Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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20
Good Morning All!

Well thanks to all the Starcraft restorers in this association I was able to make an informed decision regarding my first Starcraft purchase. I just picked up a '72 Starcraft Jetstream with a '72 Johnson 50HP. Everything on it is original and falling apart but I love her. And thanks to this website, I have no doubt that i will be able to restore her and have a sweet little boat for putting around.

I already have many of the answers I was looking for by searching this site but I have a few questions I haven't been able to find.

1. based on a brochure I found on Iboats forum, I know for sure that it she is a '72 Jetstream but on the dash the Starcraft logo says Holiday. Was the Jetstream simply a version of the Holiday?

2. I have already decided to replace the floor as it is a bit soft and I was wondering about removing the interior side panels in order to do so. There are both screws and rivets apparent on the panels, does anyone know if I need to remove both or are the screws for the installation and the rivets for holding the panel together?

I'll be putting in some marine ply with a marine vinyl flooring overtop, and replacing the old styrofoam of course, as I would like to keep this as original as possible (although I doubt I'll be able to find the crazy yellow pattern I pulled out of there).

Other than replacing the floor and getting the motor running I don't plan on doing much restoring this summer. I think it would be good idea to run her for a season and see how we use her before I start looking at painting, upholstery, replacement seating, etc.

I'll post some pics - please be patient this is my first posting so it may take a few tries.

Again - thanks to all the members who contribute to this site. It is a goldmine of information and inspiration and I hope that I can pay that back by paying forward some info on a Jetstream restoration.

Talk to you soon!

Your Buddy R.

Jetstream - Side View.jpgStarcraft Dash.jpgJetstream Top View.jpg
 

Bondo

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70,464
Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... You keep sayin' Jetstream, 'n I keep seein' a Holiday....

But I'm no Starcraft expert either....
 

ezmobee

Supreme Mariner
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Mar 26, 2007
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23,767
Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

That's a sweet hull. Starcraft changed so many names and sizes from year to year who the heck know what was going on. Holiday's were usually deeper than that hull and it does look identical to the Jetstream in the '72 brochure.
 

GA_Boater

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May 24, 2011
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49,038
Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Welcome to the Tin Drydock, Buddy. Like EZ said, Starcraft recycled model names over and over. You have the gull wing stern, so she should be a good handler.

I can only compare your side panels to mine, but my floor was replaced with pressure treated (ugh) before I got her. But my side panels were were held in with screws, which I think was done when the PO R/R'ed the original floor. Any way just drill the heads off any rivets and take out any screws. The fasteners are three or so coming back from the dash area, some into the side tray below the cut out and along the floor. Then pull the bottom toward the center of the boat until the panel clears the mounting strip up front. Sorry if I'm being overly simplistic.


Your plans pretty much match mine. I did the floors/side panels, patched some leaks, fixed some trailer problems, got her running and launched. That was about a year and a half ago. Since then I've made little changes here and there. Some day I plan on painting her but I'm having too much fun using her. :D

Pics in your first post. :thumb: We always like pics. Again welcome to the Starmada and have fun.
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Hey Bond-0,

I know exactly what you mean re the Jetstream vs Holiday thing. I thought it was a Holiday too until I saw the 1972 Starcraft Brochure (from an iboats post) where I saw my exact boat listed as a Jetstream. But it does have Holiday written on the dash nameplate, that's what made me think that the Jetstream was a a type of holiday - like the way you can get a Eddie Bauer version of a Ford Explorer.

Hard to say - it'd be great if we could find an ex-starcraft employee that could help with these types of questions.
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
Messages
20
Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Well after 2 parts motors and great deal of effort I came to the conclusion that the '72 Johnson was just not going to be revived. So I went looking and found a '89 Mercury 40hp that works just fine. I've put in a new steering system, redone the wiring to the lights so I could keep the original fixtures, rebuild the seats and installed a bilge pump. Splashed it this weekend and it runs like a top. All I have is a 7 second clip of my daughter driving away in it for now. I've attached it - I think (first time doing it). if not you can see it here:

Starcraft Jetstream Running - YouTube


The best news is the hull has no leaks. And now that its running comes the fun part - rebuilding the interior. I plan on replacing everything from the floor up. I was thinking I would build bench seats as opposed to the back-to-back seats, has anyone done this and might have some advice or plans to share? There's a great video of a guy who restored a 1968 Starcraft - not sure what model - really nice job. you can see it here:

Starcraft boat restoration 1968.wmv - YouTube

I think I'm going to enjoy driving it for a little while and save the restoration work for the winter months. I'll keep you updated. Hope everyone is getting some time on the water!

Your Buddy R

 

jbcurt00

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

W/ the interior out & planning to replace the deck (floor), you might consider adding the transom to your replacement projects.

It won't ever be easier, w/ more access then while the deck is out.

A good cleaning post demo, a leak test & some Coat-It or Gluvit should also be considered.

Welcome to the iboats dry dock, tin division........
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Well its time to get to work. I had a good summer running that little Jetstream but winter is here and its time to get back at it. I plan on restoring her just how she is except for the motor and a slight seat alteration. I find that the newer Merc I put on her looks a little out of place. Since i was planning on repainting the cowl anyways, I figured I would try and make it look a little more retro and in keeping with the boat. (I've attached a plan of what I hope to achieve). I'm planning on re-painting the cowl in the original 1961 Merc colours (Cloud White and Phantom Black) and putting 1961-ish decals on it. I know it won't be fooling anyone and no one will actually think its a '61, but I'm hoping it'll give it a nostalgic look and, if nothing else, make the boat a little more unique. And hey, if it looks terrible then I'll just paint it black and put more current decals on it. Has anyone ever seen an engine done this way? I searched around but haven't seen anything.

I stripped off the old decals from the cowl, sanded it down and shot it with primer. BTW, thanks to all the posts explaining how to paint a motor and the impotence of prep, it really does make all the difference.

As far as the seats, I'm rebuilding them as they are but I'm adding a small matching bench seat at the back. I've planned it out so that if you drop down the sleeper seats it creates an L-shaped couch. I know it'll reduce floor space but i'm not concerned, it'll give me more seating options. the bench seat will tilt forward to access the gas tank and battery but I'm thinking I may install a fixed tank instead of the portable ones.

Hopefully I'll have the cowl done in the next month or so but Christmas might put a wrench in the works. I'll post more pictures as I make progress.

YBR.
IMG-20130915-00835.jpg1960 merc 40.jpgIMG_00000022[1].jpg
Jetstream - Concept Plan.jpg
 

jbcurt00

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Looks like a workable plan, nice to have a HUGE L shaped bench in a boat that size when you need/want it.

The vintage Mercury stuff may not fit the contours of a modern cowl (angular & square VS rounded) real well or be sized to 'look' right on a larger cowl. New cowl is larger isn't it? Or maybe it just looks that way because of the prespective.

Great idea, but be sure it'll look the way you envision before you pop for the decals, they aren't inexpensive.

Looking at decals for a little newer motor, might get you into larger displacement Mercs that would then have larger cowls that would translate to the new cowl better.
 

Buddy R

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Good point. I may be able to go to a custom decal guy in town and get them made to suit. But yes, everything will be done temporarily until I know it'll work. I may post the mock-ups to get the opinions of the "dry dock crew".
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Nothing like making some advances on the restoration to help deal with the winter blues. I completed the new seat frames using the old ones as a template. For anyone whip is looking to make new seats, I found a posting where a guy shows exactly how to build starcraft sleeper seats including a cut layout - I checked it against my seats and it was identical - and very helpful to see how to lay it out to get all of the pieces from one sheet of plywood. You can find the post here:

Do It Yourself | James A Watt - "Things I Find Interesting"

I designed the custom rear bench seat myself and I simply used the seat depth and height from the back to back benches and and applied to a bench layout. I had to shorten the the seat depth about an inch so that the sleeper seats would sit nicely against the bench when reclined. It worked out really nicely - I've post the pictures at the end.

I also decided to lighten things up a bit on the interior as I felt that the yellow seats, the yellow panels, the yellow floor? well it was just a little too yellow. So instead I did the pleated centre sections of the seats in white and carried that look through the rear bench. I also changed the interior panels to the white as well. I think the two tone will look a little sportier when installed and brighten up the interior but I won't know for sure till snow melts and I can get boat out of storage.

I have to be honest, I did not do the upholstery myself. After reading all of the posts on iboats it just seemed to be too big of an undertaking. I found a guy (Richard at http://www.toileunique.com) just outside of Ottawa on the Quebec side who does boat upholstery and he was great. He suggested doing bucket seats in the rear bench to match the front seats and he did an outstanding job. The only piece of advice I can give to anyone re-doing seats is; "SAVE YOUR FOAM". its often reusable but more importantly it provides a model if they need to replace the foam. Starcraft used different densities of foam for their bolsters, seats and back rests (or at least they did on my boat) and Richard said it was a huge help to have the original pieces.

I've got to reinstall all of the metal rails and beltstraps on the interior panels so I guess I'll be buying a rivet gun in the next couple of weeks. I've got a compressor so I imagine I'll pick up one of the pneumatic ones if they're not too expensive - if anyone has a recommendation .

That's it for now. Photo are below (although you may need to rotate some of them for viewing). I'm getting the motor cowl painted in the next few weeks and will update then. Hope everyone's making it the winter ok.

Your Buddy R

[/ATTACH]View attachment 224221View attachment 224222[/ATTACH]IMG_20140222_151208.jpg
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

It looks like one or two of the photos didn't go through - I'll try again.

IMG_20140222_151111.jpg

IMG_20140222_141936.jpg
 

Woodonglass

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

If you care to share, What was the cost of the Upholstery? It looks AWESOME!!!
 

jbcurt00

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Yep ^^^, Richard does nice work!

I like the yellow & white. W/ white combing bolsters @side panels and these seats, the interior is going to look great!

EDIT: The plan & layout all look great, but the author mentions that there is no support under the fold down section in the middle, yet, so don't sit on it, and the support info would be in part3 that never got posted.
 
Last edited:

Buddy R

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

I have no problem sharing - it was $1,250.00 to recover the two sleeper seats with the existing foam plus a little extra to firm them up, custom cover the new rear bench including new foam, and cover the two interior panels. He also installed new hinges on all seats (including the bench - I'll show a detail later) and put a coat of water sealant on all wooden parts before beginning with the upholstery. I got quotes from a number of local people, the next closest quote was $1,950.00.

Re the support under the middle seats, I noticed that too and modified the frames for just that purpose. I'll show that detail when I'm installing them.

Thanks for the feedback fellas!

YBR.
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

i came across a bit of good luck just as I had finished repainting the cowl of the '89 Merc that I was planning on retro-finishing to look like more like a '61 and look better on the boat; an actual 1961 40HP merc came up for sale - all original. The motor came with the original controller and keys as well as two gas tanks. There is a guy near Ottawa that specializes in Mercury restoration who completely rebuilds strips and repaints antique Mercury outboards so I'll have him do the motor as that it completely out of my area of expertise. His company is called AIM MARINE INC. if anyone's curious. Actually if you go to youtube he has a few videos of older Mark Series engines he's done, you can see one here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ESRvyC1sa8

So I decided to simplify the decal package on the '89 Merc and throw my efforts (and funds) into the '61. it'll take a few seasons to get it done but AIM can have it looking and running like it just came out of the crate. I'll attach a couple of pictures of the newly painted '89 cowl as well as the newly purchased '61 rig and a photo of how I hope it will look when its restored. Spring doesn't ever seem like its going to come this year but as soon as it does I'll be pulling the floor of the Jetstream and laying in a new one so the new seats can go in, I'll posts some time-lapse pics of that process. Hopefully I can have it in the water by mid spring.

That's it for now, here's hoping for an early spring!

Your Buddy R.

89 Merc Cowl w New Paint.jpg'61 Merc Front.JPG'61 Merc Rear.jpg'61 Merc Control.jpgRestored 61 Merc .jpg
 

ezmobee

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

That '61 motor is awesome. Your upholstery is super awesome. Money well spent I say.
 

Bob_VT

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

WOW Do I know the PERFECT place for those seats in exactly that color!!!

DSCN4643.JPG
 

Buddy R

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Mar 3, 2013
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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

I had some time to work on the interior side panels, specifically the aluminum base pieces that attach to the floor. Took some elbow grease but they came out nicely. Started with 180 grit on an orbital sander then followed up with hand sanding 600 wet and a 3M scotch pad. (I've attached a photo of the finished one against the other).

Hoping to do the floor in the next few weeks. I'll post pictures as I don't see many open floor shots of the SC 15' hull in the forum.

Hopefully some lucky northerners have already splashed their boats!

Your Buddy R.View attachment 229369View attachment 229370
 

Woodonglass

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Re: Buddy R's Jetstream Restoration

Uhmmm, your pic's did not attach correctly!!:blue:
 
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