Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Submitted for the approval of the Starmada I am seeking entry into your ranks.

Thanks to an ad on Craig's List I found and purchased an 18 foot Starcraft. It looks like pics I have seen of both a Chieftan and a Star Chief. If the difference is I/O or outboard then I believe I have a Chieftan since this boat has an outboard. The model on the hull plate says 18 CH D/B. I was thinking the D/B would be O/B but I got really close and used a flashlight and I am sure it says D/B. I am thinking it is a 1974 since the last 3 digits of the HIN are 74D. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am excited about the purchase. I knew it was a good day because while hauling it home I spotted a pair of wise back-to-back lounge seats at teh end of someone's driveway. I grabbed those for another project.

Pictures are submitted for the approval of the Starmada. I picked up the rig for $375.00 including a 1976 Merc 850 which is in need of the prop. The deck feels strong but I might redo it just to add my own touches. There are two areas on the spash well vertical cross brace (1 at each end) that need to be welded up and reinforced. I think it is probably due to someone my size standing on it to fish.






And my free seats, the other one looks just like this one.



Thanks in advance for the wealth of knowledge that I know is so often shared on these boards whic makes us all part of a better informed community.

I think I'm going to love this boat which shall be called "The Little Job Creator."

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Wow great find . Looks very good and new seats. Let us know how the motor works .

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Nice score! Have fun with it!

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Thanks guys. I didn't really even have a chace to get into it today. I have a lot of things that I promised to get out of my back yard (spouse) in order to bring this one home. I had a customer offer to give me a 20-something foot boat too this week that I have to drag to a friends house. She was pretty sure it had a 115 horse engine which I might re-task for this boat if it's in better shape since the hull plate lists the max horses to 140.

Any confirmation as to my ID?

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

I wish I could help you with the ID, I don't know the difference between the Chieftan and Starchief. Looking at your pics, the only difference I can see is in the splashwell. Hopefully someone who really knows the difference can add something.

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Excellent! Welcome to the Starcraft Brohood! Great rig you scored there, really great. The previous owner didn't happen to give you the windshield did he?

Cheers and welcome!

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Nice one and welcome to the club. No help on the ID but you might find something in the brochure section of the Starcraft forums.

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Adamjr, in the 60s your boat would have been called a starchief. The 18 footers were starchiefs and the 22 footers were chieftains. But sometime in the early 70s Starcrfat began offering several cabin boats ranging from 18 to 25 feet and all were called chieftains. But it is the same platform as the 18 foot starchief and Holiday. I'm not really sure when this happened since I am missing several 70s brochures. I do have a very tiny brochure from 75 and it looks just like your boat. BTW, that's OB on your data plate and it stands for outboard. Where are you located?

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Looks like a starchief to me. Same colour and layout as mine.
In regards to the splashwell you may want to look at the transom as when it goes the splashwell takes the stress and can crack. Nice boat, wish mine was an OB.
GLG

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Really cool boat. My next boat will be an Outboard Chief. Good luck with it. I have have been lucky with my old 1150 Merc so far too. The 850 would be fine but a 115 would be even better. I am not sure what elevation you are at but my 18' SS with a 115 and a 15p prop seem to be a good combo.

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Welcome aboard. That's a nice lookin boat, and a heck of a good price. How's the interior? I don't know one starcraft from another without reading the tag, but if North Beach says it's a Starchief, it is. Transom looks like it may need some help, but at that price, you can do a lot. Winter almost here, which is when I work on mine.

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Here are pics of my 18' 1974 Chieftan. Looks like a pretty close match. Hope you got the top windshield with it.
Welcome to the Starmada!

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

I'm with Michael on this....the cabin is too short to be a Starchief. i'm 6'4" and able to lay down full length in cabin of my Starchief, and i doubt that would be possible in that one. OTOH, more cockpit room for fishing.........nice boat, whichever it is!

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Wait let me get my reading glasses. There we go. Nope I can't see any difference between all our boats. Might need to get a tape measure out so we can find the difference. I would be nice to find out as I have wondered what made a Starchief not a Chieftain. I can measure up mine if others are willing to confirm there starchief measures.
We would have to agree on what were were measuring.
GLG

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

Here is a couple of pics of mine


Mine has a vin plate that says starchief but it has no date. Bill of sale says 1975.
Date could be wrong as they may have lost the date over the years.
GLG

Re: Need help with ID of Starcraft I purchased.

It seems there have been small incremental changes or options during production of this rig. Then for some reason in the early(?) 70s they stopped calling them Starchief and went to Chieftan. I'm quit sure they all measure darn close except for some manufacturing tolerances but same hull design. In this post SE says the name changed in the late 70s but i'm not so sure. Either way it's safe to call it a mini chief. If there isn't evidence of any kind I guess its your choice. My guess is Chieftan FWIW.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=432911&highlight=starchief+chieftain