Very Nice 23 Sceptre, 225 Four Stroke, Awlgrip

[schooner]

1985 Sceptre. 2005 Johnson-Suzuki 225 Four Stroke with 151 hours. This motor is 100% Suzuki. Bombardier painted Suzuki's white and sold them as Johnsons while waiting for the E-tecs to come on line. The motor is a good fit for the boat and is extremely quiet. Everything close to perfect. Refurbed over the last four years by professional Outer Banks boat builders. Everything works and the pictures fairly represent the condition of the boat. There are no issues or gremlins that I am aware of. Have too many boats and am hoping this is fairly priced for this market given the motor and the overall condition. $13,750. Have a 2004 aluminum dual axle for an additional $1,500. Please feel free to call if any questions. 703.963.3663. Email is [email protected]

Boat is located in northern Outer Banks.

[BigLew]

Schooner,

A very pretty boat. I have the same one , only it's I/O Volvo with a teak platfoform mounted to be about 2" off the water. IMHO, the lower platforms just look right/better. I'd be curious what you have to say about a couple of points regarding the boat. 1. What are its numbers in performance terms with the outboard? 2. Do you like the boxes that the seats are mounted on? 3. How much fuel does yours carry? Mine is 144 gal. and I find that to be more weight than I typically need. I'm thinking of replacing the tank with 2 smaller ones.

I hope the sale goes well and quickly. Hold your ground. Your price is more than fair, even in this market. That boat and trailer would be 20+ a couple of years ago and we both know thats a lot of GREAT boat for the right person. I'd advertise it pretty hard up north here, particularly on Cape Cod. They love these boats. They really can handle the snotty stuff which we seem to get more than our share of around here.

[schooner]

Big Lew,
Thanks for the comments. My tank indicates 136 Gallons. I like the seat boxes from that later deck molds because of the additional storage and the fact that the seats are not at the end of a three foot pipe....which, I think would stress the fittings and the deck a lot more. The later molds also had a pretty good scupper arrangement.

Based on GPS and the Navman fuel totalizer, I am getting about 24MPH / 8GPH at 4,000 and 28 MPH / 10 GPH at 4,500. I suspect that I am getting a little better on the GPH because I never calibrated the Navman. I had the tank emptied this Spring because of concerns about old fuel and ethanol over the winter. I am keeping about 35 gallons in the tank with Startron for putting around and everything is great. In addition, the boat performs much better not hauling 800 pounds of gas around.

[JohnB]

Very nice and Very original. That is a great looking top, I have never seen one like that.

[BigLew]

Schooner,

None of your answers surprise me. Your point about 3 foot seat pedestals is well taken. When I worked at West Marine it was amazing how many boat owners would come in complaining that their seat pedestals had worked loose from the deck to which they were mounted. When I explained what they would need to do; back plates, resin lined mounting holes and such, they invariably reached for the toggle bolts and doomed themselves to repeating the headache in a year or two. Go figure!

The seat boxes is another question. I've thought about trying to convert one to livewell, but haven't heard anyone speak of doing so. I do know that the inner liner of the box would need to be glassed in and sealed at the upper edge. The plumbing would be pretty straightforward given the drainage through hull that is already at the bottom of each seat box. The challenge would be getting behind the liner to run the plumbing and such. You could probably set up a real nice raw water wash down/livewell set up, though. That said, there's no doubt that they make a great place to store your bumpers!

The performance numbers are in line with what I suspected. Quite frankly, my current engine puts out 260 horsepower and its numbers are roughly the same as yours. I think most of the difference is made up in the extra for weight of fuel and engine. I figure I can add five knots to cruise speed and maybe seven or eight on top end by going up to 300+ horsepower and reducing normal fuel weight. More horsepower should allow a higher pitch prop and the fuel weight is self explanatory.

I really wish you the best with the sale. I'd love to buy it and get back in the water, but as they say opportunities realized in life is a function of availability and ability to execute. I realize you're selling the boat, but please, don't stop being a member and let us all hear from you from time to time. By the way, you mentioned you have a number of boats. What other boats to have?

[abl1111]

That is a very nice looking boat. I have a question for you - if you don't mind.

Is the hatch on the deck original ?

Is the molded, raised part of the deck where the hatch mounts original ?

That canvas top is tight ! Looks sharp. Good luck with the sale ! Anyone looking for a turn-key boat should really take a close look - it is one clean boat !

[schooner]

ABl1111,
Yes, the hatch is original. I believe the later deck molds have the hatch lip as part of the mold. Thanks for the comments.

[Islandtrader]

Your top is nice. Was it made with the H2tube?

[schooner]

Island Trader,
No. Just standard aluminum with lots of supports to keep the wiggle out.

[schooner]

Hello,
Not much interest at this price.I appreciate the comments but Looking for opinionss with respect to the price of this boat relative to the current market. Also, are Sceptres generally less desirable than center consoles?
Thanks