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#1
03-06-2013, 12:07 PM
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Another 1976 23' Inboard Restoration
Ok, I have been asked by a few people to post my plans for my SeaCraft over the next year or so and here goes. I bought the boat 2 years ago this past November. It is a turn key boat with a pretty new, low hours FWC vortec 350 and rebuilt transmission. However, after fishing the boat for two seasons I have come to the realization that the boat needs a lot of work. The gunwales are balsa wood cored and rotted to the point that I had a blue shark almost tear out a rod holder this season. The 37 year old decks are so spongy they feel like a trampoline. The foam filled stringers are now filled and saturated with more water than foam which adds significant weight to the boat. The scuppers are down right scary. They are pretty much 2-1" holes on each side of the rear deck that go through to the bottom of the hull. In theory they worked well right out of the factory but now that my boat weighs a lot more than it did 37 years ago the scuppers let more water in then out. In fact they let so much water in that I have resorted to plugging them. The previous owner tried to remedy the scupper situation buy installing 4" scuppers through the stern. The only problem is he drilled them from the out side in and they are about 6-7" above the deck. If you have 6-7" of standing water on the deck of a 23' boat you better be calling in a "Mayday". So they are pretty much useless, in fact I capped them with 4" PVC caps this summer.
I am all of this because after running this boat for 2 seasons I can tell you all with out a doubt this boat is the best riding, most versatile, and cheapest 23' boat in it's class and I plan on keeping her for a very long time. So my list of stuff to do is long and looks something like this. 1. Remove gunwale cap, strip out rotted balsa core, and re-core with 1/2" plywood, and re-install rod holders. 2. Demo the deck, remove rotted plywood core and re-core using coosa board or something similar. While the deck is removed I want to remove all the wet foam from the stringers and replace it and also paint the bilge. At this stage I am sure I am going to find other "skeleton in the closet" type project that will require a lot of time. 3. Transom. I want to remove and fill in the existing scuppers and reroute them out the stern. I'm not yet sure how I'm going to do this but I no longer want 2-1" holes through the bottom of my boat. I also want to permanently plug the previous owners attempt at making the 4" scupper system. While I'm doing all that it would only make sense to remove and re-core the entire transom. And if I'm going to do that then it would also make sense for me to try and install a transom tuna door. Again like the scuppers, I'm not yet sure how I'm going to put a tuna door in but I know of a few 23' SeaCrafts that have them so I know it's possible. 4. I want to fix up and redo my pilot house. It has been rock solid for 2 seasons but I want to spruce it up a bit. Sand it down and try to smooth out its appearance and maybe gel-coat it instead of paint. We'll see if I have the funds at that point. 5. I would like to strip the previous owners multiple layers of bottom paint and refinish the boats bottom. I'm sure I would gain a little performance by doing this. While I'm at that I would also like to repaint the entire boat. I'm getting sick of red. I'm not yet sure what color I would want but I think it's time for a change. So I'll try do document the entire build here for you guys. I wont be able to start the project until the early spring because I'll be working outside. i do not have an indoor space large enough or cheep enough to start this work now. I'm also sure I'll be asking A LOT of questions as this will be my first boat restoration project. Any help, pointers, tips, or any leads on cheap materials, fiberglass, epoxy, that will be greatly appreciated. Also if anyone has any left over glass or core materials they need to get rid of let me know. Thanks. Here are a few shots of how she sits currently.
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1976 23' SeaCraft Inboard 
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#2
03-06-2013, 02:12 PM
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Good luck Dan, looking forward to seeing your progress. Do you plan on raising the deck any?
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#3
03-06-2013, 02:35 PM
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Quote:
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1976 23' SeaCraft Inboard
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#4
03-06-2013, 03:01 PM
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Sweet, nice looking boat to start with!!!
Suggestion, go with the highest density 3/8" scored divinycell for the recore. If you have specific areas where you will be using screws then maybe some plywood or hardwood there. I am working on my port gunnel right now, the divinycell is nice. I've not skimped on the resin and I'm positive it will never have to be done again!! Good luck!
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#5
03-12-2013, 07:06 AM
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Quote:
thru bolting and sleeving are the preferred methods for composites...
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do not let common sense get in your way
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#7
03-06-2013, 04:16 PM
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Quote:
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1976 23' SeaCraft Inboard
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#8
03-07-2013, 09:59 PM
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should buy mine
Lol i'm here to help let me know Dan. Also if you need anything let me know i can get a deal for you
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1976 Seacraft CC(Pilot House) Inboard Yanmar 315 1979 Septer I/O no power Sold 
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#9
03-08-2013, 09:41 AM
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Quote:
__________________
1976 23' SeaCraft Inboard
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#10
03-08-2013, 10:43 PM
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Dan,
That's a very ambitious list of repairs and upgrades. My only suggestion at this point is to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. You're looking at probably two years worth of weekends with quite a few summer evenings thrown in to boot. Either that, or paying someone else to do a lot of it. The results are very rewarding, but a lot of guys that take something like this on find out in the middle that it's just too much. Good luck with the project. It's definitely worth it if you (and your wife) can stick it out. Dave
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Blue Heron Boat Works Reinventing the wheel, one spoke at a time.
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Hybrid Mode
