I have never been in the seafarer but I know the gulfstream is a HEAVY boat for a 23'. This is good thing as far as ride is concerned, not so good for trailering and fuel economy. The one I rode in often had a fuel injected 250hp yamaha saltwater series on a bracket. The motor was a little low IMO and would nearly dunk when coming off a plane. My buddy struggled to keep fuel in that boat. I'm thinking it got somewhere around 1 mpg with that set up, maybe a little better.
I wonder how much lighter the seafarer would be?
I'm with you on the center consoles because of the wind and cold factors, but with one of those really nice gunnel to gunnel CC enclosures a CC would be an awesome cold weather boat and just simply heavenly for summertime.
Keep us posted on your R & D and don't do something you might regret.
