Old Livesay Skiffs

oldyeller · Apr-29-2007, 11:41 PM

Recently I saw a boat that caught my eye, a 20' maybe 22' Livesay skiff made in Lakeside or El Cajon back in the 1960's. Does anyone have any info or familiarity on their overall quality, ride in snotty seas and general functionality for local banks fishing. It looked like a rugged offshore skiff. Even looked like it had a v-berth...Thanks.

doughnut · Apr-30-2007, 08:20 AM

Those old Livesays were very "Large" for there size. Beware of rot in the stringers , transom etc. Might turn into a very big project. I always wanted to make a little PH out of one, real "west coast: deal. They are a deeper vee, ride ok (ive ony been on the larger models ) but as I rememeber, a little wet.

MATTY J · Apr-30-2007, 09:28 AM

Tough boats. The guy I work with is good friends of Jay Livesay. I guess Livesay was contracted by other manufactures to build their hulls. There is a following out there on these boats. If it's the one on Craigslist, I saw it and has potential. As for any boat that is that old have someone check out the stringers and transom.

oldyeller · May-01-2007, 04:28 PM

Thanks guys. I did see the one on craigslist but the one I saw was an outboard. My understanding is that the hull was reinforced by someone who does such things for the cops and sheriffs depts. Not sure who that is nor when it was done. The skiff does have a bit of a Carolina flare and that was what caught my eye. Dry ride I says... never been on one though. I'm not sure if that was the case with the 26' but I've only seen a couple of those. Seems heavy for a 20 footer at 2900 lbs, but then those were early days of glass skiffs and they made things thicker back then. Any other input from the seasoned anglers out there. Thanks.

MATTY J · May-01-2007, 09:06 PM

MY 21 is 2700+ dry, heavy but drives like a champ when it gets rough. It is also 22 degrees deadrise, check into what the Livesay has If it's 21 or so it should be good when it gets rough.

newunamas · May-03-2007, 03:47 PM

Ive fished on a few, the older ones are very deep v and will go into the seas with 0 problems. They will roll when you lay them in the trough and when in calm seas at high speed, tend to lay on there side and haull ass that way. My family has owned at least 5 of them and I was part of 3 of those. Just remember that some of those hull designs were offshore racing designs from bertram. The livesays were built right, heavy duty and sound. There have been cases of rot in them yes, but otherwise, there battletanks. The last lLivesay we had was about an 1988 and that was the last time they were built to my knowledge. I wish I had that boat now.

damnifiknow · Nov-15-2008, 05:18 PM

Nothing will keep up with a Livesay coming North in a swell. They ride dry (I've come up North almost flat out and taken spray over the bridge once) and strong. Solid, thick and heavy, they don't get the best of fuel mileage. But they do haul the bacon. I have a 26 with twin 6 cylinders that I am refurbing with a deck, engines, fresh water cooling and fuel system. I also have another that needs all of the above that has a 454 in it. I am hoping to put a Duramax in it, as they drop right in.
At one time, nearly all of the Harbor Police boats in SD Harbor were built by Livesay. I heard of one that hit a submerged object and tore up the bottom pretty good. They fixed it because they couldn't find anything comparable to replace it with. The recently retired police boat was an unique design because it used the pumps to
maintain steerage when not moving.
If you didn't buy it, call Jay Livesay. He has a 20 sitting in his lot right now. Only about 125 of the 26 (25) footers were built. There was a later version with the cabin door on the left instead of middle that less than 10 were built. They are getting scarce, so if you have the inclination for one, start looking and get one soon. If it has the Volvo 6 in it, they have quirks that can drive you carzy. Your better off changing it to a Chevy 6, it's not too difficult.