78' starcraft ss restoration

[singledoubt88]

hello everyone,

a couple weeks ago i inherited a 78 starcraft SS that belonged to my late grandfather. Having never owned a boat before i had no idea where to start on restoring this thing. thanks to everyone on iboats ive already learned so much about this boat and now have the confidence to restore it. Ive posted up a couple pics that show my latest progress. so far ive pulled the old floor, consoles windshield and seats out, cut out a all new plywood using 1/2'' marine ply and basically replaced all existing wood, as every piece on the boat was rotten.

http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b412/singledoubt88/78 Starcraft SuperSport Restoration/

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Welcome to iboats!

Another starcraft! Take a look at some of the resto's going on and you will see where you are at.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Welcome to the club...looks like your moving right along. Lots of inspiration & help{if needed} here....Enjoy

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Nice boat! Welcome to the Starcraft club. I love those old Chryslers also. Does yours run? Make sure you check out the Statcraft section of this site as well.

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Yea the chrysler runs or at least it did about six months ago but I'm kinda concentrated on interior/ exterior right now just gotta figure out how to get the outboard off so I can try my Hand at painting... This should be interesting!

I don't have a hoist or a beam I can wrap around... Any ideas?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

I see plenty of perfectly good trees.......

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

so worked on the boat a little today...

removed all electronics wired to the ignition and pulled through the splashwell, as well as pulled the old steering unit out (that happens to be ruined!)

pressure washed the hull and filled with water to find any leaks. none of the rivets or seams appeared to be leaking however i did discover this nasty patch job near the stern at the transom support http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums...Starcraft SuperSport Restoration/IMG_0435.jpg

it looks as if someone put a fiberglass patch and slammed some resin on it a while back but it obviously hasnt held up well as its leaking pretty bad... im unsure exactly how to fix this because its underneath the support, and really would not like to pull this thing out. its right where it meets the hull heres a pic. i know it looks like alot of rust around it but its just dirt as i found out after a good cleaning later. http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums...Starcraft SuperSport Restoration/IMG_0439.jpg

EZ- i hear ya on the tree idea I thought of that earlier, makes me a little nervous though. after pulling all the wires and loosening the clamps i tugged on it a little and i think me and a buddy can beast up on the motor. thanks for the response though

so after i get the patch figured out (hopefully with the help of all the fine gentlemen on the iboats forums) itll be time for some gluvit and a fresh coat of paint!

this is what it looks like now...
http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums...Starcraft SuperSport Restoration/IMG_0430.jpg

also, i bought some jb weld for the holes where the vinyl cushions were attached in the bow but the sides are all rusted out so ill have to figure out the best way to get this off so they can be painted. as well as get all that dang adhesive off.
http://i1041.photobucket.com/albums...Starcraft SuperSport Restoration/IMG_0432.jpg

I was able to find the foam noodles at the $ store so picked up 30. not sure if this is enough but can always get more. now goin to throw another coat on the consoles and call it a night!

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

I'll leave the patch help for those more experienced...
removing the motor, be sure to have a plan of where & how your going to store it, there's a thread in here somewhere on building a motor stand if needed. A couple of strong backs can do it, but a cherry picker{engine lift/hoist} makes it a one man deal....

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

yea def. gonna be making an outboard stand shortly, i think ill try my luck picking it up by hand with the help of a few friends, hopefully i wont kill myself! on the brightside the lower unit is currently detached so that will make a little more manageable. after that im gonna be taking it to a friends house so he can check it out for me while i work on the cosmetic stuff, he repairs them for a living so i'm sure it'll be in the right hands.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Depending on how big a hole you're left with after removing the fiberglass crap you may just be able to just JB Weld it. For some of my larger holes (like 1/2") I JBed a piece of aluminum flashing on the side over it. If it's real big you may gave to rivet and glue a piece of aluminum over it. Either way, no big deal. I used 72 noodles on mine and that's with leaving a fairly large open space for my rod locker which it sounds like you're doing as well. Nice work on the clean up.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Welcome to the starcraft armada Glad to see you got a resto thread started for the rig.

A buddy who can fix outboards! I'm jealous That should make your life easier(and save some cash) considerably.

I like EZ's idea of an aluminum patch adhered with 3M 5200 and then riveted to cover the old repair job. After that you can gluvit the inside and she should be dry in the bilge.

BTW congrats on beating us(MSU) in the final four last year.

Look forward to seeing how she turns out, good luck on your project.

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Thanks for the advice, the only thing i'm wondering is how to get the nut on the rivet on the inside of the hull seing as though its located underneath the support. Do you think i could get away with using a blind rivet instead of a rivet with a nut on the other end? Yea i was def. loving my team last year winning it all, and i was pulling for MSU hardcore this year cuz being a carolina fan i cant stand duke. MSU still had a great run though! just sucks Duke won it all.

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Well been planning and researching a lot lately, but have finally made some progress on the ole' SS. First Thing I did was re-clean the inside and slapped some good ole' Gluvit on all the rivets and seams. Then I pulled the motor and put it on a stand to be delivered to a buddy's house for inspection.

Here's the condition of the transom stiffener- not great will be changing that out for some fresh wood later...

then i removed all the trim around the transom and all 7,000 screws so i could take it out. Unfortunately it was not that easy. This thing has swollen up so much that it will not budge a bit. i spent two hours prying and pulling before i gave up for the day. It's pretty well rotten

So i decided to leave it in there a while until after paint, and went ahead and stripped her all down and flipped her over.

Then sanded, washed, spot primed, sanded again and tacked!

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Also got the patch worked out. I was definitely over thinking the severity of it as i found out it was just a small pinhole. So i covered it in JB Weld on the outside and doused it with gluvit on the inside. It aint purty but it's Beautiful

Then finally got on a first coat of paint. I'm using EasyPoxy by Pettit in a gloss white and ocean blue. I really like this paint its just like all others have said self levels great with a great shine. Will definitely need another coat(hopefully not two!)

Now while the first coats drying i should probably work on this old trailer. It's gonna need new rollers and some new carpeted bunks, as well a new paint job and a rewire.

Meanwhile i got pretty much every thing above water line primed and then painted with and oil based porch paint.

So that's pretty much where im at now, but will update as soon as i can!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Wow you're flyin' through this! I recommend just leaving off that outer transom plate. It really serves no purpose other than to eventually rot and let water in.

 

[bananaboater]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

I have a bit different take on eliminating the "stiffening" plate on the stern. I had the chance to not put mine back on but did remake it out of 1/4 marine ply painted on all sides. I read in one of the SC brochures on the SC thread that this serves to help deaden the sounds coming from the OB. Seems logical since the bracket does not touch the aluminum. But could have just been a sales pitch too. I would argue that if it did not do something useful why did SC put it on all their OB boats? They would have saved time and money by eliminating it.

I have not seen a definitive explanation (other than SC's) of why they are there or what they do.

IMHO, Albert

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Well Finally got the last coat of paint on the SS. She looks pretty good but definitely has its share of flaws... its a pretty dark picture sorry about that.

Font View.

A little close up on the side detail...

After that got it flipped over and put back on the trailer. I have to realign the bunks and mess with the rollers to get it sitting right but im just glad to be able to get into it now. I didnt snap any pics of it on the trailer but soon enough. next just gotta put in the flotation and install the floor. Cant wait to get this thing in the water!

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Well this weekend I scored what I think to be a pretty sweet deal. I picked up a 1992 mercury 4cyl 70hp two stroke with power TNT that runs great for $700 from a friend. With the Chrysler still in pieces due to trying to track down missing parts I decided to jump on it. Hopefully I can get the Chrysler into good shape so I can sell it and make some money to make up for the new purchase. I'm pretty stoked it's much more reliable and will get me on the water alot sooner than the Chrysler.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Paint job looks great! Nice score on the Merc. Probably a wise decision.

 

[singledoubt88]

Re: 78' starcraft ss restoration

Paint job looks great! Nice score on the Merc. Probably a wise decision.

thanks man yea I figure if anything I'll just use the Chrysler as an anchor! I feel much better about being on the water with the merc instead.