Any of you ever own a 23' SeaCraft ?

bgreene · #1 12-18-2012, 11:02 AM

Casually looking for 23' SeaCraft Sceptre.. in case we pursue idea of fishing further offshore..........

Anyway, anyone with first hand experience - pro's & cons, ride characteristic etc., let me know.

I know most guys swear by em' but of course some are bias !!!

ps - meanwhile......still lovin' my V21.

THEFERMANATOR · #2 12-18-2012, 01:20 PM

Never owned one, but have been out in one. It was a good riding hull, and deserving of it's reputation. The one I rode in was an 83 with a pair of 83 150 EVINRUDES on it, and it was one fast son of a gun for an offshore boat. Ran low 50's easily.

Kracker Jack · #3 12-18-2012, 01:57 PM

I actually had one given to me about 5 years ago. Motor was fresh rebuilt,and outdrive rebuilt. It was taken fully apart and had a rotten transom. I sold it 2 months later for 1500 dollars. I know 2 people that own 23's and love them. There a beautiful ride in motion but once you put them on the hook they will rock and roll on ya just like the Albemarle will. There's one forsale right now on Virginia beach,va Craigslist for 4500 dollars and the boat is beautiful. Like a seafoam green color. Good luck on your search

macojoe · #4 12-19-2012, 12:09 AM

I have never owned one but have 4 friends that have them and have fished hem all. I have one guy that has the scepter and its a nice boat, it is a OB and moves thur the snot really well, but as stated not as good at dift. That said its still very fish able, and better then the roll you get in a Formula. All the others I have been on are the CC and they are a little better ride as the weight distribution is better, as the cuddy is not there.
I saw one a few years back that thy took the scepter and added a CC took off the windshield, and had the best of both worlds!
There is no doubt that they are nice boats, but they can be $$$ for no other reason then there name, like Grady, Whaler and a few others.

Good Luck!

bgreene · #5 12-19-2012, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macojoe

I have never owned one but have 4 friends that have them and have fished hem all. I have one guy that has the scepter and its a nice boat, it is a OB and moves thur the snot really well, but as stated not as good at dift. That said its still very fish able, and better then the roll you get in a Formula. All the others I have been on are the CC and they are a little better ride as the weight distribution is better, as the cuddy is not there.
I saw one a few years back that thy took the scepter and added a CC took off the windshield, and had the best of both worlds!
There is no doubt that they are nice boats, but they can be $$$ for no other reason then there name, like Grady, Whaler and a few others.

Good Luck!

Ok thanks - boats are a bit of an obsession .... did I post that already ? Meanwhile, every time I look at my V21 it makes me happy because it's such a nice rig, especially now with the curtains. Last out two weeks ago - cold spray ? Nope, dry and cozy, a little windshield wiper action, and all good...

wellcraftv20step · #6 12-21-2012, 08:23 AM

bgreene, check out Classicseacraft.com , those guys are almost as sharp as the guys here on our site. They are a good bunch and will answer any questions you have. My favorite by the way is the 23 Savage

spareparts · #7 12-21-2012, 07:12 PM

yes, check the seacraft site, just be careful, they are a bunch of snobs, seriously, they are pretty high opinionated of themselves over there and they get in some stupid pissing matches over minor things(especially if you own a Mako).
Personally, I don't think any one makes a better 23 offshore boat than the seacraft, I've ridden on a bunch of 23-25 ft boats offshore(including the Formula 233) and the Sea craft is the best I've ridden on. I've been in seas that I had no business in, we where running a 23 with a single 23 Opti, ran it hard getting out(60 miles), got there and it stood up on us, got real big, real quick, tried to troll but couldn't keep the spray out our beer at 6 knots and had the tips of both riggers(laid out wide) in the water at the same time between swells( big and short). Pulled everything back in, set the boat on top, and surfed it back in all the way, never hooked, never pounded, never slammed. That being said, it will roll you at low speeds, 23's are narrow beam boats, in rough seas especially drifiting, they will pitch you all over the place. And they are wet, we had full fowl weather gear on that day in March(reference the spray in the beer remark). The Scepter/Tsunami will give you better protection, but you will be moving around more seated nearer the front. BTW, you can't plow these boats thru waves, you have to grow a set, put the throttle down and run on top, its not for the weak of heart. If you try to plow thru the waves, you're going to just mush around and get no where. As far as construction goes, they all need the transom redone, the stringers are solid glass so you don't have to worry about that. I go against the grain, but the best ones I've found are the early Tracker years, they had less wood, more modern features, drain gutters in the floor, higher floors and generall weigh less. The Seacraft snobs generally frown on these so you could pick up a decent deal on one vs the inflated "Potter" hulls(que the angles singing) BTW, there are no good deals on them out there right now, I've been looking for Willy for the past month, Best bet is to find one that's in need of re power but has already been restored, the owner is usually spent out at this point. low ball the offer,bite the bullet and put a new motor on it

bgreene · #8 12-21-2012, 08:29 PM

Spare - thanks for the information. Interesting that S Craft owners claim the roll on the drift isn't much at all.....

My V21's almost the perfect boat for me now, it's in rare condition and I may bump it up from the 150 hp to 200 hp.

SeaCraft Sceptre's long been a boat I've wanted, and will see how it shakes out - maybe soon, maybe later.....

spareparts · #9 12-21-2012, 09:32 PM

23 Scepter/tsunami with a single flotation bracket and a 250 Yamaha 4stroke would be a an ideal set up. Had a friend that i talked into starting one(one of 6 boats I talked him into). WE could have got the boat up and running pretty cheap, but he had to have it pretty, so the paint and the might as wells kept adding up, buy the time he finished smoking his calculator, he sold the boat at a loss to keep from putting any more money into it. Never keep track of money on a hobby, it takes all teh fun out of it. One otehr reason he sold the 23 was the realization that its a big 23. On the trailer, it felt so much bigger then the 23 Formula that we had fished the year before. It was definitely not a single person use boat. It would have been an awesome boat if we had finished it. BGreen, not trying to be harsh, but judging from what your taste and expectations are from what i saw on your V 21 purchase, in all seriousness, its going to probably take a $25,000+ hull(not counting motor) to satisfy your taste. I've been around a lot of $30,000 running 23 Sea crafts, and they are no where near as clean or as good of shape as your V21. Just keep your limits based on your budget. If your budget can afford it, by all means, go for it

bgreene · #10 12-22-2012, 07:28 AM

Really seems like a single person trailerable boat to me. I've been lauching single handed for a lot of years and the S Craft's only another 500 - 700 lbs.

But then again........ I think a 40' Coast Guard roll over capable rig would be a great trailerable fishing platform.....fish any weather, not much clean up, no gel coat to fuss with.