1970 16' Starcraft Jupiter V Restore

[Andy in NY]

She is a 1970 Starcraft Jupiter V that I picked up for $400.

Pullin' her home:

Time to assess the damage:

nice job here on the bilge pump hose:

The PO used clear silicone EVERYWHERE:

This is how the 2nd layer of plywood was held down:

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: STOLEN

Re: Starcraft project: STOLEN

I could push down with my hand and seperate the fibers:

The seats are newer and in good shape except for this one little spot:

This afternoon im going to get the seats out and the carpet up and start on the deck.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

UPDATE:

Got the floor out yesterday (and some torn up hands to boot).

Seats out, moldy and mossy carpet:

Carpet out:

you can see here where 1 sheet is newer than the other:

OH, there's 2 layers:

This stuff is like wet cardboard:

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

My boy Ryan helping:

Lots of standing water:

FLOOR AND FOAM OUT!

Dash carpeting off:

Filled with water to check for leaks:

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN"

So, I learned alot yesterday.

1) it was ALOT easier than I thought it would be

2) The wet plywood probably weighed a few hundred lbs

3) the wet foam weighed 150lbs (we weighed it)

Now some questions:

I did notice a few leaks from some of the seams. I keep hearing about Gulvit, but can someone tell me about it and if its right for me? The leaks aren't major, just a few little drips.

I did use gluvit and coated most of the bilge, and all the seams along the hull.


When I put the new deck in, I am going to use poly. Someone mentioned that I would need to glass too.... in what manner? I have a gallon of poly and a bunch of csm and mat... which should i use?

I coated the underside with 2 coats of poly then used mat and poly on the topside.

when screwing the deck down, should i predrill and fill with 4200/5200?

I did fill with 5200

what foam should i use?

I used the pink bfoam boards from home depot.

what size area should i leave open for the bilge?

I left a 12 by 12 opening

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-23-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-23-09

Didnt get a whole lot done yesterday, but some progress.

Got the other side panel off with the controls:

Got all the rivets and screws ground off:

Got the motor off:

and found out just how bad the transom is:

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-23-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-23-09

Now, how do I get the transom out with this in the way?

I used a grinder to cut just enough off to get the transom out. The caps cover up what i cut off.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

UPDATE: I didn't get much done yesterday, ended up going out on the lake when my wife got home. I managed to get most of the bolts that go through the transom into the knee brace out, but there are 4 or 5 on each side that on one side none of them wanted to budge... any suggestions on getting them out?

I ended up grinding the heads off the ones that were REALLY stuck.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

To be honest, I haven't understood how you've resisted at least tinkering with the Johnson for all this time......

First thing we did with mine when we got it home was hook a battery and some gas up to it and see if we could get it started. It did start and run (though obviously not on all cylinders) so we took the whole boat to our mechanic and had him get it all fixed up. We then picked it up from there and took it out on the river to test it out (sitting on lawn chairs). We were happy with the performance (thrilled actually, I punched it and knocked my dad off his lawn chair) so we took it back home and I got started on the interior.

I had assumed that you were figuring if you couldn't get the Johnson running you'd swap over the Mercury from the MFG.

I dont have a key for the johnson, have to order one. Thats the only reason i havent done anything with it yet.

and ya i had thought about putting the merc on it if the johnson was a bust...

so here are my thoughts... IF the johnson doesnt run or needs major work, then we can take the cash from the mfg and buy a motor. then keep on the pace im on now, doing a little here and a little there when finances allow. get the deck and transom done and get back on the water before summers end and finish up everything else as we go along.

or

put all the cash into the boat and have it 100% by fall, buy another outboard when we get out income tax return.

or

the johnson works fine and we are back on the water in a few weeks.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

well, I just got back from the dump getting rid of the old deck, foam and carpet. 280lbs worth! and that doesnt include the transom or some of the deck that i saved for the bow! all that extra weight, thats like a whole person! I fugure that the new deck will weigh 100lbs.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-24-09

i got the transom out, which didnt go willingly! it was still fairly solid, so i took some wire and fed it through a hole, and used a huge pry bar and lifted from the center. the hard part is that there is nothing to grip to just pull it out. but its out, and in 1 piece.

I also finished getting all the hardware off...

And I got the gluvit applied.

Today I am going to pick up the decking plywood, transom plywood and foam and am hoping to have all of it glassed and in by the end of the week while i have my inlaws garage (they are out of town).

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Sorry to complicate it, but just coating plywood with polyester resin doesn't help much. Polyester resin is fairly brittle and when used without glass will crack and peel off far sooner than epoxy, epoxy can and may do the same thing, but will hold up much longer. Add a layer of glass to either one and the performance increases dramatically. Also polyester isn't a glue, so it's not all that good at bonding plywood together, epoxy is and excellent glue and does a very good job at sticking two sheets of ply together.

Well, heres the thing, I already have 2 gal of poly. Im on a pretty tight budget, so if theres a way i can use it and still do a decent job I would like to. for the underside, will the poly hold up as a SEALER on its own? I do plan on glassing the top, so I dont think strength will be an issue. If it really comes down to it, I will get some epoxy, but like i said i have the poly and am on a budget.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Well, yesterday was an incredibly productive and good day. had a little help from my brother in law and his girlfriends father, both are into carpentry. they had the entire deck cut out in less than an hour, with Ernie making cardboard templates and Romeo cutting while Ernie was making the next.

and I worked on the transom

Also, I had decided to list the motor that came with it on craigslist to see what kind of interest i could drum up. i listed it as running but needing major work for $400, and this guy calls me says he wants it and will trade a RUNNING AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL 1974 rude 50hp. The guy is about 3 hours from me, but only 30 min from Bob_VT so he took a ride to check it out for me.

Bob said it was a heck of a deal, so im going sunday to make the deal. I figure I cant really go backwards on it...


I also fell into a few other deals yesterday too. While Ernie was helping me, he was asking about my paint plans. He said if I wasnt dead set on maroon and grey, he had 2 quarts of emerald green and 2 quarts of white topside marine paint from interlux he would give me!!! WOO HOO!

But wait, theres more!

He said he has a trailer too, galvenized thats been sitting behind his barn. He has to check with his son, and if he doesn't plan on doing anything with it he'll give it to me for like $200. I can easily turn mine around for that.

Yesterday was a great day, today im hoping to get started in resin but I have a guy coming to look at my mfg.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

interlux topside is rather slick,
they have a deck paint that is very good though called interdeck.
A quart goes a long way if you brush it.
Deck paint is also non glare, less headaches from the sun.

I should easily be able to get away with a quart on the deck, even with 2-3 coats. Although Im not worried about something that is too slick because the paint will be laced with sand.

Well, no progress yesterday due to the sale of the mfg, but I did get out and get most of the supplies i needed... so today I will be getting the deck coated in resin and ready for install. My hopes are to have the deck and transom in 100% by friday.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

okay, what do you guys think of the color sceme? the actual color may be a bit different, but this is how i want the lines to be...

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 6-29-09 *FIBERGLASS QUESTION POST 58*

UPDATE:

Got started coating the deck and transom in resin yesterday. This was my first time ever working with resin, and I have to say it went well, but there was alot I learned.

I'm pretty clostrophobic, so wearing the respirator was a bit uncomfortable.

I learned within the first 15 min NOT TO MAKE ALOT AT A TIME. I mixed up a quart... bad move. I now have a mixing cup with 3/4 of a quart in it, rock solid.


The plastic spreaders work way better than a brush. I tried just brushing it at first, and realized 1) how much I was using 2) it was very not smooth and 3) it was alot slower. By time I was on my last piece I was getting the hang of it.

Now a few questions.

There are some drips on the other side, so when I put them down they are going to stick up. What should I use to knock them down?

I started to sand the hull and there are several small holes on the transom that are filled with white silicon. what can I do to permanantly seal those holes?

I got the starcraft emblems off and want to strip the paint off them. is there something that I can just soak them in that will dissolve the paint but not hurt the plastic?

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Okay, Update time.


Yesterday did not go as well as I had planned... I got the deck 2/3 glassed in. I now have a whole new respect for glassing. You guys make it sound so easy...

I had a few problems I wasn't sure what to do about. First, the edges of the sheets (i was using 8 sq ft sheets) kept fraying, leaving these strings to get embedded in what was there, or stuck to my hands/brush/squeegee. Then, I had trouble getting the sheets to stay square, they all wavy if that makes sense. not like air bubbles, but the edges arent straight. Im sure there are a few air bubbles though.

So, any tips on how to do this more efficiently?

What do you do if there are air bubbles?

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

I finished getting the deck glassed in friday, and im amazed by how much the glass strengthens it... came out ok. not the best glass job ever, but only 2 air bubbles. Thats about all i got done on it, besides getting it cleaned up and out of the inlaws garage on saturday.

Yesterday I spent the day on the road to go get that motor...met up with Bob_vt and got a peek at his new SS... nice boat. Then headed 1/2 an hour to pick up the motor. He trading a well running 74 evinrude 50 hp for my 69 johnson 55 hp that was in non running condition, he wanted the extra 5 ponies and the power tilt.

I really feel bad for the guy though considering where he has to launch...

Here's the deck in, ready for glassing.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Well, I didnt really get anywhere yesterday. Got a few holes drilled in the transom for the bolts that go through all the way on the edges and the knee brace... and started installing the bolts till i ran into a problem. after i drilled i squeezed in some 5200, but the bolt kept pushing it out. so i tried using a qtip to swab some in there (thanks bob) but that didnt really work, the 5200 had a hard time parting with the qtip. i chatted with kevin for a bit and we brainstormed, but then it started raining.


but now i have another problem. the 2 or 3 i did by just squeezing some in, and it was pushed out, is now on the end of the bold. how can i remove it to get the nut on?

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

Re: Starcraft project: "STOLEN" PIC UPDATE 7-2-09

GOOD NEWS!!!


I've been freaking out over registering this thing... at first the dmv told me that if the person i got it from owned it for more than a year with no paperwork that person could fill out an affidavit... or if i owned it for more than a year. so i go today with the thing saying that i owned it for more than a year (according to the guy i got it from he had it for 6 months or so and the guy before him had it for a while) so i figured it would be no big deal. but then the lady at the dmv says that it is still in the system so i have to find the previous owner. if not i have to wait till its out of the system (1 year from reg expiration). LUCKILY she was nice and gave me the name of the last registered owner (they aren't supposed to, but our kids go to school together). i did some internet searching and finally found an address. took a shot in the dark and went and knocked on the door because it was right around the corner from where i work. turns out he was home, and after explaining it to him he said "lets go now then!" so we went to the dmv, got a duplicate reg and ordered a duplicate title for the trailer. I threw him a 20 for his time and hes going to call me when the title for the trailer comes in.


BTW, reg lists the boat as a 1970, and 15'??? i mean, i haven't measured it so it could be... that would mean the guy who i got it from either lied or didn't know what length it was so he said 16. anyhow, i now have legit paperwork for it!!!!


an interesting tidbit, apparently the motor hadn't run in several years, thats why he got rid of it. he said it ran but had lower unit problems as far back as 2007.

So best I can tell, he bought it in 2006 and used it to 2007, then gave it to his daughter, who in turn sold it for 250 to a scrapyard, stayed there for a while then the guy from the scrapyard traded it for mechanic work to the guy i got it from 6 months ago.