25 Seafari...55mph

[shana]

fr frank was that boat in ala just had one delivered to me 25 seafari with 140 merks color blue needs a lot of work will post pic maybe this weekend tu george

[shana]

seafari25 how do you like your 25 tu george ps will be looking for info!!

[seafari25]

seafari25 how do you like your 25 tu george ps will be looking for info!!

George,

My opinion might be biased as a lot of the regard I have for our 25 is sentimental. It just also happens to be the best riding 25 footer on the water, which is bonus. You see, my grandfather purchased her new in 76, when I was about 1 year old. When I was 6, my gramps sat me in the captain chair, and taught me how to run her. I remember docking her in our slip dock in windy conditions and he would grab the throttle, before I hit the dock, throw her in reverse and make me do it again, and again, until I got it right. By the time I was 11, I was running her on my own. That's when I learned that when she shows 1/4 on the gas gauge...she's empty . I spent quite a few summers on her since then and have been actually keeping up the maintainance on her, for my gramps, for the last 15 or so years now. I lost a few girlfriends over her because "you love that boat more than me"...well...yAaa . Needless to say, I will be buried in this boat.

All the sentimental stuff aside, I've been out in some heavy conditions in Georgian Bay(lake Huron) and have always felt absolutely comfortable, with both, the ride and the fact that I would make it to my destination. She has never let me down. She still has original 327 Chev coupled to a big old Mercruiser(I believe it's a 2 drive or II drive 288hp. Never had anything done to it except change gear oil so my info is limited). She cruises at about 17mph at 2900rpm and tops at 32mph at 4200rpm. She's a tank, not very fast but a lot of power(torque)with that huge prop. I once pulled a 14000lb houseboat off the beach with her. The houseboat started to move before I reached 3000rpm. I also do a lot of camping on her and she is really comfortable for 2. I have absolutely nothing derogatory to say about the 25 Seafari.

You have got yourself a great boat there...no worries

Perhaps for a comparison to other 25' boats, I think cdavis has made some remarks about that as he had another 25' boat before his Seafari. In my mind, there is no comparison, but again I'm biased.

Brandon

[Fr. Frank]

No, George. The one I looked into was in the water on the St. John's River near Fleming Island.

[cdavisdb]

Old thread, but some new information. With my Owens 7000 lb bunk trailer and a 24 Seabird, I had no trailer problems and only a few tire problems in 10 years. After I switched to a 25 Seafari, same trailer, I started having tire problems, a lot. The Seafari is only a little heavier than the Seabird, but holds more gear and gas. Tire rating was above the trailer rating, so I figured to be ok. Apparently not so. I did some research and discovered that you should reduce the tire capacity rating by 10 percent for twin axles and 10 percent more for 65 mph. Put all that together and I was way under size on the tires. Went to 10,000 lb rated bias ply tires and have had no problems since.

[shana]

thanks for info boat not done yet no time george

[FishStretcher]

I just hauled a 25 foot Seafari 175 miles. I have an older F250 2WD turbo diesel with probably 700lbs in the bed to counterweight the heavy diesel on a long bed extra cab truck. It has 215 HP and 3.53 rear axle ratio and the E4OD trans. I wish it was a '99 with wastegated turbo and 4R100(?) trans. I am thinking I might need 4.11 rear gears for the boat ramp- I definitely need a limited slip. Truck is 8800lb GVWR, and it has a new 10,000 lb receiver and hitch. I would recommend at least this much power and truck to haul any long distance.

The trailer is rated at 6200 pounds net, 7975 gross- a galvanized bunk trailer with non working surge brakes on the front axle. Wheels and tires are 205 wide, D load rated on 14" rims, 6 bolt. I noticed that the previous owner who hauled maybe a mile each way declined fixing a spring on the trailer. I noticed this in the receipts after I got home...

I hauled on roads that were barely above freezing at 60-65MPH. I think one broken spring overloaded the front axle/tires a bit as they were warmish (110-120F) when I pulled over. So they were 90F above ambient, and steaming with snowmelt. Rear tires and truck tires weren't 70F. Bearings were new and stone cold.

I definitely need brakes (thinking disc/ electromagnetic, if that is an option), and have to address the axle loading issue. I want to investigate better tires as well. I think towing this in August would have resulted in a tire failure.

[cdavisdb]

Check the weight limit on the tires. D range is what you want, but what weight limit? If you pull the boat fast and a long way, total 10,000 lbs is a good idea. I had some C rated,1870 lb capacity (total 7480 lbs) that apparently were not enough for this boat.

Owens recommends stainless hydraulic disc brakes by Deemaxx. Given who they are, that should be good advice.

I looked at the tire placement on your boat relative to hull length. Looks to be within an inch or so of mine, maybe less, should be fine if you fix the spring issues.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by FishStretcher

. . . I definitely need brakes (thinking disc/ electromagnetic, if that is an option), and have to address the axle loading issue. . .

The electromechanical brakes like they use on RV type trailers are not an option if you're gonna dunk the trailer!

Surge brakes work pretty well if you use silicone fluid (DOT 5) in them, since it doesn't absorb moisture and rust the brake cylinders like conventional DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid. The only disadvantage with them is they'll come on when you coast going down hill, so could be a problem if you towed in the mountains, but that's not a problem in Florida! Also, if you run disk instead drum brakes, (and you want SS disk brakes on a trailer that will be dunked!) they'll also come on when you back up, so you need a valve between the actuator and brake line to shut them off so you can back up! I use a manual valve since I normally get out of truck anyway to drop the tailgate when backing up so I can see the trailer tires, but they also make solenoid valves that tie into your backup lights to shut off the brakes when you hit reverse. I have enough trouble just keeping the lights working without one more wire to worry about!

There is another more expensive option (about $2-3K more than surge brakes), electric OVER hydraulic brakes, which uses an electric motor to power the hydraulic system. One advantage is it can apply the brakes when you're backing down the ramp. It requires a trailer brake controller mounted in the truck, which feeds current to the actuator as a function of how hard you're applying the truck brakes. These actuators also have a way to apply the trailer brakes alone, which could help stabilize a trailer that started to fishtail. There is a real good article on them in the winter issue of the BoatUS Trailering magazine: http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/ma...ulicBrakes.asp
Denny

[FishStretcher]

These are all good thoughts. I just got my first trailer with brakes 2 years ago. The lockout is unreliable, but otherwise they are ok for a 20 footer on a trailer. Iuse SS safety wire to hold the reverse lockout in place.

I have a friend who likes the electromagnet brakes for use on boat trailers, as they are potted and have fewer moving parts, he says. He owned a trailer shop for a while, for whatever that is worth.

But looking at the Redneck Trailer website, I can't find electromagnet disc brakes, so I might be chasing unicorns...

Maybe I will just convert this to surge SS disc brakes an call it good. But I swear fixing a trailer costs 10x what buying one does. Hills aren't a real problem. We have them, but brakes on hills isn't a bad thing. It isn't an issue with the 20 footer.

I will have to change brake fluid. I have Castrol GT Low Moisture Absorbency now.

Originally Posted by Bushwacker

The electromechanical brakes like they use on RV type trailers are not an option if you're gonna dunk the trailer!

Surge brakes work pretty well if you use silicone fluid (DOT 5) in them, since it doesn't absorb moisture and rust the brake cylinders like conventional DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid. The only disadvantage with them is they'll come on when you coast going down hill, so could be a problem if you towed in the mountains, but that's not a problem in Florida! Also, if you run disk instead drum brakes, (and you want SS disk brakes on a trailer that will be dunked!) they'll also come on when you back up, so you need a valve between the actuator and brake line to shut them off so you can back up! I use a manual valve since I normally get out of truck anyway to drop the tailgate when backing up so I can see the trailer tires, but they also make solenoid valves that tie into your backup lights to shut off the brakes when you hit reverse. I have enough trouble just keeping the lights working without one more wire to worry about!

There is another more expensive option (about $2-3K more than surge brakes), electric OVER hydraulic brakes, which uses an electric motor to power the hydraulic system. One advantage is it can apply the brakes when you're backing down the ramp. It requires a trailer brake controller mounted in the truck, which feeds current to the actuator as a function of how hard you're applying the truck brakes. These actuators also have a way to apply the trailer brakes alone, which could help stabilize a trailer that started to fishtail. There is a real good article on them in the winter issue of the BoatUS Trailering magazine: http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/ma...ulicBrakes.asp
Denny