1974 American Starcraft Open bow 16ft
Mercury 850 Outboard
My Name is Ben and while my wife went out of town for a day I cleaned out the garage enough to buy a boat. Seemed like a good idea at the time, and in my defense I did say multiple times that I was going to do it. What I ended up coming home with is a 1974 Starcraft 16ft with the original Mercury 850. I believe I have narrowed it down to a 1974 American open bow. I am still trying to find as many pictures and information as I can. Over all it appears to be in pretty good shape. The Previous owner said that he bought it from the original owners who traded it in the family back and forth a couple of times before he got it. He used it for about 3 years with no trouble until one day it lost power on the lake and his brother in law who is mechanical said that the carburetor was leaking. Unfortunately, instead of fixing it he put it in the weather for about a year the cover tore and he bought a bigger boat for his growing family and wanted this one gone. That is where I come in. I bought it for cheap in the hopes to learn something about boats and fix it up over the winter in time for my family to enjoy it. I have never owned a boat and probably should have asked way more questions than "does it float." now i stumbled on this forum and have tried to find out as much as I can about the this boat. like colors and any how to I can get my hands on. I would like to do all work myself. We shall see. Now on to the fun stuff, questions. So what I know from the previous owner is that it lost power and the carb is leaking in the original motor. It looks like one carb rebuild kit was purchased at some point and came with. Again, I know absolutly nothing about boats and vintage ones at that so i'm sure I messed something up at some point. From reading others troubles a ruptured diaphragm in the fuel pump is the cause. I do not thin this is it because when I squeeze the bulb it does get hard. That is when I notice small drops of gas leaking from what i think is the bottom of the upper carb around the plug in the bottom. My first question is going to be should i just rebuild the top carb? or is it the float stuck? will i even have an idea until it is removed? which brings me to the next question. How difficult is it to remove the upper carburetor on a Mercury 850? I'm really good at taking things apart, it has yet to be seen if I am capable of putting things back together. I already have in my possession the Seloc manual that everyone says to buy for this motor and like they say it's a good book but somewhat general unless you are an actual boat mechanic I think. other questions I have:
-Tilt Goes up does not engage to go down (p/o says he tops it off whenever this happens) look like the port side tilt shaft has been replaced and is leaking from the starboard.
-key broke off in the ignition and he used a screw driver to start. Is it easier to replace the whole ignition with new keys or can I somehow dig it out and order a replacement?
-I plan on sanding and painting the bottom at least. do I just find bottom paint and roll it on? How can I find the color I want for it? (I'm still reading through sanding and hull painting videos and threads)
-There is a switch infront of the controls. it appears to be a 3 position switch (up, middle, down) The label tape is worn so I can not read it. What does this do?
-Can you get a new dash sticker and side decals for these still? It looks like it was peeled off and renamed "wet dreamz" at some point, clever.
-Small chipping and scrapes on the bottom. How would you go about fixing that? Marine tex?
-what about carpet? just find random marine carpet in the color close to it or is there a color chart and place I am able to order it from?
-on the back of the boat on the port side is the gas tank filler. what is the one on the Starboard side for?
That is all I can think of at this time. any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Let me see if I can get these picture to upload. I know it says you have to make 3 posts first and this is number 1 for me.
Can I sand off this white stuff? kind of rough feeling.
What are the labels supposed to say?
What is this? Starboard side aft.
how to fix that and blend?
Mercury 850 Outboard
My Name is Ben and while my wife went out of town for a day I cleaned out the garage enough to buy a boat. Seemed like a good idea at the time, and in my defense I did say multiple times that I was going to do it. What I ended up coming home with is a 1974 Starcraft 16ft with the original Mercury 850. I believe I have narrowed it down to a 1974 American open bow. I am still trying to find as many pictures and information as I can. Over all it appears to be in pretty good shape. The Previous owner said that he bought it from the original owners who traded it in the family back and forth a couple of times before he got it. He used it for about 3 years with no trouble until one day it lost power on the lake and his brother in law who is mechanical said that the carburetor was leaking. Unfortunately, instead of fixing it he put it in the weather for about a year the cover tore and he bought a bigger boat for his growing family and wanted this one gone. That is where I come in. I bought it for cheap in the hopes to learn something about boats and fix it up over the winter in time for my family to enjoy it. I have never owned a boat and probably should have asked way more questions than "does it float." now i stumbled on this forum and have tried to find out as much as I can about the this boat. like colors and any how to I can get my hands on. I would like to do all work myself. We shall see. Now on to the fun stuff, questions. So what I know from the previous owner is that it lost power and the carb is leaking in the original motor. It looks like one carb rebuild kit was purchased at some point and came with. Again, I know absolutly nothing about boats and vintage ones at that so i'm sure I messed something up at some point. From reading others troubles a ruptured diaphragm in the fuel pump is the cause. I do not thin this is it because when I squeeze the bulb it does get hard. That is when I notice small drops of gas leaking from what i think is the bottom of the upper carb around the plug in the bottom. My first question is going to be should i just rebuild the top carb? or is it the float stuck? will i even have an idea until it is removed? which brings me to the next question. How difficult is it to remove the upper carburetor on a Mercury 850? I'm really good at taking things apart, it has yet to be seen if I am capable of putting things back together. I already have in my possession the Seloc manual that everyone says to buy for this motor and like they say it's a good book but somewhat general unless you are an actual boat mechanic I think. other questions I have:
-Tilt Goes up does not engage to go down (p/o says he tops it off whenever this happens) look like the port side tilt shaft has been replaced and is leaking from the starboard.
-key broke off in the ignition and he used a screw driver to start. Is it easier to replace the whole ignition with new keys or can I somehow dig it out and order a replacement?
-I plan on sanding and painting the bottom at least. do I just find bottom paint and roll it on? How can I find the color I want for it? (I'm still reading through sanding and hull painting videos and threads)
-There is a switch infront of the controls. it appears to be a 3 position switch (up, middle, down) The label tape is worn so I can not read it. What does this do?
-Can you get a new dash sticker and side decals for these still? It looks like it was peeled off and renamed "wet dreamz" at some point, clever.
-Small chipping and scrapes on the bottom. How would you go about fixing that? Marine tex?
-what about carpet? just find random marine carpet in the color close to it or is there a color chart and place I am able to order it from?
-on the back of the boat on the port side is the gas tank filler. what is the one on the Starboard side for?
That is all I can think of at this time. any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Let me see if I can get these picture to upload. I know it says you have to make 3 posts first and this is number 1 for me.
Can I sand off this white stuff? kind of rough feeling.
What are the labels supposed to say?
What is this? Starboard side aft.
how to fix that and blend?
