This is my first post so please bear with me while I try to get the hang of it.
I would like to share my experiences with the total rebuild of an old aluminum Starcraft runabout, and a trailer, that I was given to haul away as scrap metal back in 1982. The boat and trailer (no motor) had been abandoned on a private lot that was the site of a new construction project in the St. Louis, Mo. area. I was working for the construction company at the time and was told that if I wanted it I needed to get it fast or it was going to be bulldozed when the site was cleared. The boat looked a total wreck, but the tilt-up trailer it was on looked like something could be made of it. (I do have original photos, and photos of the restoration, if I can figure out how to add them to the postings).
There was no ID tag on the boat because the transom had rotted away, and the mfg. decal on the trailer was mutilated so only the word "Trail--" was readable, with no other numbers anywhere. The boat had an Indiana registration number on the bow, and the trailer had an Indiana lcense plate, with no date. I contacted Indiana BMV to check on the numbers. I was concerned that the boat may have been stolen, the motor stripped off, and then dumped on the lot years before. Indiana reported back that there was no record of either boat or trailer, but said they only kept records for 10 years.
I also contacted the old Starcraft Boat Co. in Topeka, Ind., and from the pictures I sent they identified the boat as their 16' aluminum "Jupiter" model, built in 1961, with a fully lapstraked semi-vee hull (not the later "gull-wing") They also sent me a zerox copy of two pages from the 1961 -62 Starcraft catalog, showing my exact boat, along with the specifications. Curious to note the length was given as 17'-2" which is the gunwale length. Since the trailer matched the boat, I assumed it was also a 61-62 model, and maybe a "Trailette" or a "Trail-rite".
At first I was just going to junk the boat and keep the trailer. Most of the wood had deteriorated (everything except the mahogany dashboard), the seats were shot, hardware discolored, windshield clouded and scratched, etc. - a real mess. But on close inspection, the aluminum hull was in really good condition - a few minor dents and scrapes, but no corrosion, cracks or damage. It did have a very slight "hook" in the last few inches of the bottom, either made that way, or got it from setting on the trailer, probably with snow and ice in the boat. Anyway, I decided I would try to fix it up into something I could fish out of.
The first thing I did was totally strip the hull of everything removable (except the mahogany dash board and some under-deck framing), including the original paint and primer on the exterior, to end up with a bare, bright aluminum "tub". The inside paint was surprisingly still good so I left it, knowing it would be covered with something later.
My first order of business was to replace the rotted transom. I was able to remove and salvage all of the original transom bolts for reuse. I used two layers of 3/4" thick 13-ply "Finn-Form" epoxy coated plywood glued together to make the 1-1/2" thick new transom board exactly like the original. It slid in place easier than I had expected. I then replaced the exterior "motor board" using 1/2" 7-ply "Finn-Form", and bolted thru both with the original salvaged bolts. (Finn-Form is a speciality concrete forming plywood imported from Finland - much stronger and more durable than marine plywood).
The transom replacement turned out really well and I was encourged to continue the job.
I next checked to make sure all of the aluminum hull stringers and sole supports were sound and secure. To check the integrety of the hull rivets I carefully inspected every single one, inside and outside. All were tight. Just to make sure, I put a liberal coating of "Gluvit" over every seam and joint on the inside bottom and sides. Then bracing the hull good on my support cradle, I filled the inside with over 2 ft. of water, and checked all the outside rivets again. No leaks! Pounding out the small dents was not difficult, and I filled any scratches and scrapes with Marine-tex and sanded it smooth.
I was now ready to install the flooring and foam the bottom. The original floor had been 1/2" marine plywood. I used the old removed sheets as patterns and installed new 5/8" marine plywood, coated on the bottom side with Gluvit. I fastened down the flooring with aluminum pop rivets, as per the original, using the same holes in the cross supports. I then core-holed 1-1/4" holes in a pattern in the plywood sole and saved all the core pieces. Using a 2-part commercial grade structural poly-urathane foam, I mixed a small amount of the light and dark in a Dixie cup. When it turned the color of a chocolate milkshake and started to expand I poured it down one hole, then put the wooden "core" plug back in place with a brick on top. The foam expands about 10 to 1 depending on the air temp. (If you want denser, more structural strength -do it when the air temp. is cooler. If you want more expansion, for floatation, you can even heat the air with a hair dryer). I started at the bow and worked my way back to the stern, filling all the holes in sequence. I know that the foam filled all the little nooks and crannies because it even squirted out thru the pin holes in the pop rivets. You have to be careful, especially at the end, and always leave a vent hole or you can lift up your flooring - or bulge out your bottom. The foam hardens in only a few minutes to where you can trim it away with a razor knife. Don't get it on your skin or it will take it off when you try to remove it. When cured, it is totally gasoline resistant. It bonds the aluminum boat hull and the plywood flooring together as a single piece - a very solid, quite floor for an aluminum boat, especially a semi-vee. Finially, I filled all the plywood seams and cracks with marine caulk, and put another thick coat of Gluvit over the entire floor and up the sides about a foot.
Using 5052 Aluminum sheet and plate, I modified the motor well, and added access ports above the two bilge pump locations. Because there had been a number of holes drilled in the gunnels to mount outriggers or rod holders, I decided to completely overlay both sides, from the front deck back using 5052plate, the same thickness as the original material, which fit flush with the side trim. I cut out paper patterns, then the metal, and epoxyed it in place on top of the original aluminum, with stainless screws holding it tight. When set, I removed the screws and filled all the holes and seams with Marine-tex, then body-sanded it all smooth. Later there would be other items screwed thru both layers so if the epoxy should ever break apart in vibration the overlay would not come loose.
The metal work on just the hull was pretty much done now, and I may have added 10 pounds or so to the overall weight of the boat It had taken me over 2 years to get this far. For the next 7 or 8 years I got involved with family matters and making a living, so the boat and trailer just sat in my barn with out ever being worked on - too good to throw away but not good enough to keep. My wife told me to just go out and buy myself a boat, but this thing was a challange to some day finish it - then maybe throw it away!
I can see that this story could get very long and drawn out because I do love to talk about it to someone who might be interested in what I learned and what I did while working on this old boat. I was not trying to restore it to it's original form, I was just trying to make something out of it - like working on a full scale model. I had access to a local boat salvage yard where the owner let me take anything off of the wrecked and traded boats -after he removed what he wanted, mostly engine parts. So I obtained a walk-thru windshield from a Baretta, seat pedistals and a lot of deck teakwood from a couple of Cobalts, a 24 gal aluminum gas tank, bilge pumps, steering wheels, hardware, instruments and wiring devices,and a lot of other items I will never use from a number of other boats that were headed to the scrap yard. The boat I am ending up with is hardly recognizable as an old "Jupiter". It has the walk-thru glass windshield and a reinforced front deck, four adjustable seats that swivel and slide, mechanical steering, a fishing platform at the rear that houses the gas tank and batteries, and even a porti-pottie under the front deck that slides out between the front seats for when my wife goes fishing with me - if I ever get it finished and in the water.
Finding an engine was another story. I looked for years for a good used 70HP Evinrude or Johnson, but never did find one I liked. I finially found a guy near Lake Ozark who had a barn full of brand new 90HP Yamahas he bought from Crestliner when they switched from 2-cycle to 4-cycle engines for their packaged boats. I bought a new-in-the-box Yamaha 2-cycle 90TLRC, complete with controls, for $4600, which I thought was a good deal. He only had the 90's or I would have probably got a 70HP.
If anybody out there is interested in hearing about the painting, wiring, and other stuff I did on this old boat - let me know. I certainly don't recommend doing what I did - rebuilding from the bare metal out - to restore a boat. I really haven't spent a lot of money ( the 2-part epoxy boat paint I also got a good deal on) unless you count the new motor, but I certainly put in a lot of time working on it over the last 20 years or so. But hey - it kept me out of the bars and gave me a hobby. I just retired - so now I am going to finish it and get it in the water. I know it will float because I have so much floatation materials and devices in it. I just hope it floats top-side up.
I hope you guys are not put off by my long winded post. I really would like to trade some questions and answers, and maybe even join your Starcraft club. There is a club I have heard about here in the St. Louis area that I am interested in that does restorations - "Old Goats with Old Boats".
Oh yes, I rebuilt the trailer too.
PJ Tad
I would like to share my experiences with the total rebuild of an old aluminum Starcraft runabout, and a trailer, that I was given to haul away as scrap metal back in 1982. The boat and trailer (no motor) had been abandoned on a private lot that was the site of a new construction project in the St. Louis, Mo. area. I was working for the construction company at the time and was told that if I wanted it I needed to get it fast or it was going to be bulldozed when the site was cleared. The boat looked a total wreck, but the tilt-up trailer it was on looked like something could be made of it. (I do have original photos, and photos of the restoration, if I can figure out how to add them to the postings).
There was no ID tag on the boat because the transom had rotted away, and the mfg. decal on the trailer was mutilated so only the word "Trail--" was readable, with no other numbers anywhere. The boat had an Indiana registration number on the bow, and the trailer had an Indiana lcense plate, with no date. I contacted Indiana BMV to check on the numbers. I was concerned that the boat may have been stolen, the motor stripped off, and then dumped on the lot years before. Indiana reported back that there was no record of either boat or trailer, but said they only kept records for 10 years.
I also contacted the old Starcraft Boat Co. in Topeka, Ind., and from the pictures I sent they identified the boat as their 16' aluminum "Jupiter" model, built in 1961, with a fully lapstraked semi-vee hull (not the later "gull-wing") They also sent me a zerox copy of two pages from the 1961 -62 Starcraft catalog, showing my exact boat, along with the specifications. Curious to note the length was given as 17'-2" which is the gunwale length. Since the trailer matched the boat, I assumed it was also a 61-62 model, and maybe a "Trailette" or a "Trail-rite".
At first I was just going to junk the boat and keep the trailer. Most of the wood had deteriorated (everything except the mahogany dashboard), the seats were shot, hardware discolored, windshield clouded and scratched, etc. - a real mess. But on close inspection, the aluminum hull was in really good condition - a few minor dents and scrapes, but no corrosion, cracks or damage. It did have a very slight "hook" in the last few inches of the bottom, either made that way, or got it from setting on the trailer, probably with snow and ice in the boat. Anyway, I decided I would try to fix it up into something I could fish out of.
The first thing I did was totally strip the hull of everything removable (except the mahogany dash board and some under-deck framing), including the original paint and primer on the exterior, to end up with a bare, bright aluminum "tub". The inside paint was surprisingly still good so I left it, knowing it would be covered with something later.
My first order of business was to replace the rotted transom. I was able to remove and salvage all of the original transom bolts for reuse. I used two layers of 3/4" thick 13-ply "Finn-Form" epoxy coated plywood glued together to make the 1-1/2" thick new transom board exactly like the original. It slid in place easier than I had expected. I then replaced the exterior "motor board" using 1/2" 7-ply "Finn-Form", and bolted thru both with the original salvaged bolts. (Finn-Form is a speciality concrete forming plywood imported from Finland - much stronger and more durable than marine plywood).
The transom replacement turned out really well and I was encourged to continue the job.
I next checked to make sure all of the aluminum hull stringers and sole supports were sound and secure. To check the integrety of the hull rivets I carefully inspected every single one, inside and outside. All were tight. Just to make sure, I put a liberal coating of "Gluvit" over every seam and joint on the inside bottom and sides. Then bracing the hull good on my support cradle, I filled the inside with over 2 ft. of water, and checked all the outside rivets again. No leaks! Pounding out the small dents was not difficult, and I filled any scratches and scrapes with Marine-tex and sanded it smooth.
I was now ready to install the flooring and foam the bottom. The original floor had been 1/2" marine plywood. I used the old removed sheets as patterns and installed new 5/8" marine plywood, coated on the bottom side with Gluvit. I fastened down the flooring with aluminum pop rivets, as per the original, using the same holes in the cross supports. I then core-holed 1-1/4" holes in a pattern in the plywood sole and saved all the core pieces. Using a 2-part commercial grade structural poly-urathane foam, I mixed a small amount of the light and dark in a Dixie cup. When it turned the color of a chocolate milkshake and started to expand I poured it down one hole, then put the wooden "core" plug back in place with a brick on top. The foam expands about 10 to 1 depending on the air temp. (If you want denser, more structural strength -do it when the air temp. is cooler. If you want more expansion, for floatation, you can even heat the air with a hair dryer). I started at the bow and worked my way back to the stern, filling all the holes in sequence. I know that the foam filled all the little nooks and crannies because it even squirted out thru the pin holes in the pop rivets. You have to be careful, especially at the end, and always leave a vent hole or you can lift up your flooring - or bulge out your bottom. The foam hardens in only a few minutes to where you can trim it away with a razor knife. Don't get it on your skin or it will take it off when you try to remove it. When cured, it is totally gasoline resistant. It bonds the aluminum boat hull and the plywood flooring together as a single piece - a very solid, quite floor for an aluminum boat, especially a semi-vee. Finially, I filled all the plywood seams and cracks with marine caulk, and put another thick coat of Gluvit over the entire floor and up the sides about a foot.
Using 5052 Aluminum sheet and plate, I modified the motor well, and added access ports above the two bilge pump locations. Because there had been a number of holes drilled in the gunnels to mount outriggers or rod holders, I decided to completely overlay both sides, from the front deck back using 5052plate, the same thickness as the original material, which fit flush with the side trim. I cut out paper patterns, then the metal, and epoxyed it in place on top of the original aluminum, with stainless screws holding it tight. When set, I removed the screws and filled all the holes and seams with Marine-tex, then body-sanded it all smooth. Later there would be other items screwed thru both layers so if the epoxy should ever break apart in vibration the overlay would not come loose.
The metal work on just the hull was pretty much done now, and I may have added 10 pounds or so to the overall weight of the boat It had taken me over 2 years to get this far. For the next 7 or 8 years I got involved with family matters and making a living, so the boat and trailer just sat in my barn with out ever being worked on - too good to throw away but not good enough to keep. My wife told me to just go out and buy myself a boat, but this thing was a challange to some day finish it - then maybe throw it away!
I can see that this story could get very long and drawn out because I do love to talk about it to someone who might be interested in what I learned and what I did while working on this old boat. I was not trying to restore it to it's original form, I was just trying to make something out of it - like working on a full scale model. I had access to a local boat salvage yard where the owner let me take anything off of the wrecked and traded boats -after he removed what he wanted, mostly engine parts. So I obtained a walk-thru windshield from a Baretta, seat pedistals and a lot of deck teakwood from a couple of Cobalts, a 24 gal aluminum gas tank, bilge pumps, steering wheels, hardware, instruments and wiring devices,and a lot of other items I will never use from a number of other boats that were headed to the scrap yard. The boat I am ending up with is hardly recognizable as an old "Jupiter". It has the walk-thru glass windshield and a reinforced front deck, four adjustable seats that swivel and slide, mechanical steering, a fishing platform at the rear that houses the gas tank and batteries, and even a porti-pottie under the front deck that slides out between the front seats for when my wife goes fishing with me - if I ever get it finished and in the water.
Finding an engine was another story. I looked for years for a good used 70HP Evinrude or Johnson, but never did find one I liked. I finially found a guy near Lake Ozark who had a barn full of brand new 90HP Yamahas he bought from Crestliner when they switched from 2-cycle to 4-cycle engines for their packaged boats. I bought a new-in-the-box Yamaha 2-cycle 90TLRC, complete with controls, for $4600, which I thought was a good deal. He only had the 90's or I would have probably got a 70HP.
If anybody out there is interested in hearing about the painting, wiring, and other stuff I did on this old boat - let me know. I certainly don't recommend doing what I did - rebuilding from the bare metal out - to restore a boat. I really haven't spent a lot of money ( the 2-part epoxy boat paint I also got a good deal on) unless you count the new motor, but I certainly put in a lot of time working on it over the last 20 years or so. But hey - it kept me out of the bars and gave me a hobby. I just retired - so now I am going to finish it and get it in the water. I know it will float because I have so much floatation materials and devices in it. I just hope it floats top-side up.
I hope you guys are not put off by my long winded post. I really would like to trade some questions and answers, and maybe even join your Starcraft club. There is a club I have heard about here in the St. Louis area that I am interested in that does restorations - "Old Goats with Old Boats".
Oh yes, I rebuilt the trailer too.
PJ Tad
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