Beginning my Starcraft Jet Star (fishing modification) Build

[bennylt]

this is a late 60s Jet Star 15. I would love to learn the actual year if anyone can help me. (fyi it has a single knee brace in the center of the transom if that helps. Rated 50HP max.

here it is at the start. Once i emptied all of the water out of it. (at least i know it is watertight!)

 

[bennylt]

I got it home and started ripping!







Transom is actually fine, so I won;t need to replace that.

 

[bennylt]

Stage 1 complete. Removed all the hardware and sent chrome stuff to a friend to powder coat. Shiny Silver. it's aint exactly chrome but it's good enough for me and won't pit.

I test hung the engine I have. it fits perfectly. no need to do anything to the transom height


And I tried stripping paint from the gunwales. The paint on there is so bad i was able to do all this in about 20 minutes with just a wire wheel on my drill. so this won't be a problem to strip to bare metal. I'm thinking I'm going to go with a white hull and blue topside.

 

[bennylt]

Next project is actually to take out the floor, and the flotation. it looks like some kind of sprav in styrofoam, not like today's 2 part foam.

I am going to go with blue/pink insulation boards for flotation.

my flooring material is going to be exterior grade plywood (untreated). I am going to lay down that vinyl roll boat flooring stuff on top. What I can't decide is how much i want to put into sealing the plywood. I know a good epoxy seal will make it last decades. but I'm honestly not so sure i want to bother. 2 sheets of plywood is cheaper than the epoxy. so if it lasts even 5 years, I think I'm still good to go. plus I'm not sure if I'm going to want to change the layout etc. I tend to try something, then figure out what I really want, then make it into that.

but anyhow. sealing aside. here are my flooring questions.
The flooring in there now is already a replacement job. it sits on the aluminum stringers, and I believe there is an aluminum leveling stringer down the center. don't know if that is original or a mod. so I don't need stringers anyway.

BUT... it looks like the floor is laid sort of next to the ridge in the hull at the water line. to me it seems like the flooring should be resting on that ridge. I don;t know if it matters or not. and I would need a spacer on the center stringer if I did that. but what are your thoughts.

I am going to put in as much foam board insulation as I can under the floor. but when I attach it to the ribs. should i try to measure trace etc and drill my holes to use the existing holes from the previous rivets or should i just drill new ones?

are rivets required or would flat headed sheet metal screws work. remembering that this floor is more of a test model and will be coming out in a few years.

I am probably going to make a slight step up in the front like 6" to get a little excess flotation under it, and make fishing in the bow a little more comfortable.

battery box way up front under the bow cover.

Rear bench with extra flotation and gas tanks.

Outside of that. I have NO IDEA how to lay out the floor plan. this is a really small boat to do anything serious. but it needs to hold 2 fishermen, 2 BIG tackle boxes, about 12 rods (yah typical bass fishermen) and at least one cooler.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm NOT a Tin Boat expert, but I have learned that you want to use Stainless steel screws or aluminum rivets. Not sure about the construction ideas, I'll leave that up to those that have been there and done that. I do know a bit about sealing and preserving wood. This is a good alternative to epoxy. It's NOT as good as epoxy but it will make it a lot more water resistant. Since you're gunna put down vinyl you can use the cheaper polyurethane and not the spar urethane. you won't need the UV protection since the poly will be covered by the vinyl. Buy a gallon of the Poly so you'll have enuf to do the final 2-3 full strength coats. You can also use Tung Oil instead of Boiled Linseed Oil but it's a bit more expensive.

 

[gm280]

WOW, benny, with the wide open floor like that the opportunities are endless. I can see many different layouts, but for my thinking and needs, not yours. But keep posting your efforts and designs. I'm interested in how it works out...

 

[bennylt]

Thanks. good point about the spar instead of epoxy. Yah with the vinyl I'm not too concerned about the top. but the underside will need to be protected at least a bit. This is a calm lake boat and provided I seal the hull well, and since it has aluminum stringers on ly the floor itself is at risk. If i keep it covered when not in use, there really won't be a lot of water getting on the wood of the floor. mostly condensation on the under side I would think.

I have a bilge pump as well.

I love that vinyl stuff ona friends fishing boat. it's great because nothing sticks in it like hooks do on carpet.

And with bass fishing you are always dragging in little bits of weeds and stuff. by the end of a good day the boat floor is covered in dried grassy weeds and mud droplets. that just sticks in carpet, but a broom sweeps it cleanly off the vinyl, or a hose in the extreme.

it gets a little hit under foot, but not too bad.

 

[Pcolafisher]

I was following you Benny. What's going on?

 

[bennylt]

I have been updating my original thread more often. called "New Guy" in the Starcraft forum.
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats/9942054-new-guy


It has been raining pretty much non stop here for the past 5 weeks which limits my time working outside on the boat.

I have snuck in some time to get the rest of the topside stripped this past weekend when we had a sunny day. I left the floor in as long as I could because it was a lot nicer to have a surface to stand on while doing that stripping.

My next step is pulling out the plywood and old flotation.

Then I'll power wash inside and out. That should knock off a lot of the loose paint.

Then I can assess what i want to do next as far as paint is concerned. full strip, or partial strip, sand/feather.

The boat was repainted at some point, but it seems like the newer layer of paint is what is flaking off, (tan) and the original white paint under it is actually in good shape. I don;t think they primed on top of the original paint.

 

[Pcolafisher]

Wow! Spectacular job on the deck! I hope I can do half as well when I finally get started on my 86 Islander. In about seven weeks we should be out from under two mortgage payments plus my truck payment.

Cheers, Craig

 

[jbcurt00]

Please follow the continued rebuild here:

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats/9942054-new-guy