Starcraft islander cabin removal

[Brettwaterfowl]

I do a lot of duck hunting on big waters like the Great Lakes, etc and I'm in need of a big open aluminum hull. I love the Lund Alaskans and Starcraft freedoms, but I don't have the money for one of those hulls and can never find a good deal on one, let alone one with a four stroke outboard in michigan. So I got the idea of possibly buying a starcraft islander and completely gutting it, taking the cabin right off and just putting in an open floor. I have all the tools to do the job, I'm just wondering if this would be unsafe and ruin the structural integrity of the boat. Thanks in advance.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Starcraft islander cabin removal

Well...I'm NOT a Tin Boat Guy, but... I'm pretty sure that you could gut the boat down to the stringers and build the structure back to something to your suiting and make it seaworthy. It would just take time, effort and $$$$$'s!!! But Hey, I'm just an soooooo you might wanna wait for a Tin Boat guy to come along with some experienced advice!!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Starcraft islander cabin removal

You just need to make sure to rebuild some structure to tie the hull together from gunwale to gunwale, and to support the vertical sides of the boat sufficiently. Like consoles & bow structure would do.

It's been done a couple times @iboats, not sure of the current status of others, but here's 1 22ft example in process:
1976 22' Starcraft Islander Rebuild

It's quite the length thread, but jump forward to the last 4months +/- and you'll find a topless Islander starting to take shape.

 

[Brettwaterfowl]

Re: Starcraft islander cabin removal

Thanks for the help guys. I have a buddy who is really handy with welding aluminum so it sounds like i might be in business. I think ill have about 5,000 into this project rather than the 13,000 i was planning to spend on a different boat!

 

[Watermann]

Re: Starcraft islander cabin removal

Like JB said above don't try to get by with just decking her out without having some structure to tie the sides of the hull back together. You didn't say the length of the islander but it ready doesn't matter the design of the boat used the cabin for strength and hull integrity.

Post up some pics of your boat and the progress along the way.