28/29' Scotty Craft

Sorry, here is the pic that I have.

Here is the pic of the boat.

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum I leave your question for the other Scotty owners here who obviously have much more experience with it than I do. Just wanted to tell you that I am happy you joined us.

The boat looks good on your photo - whether a Scotty or not

Hi mike Capt. -dRE' here, Welcome to this forum.
The picture does look like a 68 model scottie, The front railing looks like my 70 Hardtop railing. Also the rear railing looks like scottie Hardware.
Also I bet the windshield frame is welded Aluminum (nice welds).
I bet it has a 165 hp 250 cu in. 4.1Litre motor straight 6 cyl.
It's gotta be worth it. My friend and I are pulling a similar Scottie out of the water in New Orleans East, It sunk during Katrina. It's a 25' open top with windshield like yours, it also has a cuddy cabin. Does this boat have a cuddy with beds and toilet ?
I'll take pictures of the sunk boat when we pull it up.
Also there is one like yours on the highway in Chalmette, I'll take pictures of that one as well.

Capt. -dRE'

Thanks for the welcomes. I have tried to find out anything I could about this boat. Talk about getting it for a song, how does 300 grab ya? I am not sure who made the engine or what size it is only that it is a straight six. I would like to use it as a scuba platform and was hoping to mount some sort of cabin up front. Dont know what all its gonna take, but I am willing to try.

Greetings Lee Helm !

Glad you joined us !

Have a good Day !
S.W.

Hello Scottie-Crafters. I don't know what happened to Lee Helm, he didn't buy that boat, my husband and I just did. It does have a GM straight six, looks like the exhaust manifold is missing. My husband will get a closer look tomorrow. This boat is a 21', I will post pictures within the week. We're very interested in getting a look at those boats you recovered in New Orleans...maybe we should start a Scottie Craft website? I found an article about two gentlemen who used to work for Scottie Craft, I haven't had a chance to read the entire thing yet but here's a link: http://www.proboat-digital.com/proboat/200612/?pg=103

Oh, no cuddy cabin on this boat

Wingnut welcome to the forum I hope you will like it here!

How do you know it's the same boat Lee Helm wrote about (I mean from the same sellers)?

Because the picture he posted is the exact same picture that was on the Houston Craigslist posting, it's the exact same boat we just looked at and purchased last night on the exact same trailer for the exact same price ($300) with the exact same history, Grandpa died while rebuilding the motor...although that story is updated, Grandpa was the original owner, Grandpa "finished" rebuilding the motor (flywheel, starter, etc missing from engine). I suspect there was a box of parts in Grandpa's workshop that are now long gone. Boat hasn't been in the water since 1992, it was stored in a barn from 92-2007 and for about the past year it's been parked at Grandson's house just as you see in the picture. Motor was in cousin's garage.
Also, we saw this boat on Craigslist last week and seriously thought about it, then got busy with other things, all the sudden Monday the ad appeared again and I reminded my husband "Hey, remember that boat?" and started searching about Scottie Crafts, found Lee Helm's posting here dated 9/24, since the boat was relisted on Craigslist 9/29 I knew Lee didn't buy it. Maybe Lee will come back and tell us why. Trust me it's the same boat.
Does anybody have a good guess as to how much this boat might weigh, and about how many persons or weight this boat might be rated to carry?

OK, I am convinced Strange Lee didn't buy it after showing that much enthusiasm, but perhaps, indeed as you wrote, he will come back here and tell us.

I have no idea. But I think other Scotty craft owners perhaps do...

Wingnut - Welcome - from what I have seen - 21 foot boats like the one pictured by Lee-Helm you purchased - ride about 6 persons max. That hull design is very familiar - I see it on many other manufacturer's boats here.
It would be great if anyone who have posted or read this post would come across some info on these boats - I saw that article but the trail ends there.

I attached another shot - I was out one night and a friend took this with his cell cam.
Funny thing - many people I show my boat to recognize it as a Scotty Craft boat. Many of them say they remember seeing them around years ago - but that trail ends there too.

Your boat here is a very popular style for people fishing these waters ( Raritan Bay - NJ ) for black fish - and striped bass - it would probably command a decent price running or not.
Good luck with your boat - it is well worth the effort to fix.

Salfd

Ooops here's the shot --

That's a nice shot! Turns out the motor is missing a lot of parts, we're either going to get a "new" inboard or someone suggested putting an outboard motor on it. What say you, inboard or outboard?
When I get some time I'm going to track down and contact those two boat builders from the article that used to work for Scotty Craft and will try to bring them here...or to the domain I just registered www.scottiecraft.com if my brother will get a website up for us.
Could be Lee Helm was overwHELMed by the amount of work this boat needs, not everybody is so inclined.

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you...my husband said it is bad luck to change a boat name, so we can't change the name of the boat. We were looking at this ugly, sorry looking boat on a rusted trailer with rims sunk in the dirt, a homemade neon/lime green spray paint job, me standing there yammering on about cool boat names, looking at this huge ugly boat thinking "The Green Turd" my husband repeating "It's bad luck to change the name of a boat." As we made our way to the rear still talking about boat names we saw the name of the boat:
T R O U B L E
Perfect, we'll take it.

If you like the boat - and the hull is solid - then the work and expense are justified. Personally I would not change over to an outboard if the boat was designed for inboard engines. I am partial to inboards anyway - to me they make sense when you have to work on them - outboards have a whole set of their own issues.

My boat - pictured - was abandoned in the marina for 5 years - I put 2 Crusader 270s in it - It still has some wiring issues but all in all a great boat.

I got the engines for $3000.00 each - they had 100 hours on them - they looked new !! They run great .

I got them from a place in Mass. http://www.1800runsnew.com/ I called them and had the engines delivered to the marina in 3 days - all taxes and shipping was included. They even replumbed them for V Drive set up.

Check them out - may get a nice engine for your boat. They are real nice to talk to too.

I got a pm from Lee Helm, Trouble was too much work for him, he said he bought a 1959 El Dorado, I asked him to post pics for us.

Yes - I would like to see the El Dorado too - my other "toy" is a 1969 Dodge Charger RT - about 90% restored - I spread myself thin :>

The Scotty Craft website is a GREAT idea. We could post our pics to it - restore tips - documentation sharing - etc etc. and - who knows - maybe someone out there who has info will see it.

I got the impression his El Dorado was some type of boat. My hubby's other toy is a 1985 Corvette.
Still researching our TROUBLE, it seems very likely engine parts are still readily available for this 68 6 cyl. Will also check with the Mass company for a new or rebuilt. I think it'd be neat to keep the original engine. The...ummm....block? Engine block? Well, the big engine chunk is pretty rusty. The grandson (seller) said he remembers fishing offshore by the oil platforms with his grandfather when he was a kid, that means it was in saltwater, which is probably why it's rusty, but if it's a saltwater engine shouldn't it be built to go in saltwater? Isn't that how the engine is cooled? When he said that I thought "Great! Saltwater engine!" I guess my question is, how do we KNOW it's designed for saltwater, or am I just dumb and ALL boats can go in saltwater?
I'll get the website added to my brother's to-do list, there's not many mysteries left on the internet, so I think this will be fun.

Hey, you guys, this Scottie Craft mystery is like a cyber-treasure hunt. Get it? Pirates on the sea hunt for buried treasure...we're boat owners cyber searching for lost info...treasure to us. Ummm, well, it sounded different in my head. (I've never owned a boat before, my husband is the mariner, forgive my giddy exuberance.) Ahoy Maties

Who's the wing nut you or your husband?
Is that for Buffalo Wings ?

Capt. -dRE'

OK - Wingnut here is a quick and very basic explanation on saltwater engines.. for the most part - marine and auto engines are the same except that marine engines do not have steel head gaskets - they are copper,composition, or anything but steel. They also should have aluminum oil pans - not steel. We don't want something rusting out that is vital to the engine's fluids etc.
Some engines are saltwater (raw water ) cooled - meaning they "pick-up" salt water and run it through the engine and out the exhaust. Some are Fresh Water cooled BUT they still use salt Water to cool the Fresh water - yep 2 systems one engine. The radiator is replaced with a Heat Exchanger on boats - this means the engine coolant (antifreeze) runs through the exchanger and is cooled by the salt water which runs out the exhaust - its not really complicated as it sounds. If you run the boat on the "Lakes" then no salt is involved - but we run on salt water so care must be taken - the Block itself needs to be wiped down every once in a while and winter stored properly.
Marine engines generally are run at higher RPMs so maybe a different cam or the tune up specification is different, - That's about it.

There are lots of people swear by salt water cooled engines and others by FWC engines. If you take care of the salt water engine by running fresh water through it ( flush out the salt ) often - they will last - The FWC engines are more pipes and parts that need attention -- but like everything else - Maintenance is key.
I hope this helps.

OH - I almost forgot Wingnut - There IS a way to change a boat's name - there is a ceremony to follow. Go to this site .. http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm

It's a hoot !!!

I was just re-reading this thread...the guy who started it actually started it years ago and never came back...I bet he'll never know what he started. By next summer we'll be planning our first ever annual Scottie Craft regalia. I'm already planning it but wasn't going to say anything to you guys until we at least got ours in the water. Ooops.
I am the wingnut, just a random nickname I've had since high school, and probably also because I'm a nut. My name is Lisa.
So...we can take ours in saltwater but we should flush it with fresh water regularly, I get that. Do you stand over it and dump buckets of fresh water all over the top of the engine? I'm thinking not, there's probably some type of "fresh water flush kit for boats" with a hose, am I getting warm? I'm sure my husband knows. By the way Captdre17 I jotted down your phone number from your profile and gave it to my husband, he's really interested in the boats you're recovering, also he's in New Orleans frequently, he's from there. He's not the type to come on the internet and post things, he might call you. Don't worry he's nothing like me.
I live in Houston, my sister has a house on the Bolivar Peninsula (It's still standing, none, N O N E of her neighbor's homes are, it made the news and everything). Somebody on Bolivar probably bought a boat and changed the name and here came Ike. No way I'm angering the sea, he said changing a boat name was bad luck and he didn't need to say another word TROUBLE it is. My nickname as a kid was dub or double, my mom suggested personalizing it by adding "double" to "trouble" NOPE that's changing the name hubby said it's bad luck I will not tempt fate, not happening.

Besides, it was Granpa's boat since 1968 and Grandpa's not here anymore, so changing the name would be double bad luck because in some way that's just disrespecting the deceased.
Plus, it's a great name...you saw the picture.

Wingnut - I originally saw this thread way back when I first got my Scotty and was looking for info on it - I posted in other forums too like iBoats - and Fiberglassics etc but this was the only place someone actually answered !!

OK - don't pour water on it - it won't like the bath.. Most boats - in fact all I have seen - have 2 valves near the stern - One is the sea water pick-up and the other should have a standard garden hose connection on it. What you do is .. close the seawater valve - attach a hose on the other valve - turn on the water and run the engine a while. ( also - when winterizing - at least up here in NJ , we let that hose pull antifreeze through the engine ) this will flush fresh water through the engine and get rid of some harmful salts. When done Don'T forget the close the hose valve and open the sea water valve or you will overheat the engine.

Your boat may have a different set up - but should have a set up for doing this.

Thanks, I need to stop embarrasing my husband by asking questions he already knows the answers to. But guess what? This engine has steel heads. We're picking the boat up tomorrow. Trailer lights don't work so we had to wait and get it Saturday, it's quite far north. Plus we had to get 4 new trailer tires.

No problem - Yes the heads are steel - but the gaskets that sit between the head and the block better not be. I'm sure you have heard of the term "blown head gasket" - well that's what could happen with steel gaskets in a salt water environment.
Anyway - good luck with it - I'm sure you'll get it all together. We are starting to think about winter storage here. A couple more weeks of decent fishing and weather. Our season is just toooo short.

My name is Lisa.

Hi Lisa. This turned out to be a very interesting thread thanks to you and the other participants in it. Thank you all for this. I learned a lot

Well, we got the boat home and spent the day pressure washing it. A lot of the paint came off the hull with the pressure washer. Turns out that awful green all over the deck is the original paint...and of course the pressure washer didn't take much of that off at all.
OK, so we're going to get rid of that green paint, anybody know what works best to remove paint from fiberglass? I read that you shouldn't even paint the deck because the non-skid surface will just cause the paint to wear off quickly because it's such a rough surface, making it look worse than not being painted at all. What do we do, just gel-coat it?
I can't figure out how to post a picture.