SeaCraft, the Florida Center Console That Set the Template

An aviator's answer to South Florida chop

Carl Moesly, a Fort Lauderdale native, aviator and businessman, founded SeaCraft in 1961, according to Soundings. He started with molds from a defunct California builder, was not happy with the results and drew his own hull. His variable deadrise bottom uses longitudinal steps to divide the hull into sections: a deep-V on the centerline and progressively flatter panels toward the chines. That gives a soft ride at speed and stability at rest. A 23-foot wooden prototype ran the 1961 Miami-Nassau race, and the SeaCraft 21 race boats that followed reportedly took the top five places in one ocean race and the top seven in another.

Moesly also brought fiberglass boating an idea it still uses. Boating credits him and his wife Jeanne with the first bowrider, shown by SeaCraft as a 19-footer at the 1965 Miami International Boat Show. In 1967 came the SeaCraft 20 Open Fisherman, which Soundings calls the first offshore outboard open fisherman and which Salt Water Sportsman ranks second on its list of the best sport-fishing boats of all time.

The Potter years, then Bass Pro and Tracker

Under Bill Potter's ownership the SeaCraft 23 grew the line in the early 1980s. Salt Water Sportsman describes it as a common sight in the East Coast canyons, the Gulf and the Bahamas. By 2000 the seacraftboats.com address led to a Bass Pro Shops page, in 2005 SeaCraft listed a contact address in Springfield, Missouri, and in 2006 a mailing address in Forest City, North Carolina. The 2008 website, copyrighted by Tracker Marine Group, listed the SC 20 Classic, 20 Master Angler, 21 Open, 23 Classic, 23 Tournament Edition, 25 Open, 26 Master Angler and 32 Master Angler. By 2016 the domain redirected to a Tracker Marine page that no longer listed SeaCraft, and we found no sign of new SeaCraft production since then.

Where the 25 Open fits

We cover the SeaCraft 25 Open, sold as the 25' Open Fisherman. It comes from the Tracker era, roughly 2000 to 2008. It is 25 feet 3 inches long with an 8-foot 6-inch beam that can be towed without permits, 166 gallons of fuel, a 400 hp rating and the same 20.5-degree average transom deadrise SeaCraft gave its 21, 23 and 32. Used boats usually sell for about $15,000 to $48,000, and the engines on the transom matter more than the year.

Buying a SeaCraft with no factory behind it

No current builder supports SeaCraft, so parts and history come from owner groups, restorers and marine surveyors. Classic 20s and 23s attract restorers, and Soundings has covered full structural rebuilds of a SeaCraft 23 with a new transom core, stringers and deck. That makes a solid, dry hull worth much more than a cosmetic one. Make sure the listing is for the Florida powerboat brand and not Pacific Seacraft, the unrelated sailboat builder.

• Moisture-test the transom, stringers and deck, since classic hulls such as the 23 had wood-cored transoms
• Inspect the stepped bottom for impact damage and poor repairs
• Pressure test or pull aging aluminum fuel tanks
• Check T-top and leaning post mounts for cracking
• Verify the hull ID, model and year against the title