'79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

[bananaboater]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Thanks for the tips Dale

Would you say the vinyl adhesive bonds well to the deck after it's been sealed with epoxy resin? That's my gameplan. Should anything be done to the epoxied surface prior to applying the adhesive?

I rough sanded mine before gluing the vinyl. I had to do some fine tuning and had to tear the vinyl off the edge to saw and fit. it was so well glued down I almost thought I would have to start over. After tugging, cutting, pliers, scrapers I was able to peel it back enough to do what I needed. It is STUCK to the epoxy.

Albert

 

[erikpn]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Lighter and Thinner..no glue...Gravity?

It's the inherent rigidity of the material. It is formed flat and stays flat. about 4mm thick, and 25 lbs in total for my boat. Anti skid backing, so just lay loose and it'll stay in place..That's what the box says anyways..

 

[PaulyV]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

It's the inherent rigidity of the material. It is formed flat and stays flat. about 4mm thick, and 25 lbs in total for my boat. Anti skid backing, so just lay loose and it'll stay in place..That's what the box says anyways..

Do you have a link to that product? I would like to check it out.

 

[fshngho]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Thanks for the tips Dale

Would you say the vinyl adhesive bonds well to the deck after it's been sealed with epoxy resin? That's my gameplan. Should anything be done to the epoxied surface prior to applying the adhesive?

You don't really need any surface prep other than clean/dry. The adhesive I have used can be bought at any Lowes or HD, it is water soluable(?) when its applied but when it dries it is waterproof. A notch trowell 1/16" or 1/8" is preferred and make sure the glue "skims" a bit before applying the vinyl. I have done this on fiberglass, plywood, old existing vinyl. Best tip is to have everything warm, expecially the vinyl, more pliable that way. Dale

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

You don't really need any surface prep other than clean/dry. The adhesive I have used can be bought at any Lowes or HD, it is water soluable(?) when its applied but when it dries it is waterproof. A notch trowell 1/16" or 1/8" is preferred and make sure the glue "skims" a bit before applying the vinyl. I have done this on fiberglass, plywood, old existing vinyl. Best tip is to have everything warm, expecially the vinyl, more pliable that way. Dale

Thanks for the info Dale...the vinyl comes with adhesive so I'll be using that. I may do a test section on one of the seat boxes I'm going to build. I think I'm all set to go except the weather of course. The temps will rise with time though

 

[erikpn]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Do you have a link to that product? I would like to check it out.

There's a few of them and I think they are fairly common for garages and gyms. It's 1/4 though, which is 6mm. It is about 1 lb per square foot, but I don't mind taking on the 40 lbs for a soft, chemically resistant and waterproof floor that can also be removed for cleaning and maintenance. I know one other iboater has also gone with a rubber diamond style flooring and I will report how they work out.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/Ultra-Flex...115;0;100001;ProductName;10;0;0;0;2019224;0;0

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

That flooring is indeed awesome but as was mentioned in another thread about it, I doubt it will hold up to long term UV exposure. Probably not a problem if you keep your boat covered.

 

[vegasphotoman]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Cool Ski locker hatch score Mike!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Cool Ski locker hatch score Mike!

Thanks Vegas Ebay has some good deals out there luckily for me. Still looking for a good kicker bracket.

Gluvit arrived yesterday, just need warmer weather or a larger electric heater to get going on the rivets and seams.

 

[erikpn]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Kenny...I still haven't decided if I will be using rivets or SS screws to attach the deck. Rivets would certainly give it a cleaner look as the heads would likely be pretty flush with the deck.

Never used a rivet gun so I'm a bit curious how that would go

I would like to be able to remove the deck in the future without drilling out rivets, so I'm leaning towards SS screws at the moment. I don't want the vinyl to have wrinkles from countersinking the screws though I'll have to do a bit of research and see how things shake out.

I was planning on using aluminum rivets since I would feel better knowing they will never rust or cause corrosion, but after seeing some folks have issues now I'm rethinking it.

The vinyl is one piece 6' wide and 5yds long so I could do the deck all one piece...but that would not allow me to wrap the edges obviously...so I will wrap each piece individually and then attach.

I really like the rivets I installed and would recommend it. Very solid, holds well, and best of all there's no worries about galvanic corrosion with an aluminum-aluminum contact. I will be running in the bay though, so different metals under the deck, potentially bathed in saltwater = very bad juju. I jerked on them and no movement at all. As long as you install them in the correct locations, right at the point where the stringer meets the deck. One thing you want to be careful of if you are using aluminum rivets with steel mandrels is that you do not let the mandrels fall under the deck. When I pulled my original deck, I kept finding these badly rusted sticks of steel between and under the ribs. Turns out they were mandrels! Lots of ugly rust stains because of them.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey H.A.....
I wanted to be-bop over here to see your project. Man... Super nice job!
The photo of your Merc's faceplate caught my eye. The Thunderbolt font, in particular. To the best of my knowledge, that font was only used on the 1969 80's. It wouldn't surprise me if you have a low '70 serial number and they ran out the parts they had. I like that font much better too.
I have a 1970 parts motor and here's the face plate from it.

Maybe it was swapped out at sometime. I just wanted to slide you an FYI buddy. Keep up the great work! Spring coming!!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey H.A.....
I wanted to be-bop over here to see your project. Man... Super nice job!
The photo of your Merc's faceplate caught my eye. The Thunderbolt font, in particular. To the best of my knowledge, that font was only used on the 1969 80's. It wouldn't surprise me if you have a low '70 serial number and they ran out the parts they had. I like that font much better too.
I have a 1970 parts motor and here's the face plate from it.

Thanks Ed...I like that font too, it screams late 60s/early 70s

Interesting theory on the serial #...I will check it out.

I think I'm going to use my faceplate, but good to know there are extras around, much appreciated.



Also got my ski locker from UPS yesterday I'm impressed by how solid the teak piece is...should work out nicely for storage(always a premium on a smaller rig like mine). EZ, is your aluminum ski locker one solid piece? Mine is one piece but has a seam on one side. Like it was bent into shape from a straight piece possibly...or it was cut at some point. Either way it will work fine once bolted down.

Can't wait to get some plywood and start cutting, epoxying and installing. I am in the process of buying a couple cheap electric heaters off craigslist so I can gluvit the hull and have it cure in less than two weeks

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

EZ, is your aluminum ski locker one solid piece? Mine is one piece but has a seam on one side. Like it was bent into shape from a straight piece possibly...or it was cut at some point. Either way it will work fine once bolted down.

Mine is a single piece of aluminum bent into a closed C. If you look at my most recent deck pictures you can see where the "break" is because I have blue tape on it for fitment purposes.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Well I managed to get something done on the boat today.
This little electric heater has been added to the program. $14 on craigslist. Kept the garage around 50 degrees(we were in the 20s outside) along with my larger kerosene heater. Still need a bigger electric to bump it up to the 60s.

The majority of my afternoon was spent scrubbing, wetvacking and clearing limber holes with pipe cleaners.

OK...I admit it...Roslynn did most of the work and I just kept bringing her clean water to rinse. We let the boys play inside unattended and they behaved like saints. Maybe I will have her help out more often.

I still need to remove this old piece of plywood covered in factory yellow vinyl. Kind of an awkward spot to work. Maybe tackle that tomorrow.

I've got this to look forward to as well. I may relocate the fuse/switch box to a better location maybe under a console?

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Couple shots of my new ski locker

I plan on cleaning the bare aluminum a few more times prior to applying the gluvit. We used 1:1 mix of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and scrubbed it good. Pretty happy with the results. I need to make sure all grease and dirt is removed so the gluvit can do its job.

Also I did find a rivet that is broken near the bow keel. I believe it is the source of a minor leak. I'm debating using a SS screw or going ahead and buying a rivet gun and enough rivets to do the deck. Tough call.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Looking good H.A., cleaning up nice. Sorry for you but glad I'm not the only one who inherited a rats nest of wiring
Hey I got that same anchor, yours must be heavier as mine has no paint left on it .

Me? I moved my computer desk today, come on already spring, we haven't had an early one in ages. Good work H.A.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Also I did find a rivet that is broken near the bow keel. I believe it is the source of a minor leak. I'm debating using a SS screw or going ahead and buying a rivet gun and enough rivets to do the deck. Tough call.

Hey H.A.
Grab yourself a new rivet gun. You'll be glad you did when another rivet pops I recently bought one for my boat, and now I'm finding all kind of uses for it around the house.

 

[bananaboater]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey H.A.
Grab yourself a new rivet gun. You'll be glad you did when another rivet pops I recently bought one for my boat, and now I'm finding all kind of uses for it around the house.

I agree and I got one with a swivel head for about $23 at HD. The swivel helps in tight spaces.

Albert

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Looks great Huron!!!! Man you did a great job cleaning out that hull! Tell ya what, when I get my deck off I let ya come up work on mine too! I'll even let you keep whatever you find under there!

Cheers Man!

 

[McGR]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Looks real good Huron. Can't wait to see it start going back together again.