New guy old Starchief

[123gman321]

Hello to all, I've been reading posts in the starcraft forums for a week or two before this
I thought I was the only one who owned and loved a Starchief. I am sure glad I found this
site. Learned more about my Starchief in two weeks than fifteen years of owning her. But do
I have questions now.

1. I know Starchiefs were made in one colour a year what year would a red to wine be ?

2. I need to repower and replace the transom it is an outboard model, I would like to change
to a 120 140 merc i/o. Does anyone have info on this?

If you are wondering why I want to go from outboard to i/o

1. Around here there are lots of beaten up boats with good i/o's for 2 to 3 thousand dollars
that would give me motor, drive, controls, stearing system, gauges, and a trailer to sell.

2. Grew up playing with carbs and points and rebuilding car motors, outboards are from an other
planet to me.

3. I might be wrong but the 115 outboards I could buy for 4 or 5 thousand dollars would be 2
stroke pre 2000 would be louder, smokey, and burn more gas.

I thank you all what a great site and I'll try to post more pic of her later. I posted one in
a photo album I think you can all open it.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New guy old Starchief

Hello to all, I've been reading posts in the starcraft forums for a week or two before this
I thought I was the only one who owned and loved a Starchief. I am sure glad I found this
site. Learned more about my Starchief in two weeks than fifteen years of owning her. But do
I have questions now.

1. I know Starchiefs were made in one colour a year what year would a red to wine be ?

2. I need to repower and replace the transom it is an outboard model, I would like to change
to a 120 140 merc i/o. Does anyone have info on this?

If you are wondering why I want to go from outboard to i/o

1. Around here there are lots of beaten up boats with good i/o's for 2 to 3 thousand dollars
that would give me motor, drive, controls, stearing system, gauges, and a trailer to sell.

2. Grew up playing with carbs and points and rebuilding car motors, outboards are from an other
planet to me.

3. I might be wrong but the 115 outboards I could buy for 4 or 5 thousand dollars would be 2
stroke pre 2000 would be louder, smokey, and burn more gas.

I thank you all what a great site and I'll try to post more pic of her later. I posted one in
a photo album I think you can all open it.

Welcome!! Glad you are here! The dudes that hang around this place are awesome and have a ton of knowledge, you have found yourself in good company.

I first say that I am not sure that you have a Starchief there, are you sure? Looks like a nice old Chieftain to me, eh!

You can check the brochures here (thanks to Huron Angler) to see your boats lineage:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=349830

I am not sure I recall seeing a solid color rig in there but my memory might be bad. Or, your rig has been painted maybe?

As for your OB to IO conversion, ouch that sounds rough! I think most around here would try to talk you out of it (me included). I know of one guy who may straight up have a heart attack if he reads your proposal to change over to an IO.

I think if it were me, I'd buy a nice older two stroke for a great price (would take some searching) and then run it for a few years, saving your pennies all the while. Turn around, sell it for what you paid, and bolt on a nice E-Tech or 4 Stroke.

Ahhhhhh, but it's your rig and your $$$, eh!

So if you go to an IO you'd need to totally rebuild the transom, lay up new aluminum transom skin, locate and install all the aluminum trim/rubrail pieces to make it look finished, cut out the transom for the IO, install stringers (critical) that your new IO would bolt to......

Wait a minute....

You know what you should do...

If you really want an IO boat you'd surely come out ahead by selling your rig and just buying an old Chieftain/Islander with a good IO already in it! There are plenty out there where your OB is a bit more rare.

Either way you shake it, have fun man!!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: New guy old Starchief

I'm that guy and I'm having a heart attack

Outboard cuddy models are rare and tough to find. They are also desireable. You should be able to get a very nice outboard for under $2k. For the $4-5k you were talking about you could get an EXTREMELY nice one. Maybe even a 4 stroke. Not sure. Plus with the time and money you'd save by not having to convert the transom, I think sticking with an outboard would make the most sense. An outboard would also extend your boating season a not have the winterizarion hassle. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: New guy old Starchief

Converting a OB to an I/O would be like converting a Mac to run on Bill Gates software...a huge hassle and not worth the $$ or effort.

As mentioned the OB cuddy models are pretty rare and buyers are out there. I/O Starcraft cuddies are pretty common especially here in the midwest(they were all built in northern Indiana.)

Good luck with the rig

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: New guy old Starchief

I have to agree with others that suggest sticking with the OB.
I have the same boat as you except mine it is an I/O.
I would trade mine in a heartbeat for an OB model.
Perhaps you could find an SC I/O model that needs work for cheap.
That way you could live the dream with 2 SC boats.

Another thing to consider is the kicker setup.
If that?s important to you (ie fishing).
If yours (OB) shares the transom it can be a sweet setup.
With an I/O the setup is a challenge at best.

Oh, welcome to the club.

GLG

 

[Alpheus]

Re: New guy old Starchief

The guy selling his Starchief listed below sent me an email with a link to this post and also said He is showing the boat tomorrow to potential buyers. I told him I would buy the boat sight unseen. It doesn't look like the boat in this post though.fingers crossed...

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/boa/2040759948.html

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: New guy old Starchief

Outboard to I/O conversion (or vice versa) is a lot of work. I don't think it's worth it myself. Better to look for whatever it is you want from the get go.

You can find an older 100+ hp outboard for under $500 with out much problem.

Cool old tinnie, welcome aboard.

Don