Splashed the 72 Seafari - what I learned...

[fdheld34]

Congrats Gillie on your voyage!!!!,
About you wanting to install an anchor roller.....
I like my windline anchor roller set up I have on my Seafari..I just pop my head out of the hatch and undo anchor chain that I wrap around the 10" cleat and it drops effortlessly. The 10" cleat is a little overkill(4 #10 thru bolted with aluminum backing plate) but it also gives me plenty of space to have bow line attached at the same time that anchor chain is wrapped around cleat..and a good tie off point if I ever need to be pulled in by Sea Tow .Also the anchor line stows in original forward anchor locker via the hawse pipe that I installed just behind the 10" cleat. I am way too big and a little overweight to walk up (stumble up!!)to the bow, especially in rough seas, so this works best for me. In the future if boat doesn't sell...I can remove hawse pipe/ and cleat and install a free fall anchor windlass..here is a pic of my set up..I am sure you have already seen it!!!!
Good luck and post some pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...
-Fred

[finestkind]

congrads on the ride!!! It was funny reading your post cause i felt like i was reading something i would've written, cause it is everything i deal with. I end up leaving plugs in my deck scupper holes while I am using the boat. seeing the scuppers are at waterline if i stand in the back of boat while hauling lobster traps i fill the rear with water, cause it flows freely into boat. So i keep the plugs in until i wash down boat or if it is on my moring (only cause of rain). I've also got a problem with sinking my boat!! lol sounds pretty messed up but where i moore my boat i deal with tides, so when i'm on the ground at low tide the boat sits very tilted because of the deep v hull. Sometimes it looks as if it will tip over. So what happens is water comes in the splashwell scuppers (because of the angle is so severe) and goes into my splashwell and then the water goes into my so called water tight hatch and into my bildge which runs my bildge pump after a couple of tides. It dosn't let in alot because the so called water tight hatch holds most out, but after a few tides there's enough to run the bildge pump. This only happens for about 10-15 minutes each tide, which wasn't a problem when i use the boat every other day or even every weekend because the battery gets charged back up. But i left the boat for three weeks and the battery died from the pump running so much. So got a day off of work and went to go fishing and found water right over my transom and my boat completely flooded!!!! so not knowing how long it was like this, cause i wasn't down to the boat for three weeks i was very releaved to learn that the boat doesn't sink completly full of water!!!! the bad part was the battery underwater (thankfully it was dead, so nothing fried) and all my tackle and other stuff was soaked. Oh and my porta-potty (which wasn't empty) was upside down floating in my cabin which was a little smelly!!! But the good thing was that the boat didn't sink!!!! Which kept my engine above the water!!!!!! Thank God!!!!! So seeing the water was above the transom it was pretty hard to bale out the boat so i spun the boat around and with help of one friend i pulled the transom as far up as i could on the shore which made the water line about a half an inch below the transom so i could start bailing!!!! I was very lucky because usually boats flip over from the rushing tide once they fill with water. Over the years I have seen a handful of boats in this creek completely upside down, from filling with water and flipping over. SO to fix this problem i got plugs for the splashwell scupper holes aswell as my deck scuppers. so now at the changing rising tide the water can't go freely into the spashwell. I don't leave the plugs in the deck scuppers on moring cause it dosn't create a problem, only a little water comes in and then the boat floats and comes out (this water dosn't get into the bildge, its only a little water directly about the floor scupper hole and then goes right out when boat starts to float.) Oh the reason the water gets this high up on the transom is not just because of the deep v it also sits with the bow of the boat up higher because of the angle of the creek bottom. so it takes a little while for the water to get high enough for the boat to lift up in the rear. sounds like a big deal but i have been in this creek since a kid and live right next to it so i usually us the boat daily and always keep an eye on it. So thats my little story so hopefully it won't happen to you now that you know about it!!! LOLOL but everything else you wrote is true with my boat the speed, the better ride a a little higher speed, the pain in the butt anchor set up (which i deffinatley want to change to fdheld34's set up!!!) But for the most part I love my Seafari!!! She gets lots of use in Cape Cod Bay and takes a beating!!!! She's been out in some pretty nasty weather and takes it well!!!! So good luck with yours and HAVE FUN!!!!

[McGillicuddy]

Thanks Fa. Frank, My book reads the same. Either way it appears I'm running a little low. I am not certain of my prop... It is very painted at the housing... looks like 13 3/4 R 21 MWC but I'll have to either strip it or remove it and check the inside of the hub.

I found a stainless prop 13 3/4 x 15 P664 6SC-315 - II- C Michigan on line

Any idea what it is and whether its a fit for the Seafari or not?

Finest kind, Thanks for the feed back. I'm guessing you get pretty severe tide swings in the back of the Bay. Looks beautiful up there. Great looking boat by the way. I imagine being cut for 20" twins water is even more apt to get in when its listing in the creek.

Dig your top also. I'm looking for a convertible top like that. Did you have that made? I wonder if I could get dimensions from you?

Fred Thanks for the anchor roller pics. Stupid question but how does the anchor ride up there. Does it use chocks or what? I hate rattlin' unless its a snake lettin' me know where not to step.

[fdheld34]

Gilie..no bouncing of anchor at all....
....the anchor flukes set downward with the crown up and the shank fits on top and between the stainless part of the anchor roller. It does not bounce etc due to the tightening of the anchor flukes against the underside tip of the anchor roller when I tighten anchor chain around the cleat..if that makes any sense. Plus, I set my windline roller(used oversize windline roller) so the anchor would never come into contact with bow of boat when raised and the anchor shank would never come into contact with the deck when secured. Also, instead of using a cleat to secure the anchor chain to pull anchor flukes against the roller end ...you could use an anchor chain tightener/tensioner. I am up in Long Island, NY (with my adopted newborn baby son)...will send some pics with anchor mounted when I get home.
-Fred

[McGillicuddy]

Fred, Congratulations! That's awesome. The world needs more people like you and your boy has finally got a break! Hang on to the Seafari if you can and in a couple of years your boy will be noting to his pals "my Dad's boat is better than you Dad's boat!" Enjoy! -- Gillie

[htillman]

My anchor setup is similar, my anchor roller is hinge and extends the anchor beyond the bow. I have a Powerwinch windlass that operates the anchor from the helm, maybe overkill but my boat is a Sceptre and I do not want to "crawl" on the bow. I have test operated it "dry" but will be testing it in the water the next couple of days, my friend has the same setup and it works great. Once I test it I will post some pics.

[fdheld34]

Thanks Gillie..this child has been such a blessing to my wife and I and hopefully I can swing keeping the Seafari...Third job won't kill me....would do anything for the little guy!!Gillie when you get a chance post some more pics of your Seafari!!!!I am going to take mine out when I get home and settled...and do some performance checks as well..I too only have a GPS and a tach(that still needs to be hooked up!!). You had a good idea about running on 6 gallons to get your numbers and I will utilize that as well.

et23----definately post pics of your set up with the windlass/ might do that down the road on a smaller scale..hopefully it won't entail me switching to a self launching roller for a free fall windlass...my windline was not cheap!!


-Fred

[seafari25]

Hey Guys,

Some congradulations are in order here.

McGill, I still have my foot in my mouth about your 70's crisis teachings. I was unaware but I wanted to chime in here. How does the saying go? Once you go SeaCraft, you'll never go back...I don't know, something like that but good show gettin' her in. Operating the SeaCraft is like an addiction for me so I assume that you'll be itching to get her out again. I too would like to see some pics.

Fred, congradulations again! That is so great to hear that your baby is coming home and the SeaCraft is still in the driveway. The seafari is a good, safe family boat. It will come in handy on those family vacations.

Guys, I was thinking about adding a bow roller to the seafari. I think one would be handy because i've always tied a bowline on a bite in order to get my bow into the wind. That's a pain cause I usually have to tie it 2 or 3 times to get it right. I have a danforth anchor on the bow. Would that sit in the roller ok or do they only work well with bruce and kingston anchors?

Brandon

[McGillicuddy]

Obviously still needs a lot of attention but here's a few pics of my therapy

[seafari25]

Hey that's lookin sweet McGill. I like the black window frames, they look sharp. How did you get the teak door looking so good? I've put hundreds of coats of oil on and even took everything out a couple of years ago and sanded, cleaned and oiled but it never came out that well.

Brandon

BTW nice on the pipe insulation on the windshield frame. I might steal that idea.