Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

[Erik.C.]

fishing boat christmas gift!

1966 Sea King boat for sale with a 30hp Chrysler. Pretty cheap. I'm kind of interested but I know nothing about Sea King or Chrysler motors. Any input?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Oh carp, it's not only a fiberglass boat, but it's got a Chrysler hanging off the back....

It might have been made by Starcraft, many (all maybe?) of the aluminum boats were. If it is, then it's likely to have a wood free stringer system below deck, that's a good deal:

The Chrysler is obsolete, making parts & pieces difficult to come by, more so then the Fat50 you've been working on, which as we both know doesn't have GREAT sources for low cost maintenance & replacement parts.

Get some specs & compare them to the 1960-1967 SC brochures.. It certainly looks like it's very similar to a 1966 Caravel:


But uses an older style bubble windshield, more like this 1963 Dart, in the top right of this pix:

Dig around, you might find specs that match it:
Starcraft brochures

 

[Erik.C.]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Thank you for the info, especially on the Chrysler. It seemed like not too many people are fond of them and I may be starting to understand why. Thank might be enough to make me pass on this one. You're like a walking boat encyclopedia. Thanks again.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Iboats, the people who post here, the threads I've read, and the other sites I frequent certainly make it seem like I know a lot. I don't, but I do know how & where to look for info.

Thank you for the compliment, just the same though, and you're welcome.

FWIW: Chrysler's often had early adoption & introduction of good innovations @OB's and they do have a following. Larger displacement OB's are frequently referred to as refrigerators, I'm not sure why other then they are fairly large & boxy looking.....

If the OB runs, it may be worth more then the whole rig to someone that has 1 or needs to replace a Chrysler 30 to be period correct. If your at all interested in the boat, the trailer is in great shape, and the motor runs, don't discard it as a possible, just because of the Chrysler. Call & go check it out. If nothing else it will give you another hands on inspection of a boat, motor & trailer, which will be helpful.

Of course, coming off a re-firing of your Fat50 & the mystery 'knocking', another challenging vintage motor may not be a good choice for you pre-xmas.....

 

[barato2]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

second all JB's comments on the Xryslers. decent motors, just hard to find parts and they're often pricey. if it's in good shape, though, it will work fine. not much to a 30hp twin. and replacements in that size are cheap if you do need one.

how much do you know about checking out fiberglass-boat floors and transoms? this would be the big issue i'd be nervous about. not many glassers of that age that aren't at least a bit soft n rotted. fact that bimini is rotted seems to suggest some outdoor storage, altho it looks like it's lived inside for a good portion of its life.

 

[Erik.C.]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

The reason I even found it is because I'm getting really deep into the 59 fat 50. I don't know how deep to go and have it still be worth it especially considering the motor isn't even right for my boat. I thought that maybe I should trade sideways and get rid of the one I have. I really can't decide. I just want to be on the water this spring.

As far as how much I know about checking out fiberglass boats... I know more than when I bought the last one. I think I got pretty lucky on that boat in that respect. I know more after reading dozens and dozens of posts here, but I know that isn't quite the same as real world experience.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Well, just to be clear:

It will NEVER be worth it, unless you ENJOY working on it, it's a motor you WANT to run, it LOOKS RIGHT to you on whatever boat you put it on & you NEVER expect to sell it for a profit.

Basically ^^^^

In light of that ^^^ and your reply above it, I wouldn't buy that SeaKing. Unless the boat is something you're REALLY interested in.............

 

[Erik.C.]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Good advice jbcurt00. And you are totally right. I have to look at it different, as I did before I got discouraged. Thanks again.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Is this Sea King made by Starcraft?

Yeah, thanks again.....

All of us can be hard headed & WANT to see a project thru to 100% on principle alone. But WANTING to doesn't always get us there, it needs to be more then that.

I helped a good, close, nearly 30yrs now, friend work on a big ole aluminum cuddy cabin Marinette in the way way back. WE LOVED working on it for about 4 seasons, then as it got closer to done and was actually useable as is, the motor & electrical continued to be problematic, and it got less & less fun HAVING to work on it 1-2days out of a 4day weekend.

He moved on shortly after getting the interior & exterior looking great, the last 2 years he owned it, he probably didn't take it out of the slip once a year. Just used it as a sleeping berth & base station for food & beverage prep at the dock.

WORKING on a boat became less attractive once he could afford a 1/2decent boat that needed very little work, ever. Just regular maintenance & service regularly.

I wish I'd started my boat ownership 'adventure' differently, but that's a long convoluted story, even more complicated now :facepalm:

I will be completely out of my depth when it comes to motor work & I have a few that need quite a bit of work..........

Keep looking & you'll likely find something this winter, but also look for signs that boats & motors have been used in brackish (Vacaville's NOT that far from you) or in saltwater. Improper care is never good for any motor, but salt makes poor maintenance all the more so.

Good luck, & I used to get email updates from a Calif based online ad source. I'll see if I can drag that up & post a link for you. It was 1000's of motors & boats, some w/ pix, but not really user friendly, you just had to scan thru the ads, there were very few variables for searching specific terms/prices...