My 1971 Starchief

[bondo478]

Hi all! I'm a long time lurker and thought you might like to see my Chief! I've have been a boater for years, spending most of my time during the summer living on my Carver Mariner 28 fybridge. My young son became very interested in fishing during the last few years, do I started looking for an outboard chief to add to the fleet as I've wanted one for years. Amazingly, a guy I work with had exactly what I was looking for and was ready to part with it for a very reasonable price. I did a partial restoration on it, a different outboard and a kicker along with alot of fishing equipment, and we were able to fish all summer, We had a blast and made some great memories! I did not take as many pics while I was working on it as I should have, but I'll post enough to show you how it transformed.

 

[bondo478]

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Here is my little guy helping dad with the boat after getting the new 3/4 inch floor installed. After hanging the new to me outboard on, it was off to the owner of my marina's building to do carb rebuilds and make sure all worked ok. Then back home to get her assembled.

 

[jbcurt00]

Congrats and welcome to the mob

Nice looking rig

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Welcome to the Starmada. She looks like she was a pretty good shape to start with. Looking forward to see the upgraded pics. Not sure what you fish for but I am a big water as in Great Lakes fisherman and these boats make great trolling rigs.

 

[bondo478]

Thanks for the welcome! It was in very good shape to start with. The only reason I replaced the floor was because I didn't like the 1/2 inch plywood and I wanted to put new foam in. The transom was as solid as the day it was built from to to bottom so I didn't do anything with that yet, but my plan is to replace it in a couple years and hang a brand new shiny outboard on it. We almost exclusively troll on the finger lakes for trout. The boat is now set up with downriggers and various other fun stuff. Our marina is on Keuka Lake.

 

[GA_Boater]

:welcome: to the Land Of Big Tin, bondo4. The old Chieftains are nice. A closed cabin but with a good sized cockpit to haul in the big ones. Your little guy can grow to full size and have a lot of fun in her, plus you'll have fun along the way too.

 

[bondo478]

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The first two pics are from the day I first splashed it at the marina and the third is of it with the kicker installed and the boat sitting in its summer home.

 

[bondo478]

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Next round of pics.......My son holding the first trout we caught on the boat. As you can tell, he is just a little excited especially since it was our first time out with it. The second pic is our first place fish in a Labor Day fishing derby on our lake. I know this is a tin boat forum, but I had to include at least one pic of my beloved Carver as well. We wake up every weekend morning on this boat, walk approximately 100 to the dock where my Chief is docked, and go fishing. I will put up more pictures of the Starcraft as I sort through them. This has turned out to be the perfect little boat for special times with my special kid!

 

[laurentide]

Awesome! It looks real familiar...I even have the same riggers!

It's been a great trolling platform for me and the occasional partner. I'm a few miles east of you on Champlain. Enjoy!

 

[Tnstratofam]

Nice looking Chief. The Carver is really nice as well. How cool to be able to just wake up on the water, and have your Chief ready to go right down the dock. Welcome to the tinsanity!

 

[Watermann]

Welcome to the SC and Chief club, ya got a nice one there! :thumb:

Amazing that the old Naugahyde stuff is still hanging on the cabin after all the years. So hows the original lower windshield holding up?

 

[bondo478]

It's the best feeling to wake up on the water and get out fishing early before all the crazies show up! The boat trolls excellent and is easy to manage even with no one at the helm while I'm fighting a fish. I actually stripped all the naugahyde stuff off. It was still in good shape and not peeling or cracking, but was very faded and dry. Rather than try to paint it I took it off and used a hammered finish paint. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The lower windshield is intact with no cracks, but there is some crazing around the edges. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet.

 

[bondo478]

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Chemicalwire, that view does look familiar! I'd love to chat with you about your setup sometime. I would still like to add more stuff and get some more ideas on how to best set it up.

 

[laurentide]

Any time, bondo. I'm by no means an expert in freshwater trolling, but I can certainly exchange ideas on how these boats can be dialed in.

 

[dozerII]

Welcome to the Starmada Bondo, great looking Chief you have there. One of these days I will find the right one.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Love seeing the pics of the smiles on the youngsters when they catch some fish. My grandson has been fishing with me for a few years and loves it, and my granddaughter is taking a liking to it too. The cabins are a nice place for them to go inside and play games etc until we yell "Fish On". Do you run any wire divers in your spread? Very effective tactic here on the Great Lakes to increase your spread.

 

[bondo478]

Yes, he often goes in the cabin to lay down too when it's to early for the poor little guy haha! It also makes it nice when it's raining and dad doesn't want to give up yet! My usual spread is a set of hammerhead cowbells and a peanut on one downrigger right on the bottom, then something on the other downrigger at the level I'm seeing fish, and a wire line with big dipsy on each side. I started out with power pro on my divers and it worked well but the wire is amazing, especially when the fleas come out. I'd like to add some more rod holders for next season. We can run 3 rods per person so I'd like to be able to run some leadcore and/or a top line too. I also have a set of planer masts I'm considering installing.

 

[bondo478]

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Here is the only pic I have of the boat out on the water. It was taken by a friend of mine with his cell as we were coming in after a great morning of fishing and our limit in the cooler.

 

[laurentide]

I hear you on the fleas :blue:. We just got them this year. I love the slide divers on a wire reel with 100' of fluoro on the end. Then you can run up to 100' of leader, and no fleas on the vertical main line. Trip the release and the diver goes to the bead by the lure. The "lite bite" version will release on perch instead of dragging them around.

I don't know what kind of underwater currents you have, but on this lake the speed and temperature probes are probably the most valuable piece of electronics on the boat. They let you get into the temperature zone, but, more importantly, allow you to adjust speed relative to current. It's improved my success rate by at least 50%. I've found that bait depth is more important than temperature, but it's great to know where the thermocline is...and it changes daily here. I have a probe on the port rigger and would now be lost without one.

Most of the salmon anglers here have forgotten more than I know about this stuff, but it's been a fun learning process. It would be fair to say that I'm obsessed! I've only been at this cold water stuff for a couple of years, but I'm pretty certain that I've found a life long hobby. It doesn't hurt that the northeast lakes are stunningly beautiful.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

She looks good on the water. I agree on the wire divers, no fleas and a super fun rod to fight fish on. When we hook up on a 20lb salmon on them it is just like hand to hand combat. I run 4 riggers, 2 mag wire divers then up to 4 highlines off each side from the planer mast running otter boats. So needless to say we cover a wide array of the water. Gonna set up a couple copper rigs for this year too. After 30+ years of big water fishing I finally broke down and got 4 electric riggers to replace my manuals. Is it spring yet??????