the future of SeaCraft restorations...

[captainDH]

Originally Posted by ricknewman

Isn't the max horsepower rating for the 23' 400?

in total agreeance with what GFSM said. but from what i understand, applicable to my vintage, (2005, bass pro editions), they were actually rated for 300. that's because they were mercury only transoms, and verados where somewhat new if you wanted a 4 stroke over the optimax. so at that time, you only had choice of 225, 250, or 275. (verado). or twin 150 optimax, to get you to 300hp. everything revolved back then around weight. the good thing? maximum motor weight is 1000 lbs. the Vrods in 30" shaft weighed 680 lbs. whether 225, 250, or 275... so now, you can go 300, 350, or 400, all with same 680 lbs.. so weight is no longer the issue.. to further add to the mix, the new 450 still weighs under 700 lbs. either way, my 2005 does NOT have a maximum HP plaque. but i do remember seeing maximum "recommended" HP as 300. according to my merc dealer, you can easily hang a 400 or even the 450 on her with no worries. there is no "legal" documents saying that you cannot. nobody knew back then the future would hold these higher HP opinions in weight packages that "work".

[kmoose]

The only reason I can see moving up in hp is for fuel savings that over time would cover the extended cost. What is a $55k 450 really going to do for a 23’ SeaCraft? I love fast toys but this makes about as much sense as dropping a Keith Black blown hemi in a old Jeep.

[Fr. Frank]

With the VDH hull, if you get up to a speed where the hull is planing only on the interior planing surface, it's gonna chine-walk. There's no getting around that simple hydrodynamic.

This is where trim tabs - particularly K-planes - become so effective. What the do is give the hull a balanced secondary planing angle so that the hull isn't trying to run only on a V alone, and thus tend to fall off on to one side or another.

[captainDH]

Originally Posted by Fr. Frank

With the VDH hull, if you get up to a speed where the hull is planing only on the interior planing surface, it's gonna chine-walk. There's no getting around that simple hydrodynamic.

This is where trim tabs - particularly K-planes - become so effective. What the do is give the hull a balanced secondary planing angle so that the hull isn't trying to run only on a V alone, and thus tend to fall off on to one side or another.

well what is that "speed" ? and on a 23, not 20. much more weight and mass.
some 23s from what i have read here have easily been in the mid 60s with no issues. a 400 on a loaded 23 with T-top, enclosure, would be a lows 60s boat IMO, speculation only,

[kmoose]

My 23 was once powered with twin 250 Yamahas and I can tell you that once you experience the chine walk these hulls are subject to you will be done with that experiment. It had big tabs but that didn't stop it from occurring but helped to keep it from swapping ends and throwing everyone out of the boat.

I kind of chuckle about all the talk of 70 mph SeaCraft legend. One may touch it with enough hp but in no way will it sustain that speed long enough to capture it on a gps.

If someone for some reason wanted to make it happen the back of the hull would require serious modifications to create/build a pad for it to run on. Tons of work and experimenting to get it right as most of the center dead rise would have to be removed. Just dropping big hp on the back isn’t going to do it.

[castnetcracker]

Originally Posted by captainDH

well what is that "speed" ? and on a 23, not 20. much more weight and mass.
some 23s from what i have read here have easily been in the mid 60s with no issues. a 400 on a loaded 23 with T-top, enclosure, would be a lows 60s boat IMO, speculation only,

before i put my trim tabs on, mine was just starting to walk at 59 mph