Aldo's '77 18'SS

[Aldo P.]

Hi Guys... Wondering if I might join the insanity? Purchased a '77 18SS back in July with 70HP "rude w/ no TnT. Yes, I know she's a bit underpowered but it starts immediately and has really good compression. To go with a new starter, new coil packs, new plug wires & new plugs. Actually this is my second SS- had her twin (w/ 65HP rude) back in the nineties. On that one I replaced the floor & carpet but nothing else. She gave us a few years of fun but once the boys went off to college I sold her and bought another machine with a Lycoming tied to the prop. But that's another story.... Anyhow, bumped into EZMobee's thread about 3 1/2 years ago and been lurking here since. Started looking in earnest last year for another SS and found this one up in Rochester, NY. Drug her home, took her out on the Tionesta reservoir a couple times and had no problems. Unless you call taking on water & running the bilge every 15 minutes a problem. Knew the floor was soft, expected her to leak some but always planned on the complete, Starmada overhaul... So here we go. Started the tear down this weekend and, as anticipated, the Styrofoam was waterlogged, floor rotten but the hull looks good. Have a few loose rivets but we'll get to them after a trip to Harbor Freight, Fastenal and Lowe's. And yes, it didn'y happen without pics. Stand by, gonna attempt that next...

 

[dozerII]

:welcome: to the Tinsanity as some would say, great choice of SC to work on. Look forward to the pictures and following along.

 

[classiccat]

Welcome to the insanity Aldo :welcome: :madgrin:

You have Excellent taste in boats/motors

even lurkers know the drill hoto: :hungry:

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome to the Tin Drydock, Aldo. Sounds like you have all the signs of an older tinny. Wet stryro, leaky rivets, soft flooring and probably a few other things. Glad you found the way back to Tinland, even if it took a airplane ride. Get those pics!

 

[Aldo P.]

My first attempt at uploading a photo...

 

[Aldo P.]

Well, that seemed to work OK... That pic was in the PO's yard. The next is on the Tionesta Reservoir. As you can tell, typical mid 70's paint, although someone brushed her all white and not too well...

 

[Aldo P.]

More pics... Interior, not too bad to the uneducated, but you Tinvets know what's coming...

 

[Aldo P.]

The stern section is toast, came out in a half dozen pieces, middle not too bad, bow good. Those two will work for templates. Under the mid section the Styrofoam was all chewed up, probably from some furry little homesteaders... Foam was in blocks, not too bad coming out although waterlogged. I'll wager she was carrying an extra hundred pounds...

 

[Aldo P.]

Grandad! What did you do to our boat?!..... If you look a the background, you can see the motor stand in the garage. The camper was bought the same day as the boat. Palomino TXL Hardside... We're on our way to look at it. SWBO sez she really likes it... Huh, Honey, I bought a boat... She sez, cool! Now I get my camper! Had to rebuild a few things on it before starting on the SS. It's actually in very good shape and we've been out almost every other weekend.

 

[Aldo P.]

So that's about it for now. Picked up an engine lift yesterday and once it quits raining I hope to pull the engine, pull the splash-well (already drilled the rivets and pulled the screws) and clean her out. You might be able to see from this pic I have a few loose rivets on the bottom. The gluvit is ordered and have already picked up the 5200, air powered rivet gun and paint sprayer. Need to order some safe strip from Up North and set up an account at the local Fastenal for rivets, screws and bolts. Not sure yet on flotation- tore between noodles or blue/pink insulation. Neighbor has a pool & noodles so I'm thinking about running an experiment to determine they're actual floatation carrying weight. I have some 1/8 x 1 aluminum angle and think I'll stick with 1/2 marine ply for the floor reinforced by the angle. Giving serious consideration to completely re-engineering the splash-well to something more modern along the lines of the new Starcrafts but not sure just yet.... Want to thank all of you who've shared your work... Can't thank you enough... I hope I can add a little bit... AP

 

[GA_Boater]

She's gonna be a good grand kid hauler, Aldo. I would skip the noodles and go with the sheet foam. You can find plenty of topics about it, but the insulation fits better and gives more flotation per cubic foot.

 

[Krichbourg]

Nice! A great addition to the fleet. My SS is a '77 as well. You wasted no time in starting your rebuild. What do you think about a below floor fuel tank? I'd love to watch you figure out how to make it all work, then I can follow your lead when I finally get around to my rebuild. Good luck, have fun.

 

[Watermann]

Great project Aldo, permission to come aboard! Oh yeah and welcome to channel tin, all tin all the time!

Nice tear down progress and thanks for the pics :thumb:

 

[classiccat]

Great progress on the teardown! The port-side kiddo looks very concerned...whereas the starboard side kiddo sees the potential!

Can you get a zoomed-in shot on the metal bracing under the floor ribs (aka spray-rail brace)?

Hopefully this was a proactive measure...rather than a reactive one. This may be a variant that we hadn't seen before :nerd:

Inspect those rib-end rivets for closely from the outside to see if there's damage. You're checking for stress cracks in the hull skin &/or distorted rivet heads...like it's been flexing like an accordion. Also check for cracks in the actual spray rail.