'71 Starcraft Sprint V15 RestoMod

[natemeins]

Splash Day has arrived!! Hitched the ol boat up and headed out. What was supposed to be a sunny day turned out to be a chilly overcast day. No matter, this is happening!
This is also the first time I'm towing with my new (to me) car. Back in late November the lease ran out on my Chevy Volt and was looking for something sporty to drive, All wheel drive, and towing capability (ol' Walter can still tow the boat, he just has a hard time with it in these Ozark hills)



It occurs to me, I feel the need to again say that the color matching here is by pure coincidence. When I mixed up the color for the boat back in October I did not own this vehicle. Perhaps it was fate. Either way, kinda cool, scary, and douchey.
Whatever, it looks killer!



If the Cap'n happy, everyone is happy. Just sayin'.

Truth is, this is an inside joke. To mark the day my wife bought me a yacht captain's hat. The joke is a few years ago I got into "Yacht Rock" music on Pandora, and while I was out fishing I'd listen to it. I also caught a ton of fish that year. Coincidence? No. Fish dig the Yacht Rock. Since then when our two families go out to the lake one of us is blasting the yacht rock. Its a tradition now.


Officially wet, floating, and dry on the inside! Check that off the list!



Even for an overcast day she looks the part on the water.



Probably my favorite photo.




Casting off.

 

[natemeins]

Of the several tests to be done, one was to see if I estimated the swim platform properly. I did! When sitting still, the platform is about an inch or so into the water. Perfect to get into and out of the boat. On plane, it's about 2" to 3" on top of the water, and the tubing is not in the wake. Perfect!



I couldn't believe how well the trim tabs worked! In hole shot, the bow stayed absolutely flat, almost to a point of beginning to plow. Added a little trim and the boat leaped out of the water and took off like a turbo had just spooled up! Adding more and more trim the boat stayed flat yet up clean on-plane with very little drag. This day wasn't exactly calm, so putting it through the paces of rough water and even crossing over my own wake proved the boat stayed absolutely flat and comfortable without a hard jolt to the back when hitting a wake. I love these things!



My goal partially accomplished. Last year the fastest I could get the boat to was 27mph. This day we had it up to 30. I'd like to see 35 but for now it's fine. Yes, that's 44 deg. F water temp.



My buddy taking a turn at the helm.




Went out solo so my buddy could take some shots from the dock.
Damn she looks good in the water!

 

[natemeins]

Next day, my buddy and I drove to Grand Lake in Oklahoma and picked up his new boat. What a looker! A 2015 Chaparral Vortex 203 with a 250hp Rotax powered jet drive. This boat makes older jet boats look and run ridiculously. This is a helluva boat! You can even surf behind it! Anyway to commemorate his new boat, mine being "finished", and the start of Spring, we went to a friend's dock to have our own Polar Bear Plunge.




Tied up at the dock, I switched on the transom light. Sucker is BRIGHT!

 

[natemeins]

First day of fishing. Grabbed my dog Daschel (Dash) and my buddy and we set off at daybreak.



Dash huddled up at our feet till the fog burned off.



Gorgeous morning.



Fishing didn't amount to much, so we went out for a joy ride to enjoy the sun.



I added a pop-up cleat to act as my primary anchor cleat and free up my mooring cleats. My buddy's new boat has similar cleats all over, and I just love the look.



Near lunch and the lake is still a mirror. Gorgeous day.





If you remember me mentioning Dinosaur Rock, well here it is. We had so much rain last year it towered all but about 3 or 4 feet from the surface of the water. Finally the water is back to normal levels and the full rock can be seen. It's now about 15 feet from the surface, with still another 20 feet or so beneath us. There is a small cove just round the corner where we like to anchor and let the kids play, swim, and jump off the rock. And by kids, yes I mean the adults too. HAHA!







You can see the snap-in carpet I made from some inexpensive exterior rug I bought at the local home improvement store. This will be handy having the ability to remove it and hang it to dry after a long day of playing.

 

[natemeins]

Being the nerds we are, we came up with names for our boats. These are not actual photos, just renderings. Hope to have the placards soon.
So with that I'm calling this project complete. I hope y'all enjoy the pics. I sure enjoyed the journey, but glad it's done and am looking forward to Summer when we can get out and play!

 

[Watermann]

Great work on the old Sprint Nate, she really looks awesome out there on the water! :thumb:

 

[Candutch]

Looks fantastic Nate, great job.

 

[classiccat]

Is it too early to submit SOTY nominations? :noidea: :lol:

Incredible job on the rebuild; a lot of ingenuity & creativity that will benefit other builds going forward. ?perhaps even motivate someone to modify their existing rebuild.

That?s what we?re all about!

I wouldn?t doubt that subconsciously you were looking for a tow-vehicle ($$$$) that matched your tinnie ($) :lol:

 

[oldhaven]

Fantastic job. You should be very proud of your innovation and attention to detail. The best part is that we don't have to wait a year or two for the results of a long rebuild on the installment plan.

 

[natemeins]

No Title

Added the final touches over the weekend with the name and berthing port and added a rod tower. Took my pup and my dad out fishing and had some good luck! First time my dad has seen the boat since September. Needless to say he was shocked.

While we were out, saw a boat that caught my eye on a lift on a slip near War Eagle. Got closer and sure enough it was a Starcraft! If I had to guess maybe 18 footer, had what I thought was a 70hp merc (physically it looked too small), railing on the bow so I guessed a bow rider, 3 piece windshield, khaki color with a brown stripe. Couldn't tell what it was and my dumb butt didn't photograph it. Any ideas?

Also wanted to ask a question: primarily I made this thread so that the next Sprint owner has something I didn't, really; and that's reference to someone else doing the job. Is there a way I can add or a moderator can add this project to the project thread? I'd be much appreciated.

And thanks everyone for the compliments, suggestions, comments, and SOTY mention (haha!). Really enjoy being a part of this group!

 

[Watermann]

Looking good! Sounds like you came across an SS, normally the 16'rs have the 70 hp motor.

Nice size paper mouth you got there!

 

[natemeins]

Looking good! Sounds like you came across an SS, normally the 16'rs have the 70 hp motor.
Nice size paper mouth you got there!

Thanks, Watermann. Told my dad I thought it was either an SS or a Holiday. It looked 100% original, was definitely aluminum, and in pretty darn good shape! Until now I've not seen or heard of another Starcraft in this area. That merc was weird, tho. It was quite small looking for 70 hp, and looked positively small on that boat. Still cool find. If I'm that way again soon I'll take a pic. Perhaps it's owner is here somewhere. If I do decide to sell this one and get another it would be the perfect size.

Yeah the spawn here has been a bit late but it seems like it's in full swing! Caught 5 crappie near the end of the trip, 4 of the 5 were at least 13", minimum size here is 10". I love to troll this part of the river for crappie, walleye, the occasional wayward bass...pretty much whatever decides to take a nibble. The crappie here have always been very healthy in looks and size.

 

[Tnstratofam]

What an amazing rebuild. You did an outstanding job. I really like everything about your rebuild. Nice colors and the snap in carpet is a great idea. Definitely a worthy candidate for SOTY.:encouragement:

May The Force Be With You.

 

[coostv]

I really dig your boat, great work!

 

[budski]

Verrrrrrrrrrrry NICE awesome build.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Nate, Wow. Fantastic job and documentation. Please send bribe for vote money. Just kidding. But you can send donations.

 

[natemeins]

Thanks Ironmaker!
And the brib----I mean donations can be forwarded where?

 

[nrf414]

Nice job on all the work. I love the way it turned out!

 

[skyfisher]

Dude I read through you build progress you did an excellent job. Your boat came out looking awesome and sounds like it is standing up well. I was just wondering if you remember where you picked up your swim platform I like that whole idea you did with the platform and step on splash would like to incorporate in to my build. Can you send me a pm with the info.