My '74 23 sceptre renovation

[BahamaStreaker]

Greetings everyone. I wanted to share the progress of my renovation. Picked up the boat in Feb of 2017 and have been slowly working away at it. So much to list so I was just going to post lots of pics. Not too sure how many I can attach at a time but will do my best. Wish me luck...

[BahamaStreaker]

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[BahamaStreaker]

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[kmoose]

I like it! The use of nidacore in the build will greatly reduce the weight and only requires thru bolting on high stress items bolting to it. I also dig your ample bilge access. That is something you won't regret.

Is there a reason you didn't tie the floor all the way back to the transom? I see you have installed knees but tying the deck to the transom provides unilateral support across the whole transom and would have given you added storage in your raised transom box by giving it a bottom. Also, why you are opting to relocate the batteries up front?

Sorry for all the questions. I really like your build and look forward to seeing how it comes out. Please keep us posted. If you finish before May you can do a crossing and spend a few days with us on our next gathering.

[BahamaStreaker]

Hey Moose Glad you like. Been going through CSC and taking lil tidbits from other people's experiences and trying get what I can right. So valuable to have a forum like this.

To answer your questions. As far as the floor is concerned I guess, besides less work, the reason we didn't go all the way back to the transom was mainly so that we could have more access to the bilge pumps, fuel system, buss bar, electrical lines to engine etc. Storage wasn't much of a thought as I plan on making glass forward/aft seating pods (port cooler, stb storage) along with the cuddy and under deck storage is ample.

I mainly chose to put the batteries in the bow to keep them away from moisture as much as possible. I also wanted to put some weight forward as I am installing an Armstrong bracket with a 300 g2 (and 8hp yammi 4 kicker for crossings/longer range fishing trips). Will make for a long and $$$ run to the engine but not bad for rest of electrical system. Keep the questions coming and appreciate any input anyone can give me. And thanks to everyone on this site that share their passion and knowledge of these hulls.

[erebus]

We are on a parallel course my friend!
I just put very similar knees on my 79 Sceptre, and am also putting the batteries up forward!

Looks like you cut a new anchor locker bulkhead out of starboard. How'd that work out? Was it hard to get it in place? Need to replace mine as well.

Were the lower seams on your cockpit cabin bulkheads (by the footrests) already glassed together? Mine has some teak trim over the seam, and looks kind of shabby.
Was thinking about grinding it out and glassing it, but then I'd have to paint it.
The feature creep on this project is already over the top.

What's you use for a helm? Is that a hynautic helm pump?

That bench is a great idea!

[kmoose]

One of my biggest issues with my Tsunami was it being bow heavy on plane and I was never able trim the bow up regardless of how much trim I gave it. This was a major reason why I shifted all the weight back in my build. CCs are a whole different animal where people and motors exist in the back half of the hull.
There also needs to considerations for cable size in a bow installation. Make sure you know your motors amp and voltage requirements and find a length and size calculator to insure the proper specs are met. Just dealing with the extra distance from my bracket required me to up my cable by two sizes to meet spec for length from my transom boxes. 12 volts doesn’t do distance well under load.

[BahamaStreaker]

Thx moose. I will be running 1/0 to the engine so don't think that will be an issue. My buddy who owns and operates a marine shop, evinrude dealer, is helping me out with the electrical system before they hang the bracket and engine. Hopefully the battery placement doesn't negatively affect performance. I'm hoping that bracket, relatively heavy motor, kicker, 3 layers of marine ply in transom, etc. Will make her sit heavy in stern and offset battery weight. Never ran a SeaCraft but only hear good things. Will take some getting used to bow steering coming from c.c. exclusively. Been running all sorts and size boats through the Bahamas my whole life so hopefully will be able to give some unbiased feed back once she gets running. Quite excited.

Erebus. Thx for your positive thoughts. I did have issues with the seams and removed the wood from inside and replaced with foam board and reglassed. The whole inside was gone over and cleaned up and resprayed so that wasn't an issue for me anyway. The steering is a seastar rearmount healm. The divider is starboard and seems to fit well. Haven't figured how I want to mount it in yet. Also am thinking of putting a sub in it which will also serve as an access with just taking a few screws out. We'll see.
Thought the guage panel turned out well too.

[dginge]

Looks awesome. I can’t wait to see the end result. Please keep pics coming. Two quick questions. What brand wheel and or/ suicide knob is that? Also, do you all know where to buy those extra window latches I see in the pictures? One of mine is toast. Sorry for the nit picky questions.

[Capt Terry]

Originally Posted by dginge

Looks awesome. I can’t wait to see the end result. Please keep pics coming. Two quick questions. What brand wheel and or/ suicide knob is that? Also, do you all know where to buy those extra window latches I see in the pictures? One of mine is toast. Sorry for the nit picky questions.

The u-shaped handle on my latches is broken. As I recall I could not remove the nut which had welded itself to the bolt or stud. I decided to leave well enough alone as I can still twist the rectangular portion to latch it. You may want to make sure you can get it apart before a purchase.