Sea Craft article

shaneburris74 · #1 07-26-2009, 01:55 PM

I was checking out the classic Sea Craft site today (I know...flirting with another hull...lol) and found an interesting article. Its about the history of Sea Craft, specifically the start and growth of the company under Carl Moesly.
When I have read about Sea Craft prior to this you always hear "Potter hulls, Potter hulls, Potter hulls." To me that implies that they were'nt much when Bill Potter didn't build them. This article mentions nothing about Potter. It talkes about a "new owner" who they say ran the company in the ground after 1968 timeframe. My understand that the "good" Potter hulls were from 1969 to 1980. Confusing..need more info.
Nonetheless its a great read. The article talks about him being credited with inventing the bowrider and the stringer "grid" system, and somewhat the center console. Heres the link. In order to read the pages I had to save them and open them as pictures and then zoom in. Still tough to read though.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/broch...sly/index.html

THEFERMANATOR · #2 07-26-2009, 03:07 PM

I believe the MOESLEY hulls were built before the POTTER hulls came about. SEACRAFT didn't start off with the POTTER design, but that is the one that catupulted em to where they are.

shaneburris74 · #3 07-26-2009, 08:48 PM

The confusing thing is that the Moesly hulls look just like the Potter hulls...atleast to my amatuer eye. I've read some stuff that says Potter bought the molds with the company. They talk about the unique alternating sized steps and thats what the Potter hull is based on.
Apparently Johnny Morris of Bass Pro and Tracker boats owns Sea Craft now from what I've read. The purists are not happy about that either.
Big Shrimpin is a member over there too. I saw one of his posts. Maybe he can enlighten us.

THEFERMANATOR · #4 07-26-2009, 10:02 PM

The MOSELY hulls are different. They were built more so off of the deep vee hull design like that of BERTRAM fame. The POTTER hulls are built on a variable dead rise hull where the V of the hull is constantly changing as you go from the keel up. This was designed so that you could use lower HP on the same size hull to plane out and get good performance, but still have many of the deep vee hull pros without the high HP and bad rocking cons. The last of the POTTER hulls I believe were in 83 or 84, and from what I have read the early TRACKERS seem to be the problematic ones in many of em.

bigshrimpin · #5 07-27-2009, 11:35 AM

The old mosley 21 and variations of that hull were the race boats that dominated the early offshore racing circuit. The 23 seacraft is basically a 21 with some modification to the hull and deck. I believe that the 23 seacraft designs were done by firm hired by Potter in the early 70's . . . similar recessed rail gunnel cap design was used on the 1970's 20 Master Angler beginning in 1975. The 20 seacraft is the same recreational inshore hull using the original mosley 19 bowrider hull.

Mosley's 25 (last design) incorporated a unique patented ballast system (that potter scrapped) has the sharpest V hull . . . and is being used for research by Steven Loui

http://www.navatekltd.com/index.html

Check out the V on the 25 Seacraft Seafari.

bigshrimpin · #6 07-27-2009, 11:42 AM

spareparts · #7 07-27-2009, 06:12 PM

I wish tehy had kept the shear line of the early models, they just look so goooood!

Hey BS, I think I may have found a 25 Safari, couldn't get close enough to it to make the 100% ID, but right now its just aging, waiting for me to finish the McKee, then the V. Have you ever ridden in a 25? Wonder how tippy they are at rest(bottom fishing)

bigshrimpin · #8 07-27-2009, 06:31 PM

Spares - My Good friend chuck strickland "strick" is in the process of restoring one. I've climb all over it, but it's parked in his yard. I only have second hand information about them including an email from Bill Potter. There was an owner that used his during a hurricane to cross b/w St. Thomas and St. John VI . . . told Bill about dropping off the face of 15ft seas and just kept on motoring. Strick has an email from Steven Loui who has made some mods to the hull for his project that runs a 480 hp Yanmar and Weismann drive. With the mods he says that they can't stuff the bow no matter how hard they try . . . and that's in Hawaii in some nasty nasty conditions. I'm not sure about the rocking, but I'm sure it's not too bad with the variable deadrise.

spareparts · #9 07-27-2009, 08:50 PM

its got the wheels turning, just need the time, money, and to keep every one in my family out of the hospital for a while

shaneburris74 · #10 07-28-2009, 09:52 AM

BS- Would you agree with my assessement that the popular/uneducated opinion is that the Potter years were great and everything else sucks?
But, as you read into it that really isn't totally true. Some of the stuff I've read, and some of the stuff you've said says different. Or is that just my undeducated opinion?
Example: "The 20 seacraft is the same recreational inshore hull using the original mosley 19 bowrider hull." So, your saying the super popular 20ft CC is a Moesly hull actually?