I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[64osby]

We went from a 16' closed bow to a 21' center console and the difference was amazing in both ride and comfort. The high sides will give anyone a more secure feeling.

 

[BWR1953]

The interesting thing about all this is that the original craigslist ad described the boat as an 18 footer. That's why I wanted it, because I could use it in the skinny water as well as a little ways out in the Gulf. When I arrived to check out the boat (after a 100 mile trip) I said to myself that there was no way that it was 18 feet long. Sure enough, we got a tape measure and measured it out at 16 feet plus a little. Mentioned it to the seller and he got the title out which said in plain language that it was a 16 foot boat. Seller claimed that his vision sucked and apologized profusely for the error. He also said that he wouldn't get his feelings hurt if we just walked away.

My wife and boy fell in love with the boat right away and I saw that financially we'd come out ahead so we went ahead with the deal. I'd already gotten the price reduced by $400, so I wasn't too worried about that part.

And... I talked with the boy this morning while we were in the truck running errands and he too said that he didn't like the way the boat tipped when we were moving around in the boat. Especially when I moved my big carcass around! LOL!

I'm definitely going to try to get back out on the water this week, especially since school starts a week from today. Got to get at least one or maybe two or three more trips in before that happens.

Then we'll see. Maybe I will have to look for a replacement boat. Time will tell.

 

[dozerII]

A little late to the party but:clap2: congrats on the splash. Lots of really big smiles is what it's all about.

 

[64osby]

http://lakecity.craigslist.org/boa/5160816140.html

Just encouraging a little MBS here.

 

[BWR1953]

http://lakecity.craigslist.org/boa/5160816140.html

Just encouraging a little MBS here.

We like this one better... not gonna happen though. :blue:

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/boa/5169247360.html

 

[64osby]

Call the guy up and offer an even trade.

One thing I've learned in life is it never hurts to ask.

 

[BWR1953]

The battery charger arrived today, undamaged. Yay! Now we can charge the trolling motor battery any time we want and go fishing at will.

And I got my tractor going again yesterday and decided to create a flat, level place to park the boat. Started a little grading this morning and came to the realization that dirt/sand is CHEAP so went to the local mine and hauled back a couple loads. I reckon the first load was a bit on the oversized side of things. oops... But the truck is okay though. :lol:

Tomorrow I'll use some cinder/concrete blocks combined with the sand to create a parking pad for the boat.

 

[BWR1953]

Call the guy up and offer an even trade.

One thing I've learned in life is it never hurts to ask.

Interesting idea but we'll still need an open planform boat for skinny water fishing. Guess I should start a thread asking for info and recommendations about options in that regard. That Islander would be awesome in the Gulf though. :joyous:

 

[GA_Boater]

Nice cost breakdown in post #273.

Just finished with Phase 1 and the new Phase II is MBS driven,

 

[BWR1953]

Hi yall! We're on our second voyage with the boat. Been out here 4.5 hours and all is well. No bites yet but we don't care. We'd rather not catch a fish from our little boat than not catch a fish from the shore!

 

[BWR1953]

Trying to upload a picture from my phone.

 

[BWR1953]

Finally! A whopper! The Kingfisher lives up to its name. LOL !

 

[BWR1953]

Trying to load another pic.

Won't work. Dang.

 

[BWR1953]

Okay, I'm home with my laptop. We caught a few small catfish today but that was all. No bass or bluegill seen by anyone anywhere. The lake/river level was very high due to all the rains we've had and consequently the water current was pretty swift. The sunfish were probably back in the woods out of the heavy current. But, we had a great time and both my wife and the boy got used to the boat moving around as people moved inside the boat and in reaction to water conditions like wakes from other boats and whatnot.

A great day with the little Starcraft Kingfisher! We spent 8 hours on the water in the boat today. The little boat remains dry as a bone and that 8hp Johnson was stone cold reliable. On the first pull this morning, it choked and sputtered. Pushed the choke back in and it immediately started on the next pull. From then on, it started on the first pull for the rest of the day. Probably did 20 or more startup and shutdown cycles while maneuvering today. Lovin' this boat! Thanks again to all the great folks on iBoats for helping me get it working so well!

Am itching to get started working on the boat again but the weather is still too hot. Don't have the fire in my belly now like I did in the summer when I was working so hard to get the boat fixed up and in the water. But it shouldn't be too much longer before we start getting some nicer fall weather!

Whopper of the day!

 

[Watermann]

Hey as long as that little whisker fish puts a big smile on the boys face it's as good as being a blue fin tuna!

 

[BWR1953]

Well, I need to do a little work on my trailer. Just waiting for the rains to stop, hopefully later this week.

Discovered that my bow V-block had apparently deteriorated and fell off while en route to my fishing trip last week. Didn't notice it when launching. But at the end of the day when we were putting the boat back onto the trailer I'd told my wife to winch the boat up to the V where it would stop. She said "what V?" there's no V here. Hmmm... looked and sure enough it was gone.

Looks like it boogered up the bow of the boat a little too. :blue: Dunno what to do about that. :noidea:





And I've been keeping busy installing my new workspace this week. Had heavy rain last night and the boat remained untouched. Nice.

Once the weather breaks and it's a bit cooler, I can resume working on the boat.

 

[BWR1953]

Phase 1a begins!

The weather turned cooler and I got a little more work done on the boat. Nothing special and certainly not "restoration" but definitely helping with the functionality! This sub-phase is about making the boat easier to fish from and to add a little protection to the Gluvit as well. Nothing to make it prettier, just more workable. So far! Who knows what surprises may happen in later phases. Still more to do in this sub-phase though. Not done yet.

I also got a couple rod holders (which came with the boat) mounted but ran out of light for work and photos. Still have two more to mount. Will post more pix after I get them done.

Moved and rotated the bench storage box dual seats to run longitudinally along the port side aft of the steering console. That'll help a lot with the balance when underway with the current motor. Will probably move it around again once I (eventually) get a big motor.



There's definitely easier access forward from aft now. No stepping over or around the bench, just an easy pathway to get up front.



Got the gas tank secured to the deck



Used some pool noodles to act as wire/cable guides to hide those unsightly hangy-downy wires and whatnot and tuck them up neatly under and inside the gunwales.





More room! And the big ol' oars are tucked neatly into the port side.

 

[BWR1953]

Nearly have the Phase 1a reconfiguration done now. :joyous:

Moved the trolling motor battery under the console for one thing. Had hoped it would fit inside the dual seat bench box but it's too tall. Could have shimmed under the box but that would have required raising the seats some two inches which would have made them too tall for comfort.

Got the new bow stop installed too.


Battery moved under console.



Front seat moved aft about 7 inches to provide more legroom up front. It was pretty cramped up there.




And we got the rod holders installed on the front of the console. They came with the boat so cost us nothing. Eventually I'll replace the beat up old plywood there... and the rocket launchers too... later, later. :lol:

That little radio on the console I got yesterday and it's awesome. Tunes while we work is always great and the speaker on that little thing is MUCH better than the one in my smartphone! And I was able to copy all the songs from my phone into the radio too. So now I can listen to the local DJ over the airwaves or just play some .mp3s.



Installed the wire-style rod holder on the starboard side utilizing a couple of the zillion holes already put there by the PO. This rod holder was also free, so it's mounted!


I still need to extend and route the wires from the trolling motor to the battery. And hook up the depth finder to the power as well. See that "dirty" looking stuff along the splash rail? That's not dirt, it's my overly generous use of Gluvit! I'll be painting that area gray and will also paint the deck with the same paint as well. Porch paint, maybe?

The more I work on this little boat, the better I like it! As does my wife. She's eager to take her turn... super cleaning everything so that we can get it back on the water. The boy just wants to catch some fish with the thing!

Here are some views of the changes thus far. Definitely fishing friendly. :fish2: Getting there!

Sorry for a couple of the pix being blurry. It's not because of my phone camera, it's due to my hand tremors!

 

[BWR1953]

How do I fill these gaps between the deck and hull? The PO had apparently used poured foam or something similar. I'm looking for something simple which will prevent dropped items from getting below the deck.

Recommendations?

 

[BWR1953]

Worked on the boat today. Got the trolling motor wiring all tidied up and stowed correctly out of sight. Repositioned the battery under the console and got that secured to the deck and the trolling motor wiring connected. Even used marine grade heat shrink tubing!

My wife came out and got started on the seating cleanup. Made a huge difference in how they looked! She used standard household cleaner with bleach and also waterless hand cleaner which also worked very well.

We were having such a good time out there working as a team on the boat that we ended up having lunch onboard. Pretty cool.

And I NEEDED the relaxation since I'd spent 4 hours in the ER yesterday and had a full heart attack workup! :blue: Results came back okay and no heart trouble, but that just meant that it was either one of my currently existing health problems or a side effect of reducing dosage of the medicine I have to take in order to keep the health problem at bay. The doc just couldn't tell me what it was! Arrghh!! :faint2:

But we're going fishing in the morning so that should help!

Took a ton of pix while working on the boat today.

M'lady cleaning the boat seats




Nice and tidy and lots more foot room up front.


Rerouted the power leads from the rear of the trolling motor pedal to the front. Made it easier to then route them in the front of the boat.


Used 10 feet of new wire by routing it along the bow post and up inside the top rail on the bow, then down the starboard side gunnel to the console.


Used lots of cable ties plus the wire mounting tabs. Fresh marine grade butt connectors with water proof heat shrink tubing joined the wires.


Before cleaning. Plenty moldy!


And after... sparkly clean!


Really dirty.


Really clean!


A place to stow the anchor behind the bow post.


Tidy. In a later Phase I will likely reconfigure this area again.


Neat and tidy. Ready to fish!