bought a '59 seafair

reefCrawler · Oct-14-2009, 11:18 PM

Hi, Everyone,
We've been shopping a used boat for a while, until we (me & wife) found this classic beauty, we both fall in love with its style and beauty!

we towed her home about 2 weeks ago, but the old owner put lots of sand bags (at least 6 or 7) under the cabin and the anchor storage space, is there any reason why he's doing so? the old owner explain when the boat speeding up, it can pull down the head and becme more stable...

the boat come with 2x40G fuel tanks on each side wall (just behind the captain seat area, total 80G), with a 90 horse power engine, and the old owner took out all seats except the captain one.

anyway, we're pretty new in boating, and this is our first boat, any comment, feedback, or idea are all welcome, if we ask some dumb questions, please have patience with this family..

after all, this is our first boat, the more we look at her, the more we fall in love even we didn't have a chance to test her on the open sea yet

some pics:

ALUMINATOR · Oct-15-2009, 06:14 AM

Victor, Welcome and don't worry about any questions you might have!! There are a lot of good answers from a lot of experienced boaters around here.

My guess as to the sand bags would be to try to keep the bow down some but I would think there might be a better way to do that. Do some sea trials without them and see how she handles. Maybe larger trim tabs would also help.

I love old boats and hope you have many fun trips with it!! Feel free to post as many pictures as you can and I am sure you will get lots of help.

pescaloco · Oct-15-2009, 08:37 AM

No worries - no dumb questions

Like Dennis said the sand bags are probably to help keep the bow down, it really depends on a few different things. Do you have enough power from the engine to get the boat on plane quickly, and maybee the boat could use larger trim tabs (the metal plates at the back outside corners)

The other possibility is just plain old weight distribution.
You may want to look or have someone look at the fuel tanks / fuel system (they look like they are automotive grade)

You said all the seats except the helm were removed, you can build all that stuff your self with some basic carpentry skill an fiberglass work is doable with a little before hand preperation & knowledge. That may also allow you to move you fuel tanks further forward if needed.

Congrats on an old boat, it will be a great learning experience and you may find that you get the bug for restoring old(er) boats

reefCrawler · Oct-15-2009, 01:13 PM

Hey, Dennis and Mark, Thanks for the ideas, I'll make a test run in short time and see how the trims work on this boat without sand bags,

The seller seems very knowledgable for what he's doing (he's very nice guy!), he's been boating long time... He install the trims, but still adding the sand bags that worrys me,

do you think 2x40G tanks with full fuel on each side + engine + 3~4 persons (over 550 pounds on board) may too heavy for this boat??... boat size is 17.5', what the max weight usually for this size of boat?

Mark, as you siad, it's my learning purpose to get a hand of an old boat - to help me getting more boating experience... but this family do love this boat from its classic style!

also, any one know a good electronic tech person - any trustful one can recommend? the wiring for an old boat really a mass!! need a good hand to clean it up.

CENCOASTFISH · Oct-15-2009, 04:40 PM

They are there to get bow Down so you can see over it at mid speeds, trim OB in more, ansd or get a fin on the leg, then toss the sandbags/weight, but they do make a nice soft place for the anchor to rest.

gecsr1 · Oct-15-2009, 05:02 PM

Welcome to the wonderful world Boating ....... the definition of a boat..............................

"A Hole in the Water which One Pours Money"..........

New, Old dosen't make a difference......
Good Luck with your endeavors.... the boat looks good....

reefCrawler · Oct-15-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CENCOASTFISH

trim OB in more, ansd or get a fin on the leg, then toss the sandbags/weight, but they do make a nice soft place for the anchor to rest.

what is "get a fin on the leg"??

,
sorry, I'm new fry in boating.
any pic or something to show idea?

anyone can recommend a good electrician? it's headach to look at the current wiring on this boat.

reefCrawler · Oct-15-2009, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gecsr1

Welcome to the wonderful world Boating ....... the definition of a boat..............................

"A Hole in the Water which One Pours Money"..........

New, Old dosen't make a difference......
Good Luck with your endeavors.... the boat looks good....

lol, indeed...

Fishbones · Oct-15-2009, 09:00 PM

[QUOTE=reefCrawler;1517477]what is "get a fin on the leg"??

,
Here is a picture of a Doelfin,there are other brands out there.They are designed to get the stern up faster and stop the porpising of the bow.
You should be able to rewire the boat yourself with the aid of a book or online. Labor rates are very expensive for boat work. Learn and do as much of the work yourself. This is the happiest day of your life,the other will come when you sell it

Bust Out Another Thousand
B O A T

reefCrawler · Oct-15-2009, 11:16 PM

Doelfin - all right, got you, seems a good investment and fun project to me.

wiring: I may try it myself eventually, but I don't want to screw it up and force my family to take sun bath with me on the open sea.

gecsr1 · Oct-16-2009, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefCrawler

Doelfin - all right, got you, seems a good investment and fun project to me.

wiring: I may try it myself eventually, but I don't want to screw it up and force my family to take sun bath with me on the open sea.

The wiring on the boat. does it all work properly? If so make a diaghram or schematic of it and then repalce one circut at a time in an orderly and neat fashion...use good marine wiring and connectors. You can surprise yourself. and make it neat and clean and easy to trouble shoot in the future. ask questions on wire gauge, breaker and fuse sizes, amp draw on particular equipment. then replace each circut accordingly,

good luck

kerncat · Oct-16-2009, 08:34 AM

Having owned several Seafairs over the years and my Father in Law had one for 30 years before he passed, I think I might "shed some light" on things...the Seafair Sedan (cabin model like yours) tends to be a bit stern heavy if power is marginal and if weight distribution is off a bit. The Seafair Sportsman model (no cabin...open boat with a front deck) seats the driver and passenger about where your boat's windshield is so much further forward than in your boat. The sedan's are noted for being a bit stern heavy so anything you can do to move weight forward is helpful...beyond that the trim tabs (hydraulic...like Bennett) will help a great deal. Looks like you have the gas tanks "mid ship" on the sides. 80 gallons of fuel is way huge for a boat like this and extremely heavy (probably near 500#) Beyond looking like car tanks (strapped in with plumbers tape..not good!) and really wonder about the hose set up, etc....they probably have moved the center of gravity back even more than if not there. We mounted a pair of 18 gallon saddle tanks (tempo marine) on the Father in Law's open sportsman model and it shifted the weight too far back and caused problems. We ended up removing them and installing a marine grade v shaped tank under the bow with a filler in the deck and good marine hoses to the engine...made a huge difference. Sand bags are not a really sutible method of correcting a poorly trimmed boat.

Several ideas....make sure engine is running properly...that it is propped to handle the boat....and that it is trimmed right. A "Dol fin" engine fin might help a little but is not a solution to a badly balanced boat...hydraulic trim tabs are certainly better but still a band aid on a potentially serious trim problem.

Dump the sand bags and work to get a properly trimmed boat. If the boat rides way bow high with the sand bags out of it....consider pulling the jury rigged saddle tanks out and putting in a proper tank or tanks in the cabin or bow area .... safe if marine...not safe if automotive. If you can't install a fixed marine tank in the bow, consider having a regular 12 gallon Tempo above deck (red) tank that you can strap down in the boat (near the engine) and carry Jerry cans that you can move forward to balance the load...as you use the fuel you can shift the setting of the trim tabs or engine trim to compensate for the shift in balance.

Don't overload the boat...on your boat people won't be in the little cabin...they will be in the back...if you have 3-4 folks on the boat, some bait in a bait tank (if you get one) and the huge amount of gas the way you now have it set up...you won't be able to get up on plane or barely and it can be dangerous or very uncomfortable. Get as much "fixed weight" forward as you can and realize the limitations of a small boat.

The cabin on the Seafair was a convenience and can be handy but also forces you to use only the back 1/2 or less of the boat for heavy stuff like people, engines, fuel, bait, etc. Like Clint Eastwood said "Man's got to know his limitations".

Father in Law had his old cabin model out years ago (before he had bought the open "sportsman" model)...Normal "rough" afternoon swells and whitecaps following...he and a buddy with a small bait tank and about 30 gallons total of gas (12 gallon tank and some jerry cans) caught a bunch of tuna...had the tuna and everything stacked in the middle to rear of the boat....Could not get the boat on plane....wallowed along at about 5 knots with the bow very high and yawing back and forth...and started taking following seas over the transom...dumped the tuna and moved everything else forward to get home in good shape. That's when he bought the open boat...

Work toward balance...also if you have car parts (like gas tanks or fuel lines, etc) you might want to consider the salt water environment..what happens to cars in the mid west in the winter? they get eaten up with road salt...same deal with car tanks, etc on boats in salt water.

You can get it trimmed out to run fine if you just set your mind to it...the cabin is handy but remember, it's space that forces all the weight back on that model and more gas isn't better...think of how you might use a small older boat...You are new to boating so realize 80 gallons on that boat is probably enough for a 200 mile or so trip (round trip)...I'd be really surprised if your early use of the boat would exceed maybe 50-60 miles round trip as you get used to things which might use up 20-35 gallons or so. You can always consider adding fuel capacity (permanent or temporary) as you move on. Final thing on gas...just having a big gas tank can create lots of things...if you fill it at the gas station and only use 1/2 or less you can really screw up the side to side trim...also today's gas goes sour in a very short time ...even with stabilizer and you might end up with 40 or 50 gallons that sit for a few weeks between uses and have engine problems...the least gas you can safely have on board insures that you work with fresh gas each time out.

My 2 cents