Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

[anders_and]

Hello,

And greetings from Finland. I am a long time viewer, but a first time poster.

My dad has this old Starcraft lying in the backyard and he gave it to me. It has been under natures mercy for atleast 5 years, with no hood or anything for protection. Poor thing.

I would be very eager to restore this beauty but i am worried that it is too late.

That is why i am turning to this forum and asking for your help. Is it still repairable? If so, what should i do?

I have some knowledge in carpentry (and i have a couple of carpenter friends), I also have a lot of time, not so much money but a strong will.

I obviously must rip all of the interior away and replace the urethane foam. What should i replace the foam with? swimming noodles?

I would also think i need to cover the bottom floor with a ton load of Gluvit?

I am planning on starting this project in early May.

Thank you for your replies!

 

[1973Chieftain]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Welcome to the club! I would say that just about anything is fixable on these old Starcrafts. Even minor holes can be repaired. From my reading I would say only extensive corrosion damage would make it unrepairable. My suggestion would be to start tearing everything out, and spend some time reading the restoration threads of similar year Starcrafts to get an idea what you are in for. They are stickied at the top of the forum page.

again, welcome aboard!

 

[cj8mule]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

It looks like everything is there and fixable. I paid money for one in worse condition and you got that one for free :joyous:

Just like the Chieftain said above... Welcome to the club!

By the way you should only need a quart of gluvit or at most 2 quarts.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

You have stumbled into the best tin boat building forum for Starcrafts on the internet. YES, it can be rehab'd back to it's former glory.

Welcome to iboats, tin division. Enjoy the tin-sanity.

 

[CBGale2]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Heck yes that thing can be rebuilt and rebuild it you shall! Gonna be a great project.

 

[barato2]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

hi Anders----weclome to the Starmada. you're one of the few international members, i think.

no poll needed.....i see nothing there that isn't fixable and suspect most folks here will see it that way too. even the worst bugaboos anyone here has seen.....big dents along keel, cracks in the hull, and corrosion pinholes....are all fixable with time and patience. not even necessarily all that much $/euros. your model looks to be an 18 or 19' Mariner, one of the easier models to restore. if it's supported stably enough to climb inside (that looks a lttle iffy there) , one good weekend day would be enough to dump the leaves & organic mattter, vac out, and do a good wash on interior, then drill a few rivets out, pull the floors and see how things look with the hull. as far as your carpentry skill, keep a couple of things in mind: 1. the floor panels were originally cut at the factory by hand, by a person with a jigsaw and 2. they were usually not all that expert, given what i've seen of their cuts. and there is NO problem you might hit that someone here hasn't dealt with at some point.

you already got the first two parts done correctly: acquire boat cheaply, and post plenty of good pix. :encouragement:

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Yup, fix her up to better than new:thumb:

 

[classiccat]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

:welcome: Welcome a_a!

I'll cast my vote once you rip-out that planting bed and supply some pics of what she's hiding hoto: :behindsofa:

:lol:

 

[barato2]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Anders, that last one is the one you need to listen to....if Bluefin thinks it's not fixable, give up. (insert emoticon of winged monkeys writing "Surrender Dorothy" in the sky....) but i doubt it will be that bad from the pix you already posted.

 

[redneck joe]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

time and money.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Welcome to the Starmada, the worst part of fixing her up will be digging out the foam, the rest is a piece of cake.

 

[anders_and]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Hello all,

And thank you for the encouraging and welcoming comments. I might be able to start this project a bit earlier than i thought, in a couple of weeks. Will be posting updates about the progress.

How much money do you think this project will take? This would be a question to people who have done a similar project. I would need to buy all the paint, gluvit, new flooring material, screws etc.

And how long does a project like this take, in working hours? I would love to have this boat in water by fall, so i can catch as much fish as possible.

Happy boating!

 

[anders_and]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Also no Gluvit is sold in Finland. I could get a quart shipped here for 63 big ones. Would it be worth the money or should i search for any similar waterproof epoxy sealer?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

How much?

Ah, prolly somewhere between $1K and $10K. All depends on your budget, ability to scrounge, what you want to push the boat...

How long?

Do you have children? Are you married? Do you have a regular job? Do you have a "honey do list" that has no end?

Somewhere between a few long weekends and forever.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Also no Gluvit is sold in Finland. I could get a quart shipped here for 63 big ones. Would it be worth the money or should i search for any similar waterproof epoxy sealer?

Yes, I would spend the 63 big ones for the Gluvit. There is another product made by goop called 'coat it'. See if you can find that in Finland.


I've been married a long time and have figured out some tricks to building boats, jeeps, etc. I first show her what a new boat's gonna cost ... then come up with a detailed parts list and price it out. I then add about 40% to that figure for a 'oh crap, I didn't think of that' situations. That seems to work for me and keeps the iron skillets in the kitchen and out of the garage

The boats in my signature:
The 16' SS finished right at $2100 and about 1 month to complete.
The 18' SS finished right at $3000 and 4 months to complete.
The 21' chieftain I'm working on is at $2700 and I'm not done buying yet. (Probably around $4k and 8 months to complete)

 

[theoldwizard1]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Anders, that last one is the one you need to listen to....if Bluefin thinks it's not fixable, give up. (insert emoticon of winged monkeys writing "Surrender Dorothy" in the sky....) but i doubt it will be that bad from the pix you already posted.

I often wonder how people who are not from the US and may not understand our culture or dialog/image references from a 50+ year old movie, think of us !

"Doo-wop, sha-diddty wop, sha -bop, bang, BOOM !"

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster."

"No matter where you go, there you are"

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Anders - Welcome to a group of silly Tin Nuts. One thing you can do is replace the floor and transom wood, flotation foam and seal the hull with Gluvit or equivalent sealer. Then you can get on the water and work on the rest as time and money allow. I don't know your cost for plywood and other parts in Finland, so its hard to estimate costs. As far as what is needed for floor and transom using English measure, about 5 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood, about 2 quarts of spar varnish, some waterproof glue and hardware (screws/rivets/ and so on) will get you started. Once you get the old floor out, we can talk about foam.

You started off with pictures, so you are an official Starmada member. And the first non-American member (Canadians are Americans, too) and European and Scandinavian member. A lot of firsts! Welcome again and have fun and let's get your Mariner back on the water.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

I think it would be the Finnish Starmada............

And Ander's on the map already:
[h=3]Starcraft Members Map[/h]

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Oops - I have to take away the first European member, Anders. Bryon beat you in the British Isles. But you get the closest to the Arctic Circle and Most Northern member.

BTW - Anyone know who Bryon is? Did I miss his joining?

 

[barato2]

Re: Project: Starcraft Mariner 170 1989, very bad shape

Anders.....one more thought. that boat is NOT in "very bad shape", as far as i can tell. heck, around here a 1989 boat is nearly new. not mentioning this to challenge your characterization but to point out that it likely won't be as bad as you think it will. you might be in the top-10 for "most organic biodegradation in place", though.

Wiz---i wondered about that but decided the Wizard of Oz was fairly globally known by now.