Finally.....1972 Starcraft Chieftain OB

[imnewatthis]

Hi, everyone. I have been snooping around these forums like a ninja, dashing in and out from the starcraft restore threads. First of all, all of your boats look amazing from start to finish and I doubt with my skills, will I hope to one day get mine to look good as all of yours. To make a long story short, after many months of looking, I have finally found the starcraft that I wanted: a StarCraft Chieftain with an OB. After convincing the wife and nagging her for 2 weeks non stop, it paid off. "Persistance" is the key here boys! Well, I found the boat in Indiana. Convinced the wife and 3 kids to take a 4.5hrs drive to Indiana from Wisconsin and another 4.5 hrs back, and boy let me tell you, I'll never do that again. Plan is...I will try to get her water ready in the next month or so...then bring her back in tear out the floor and refresh her up. I don't know a lot about boats and I welcome all your comments, thoughts, and experience!

 

[jbcurt00]

Welcome to the Starmada.

Great boat for a rehab!
The rest of the fella's w/ the tinfoil hats will be along to harass and help you along the way :tinfoil3:

Best of luck w/ your project

 

[dozerII]

Looks like it's going to be another year of the Chieftain.:welcome:Looks like you got a nice one to get you started. I recommend opening a free Photobucket account and up-loading your photos there then copy and paste the img code in your post, much nicer large pictures for us old guys with bad eyes to see.eace:

 

[cj8mule]

Nice! Another Chief

I look forward to the rehab

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to iboats and the infamous Starmada!

Nice sporty 18' OB Chief. So what did she come with as far as a motor? Those hulls don't need a ton of power unless you feel the need.

There were only a few of us with a Chief with the SS owning the forum but my how the tables have turned!

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Congrats on the new tin. I remember that yellow color and black vinyl top oh so well. The yellow was badly faded and the vinyl was mostly peeling off. But that is all remedied now. Good luck with your project and may she bring you many hours of pleasure.

 

[laurentide]

Hey imnew, welcome! We need more big pics! What power did she come with?

I'm a total hack and rebuilt mine...same boat as yours. The guys here can help you with every step and point you in the right direction when you're lost/confused. It's a great learning experience, can be done pretty cheap, and is one of the more rewarding projects you can take on. It can be a simple rebuild like mine, or a total restoration (see Watermann's thread for a great example).

Did we mention more pictures?

 

[classiccat]

Welcome imnew! :welcome:

It will be a great project...definitely worth the 9hr drive! I spent days on the road for my SS...much of it was spent sidelined getting busted brake lines fixed :facepalm:

 

[laurentide]

:welcome: to iboats and the infamous Starmada!

Nice sporty 18' OB Chief. So what did she come with as far as a motor? Those hulls don't need a ton of power unless you feel the need.

There were only a few of us with a Chief with the SS owning the forum but my how the tables have turned!

Just quoting Waterman to second the bolded. We don't know what you have for an OB, or if you have one, but I'm very happy with an old 70hp 3 cylinder. It's not fast but it planes in seconds and is pretty stingy on fuel. These are great boats because you have the cuddy but it's still only about 1000#s without the engine. If you're going to be pulling tubes/skis a 90hp might be perfect. OK, enough unsolicited and possibly irrelevant advice

 

[imnewatthis]

Well, finally got some more time with the boat. Been busy all week with work...you all know how that goes..oh and kids too..forgot about them. Here are some more pics....so I went ahead and ordered the Service Manual for the motor (100hp Johnson with electric shift) - I have read about some pros/cons of the motor. Anways.....in the service manual, I was hoping of finding instructions on how to start up this motor. It has so many buttons on it I don't know where to begin. If any of you guys have owned and know how to start this thing up, I would greatly appreciate it...im planning on trying to get it started tomorrow. Enjoy the pics:

 

[Tnstratofam]

I'm a little late to the party with my welcome. You've found a nice Chief. Looks like a good project. I'll be tagging along if you don't mind.

 

[laurentide]

If you can get that electric shift to start and...well, shift, I'd just check the transom for soft wood and make sure there's no significant leaks. And then enjoy her for the summer! I don't have any experience with those engines, but if it runs it runs. The Johnson/Evinrude forum here is a good place to start with questions.

 

[Watermann]

Once you're all powered and fueled up. If the controls are normal Johnson lift the start lever, push the key in after turning it to the on position and that should activate the choke.(you can hear it clicking) Then just turn the key to start. Of course if she wants to fire off have some muffs on the LU and water running.

 

[GA_Boater]

I know nothing about a Johnson hydro-electric shift, but the rest of the boat looks pretty good. Good luck on the start and you might be on the water soon.

 

[imnewatthis]

Thanks guys, Im going to try starting it tomorrow. Does anyone know what the button on top of the hydro shift is for? ????
BTW, it has a larger gas tank under the splash well, maybe a 12gallon? Ill take pics of it tomorrow. The owner has had this in storage under shrink wrap for the past 30years. He said he tried starting it up and it started up just fine. The transom is "okay" not the best but it should last this summer...gotta have my fun with this thing first. By the way, maybe ill take some more pics w/ the enclosed bimini top....if that's what you would call. Thanks for all your help!

 

[laurentide]

My '74 has an 18 gallon tank under the well from the factory. Just check for leaks, I'm still using mine.

The bench seat is pretty cool for a family cruiser.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks guys, Im going to try starting it tomorrow. Does anyone know what the button on top of the hydro shift is for? ????
BTW, it has a larger gas tank under the splash well, maybe a 12gallon? Ill take pics of it tomorrow. The owner has had this in storage under shrink wrap for the past 30years. He said he tried starting it up and it started up just fine. The transom is "okay" not the best but it should last this summer...gotta have my fun with this thing first. By the way, maybe ill take some more pics w/ the enclosed bimini top....if that's what you would call. Thanks for all your help!

I would call that a knob, it looks like a friction adjustment for the throttle.

 

[classiccat]

If I were to guess, the button puts it into gear. If you don't push the button, you can throttle up/down while-in neutral (or vice-versa).

 

[laurentide]

It may be worth mentioning that you're not supposed to put it in gear while on muffs. Correct me if I'm wrong, guys...just something I remember hearing/reading and have since observed.

 

[GA_Boater]

Thanks guys, Im going to try starting it tomorrow. Does anyone know what the button on top of the hydro shift is for? ????

If you mean the white button in front of the warm-up lever, it's a reverse lock. Here is a parts diagram that I hope you never need.

#62 is the reverse lock.