1963 Starcraft Jet restoration

[Coach Dave]

Newbie here. So I've been looking for an aluminum boat for quite awhile now, and surfing iBoats and other forums all along getting educated. I decided I wanted something I could handle easily with my 10 yr old son to fish out of, but not too small that we'd be cramped. There are a ton of 14 footers in my area (NE Ohio, right next to PA border) - not big enough. 16 footers are few and far between, and folks want a mint for them. I didn't want to get past a 16 footer. iBoats and other forums kinda poisoned my head a little bit 'cause I read about guys picking up such boats for $200 to $400. That's apparently not the market around here , but I definitely wanted to stay under $1000 bucks including a serviceable trailer and decent engine. Anyway, every boat I seemed to find was too much money, had no trailer, or no engine, under powered engine, or not running junk engine, and worst of all - NO TITLE. Can't register anything in Ohio 14' or longer without a title, no exceptions, and it's a felony if your caught on the water. And folks still asking waaaaaaay too much. But I digress, I finally went and looked at 1963 Starcraft Jet (or Jet Star - not sure which) I saw online about an hour away in PA at a Marine Dealer. I was born in '63, so I thought that was kinda cool. Pretty much what I expected, but the clincher was that the 9.9 Johnson was carbed up to 15HP, and one of the lakes I want to fish has a 20 HP limit. He went to $800 including going over engine including new water pump and lower end lube. Was thinking of uncapping it to make an open floor plan out of her, but I think I'm gonna take her back to original other than the seating, which will be set up for fishing, with livewell, etc. Even going back to original red color as in last pic. Thoughts? Ideas? I will post progress.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Looks like a nice solid boat to work on, clean and strip.

 

[fishin98]

That old boat brings back memories. The folks had a 63 Jet with a Merc Mark 55a 40hp. Us kids and my wife learned how to water ski behind it. We took it out on lake Michigan had a 1963 3.9 Mertc as a kicker. The boat did not come with a floor nor did it have rod holders on the side. Had a bench seat with a back in the front and in the back. Since your putting a floor in it, why not keep the swivel seats if your going to fish out of it. Our was blue and white.

 

[ssdale]

Nice find! That's a lot of gear for the $. Plus you can customize exactly as you want. I always enjoy a resto back to the original colors. Just MHO. Permission to tag along. Missouri is the same way with titles for boat motor and trailer- so I feel your pain when hunting down a deal.

​If you haven't already, check out the StarCraft section hear on iboats. Click on the letter S at the bottom of the forums page

 

[Coach Dave]

Yeah, I was satisfied with the $800. I think the guy just wanted to turn his money. I'm sure he made a few bucks, but I'm OK with that. He gotta eat too. I was thinking of going with a old Ford T-Bird blue, but the boy picked red, and that is original. I want him to be involved and have some skin in the game. That, and I'm sure I'm gonna need an extra set of hands occasionally. I gotta lot of stripping to do. I crawled under it, and it is pretty solid. No rivets missing, and everything looked in good shape. However, the floor and transom wood are junk. That's easy enough though. And I'm sure the flotation foam is either missing or waterlogged. Stay tuned,

 

[Coach Dave]

Hey - I got a question. I know that guys have had great results with Airplane Stripper, but I can get an abrasive blaster from Harbor Freight, and with the Walnut Shell medium included, I'd be under $100. I have a compressor. I'm a tool junkie, so I may be looking for an excuse to buy the blaster. Which would work better/faster?

 

[fishin98]

You better have ALOT of air capacity and use fine walnut media. I purchased the HF gravity feed blaster when I did the lower unit of my 1999 Merc 15hp...The medium grit Walnut did not flow well, fine worked better, The blaster worked the heck out of my compressor, make sure you have enough CFM + a reserve. Personally I would use a paint stripper.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to the Starmada Dave,

Nice little Jet you have there, she'll make a great fishing boat.

So you haven't found our secret lair I see since you're out here in the general resto forum. :lol:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats

 

[Buckischloo]

I would go with the aircraft stripper if you are removing non original paint. I did a 11? checkmate and was happy with the process and results. I removed an aftermarket paint job down to the original metal flake gelcoat. I am going to leave the factory gelcoat and sand and prime for new paint.
I think you will have a whole lot less setup, materials, mess, etc. Plus, the stripper won?t stress the aluminum. My process was to paint the stripper on, let the paint crinkle up and scrape it off into a trashcan with liner with a plastic putty knife. I would then wash down with water before moving on to the next area. Be sure to be well ventilated and wear protection and do it on a warm day, I worked outside in the shade.
I also have the large HF sandblaster that I use to prep bodywork on a car, that is so much more work and keeps my 60 gal air compressor running often. The blasting is slower, makes a bigger mess and would have cost a lot more for the whole boat.

 

[Coach Dave]

Aircraft Stripper it is. That's kinda what I figured, but I had never blasted before. I plan on using the Wearlon Speedcoat 49 on the bottom. It is supposed to be so hydrophobic that I should pick up a considerable amount of top end speed with the 15 HP. Racers actually roll it on to get a dimpled effect that creates an air barrier that the boat "rides" on. It ain't cheap, but I don't need much, it doesn't require any special primer, and most bottom paints aren't inexpensive. Boat will be trailered, so I don't need an ablative paint. Gotta pick her up yet, as dealer hasn't called that he's finished with the engine. Soon though.

 

[Coach Dave]

:welcome: to the Starmada Dave,

Nice little Jet you have there, she'll make a great fishing boat.

So you haven't found our secret lair I see since you're out here in the general resto forum. :lol:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats

Maybe I should have this thread transferred over there, Shoulda thought of that. I don't know how to transfer it, if I even can. But if the Moderator wants to transfer it - have at it. Or I should I start a new one over there?

 

[jbcurt00]

Aircraft Stripper it is. That's kinda what I figured, but I had never blasted before. I plan on using the Wearlon Speedcoat 49 on the bottom. It is supposed to be so hydrophobic that I should pick up a considerable amount of top end speed with the 15 HP. Racers actually roll it on to get a dimpled effect that creates an air barrier that the boat "rides" on. It ain't cheap, but I don't need much, it doesn't require any special primer, and most bottom paints aren't inexpensive. Boat will be trailered, so I don't need an ablative paint. Gotta pick her up yet, as dealer hasn't called that he's finished with the engine. Soon though.

Considerable speed? W a 15hp? Not likely, but if you want to put that stuff on it, have at it.

I'd probably spend less then $30 on Rusto Pro and use the excess funds for gas. But if you want to spend money on expensive Speedcoat, thats cool too. But dont over expect on a vintage hull, it certainly wasnt built for speed.

Its solely up to you if you want this topic moved, just post

Please move this topic to the SC forum.

Here is fine too, it is the Resto forum.

Just dont start a 2nd topic about the rebuild. We can move it if thats what you want.

 

[ezmobee]

Yeah you've got a 15HP on a boat rated for probably 50. You'll be lucky to even plane.

 

[Coach Dave]

Yeah, I'm on the lookout for a bigger motor. If I can't decal it 20 HP, I may keep this one for when I fish Pymatuning Lake with the 20 HP limit, trade it, or sell it. I don't have a garage or shop to work on here, so I cruised CL for kicks to see if there was such a place I could rent cheap. I found a lady who lives 1/2 between my work and home. A 5-10 minute drive from either place. It's a 15' X 25' garage with electric - $75/month - I gave her 2 months up front! Anyway, got her picked up Sunday, and after further inspection, she's pretty solid and all original hardware, pieces, and parts seem to be there. No dents, missing rivets, or other signs of abuse. The trailer is a 1963 also, probably original to the boat, and pulled her straight down the road at 50-55 MPH. The original windshield is in amazing shape - not yellowed, scratched, and no cracks. It's even got the hand operated Laurel and Hardy windshield wiper! Should polish up brand new. All original aluminum trim, gunnel guards, side moulding, bow cap, and stern corner brackets there and in great shape - should polish up great. The original shelf underneath the helm is all there and solid.The floor and transom wood are shot, but that's easy enough. The floor pulls apart by hand at the edges, AND THERE"S NO PAINT UNDERNEATH. All I gotta do is clean up the rivets and seams with a wire wheel to Gluvit them. Also, I didn't see any flotation foam under the floor, so I can add that, plus other places I can fit it. QUESTION: You'll all see the old time cable and pulley steering system. How involved is it to switch that out to a Teleflex NFB rotary system - Or just say with the current?

 

[Watermann]

Personally I don't like using old steering mechanisms 60's or 70's and upgrading to the new NFB helm would be one of my first purchases. The only issue would be a tilt tube and and connector rod for the steering arm.

 

[ezmobee]

I swapped out a cable/pulley system on my Jupiter for a new single cable system. Easy peasy.

 

[Coach Dave]

No Title

I'm baaaaaack.....we got hit with a winter storm and real cold temps here in NE Ohio, so haven't braved going out to the boat. Warmer this past Sunday, so the boy (he's 10) and I went out and started dismantling the boat in order to flip her over to paint. He did a good job of holding the bolts on the inside of boat while I unscrewed from the outside. Got the windshield off and ordered new vinyl deck channel for the bottom of the windshield and new stainless hold down brackets to match original, along with a qt. of Gluvit here on iBoats. I also was able to find new original vinyl inserts for the rub rails. Also just ordered 4 Elite High back bucket seats on sale for $59, Springfield swivel power pedestals, and Springfield Pro-Tilt seat brackets with free shipping- I'll be swiveling and reclining! I gotta be comfortable! Also got a line on a 30 HP Evinrude 2 stroke with remote for $800. It's from a local outboard mechanic, but I gotta go look at that yet. He won't take my 15 HP Johnson on trade, but I should be able to sell it quick enough.

 

[jbcurt00]

Where did you order new rubrail insert? Wefco has been the only available supplier anyone has found that can provide a direct, oem type fit.

 

[Coach Dave]

Where did you order new rubrail insert? Wefco has been the only available supplier anyone has found that can provide a direct, oem type fit.

rubrails dot com appears to have a stock insert in white or black that has the same specs/measurements/profile as the original I took off mine - gotta order minimum 12 ft.. I'm gonna measure mine again to be sure, and then call them. I've heard Wefco has like a 2 week lead time - they make it as it's ordered?

A = 31/64" B = 1"

 

[jbcurt00]

The aluminum rail is the 12ft min, not the vinyl insert. Insert is available by the foot.

But that does seem to be the right size. Dont have an SC at the house to go check the 31/64 and 1in dimensions, but that seems about right, IIRC.

Be sure to report back Price. 2 have recently used Wefco, so it'll be interesting to see pricing. Dont remember if Wefco had a matching rail too, but if this place does, it may be the new good supplier.....

And if you order any, make sure to report how the insert fits your existing rail.

Bwana Don