The legacy of SeaCraft boats began in the early 1960's when founder Carl Moesly purchased the inventory of American Marc, including 80 boats, machinery, tools, supplies and molds at their plant located in Miami, Florida. American Marcs were of a various assortment of styles and designs without any 'family' resemblance. Moesly saved only four molds from the fleet of a dozen designs and operated under his name for a short time until he incorporated under the name of SeaCraft.
To bring recognition to the SeaCraft name, Moesly began racing modified versions of American Marc boats. Moesly did well in boat racing, claiming multiple titles and building up recognition for the SeaCraft brand. Moesly continued to build and sell these American Marc boats under the SeaCraft name while he began to work on his own ideas for a different type of boat. The groundbreaking design from Carl Moesly in the 1960s of a variable-deadrise hull, longitudinally stepped hull provided exceptional rough-water handling both on a plane and while trolling. Moesly designed it to be the perfect small fishing boat, taking advantage of the best of Ray Hunt’s deep-V design, yet balancing it with the slow-speed stability and efficiency of more flat-bottomed hulls.
Moesly owned the patent for the variable deadrise “deep vee” hull, but to many dedicated SeaCraft fans, Moesly started building true classics when he partnered with Bill Potter in 1968. The term “Potter-Built SeaCraft” is commonly used to describe these crafts built from 1968-1980 with a specially designed version of the VDH hull. Potter-Built SeaCraft’s include recessed handrails, a unique nonslip sole, recirculating liner vents that prevented rot, and integrating transverse frames with longitudinal stringers. These boats were also considered to have a superior build quality, even compared to earlier SeaCraft models.
Straight out of the 1973 SeaCraft Catalog- “That’s the straight story. The more you know about boats, the more you will appreciate the advantages of SeaCraft’s variable deadrise deep vee hull design. Remember, just because a boat is ‘deep vee’ doesn’t guarantee the best ride. You can only get that by stepping up to a Seacraft.” After staying on for two years as chairman after originally selling SeaCraft to Potter, Moesly left Potter fully in charge of SeaChange creating the iconic Potter-Built SeaCraft's. Today, Tracker Marine Group owns the SeaCraft name. They had been building a limited production run of models based on the classic designs, but the company discontinued the line in 2010.