1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

I've had this boat now for 4 years... haha.. All wood from the cabin to the transom was rotten. I decided to redesign the cracked old splashwell too.. it took up too much room. I had it "done" once, then decided to change things again!! It had a '69 Johnson 115 O/B on it when I bought it. I did get that old motor running, but it had hydro-electric shifting that I could not get to work right.. sold that for $100 and bought a fresh rebuilt 1984 Johnson 115.
In the spring of 2009 I decided to raise the deck 2" and put in a permanent fuel tank (25gal) and storage for the batteries. I have a 24v outboard mounted trolling motor, so I carry 4 batteries. I got the deck structure done and then in July I almost cut my hand off with a chainsaw. No, I wasn't using the chainsaw on the boat!!

Well, long-story-short, It's finally cooled off enough here in AZ so that it's safe to play outside again, so it's time to get this thing done... My Dad asked me when I told him what I had bought, "Do you wanna fish, or do you wanna work on boat??" One day I will fish again!!

The night I brought her home!! Must've pulled out 20lbs of dirt!! Rotten deck etc...

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Here's some pics of the progress. Most of these are a few years old. I tried to put them in chronological order..

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Some pics of the old transom and splashwell and a few of the new.. I decided to close in the transom as close I could to allow full movement of the motor. The splashwell also now has 2 nice flat surfaces for filleting fish or whatever.. I have cup holders, rod holders and fuel cap there as well. In the last pic, you can see the old where the old splashwell/transom ended..the gray portion.. and see how much I closed the stern in and still have full movement of the motor.

I used 23/32" and 17/32" Arauco plywood for all plywood use. It has no voids and only plugs on one side. Coated everything with System 3 GP epoxy. Used the boat for almost a year before tearing apart to rebuild and it held up great. I was out in a few torrential downpours as well, so it did get soaked. It's about $30 a sheet for 23/32" and $25 for 17/32. Much cheaper than marine grade and will work well if properly sealed.

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Pics of new splashwell and transom brace... the aluminum had cracks on both sides.. no wonder with that old brittle, crumbly transom!!!

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

The third picture was plan A... storage boxes similar to original, but longer.. after fishing with it a few times.. I decided a nice flat deck would be better. The other pics are pretty recent. The first one is where my batteries will go. The second one is the below-deck 25g fuel tank. Shows decking laid out as well...although I have changed that too now!!

jasoutside · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Hey Tom, thanks for getting us caught up on your project! Man I sure like that Chieftain buddy, just a sweet rig! Looks like you are having fun building stuff, pulling stuff apart and building it again. You'll surely fit right in around here man!

Rock on!

ezmobee · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

I like your splashwell modification. What's the plan for the new-found space?

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Just storage.. I've decided to make the bottom of that big hunk of maple level again and put 3 hatches across the boat.. The middle of course will be bilge access and the other two will be storage with a small vertical bulkhead on both sides of the splashwell to separate. The deck and wood structure will all be covered in Nautolex Shark. Now that the batteries and fuel are under the deck.. I will have tons of storage both in the cabin and under the splashwell. I'll post pics of the deck structure when I find those pics..

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Did very little tonight.. I threw another coat of white paint under the splashwell and painted one fender white just to smile a little.. The trailer is black. What idiot would paint his boat trailer black? It is white underneath, so at one time it was done right anyway. Ever try to load a boat at midnight w/ no moon w/ a black trailer?? Not fun. I apologize to anyone that prefers black trailers.

So, here's some pics... The first one is a side view of the splashwell. I had to drop the rear portion 'cause the first time I didn't listen to tashasdaddy back in '07, or didn't see his post before I built it!! So, the motor trims all the way up now. That's a good thing. The second one shows the underside of the splashwell and fuel tank/hoses. the deck is laid into place but not fastened down yet.. still some wiring to do.. The third pic shows the helm as it is now.. I am going to alter that configuration too, but not now. The fourth shows the now white fender I mentioned earlier.

tomynoks · Nov 8, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

I love Nautolex!! At least I love looking at "something" that is 100% completed!! This shows how much work space I gained by getting rid of that old splashwell. I'm sure most of you old Starcraft-junkies know what I mean.. There's a cup holder, rod holder and 120v electric outlet for my Dual Pro 3 bank on board charger.. I didn't think about being able to plug iun at a motel or campground if I'm gone over night and it rains..

Good thing I live in AZ and it only rains maybe 10 days a year!! I'll probably relocate that under the starboard gunnel sometime.. What do you think of that Nautolex..HUH??

ezmobee · Nov 9, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Yeah I love Nautolex. It makes everything look so factory

As you can see I've got a lot of it. http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2632.jpg Real tough stuff.

tomynoks · Nov 11, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

I love it too.. was just looking at Huron Angler's boat in SHARK Nautolex.. looks great and that's what I'm using..

tomynoks · Nov 11, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

I have a 6 gang switch panel with breakers? each switch has a reset button.. (wiring/electrical is my weak point!!) Do I also need a fuse panel? I am using the switch panel in conjunction with + and - buss bars and a Blue Sea selector switch... ???

Thanks.....

biederboat · Nov 11, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Hang in there! I ran my 71 21' Chieftain the day I bought it and then not again until 8 years later when I finally finished it (it pretty much sat for about 6 of those years). It's gone now but I really liked that boat.

Biederboat

tomynoks · Nov 11, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Here's a few pics of the deck structure. I raised it just over 2" and mounted a 25gal fuel tank below deck and have room for 4 batteries. I hate having that crap on deck.
The first pic shows the deck structure, the battery storage area and the front of the fuel tank. The second pic shows the fuel tank. 3rd pic: seat base mount. I used T-nuts underneath to use machine screws instead of screwing it into the deck. 4th pic: Shows how I tied each cross-piece into the rib. Not much work done tonight.. sealed all the deck structure with spar varnish and will finish wiring (hopefully) in the morning. Goal for tomorrow: to have the deck screwed down and get started laying the Nautolex!!

fshngho · Nov 12, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Nice work Tomy. Do you put any floatation in the voids? You won't require a fuse panel with your set up but it never hurts to be safe. If you were to run off a fuse panel you could use higher amp fuses. That would just trip the breaker first in case of a short and have fuses as backup. Switches like yours are good but I prefer all my wiring fuses to be centralized in one area. That leaves one main hot wire, one main ground, fuses/breakers and one area to look if need be rather than tracing wires all over the boat.

tomynoks · Nov 12, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

That's what I'm trying to do, Dale.... keep all the switches, breakers, buss bars etc under the helm. Did I say something that would lead you to believe otherwise?? I'm asking because I am ignorant...lol.. wiring/electric is my least favorite thing to do, whether on a house, car, boat etc... makes me nervous!!

I'm wiring it all up now. Took the day off to get the deck and all below deck wood coated w/ spar varnish.. that's done and dry. Now to wire this thing up and screw the deck down FOREVER... I HOPE AND PRAY!!!

oh.. so it wouldn't hurt to a fuse box huh? I can add that "after" the switch panel/breaker right?

Thanks man!!

tomynoks · Nov 12, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

Here's a pic of the full deck structure... I think it's SOLID enough, huh?? lol... I wonder how slow this tank will be when it's done? I used to cruise at 40mph...we'll see!

fshngho · Nov 13, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

tomynoks said:
That's what I'm trying to do, Dale.... keep all the switches, breakers, buss bars etc under the helm. Did I say something that would lead you to believe otherwise?? I'm asking because I am ignorant...lol.. wiring/electric is my least favorite thing to do, whether on a house, car, boat etc... makes me nervous!! I'm wiring it all up now. Took the day off to get the deck and all below deck wood coated w/ spar varnish.. that's done and dry. Now to wire this thing up and screw the deck down FOREVER... I HOPE AND PRAY!!! oh.. so it wouldn't hurt to a fuse box huh? I can add that "after" the switch panel/breaker right?

Thanks man!!

No you didn't lead me to believe you would, but I have seen many others do it. They would literally go all over the boat checking all the inline fuses, grounds, connections for a short. And on the subject, are you running copper wire or tin?

tomynoks · Nov 13, 2010

Re: 1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

(embarrassed).... copper 8 gauge from batteries to buss/battery switch.. Everything else is 16 gauge tin.. ancor brand. Yes, I want everything centralized under the helm.. I think in-line fuses make no sense whatsoever.. Off to Worst (West) Marine!! Dang.. now I feel guilty for not spending the $$ on tin 8 gauge...

I am using shrink tube and liquid tape on all connections....

1973 Starcraft Chieftain restore

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