1977 Starcraft Restoration project

[ezmobee]

A tach is the most important gauge (besides fuel I suppose). It's needed to make sure you are propped correctly and not over-revving or lugging the motor. It also has the benefit of letting you know your charging system is working since it reads the stator pulses. Boat speedos kinda aren't worth it. They don't read accurately at slow speeds and you gotta deal with a pitot and all the associated tubing.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Ive never had a tach on my boat =( How would I go about getting one of those wired up to my motor? I was going to put the tilt gauge in to make sure I was propped correctly. The speed and tach is pretty new to me, never owned a boat that had one at least not yet. =)

 

[mbroughton02]

For what it's worth, I went with Faria's GPS speedometer. Looks like a regular speedometer, but no pitot tube needed. Was a little more expensive than the pitot version, but should be more accurate and easier to install.
http://fariabeede.com/products.php?calledGauge=2_speedGPS

 

[ezmobee]

Ive never had a tach on my boat =( How would I go about getting one of those wired up to my motor? I was going to put the tilt gauge in to make sure I was propped correctly. The speed and tach is pretty new to me, never owned a boat that had one at least not yet. =)

Wiring a tach to your motor is so simple even I can do it. There's 3 wires, an ignition switched +, a ground, and a pulse wire. There's a gray wire in your control box that's the pulse and a purple one that's the switched +.

I'm not sure what you mean by a tilt gauge. A trim gauge? Does your motor have a sender for one of those? That won't tell if your propped correctly though.

 

[nrf414]

My first supersport had 1 gauge. Tach. I can tell you it is very important especially when building a new setup. My current SS didn't have any gauges hooked up, I started with the tach. I know I got way too much prop with the motor so bought. I'm only hitting 5100rpm. Should be 5500 @WOT. So to me, I think it's definitely an important one. It is an easy job, just use a voltmeter and follow EZ's directions and you'll be all set.

 

[Watermann]

For what it's worth, I went with Faria's GPS speedometer. Looks like a regular speedometer, but no pitot tube needed. Was a little more expensive than the pitot version, but should be more accurate and easier to install.
http://fariabeede.com/products.php?calledGauge=2_speedGPS

Really cool speedo but available in one style and I got a Faria 4 gauge set for the same price as just that GPS speedo. I still want one though... :lol:

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Ok great thanks again guys! I guess Ill be doing a tach as well =) I got the epoxy last night, also getting the splash well welded today (thing was a pain to get out). Will be ordering the gauges tonight and hoping to have my livewell in by tuesday next week. Will be posting LOTS of pics here soon now that I have supplies

 

[mbroughton02]

Really cool speedo but available in one style and I got a Faria 4 gauge set for the same price as just that GPS speedo. I still want one though... :lol:

I got the 4 gauge set with GPS speedo for $160. Just gotta shop around. Iboats doesn't even offer it. But you are correct that it is only available in the "Chesapeake" style. You can choose white or black, though.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Sorry for the lack of posts, been a super busy week and I haven't had any time to work on the boat this week except for an hour or so =( . I got my gauges in and my livewell from shipping. As I was doing a mock up of my floor I quickly found out that I measured my gas tank incorrectly. There is a valve that helps regulate the gas pressure and its a bit too high. Theres no way I can move this valve so my only other option right now is to raise the floor up 3/4 of an inch. Wondering if anyone has any advice on how to do this and also if you think it would cause any problems? I didnt think it would if it was just 3/4 of an inch.. Im not going to do the entire floor like this, it will just be in the back of the boat so I wont be raising the consoles or anything.

 

[Watermann]

I used sealed ply firing strips on the rib ends to raise the deck of my Chief 1" to fit the belly tank. No biggie 3/4" won't mean anything. You gotta do what you gotta do to make things go together right.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Thanks for the tip watermann appreciate it. Can you tell me how you mounted the strips to your rib ends? Did you just screw them down or what? Ill be getting my ply for the floors today and start on that.

 

[Watermann]

I used large flange rivets to attach the bottom strip to the rib ends and .ss screws for the top run. Then you have to use ss screws to attach the deck around the edges. You'll only need a single 3/4" strip so 1" grip range LF rivets will work fine.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Thanks for the tips Watermann. I think I've been spending more time getting supplies than I have actually working on the boat. Got my plywood, gauges, livewell and everything else in between. I decided this year Im not going to do a full restore. It wont be warm enough here until late May or June, maybe later even to paint and Id like to get fishing before then so the paint and other smaller things will need to wait until end of fishing season. But, I was able to get some of the floor laid out over the weekend. I also saw on another post from Candutch and I really like what he did with his splashwell. So, I had the welder hold off on fixing mine but I intend on using the same material and do something like candutch did. I dont want a rear deck I like to be a little closer to the fish when I net. Wish I would have seen his post before I drove 45 min to drop the SW off.. Soooo many good ideas on here lol easy to miss a lot of them. Here are a few pics of progress. I wish I had more I just havent made much progress.. had a hard time with working the fuel tank in and now trying to work the giant livewell I got.. Its a bit large for this boat but as much as I fish I needed something a little larger.

Also just a couple of pics from yesterday. Was able to go out on the big lake with my brother and law to catch a few salmon before it got too late. They kinda died off at the end with a front we had moving in on us.

 

[Watermann]

Nice haul! Man I need to get on the water, ours just did turn liquid again last week.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Where abouts are you located?? I thought it was cold here in Michigan but weve had no ice for at least 2 maybe 3 weeks now

 

[Watermann]

Where abouts are you located?? I thought it was cold here in Michigan but weve had no ice for at least 2 maybe 3 weeks now

North east WA State, we just had 3 times this winter when the weather came from BC rather than the Pacific like usual.

Strong bitter north winds and ...

 

[RStewart]

PB&Jtme, nice build so far. I'm following along for sure.

What size is that livewell & where do you plan on putting it?

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Hey thanks RStewart. I have a ways to go yet but getting there. Before I answer your question I just want to say I fish A LOT. I go all over the state to fish for walleye, started running tournaments last year, and Ill go onto the big lakes to catch salmon. When I got the boat I could only put 3-4 walleye in my livewell and theyd die right away.. drove me nuts. So I went big with a 30 gal well. I never plan on filling it to the brim lol so I think Ill be fine. It fits perfectly in the front of the boat. I plan on building a front deck around it.

 

[RStewart]

That's cool. I fish bass tournaments so I prefer a large livewell also. When I get it the opportunity to get a boat to restore/rebuild I'm going to try to incorporate it in the rear deck.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

I would have liked to put it in the back and incorporate it into the splashwell like a lot of the newer boats but I dont have the know how to be able to do that. I know my limits lol. But Im trying to distribute my weight more. This boat is only 16ft so I figured with the motor and a gas tank and if I had the livewell back there it would be too back heavy.

Also, I want to be close to the back when I net. When im on walleye or salmon Im in some pretty heavy waves at times so def dont want to be reaching way back if I cant help it