1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

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Sheiky

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Really fell for these old chieftains since first seeing a few here months back. Starcraft are really rare here on the Left Coast so I was lucky to get this on CL not too long ago. Gonna be a total teardown after inspection....paint scratches off with a fingernail, two layers of rotten deck, rotten cuddy walls/bulkhead, and a pretty shoddy conversion job. All in all, a pig with lipstick.
 

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Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

The second pic is from about a year ago. It shows how the original owner ran a Black Max 150 after the conversion. I'm going to look at 1979 Evinrude 175 hp saltwater OB this weekend that seems promising. Regardless of what I get it will be sitting on a manual jack plate.....8 or 10 inch setback is what I'm thinking.
 

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dozerII

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Welcome to the Starmada Sheiky:welcome: Great looking project you found, it is going to need some reinforcing on that transom though to transfer some of the load into the hull.
 

Bondo

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Welcome to the Starmada Sheiky:welcome: Great looking project you found, it is going to need some reinforcing on that transom though to transfer some of the load into the hull.

Ayuh,.... Looks like a pretty rough conversion,....

Will the outboard actually tilt, without hittin' the forward splashwell edge,..??
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Welcome to the Starmada Sheiky:welcome: Great looking project you found, it is going to need some reinforcing on that transom though to transfer some of the load into the hull.

Thanks for the welcome, Dozer. Can't say for sure what I have planned for that transom but I will be scouring the site for ideas. I remember looking at Magnumdeke's rebuild and liking what he did, although I don't think I need something that beefy. I'm not attaching a big bracket with a swim platform, just a jack plate.
I think I'm going to pull the trigger on that '79 Evinrude 175.....fired right up and all six had good compression. My only qualm is that the boat is listed as 165 hp max as an I/O and I'm not sure if or how the conversion affects/changes that in any way. Took out all the original floatation today and vacuumed out the hull. The bottom layer of flotation between the stringers was actually saturated. Too much football to watch tomorrow so I'll probably just powerwash the hull interior and go to couch potato mode the rest of the day.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Ayuh,.... Looks like a pretty rough conversion,....

Will the outboard actually tilt, without hittin' the forward splashwell edge,..??

The guy I got the boat from bought it from the original owner to flip. I never spoke to the original owner but I was told that the original owner's Black Max 150 only partially tilted and it also rubbed a little on hard turns.....that's with a 5 1/2" CMC jack plate.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Apologies to all. I had some issues over the past few months that took this project completely off the radar. Had a disc (L5-S1) removed and three vertebrae (C5,6, & 7) fused......joy.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....tried a few ways to strip paint. 3" cup brush- freaked me out too much as I could see aluminum goin' with the paint. Blasted with walnut shell- worked great but too messy, not to mention evil eye from a neighbor. Aircraft stripper with my 3400 psi pressure washer seems to be the ticket.
Had some decals made locally too. Put images from the internet on a thumb drive and had them printed.


 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Oh, almost forgot. Found this lovely piece of paper under the two layers of rotted deck. The BLANKITY BLANK I bought the boat from said it was a '76 originally, then switched to '74 after I told him some of the styling was too old to be a '76. Even gave him more $$$ as he said he would have to tow the boat all the way from Boise to meet me in Reno. I hope it all comes back at him somehow.

 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Here's the '79 Evinrude 175 V6 I picked up a few months back. Looks really rough but the compression is great all the way around.....all that matters, right ? Another Craigslist find.
ChieftainRebuild100_zpsdc51a086.jpg
[/URL]
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Here's a nice little goody that arrived recently. CMC 10" manual jack plate. Should give me some needed clearance from the transom. Just gotta make sure I get the numbers right when it comes time to mount this sucker. Got the transom made. Three layers of Arauco 3/4" ply glued & screwed with 5200. Also have 24oz of fiberglass on it too with 1 1/2oz csm under that layer. I got lazy....the 24oz layer is only one layer instead of multiple layers that equal 24oz. It was pretty tough to get wetted out and wrapping around the edges was a bear. Gonna have to modify it 'cuz I can see delamination in a few different areas where I had to wrap. That's what I get for trying to take the easy way....making more work for myself.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Dry fit went pretty well on the transom. Will try to get the rest of the hull stripped the next few days, if my back lets me. Been pushin' it a bit too hard. Gotta be careful because I plan on taking my first post-op camping trip in less than a week. Backside/east of Yosemite about 10,000' up on the Mono Trail. The pics are from my last time up there before the spine ops.
 

magnumdeke

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Welcome back! Back bone can be a PITA, take er easy. Nice looking project ya got there, seems like a little splash well mod will be needed even with the jack plate to get proper clearance. Stay after it, and that is some beautiful country!
 

GA_Boater

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Nice work and goodies, Sheiky. Watch the back, both climbing the trails and working on the Chief.
 

classiccat

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Oh, almost forgot. Found this lovely piece of paper under the two layers of rotted deck. The BLANKITY BLANK I bought the boat from said it was a '76 originally, then switched to '74 after I told him some of the styling was too old to be a '76. Even gave him more $$$ as he said he would have to tow the boat all the way from Boise to meet me in Reno. I hope it all comes back at him somehow.

now that you have his address, you should mail him a copy :lol:

That's some serious Hp...hope she's a runner!!
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Welcome back! Back bone can be a PITA, take er easy. Nice looking project ya got there, seems like a little splash well mod will be needed even with the jack plate to get proper clearance. Stay after it, and that is some beautiful country!

Thanks for the welcome back back, MD. Man, you are smokin' on that Islander ! Not just moving along fast, but quality work and materials. You must be proud of those youngsters helpin' you out. They are learning some nice skills.
Some buddies coming over soon to brainstorm about my transom and splashwell area cuz' honestly, I'm not sure how I'm going to it.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Nice work and goodies, Sheiky. Watch the back, both climbing the trails and working on the Chief.

Hey GA. Got back from my little nature trip on Monday. Same place as the photo I posted over a week ago.... Rock Creek Lake on the backside of Yosemite off of the HWY 395 corridor. Just stunning. Took my telescope to look at the "super moon" but only got a few quick peeks between all the clouds. Got some goodies just before I left though.......Man, I have been striking gold on Craigslist lately. Hope it continues.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

now that you have his address, you should mail him a copy :lol:

That's some serious Hp...hope she's a runner!!

BlueFin, I've thought about what you suggested several times. It's no big deal to me but it would be nice to let him know......a little satisfaction, maybe.
I agree. That motor I picked up is serious horsepower. Keep having images in my head like it'll be a spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere....boat parts flying off everywhere as I go WOT ! Like a Big Daddy Roth cartoon. Got some more goodies I'll be posting soon.
 

Sheiky

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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Haven't worked on the boat for a while but would like to do some show & tell. Hit paydirt on Craigslist lately. I was actually looking for a drill press & picked one up from a great guy who was clearing out his late father's shop. Told him I needed the drill press for a boat I was working on and his eyes lit up.
His dad ran a couple of founderies and was one of the head honchos at Klamath boats. Said he had "a few" boating related items he wanted me to have and brought out two boxes & said,"Here, they're yours."
 

Sheiky

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Jul 26, 2012
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Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain 21' Rebuild

Here's the early to mid 1950's Sears & Roebuck drill press I got through Craigslist and all the early 1970's Perko hardware. "Made in USA"....everything. Different times, for sure.
 
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