Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

[dozerII]

Great upgrade Chem, Congrats

 

[laurentide]

Now you just have to paint the Chief and Truck the same color. :joyous:

I'll just take the hit for driving a mismatched rig. After the paint removal job I'm not putting any more paint on the boat. :lol:

Great upgrade Chem, Congrats

Thanks Glen!

 

[oldhaven]

I'll just take the hit for driving a mismatched rig. After the paint removal job I'm not putting any more paint on the boat. :lol:

All you need to do is mirror polish the bare hull and it will match the chrome on the truck just fine. Right? Nice truck. I was going to sell mine about a year ago and that would have been a big mistake. They are so handy for hauling big items. I try not to drive mine during or just after the winter storms to avoid salt.

I expect we will see you launch into Sebago, Moosehead, and Casco Bay now.

Ron

 

[laurentide]

All you need to do is mirror polish the bare hull and it will match the chrome on the truck just fine. Right? Nice truck. I was going to sell mine about a year ago and that would have been a big mistake. They are so handy for hauling big items. I try not to drive mine during or just after the winter storms to avoid salt.

I expect we will see you launch into Sebago, Moosehead, and Casco Bay now.

Ron

Moosehead this summer for sure, Ron. The boat is set up for salmon now and there won't be much learning curve there. I'll likely dip it in Saco bay as well to try my luck with tube and worms for bass.

One of my many summer projects will be a fluid film application and a timing belt/water pump replacement. It's a big job but it only requires hand tools and there are multiple YouTube videos of the process. It's an interference engine and I don't want to trash it or pay for that much shop labor. I'm psyched to finally have a half ton, it'll be super useful.

 

[laurentide]

I got a kick out of seeing this photo today on Lake Champlain United. The mayor of my fair city trolling for Lake Trout on an acquaintance's boat back in June of 1984. Some of you might recognize him, I guess he's famous or something now :lol:

 

[Watermann]

Super cool old pic, man being on the water does that happy face for me and I don't even have to be fishing.

 

[classiccat]

Feel the ...Paul Bunyan!

 

[laurentide]

Late early season shakedown cruise today. Everything still works, always a mild surprise.

The new tow rig tows like a tow rig should:

I also tested the best mod I've purchased in a while, a big aluminum skeg for my bow mount. It's for trolling on autopilot and allows you to not use the trolling motor prop at all, just a big rudder up front that steers on GPS waypoints or magnetic compass heading while the kicker pushes. The TM batteries should last for days now without charging. Pretty sweet!

 

[oldhaven]

That's pretty interesting. So when is someone going to make a GPS autopilot rudder only system that doesn't have to be attached yp an expensive electric trolling motor? It could be attached to the stern behind the aux kicker.

 

[laurentide]

That's pretty interesting. So when is someone going to make a GPS autopilot rudder only system that doesn't have to be attached yp an expensive electric trolling motor? It could be attached to the stern behind the aux kicker.

That's a pertinent question. The model I have is great because it has the anchor, or "spot lock" feature which requires the motor and prop. But a cheaper model that was just steering with a big skeg would be really popular with the Great Lakes trolling crowd.

In any wind having the rudder up in the bow is advantageous, especially when you have a cabin boat that's a big sail. There's just not enough thrust from a trolling speed kicker to turn it into the wind, but a bow rudder makes a huge difference. Mine held course into a moderate NW quartering sea with no wandering, just the rudder.

 

[Watermann]

Oh yeah now that's a good feeling to have everything go off without a hitch on the first run of the year. I'm going to de-winterize my Chief tomorrow morning and hit the water on Sunday, supposed to be an 80 degree day. :joyous:

 

[laurentide]

Oh yeah now that's a good feeling to have everything go off without a hitch on the first run of the year. I'm going to de-winterize my Chief tomorrow morning and hit the water on Sunday, supposed to be an 80 degree day. :joyous:

Awesome, hope it goes smoothly! I'd be happy with 60 here, but settled for 50 today. I'll take it...we had accumulating snow two days ago.

It felt great to get the tarp off.

 

[GA_Boater]

Hey Chem - That's pretty slick. Now if you could rig up an AutoFisher, you could sit on the dock and wait for the Chief to return to port and just clean fish. LOL

Well, with AP and kicker driving the boat, you can catch more and not worry about the TN batteries going flat. That's a win, win all around.

What's better than a trouble-free first Spring splash? :thumb:

 

[laurentide]

Hey Chem - That's pretty slick. Now if you could rig up an AutoFisher, you could sit on the dock and wait for the Chief to return to port and just clean fish. LOL

Well, with AP and kicker driving the boat, you can catch more and not worry about the TN batteries going flat. That's a win, win all around.

What's better than a trouble-free first Spring splash? :thumb:

All in the name of fishing by my lonesome. I'm my own best fishing partner, so I let the robots do the driving :lol:. It's also nice taking beginners out and being able to spend time setting lines and stuff for them.

Man, I need more free time. I worked on boat stuff all day, made a mess, and the day was gone. How do guys with kids have time for this hobby?

 

[GA_Boater]

Man, I need more free time. I worked on boat stuff all day, made a mess, and the day was gone. How do guys with kids have time for this hobby?

Let the kids crawl in the small places and hand you tools.

 

[laurentide]

Spent some time on the Bouquet River delta, closest we get to a sandbar on this rocky lake. Ground up billion year old Proterozoic rocks (Adirondack mountains) make a nice beach with no other people in sight.

 

[dozerII]

Great photos Chem the Chief looks great

 

[oldhaven]

I really appreciate that you have continued your restoration thread with inspiring pictures of what can eventually be expected if we persevere. Keeps me going, I know. Compare that to the first pictures on page 1...

Ron

 

[laurentide]

Great photos Chem the Chief looks great

I really appreciate that you have continued your restoration thread with inspiring pictures of what can eventually be expected if we persevere. Keeps me going, I know. Compare that to the first pictures on page 1...

Ron

Thanks guys!

Ron, it's a great boat for exploring. Light, versatile, handles almost any sea condition if you're even a little bit experienced/careful, easy to trailer, fuel efficient...

On long trips the 2 stroke drone gets a little annoying and tiring. Someday I'll join you in 4 stroke nirvana, maybe with a new coosa transom.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks for sharing Chem, always great to see pics of a Chief on the water!