So my "new to me" Potter Seacraft Sceptre......Barn Find

jebsurf · #1 03-05-2018, 10:29 AM

(cliff's below if you don't want to read all)So I have a good friend of mine who had a 76' Sceptre that he didn't use much. His intentions was to offshore fish it here and there, but he just lost interest with it and has been letting it sit and do nothing with it for the last 2 years. He knew I was a boat guy, so he called me up and said "I've decided to sell the sea craft and do you want it". I've owned quite a few boats and he knows I like tinkering with them, and to make a long story short, we came to an agreement on the price and now she's mine.

A little background on me, I'm 34 and I go through boats pretty quick(even tho I'm going to keep this one) haha. My first boat was a 79' 25 Mako CC. The boat was a TANK! Had twin Suzuki 140's (4s) on it but was plagued with the common fuel tank issues. I decided one day to open that can of worms, and I've regretted it ever since. I'm a member on CM and they were great help, but one thing led to the next and next thing I know I have a bare hull stripped to the stringers with no where to put it back together(a controlled environment or even a barn or whatever). At the time, I had to bail on the project, twice actually. It was my first love of my own offshore boat, but thats in times past now. I learned A LOT along the way! I'm familiar now with glass, terms, boat layout, etc.

Back to the Seacraft....Seems to be pretty solid for the most part. It has a couple areas of concern for me, but for now I'll just be keeping an eye on those places and make sure they don't worsen. Its been converted to a bracket and has a SWS 2 225 on it now. It ran fine when parked 2 years ago, but yeah....that was 2 years ago. Going to have tank pumped/cleaned, and then carbs gone through and have any problems addressed with the engine "if" they seem suspect because I will be running this boat 30+ miles (each way) at times. And being its a older motor, I will have sea tow policy purchased for sure.

Areas to address first:
*Aft fish box lid support- She's soft in the core area. I will be pulling the core and re-coring and using epoxy for all the repairs.
*Has 2 stress cracks/fractures where the splash well was covered up on aft of boat. Taking drimmel tool to grind out the crack itself and will be filling with a thickened epoxy mixture.
* Has minor soft spot about the size of a soccer ball on the port side in cabin where the seating area is. I know proper way to fix this would be to do the whole thing, but for now.....I may only core the area and then do a complete deck later.
*The rear inspection hatch going to bilge, that part is very minor soft. I believe it should be super easy to repair because it comes out in one piece and is screwed in.
*Re-calk the whole boat
***Major FIX ASAP/ADVICE NEEDED*** I'm having some electrolysis going on. It's pretty bad and my buddy and owner before him prob weren't boat "fix it" guys, so they prob had no idea it was going on. The bracket has taken a pretty big hit. Big enough where it's leaking somewhere( I believe I know where). Deff savable at this point, but it's not going to get any better unless I address it obviously. There is a zinc mounted on the bracket itself it it doesn't look too eaten up. It's taken a less of a toll then the bracket itself haha. From my basic knowledge of this, I'm taking a educated guess that the battery originally was mounted aft close to the engines. When they added to the transom and moved the battery forward, they didn't properly ground it OR the negative lead to wherever they ground it is too long(maybe the ground is running back all the way aft). Any advice on how to track this problem down and stop it would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for my book, but figured it would be best if I give a proper introduction about myself and the boat. Now for the important part, PICTURES

jebsurf · #2 03-05-2018, 10:44 AM

I'm having problems uploading, bare with me if ya could

Here is link after a new hub and a good bath

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sbT46AM4wTcph0UE2

erebus · #3 03-05-2018, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jebsurf

***Major FIX ASAP/ADVICE NEEDED*** I'm having some electrolysis going on. It's pretty bad and my buddy and owner before him prob weren't boat "fix it" guys, so they prob had no idea it was going on. The bracket has taken a pretty big hit. Big enough where it's leaking somewhere( I believe I know where).

Is it an Armstrong Bracket?
I just went through the rehab process on mine (armstrong) and I was talking to the Alexseal paint rep about the process to paint mine after I had it sandblasted and he said to take a look at whether the bracket was welded or cast.
He said for awhile Armstrong was making cast aluminum brackets, and the corrosion on them was out of control.
I looked in mine and could see that it was definitely welded out of plate.

If its welded or not an Armstrong than it could be that somebody painted it with copper bottom paint, which is a major no-no on Aluminum.
Next guess would be that the bracket and the motor weren't isolated enough and not enough zinc to protect the aluminum... maybe?
Just because the zinc on the bracket looks intact doesnt mean its doing its job. For example if somebody caulked it in place, or installed it over existing bottom paint.
For the zinc to be effective it has to have a good electrical contact with the metal its trying to protect.
Just a couple of thoughts...

jebsurf · #4 03-05-2018, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erebus

Is it an Armstrong Bracket?
I just went through the rehab process on mine (armstrong) and I was talking to the Alexseal paint rep about the process to paint mine after I had it sandblasted and he said to take a look at whether the bracket was welded or cast.
He said for awhile Armstrong was making cast aluminum brackets, and the corrosion on them was out of control.
I looked in mine and could see that it was definitely welded out of plate.

If its welded or not an Armstrong than it could be that somebody painted it with copper bottom paint, which is a major no-no on Aluminum.
Next guess would be that the bracket and the motor weren't isolated enough and not enough zinc to protect the aluminum... maybe?
Just because the zinc on the bracket looks intact doesnt mean its doing its job. For example if somebody caulked it in place, or installed it over existing bottom paint.
For the zinc to be effective it has to have a good electrical contact with the metal its trying to protect.
Just a couple of thoughts...

GREAT response! But yes they painted the bracket with bottom paint, and as it's not Armstrong, it IS a aluminum one! So you could VERY well be on to something! Much thanks! I think I'll strip it off and see what happens....espically because I'm not keeping it in the water anyway