seacraft 25 seafari- Owners

[bgreene]

Originally Posted by cdavisdb

Having trouble making your mind up??? I think we been through this before.

No one I know who owns one is anything other than delighted.

For me, a diver who stays on the boat during long trips and needs to be able to run long distances into a head sea, its the perfect boat, I've owned and/or driven a bunch of others. I would not sell my 25 for anything, unless I was sure I could immediately get another one for a lot less.

Compare to a 23 Seacraft. The head sea ride is much better, landing after going airborne is much much much better. You can run 2-4 knots faster into the same head sea with equal or better comfort. It rolls more, has less internal space and I suspect, will carry less load. Ride in a following or beam sea, I don't have the knowledge to compare, can only say that the 25 is superb.

I think where some people might not like the 25 is an area I think is an advantage, sensitivity to lean. Different strokes for different folks. The 25 will definitely lean away from the wind, into turns, etc. It can scare your passengers, but the owner gets used to it real fast. Tabs are a necessity. The advantage is in its sensitivity to twitching the wheel. When its rough, you can bring down the bow at the perfect angle to minimize the jolt of landing. The boat doesn't slam or bang like most boats, even if launched all the way out of the water, but its a whole lot softer if brought down right. Its a drivers boat, not for someone inexperienced or who isn't interested in getting the most out of the hull. Give it the attention it merits and the rewards are amazingly rich. It took me several hours of driving in relatively bumpy conditions to learn what it wanted. I thought the ride was great before I learned how to drive it. The ride is beyond words now.

Roll is significant, but,as built, it doesn't have the vicious snap roll of a 23 formula or equivalent Albermarle.

It needs a lot of power if you plan to load it heavy.

This is a very interesting post - gets right into the discussion. Sounds like the 25 is a good hull to handle typical ocean chop of 3'-4' tight seas at decent planning speed.

[GERRY]

I am looking to be on the water this spring. At the rate I am going my seacraft 25 will not even be close to being ready. I was toying with the idea of buying another boat that is ready to go so that I can spend time on the water. I found a blackfin 25 twin outboard that I was thinking of buying. I put my seacraft up for sale but really leaning towards staying with the rebuild. I have a few calls but nothing definite. Gerry