Seacraft History Lesson

[PackRat]

Newbie here...
I'm looking to purchase a 1974 20' CC I/O project. I have heard much about "Potter" hulls over the years but do not know details of what years they were built and were there other hulls in those same years by other builders? What specifically make a Potter hull better than later years - thicker laminates? more stringers? Overall better quality of workmanship?

Also, is there any hull no, marking, construction ,etc that would clue me in on builder? I searched through old posts but could not come up with anything. Also, this boat does not have the "flush" bow rail channel around the gunnel/gunwhale
- I have seen '75's with this so assume this feature came in then.

Thanks for any info you guys can provide.

Thanks also for your patience if this subject has been beat to death on previous posts.

[PackRat]

Dug a little deeper and found the timeline on another thread. Would still be nice to know what general details were better for the Potter years...I'll keep digging.

BTW - went ahead and jumped and purchased a '74 CC that had been an I/O and was converted to an inboard believe it or not. 351 PCM under the console and the fuel tank under the old I/O motor box. Plan on re-vamping to outboard/bracket. I wanted a project and I got one!

[Bushwacker]

Here's a thread with more info on SeaCraft history, in case you haven't seen it. potter years?

I believe there was some pressure to cut costs in the mid 70's when the price of resin jumped during the first gas crisis when the Arabs shut off the oil. I know that all 72 and earlier 20's had 4 fg stringers, as described in detail in the Seafari 20 article in the Literature section. This created a VERY stiff solid hull. About 73 or 74, Potter replaced the 2 stringers on each side with one larger box type stringer on each side. It was evidently still pretty beefy, as I've never heard of any problems with them, but the 4 stringer system would theoretically be a little stiffer and would distribute loads better with twice the number of vertical ribs to tie the cockpit sole to the hull bottom.

If you want to learn about the most interesting part of SeaCraft's history, check out Carla's Moesly SeaCraft web site Moesly was the real genius who invented, patented and raced the VDH design. IMHO, Moesly's old SeaCraft 21 designed in about 1960 is still the best riding model, as it's the one that set all the records in offshore powerboat racing. Potter simply expanded on what Moesly started, building fancier and more expensive boats, but he never raced any of his own designs.

[PackRat]

Thanks for the info and links - fortunate to have this site as a resource - tons of great info, literature, pics - great stuff!