy]

Hey Brandon, You make a good point, the pipe foam really does increase the useful life of the tarps. Those windshield corners are really sharp especially on poly w/bungee pressure. The cold only makes tarps more brittle... Take it easy. And watch for low branches on those snowmobiles. Take it easy - Gillie

[finestkind]

lolol just started laughing when i looked at the pipe insulation!!! what a great idea!! reason i was laughing i was recalling a trip out this summer and having to go back to the beach with a bloody forehead!!!! man I smacked it good!! HAHAHA so thanks for the idea!!! I can put my helmet away!!!!

[65Bowrider]

Protection of covers & tarps is a good idea for their endurance on those sharp corners ... what also works well is swimming pool noodles... great to wrap on bimini piping too so it protects your boat when in the 'down' position. We have found many great uses for the Noodles... and especially cheap when you find them on trash piles.

[Bushwacker]

Gillie - NICE job on the seats, windhield and wiring! On the batteries, I wanted to keep my baitwell intact, but I discovered that you can dig out the foam between the 2 stringers under stbd seat and that leaves enough room for a big battery box, plus a large anchor and 100' of line!
Made the boat a little heavy on stbd side till I added the galley seat with the 6 gal water jug. Also used the lightest battery I could find (An Optima, at about 37 lbs) for the outboard position near the chine, but have a big group 27 in the box. This probably only works for 72 and older models which have 4 fg stringers. (I've seen a 73 model where the two stringers on each side were replaced by one big box stringer; looks like Potter tried to reduce cost by just using the inside portion of inner stringer and outboard section of the outer stringer. Would reduce stiffness, but the boats were so overbuilt to start with that I guess it's not an issue!)

I found these BIG 5" dia. pool noodles at Walmart which do a great job of padding the windshield to protect the cover!

I like your cover and the way the straps attach - looks a little stouter than the one I got at Walmart for a little over $100 w/tax. I started with the $50 one because I wasn't sure about the fit. Fit was great but the strong UV here got to it in about a year, so I upgraded to next quality level. It only has 5 straps on each side and I found I need an extra one amidships to keep it tight enough to drain water. The "ridgepole" is key to making a cover work, so here's what I came up with after years of experimentation. I just run one bow line up to the center of rail, then back to light fixture on windshield and then back to steering yoke on motor, with a couple of supports under the line to give it enough height. The cover is purposely shifted to port because stbd side is shaded by house in the morning, and I wanted more protection to port from the afternoon sun.



By the way Brandon, I love that big Seafari of yours! After trying to maintain the teak on my boat for over 30 years, I found that it's actually easier to just varnish it instead of oiling it. It's a bit more work up front, but will last several years, especially if you keep it covered when not using the boat, although the in your climate the UV effects may be insignificant. The oil seems to oxidize and turn dark in about 6 months, and then it's a pain use the cleaner (which also destroys the soft part of the grain!) and reoil. I used Honey Teak on the door, but it's a pretty dark urethane and you have to measure/mix small amounts of 3 different chemicals. I used Epifanes High Gloss on everything else. It's a lot easier and PowerBoat Reports testing showed it was the longest lasting varnish. Just thin the first few coats per directions and build it up to about 7-8 coats. Then every 2-3 years,you can just scuff it with a red 3M pad, give it another coat or two and it'll look great. If you like spraying hazardous chemicals, Joey's method of using epoxy and the clear Awlgrip looks terrific and may be even more durable! Denny