1968 Seafarer

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
OK.....picked up a sadly neglected Seafarer while looking for a fishing boat project. Let's say the official start date of restoration is 20 April 2016. I will post pics soon. So far, I've torn the hull down to bare bones....after two days of pressure washing and scooping out some sort of strange biological mass......I got down to the hull. pretty sound and only one rivet leaking. Repaired that, and pulled the transom wood and outside motor mount wood. Strangely sound for being 48 years old. What did they put in that stuff? (green treated ply for both). I'm at the point that I must decide to remain purist and only use original parts.......there seems to be a lack of those......but we're only talking side emblems, corner braces, seat braces, etc.....so I may be able to find vintage parts but if not. I think I will go full Monty modern and bring her into the 21st century. That way, while everyone compliments the boat and how pretty she is, me and her will know she has lots of history!
 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
Welcome aboard PTchief :wave:

As far as the emblems go, keep an eye on the thread I posted a link to below. I sent Dan an original to be cast so re-pops can be made.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owne...-new-boat-1967-holiday-18ft-general-questions

Here's a pic of the emblem.

IMAG2109.jpg
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
Thank you gents......if it ever stops raining here in CT I can get back to work on the boat!!! I did find a few sources for the emblems, but all are spendy for what they are. Not knocking a guy getting paid for his work, just saying what I would pay.......so after a little DD, I decided to cast my own in plastic. I had one original emblem that needed some repair but it came out well and the mold it cast it darn near perfect. SO I am gonna make as many as I can until the plastic is gone. I just got a figure out how to get them to the people who need them. Regarding the transom ply, I was stunned at how little corrosion there was. Given the boat is a 1968, and the transom ply looks original, I thought I would be looking at some pitting at least. Nope....pretty clean And the ply is still sound so I might seal and paint it and re-install it. If not, I'll make a new one.
As I look at this project, my biggest issue is running modern parts and electrics. There is no factory ledger on either side and really no way to route and support without adding it myself. The only other pondering I am doing now is where to put flotation back in after removing the bench seats. That's approx. 5.2CuFt of foam.
I think I can get that into the mech area in the rear around the tank and battery area......and use the bow area under what I hope to be a forward fishing platform. If I do pour in foam, I'm thinking I can band saw a piece of 1 1/2inch Schedule 40 PVC in half and put that down on the keel line as a water channel from bow to stern.
Of course, I could have just gone and bought a 50K boat....but that wouldn't have been anywhere near as much fun!
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
Well the weather here in New England has NOT cooperated with my boat build. I'm stuck working outside unless the kids remove all their stuff from the garage bay. I have been overhauling the motor in the interim.......1972 Johnson 25......so I've been OK busy but I don't have much else to share. I'll get some pics once the sun shines again......I did find a guy west of Boston who sold me a sheet of 3/16ths aluminum composite panel which will go on the floor.......that is awesome stuff and I don't give up much weight.
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Messages
24,829
Skip the pvc down the keel. Tbe pour in foam will adhere to the hull, so no water will pass under it to even reach the pvc 'channel'
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
Ya know, I hadn't considered that. Thanks....I'm always happy to have less work!
 

donj51

Recruit
Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
4
I am newly registered user and owner of a 68' 16' Starcraft Seafarer also. The one I picked up was in decent condition for her age. I do not want to tear into her this summer, I just want to go fishing. She has been sitting for a few years and I have cleaned her up and am into the carb with stuck needle valve. I am waiting for the carb rebuild kit to come in and hope I remember how to put the starter bracket back on. Man that was a challenge.

I love the various topics on the board and there is no shortage of knowledge that I hope to tap into.

Kind Regards,
donj51
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
Great boats.......StarCraft musta made a bajillion of them.....I got boat, trailer and a 72 Johnson 25HP for 500 bucks......all needing some form of maintenance...anyway, I finally got the last coat of paint on the outside of the hull.....looks pretty good! Moving to the inside, I pulled the caps and removed the transom...pretty sound for being almost 50 years old. very little damage to the aluminum behind the transom so the whole pressure treated ply against aluminum argument is moot for me......I did apply an aluminum primer sealer to the metal and will install the transom back in tomorrow. This build is gonna finish as a 2-3 man fishing boat, so I have designed a flooring system and plan on a fishing pedestal up front. New wiring and new steering system. I'm having fun with it...the project...and my grandkids are helping at their level......mainly playing in the boat but that's what it's for!
 

FrankenCub

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
296
You see that flicker ? Looks like I see torches coming, faint shadows of pitchforks behind them...hmmm....
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
Yup....except mine be the good witch type.....and they do wield a mean water hose for washing up their messes!.....
So this morning I peeled off the masking.....hull paint came out passable.......re-installed the transom and outboard backing plate. It's coming along. If the rain would give me a freaking break I could be water worthy in a week!
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
No Title

Update on overhaul. Picture of exterior paint job, transom area cleaned and primed, ready for transom re=install, and now area where I had a rivet leak that is now repaired, and the seam sealed from the gunwhale down to the first cross stringer.
 

Attachments

  • photo244000.jpg
    photo244000.jpg
    78.9 KB · Views: 2
  • photo244001.jpg
    photo244001.jpg
    58.6 KB · Views: 5
  • photo244002.JPG
    photo244002.JPG
    322.9 KB · Views: 3

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
Update on overhaul. Picture of exterior paint job, transom area cleaned and primed, ready for transom re=install, and now area where I had a rivet leak that is now repaired, and the seam sealed from the gunwhale down to the first cross stringer.

Paint on milestone is a good feeling, I like the blue. :thumb:

What's the white stuff?

fetch
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
The white is an aluminum/galvanized metal primer that I've had good success with on other projects. This particular brand I get at Ace hardware. It's a little more than regular paint.....it was like 13 bucks for a quart....but it's got excellent adhesion on bare aluminum. And the point that it comes in white lets me see coverage a little better and provides a better sight line when I do paint.
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
No Title

It's nice when the weather cooperates and I can actually get things done! So, the next couple of shots are the cleaned and sealed transom reinstalled, as well as the new backer plate for the outboard. So now, I'm at a point where the old problems are fixed and I can get on with the build on the new stuff. Going down to the local scrapper to get some aluminum angle and square tubing to start the floor substructure. I also have designed the wiring and just need to commit on how/where I want to run it all.
 

Attachments

  • photo244052.jpg
    photo244052.jpg
    58.7 KB · Views: 0
  • photo244053.jpg
    photo244053.jpg
    60.9 KB · Views: 1

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
Is the primer this one? Rusto makes a similar product that I was looking at but I use oil based alkyd enamel paints and the rusto as is this ace primer are latex based. I'm not very trusting I guess that the 2 will play nicely together long term even though they say it will go under oil or latex.


large.jpg
 

PTChief

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
May 1, 2016
Messages
36
That's the correct brand that I use.......maybe an old pic though?....the stuff I get is 100% acrylic Latex. It does indeed bond well to non-ferrous metal. I can attest to that and it hasn't separated at all on the last 3 boats I used it on.
 
Top