1970 12 foot Sea King

Hello all, I am new here so go easy on me lol. I have a 12 foot Sea King my old man gave me in high school. Me and my buddies put in a new transom, painted it, dubbed it the "EdmundfitzGoonburghandy (I have been nicknamed 'Goon' since 4th grade), added a hatch up front since the front seat was carved for a battery...That was in 2006

Now I am a college graduate and a software developer in Pittsburgh PA, and I would like to fix my boat up again, but with a LOW deck and better paint. I'm not going to get carried away, no fancy storage, just want a deck on her.

I was given a 5hp Sea King (Clinton) motor that I think will be fine on this boat.

My only issue is the boat seems to be quite shallow (maybe 2 feet deep, I'll measure tomorrow), and even though I am on my way to weighing 200 pounds (263 current) I am still concerned with weight on the boat.

My old man told me; him, my uncle, and a friend, each weighing over 200 pounds had a 5hp motor, gear, and a chocolate cake (yes, cake) with them on this boat in the 1980's when a tornado hit nearby while they were fishing on the Keystone Power Dam, hitting white caps and were able to make it safely to shore without taking on water.

^point of this story is my old man told me the capacity plate limit of 450lbs is too low. Opinions?


Here is my only current image of the boat and how I used to lug it around in my car (girls loved the wagon and it got me through college) I will be taking some more pictures tomorrow and throwing them up.

Thanks all!

That hull design/size looks very similar to my 12 Gamefisher (Sears). It's old enough that there aren't any stickers left on it with weight limits, so I've never known for sure what it was. I know that my brother and I together are pushing 500 lbs. Add in a 4hp motor, 6 gal of fuel, 2 batteries, trolling motor, and all our fishing gear. It plowed the water pretty good with only a 4hp and that amount of weight, but it was never in danger of sinking or taking water over the side. I even had to reach over the side and free my hook from underwater limbs a few times and it was fine.

I have a sea king, and yes it sits very low in the water. If I turn real sharp the sides are only a couple inches above water and the transom is the same way.

But hey, she hasn't took on water yet! (Knocking on wood)

well i have a 73 seaking 12' with a 7.5 hp mercury and i weigh 350. it does very well

Thanks for the confidence boost guys!

The weather here in Pittsburgh has been awful, it gets to 60 degrees and sunny during the week while I'm at work, then 40s-30s on the weekends.

Last weekend would have been good however my father fell off a ladder and broke both his arms so I had to haul *** out to my grandmothers to get him to a hospital.

I think this weekend I will get the boat on saw horses and start sanding it down, the motor has been cleaned up but haven't taken the magneto off yet to clean out the mouse nest.

Updates and pictures to come this Saturday I hope!

(Sorry for the bump)

Station wagons are cool. I grew up driving a champagne gold 1971 Chevy Kingswood Estate.

Well I finally had time to drag her out from behind the garage, the green rattle-can paint we used years ago is just a powder now.

Hopefully next weekend I'll get the paint off, and get a primer coat on.

The transom is still in good shape, but I will be replacing the front lid since it is almost as old as me. The preliminary plan is to add a deck as low as possible between the front and middle benches then put a seat on a post. Also I'd like to add a low deck in between the rear and middle bench for something to stand on. And perhaps the flatten out the rear bench to the transom to throw the tank in and have some extra storage.

The front bench is already cut for the deep-cycle battery. Night time running lights will also be added.

I think I'll just have to be careful with the weight in the boat and not get carried away. The capacity plate is rated for 615 pounds, and with luck I should be closer to the 200lbs mark myself by June (down 30 pounds since Christmas)