Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

OK Guys and Gals, here is the deal. I have owned three Starcrafts in the past. I have restored all three but never really documented the restorations. I am a big time lurker on this site. The information I have obtained from all of the good people that have posted here has been invaluable. I started with a Jetstar. As I was restoring it I was DYING to get out on the water so I bought a 16 foot Supersport. I loved that boat. Problem was, my better half was tired of parking her car out in the snow (no way my boats were sleeping anywhere but in the garage) and gave me "the look" one day. One of them had to go. I really wanted to finish the JetStar so I sold the SS. I finished the JetStar. Now, in my humble opinion, the Jetstar is the prettiest model Starcraft of all BUT its basically a flat hull in the rear 2/3 and rides very rough in a chop. Not a big deal for me but the better half hated it. Wouldn't even come out with me. We missed the SS. Well I found the perfect boat for us. An 18 SS with a V5 hull! It also has a Johnson 140 hanging on the transom! I am super excited about this boat. Today I decided that this time I would document the restoration. There are a couple different directions I am thinking about going with this boat but for now I am going to get her torn down and make design decisions as I go along.

Here are some pics:











She looks rough but I already took her out on the water and she is very solid. The deck is surprisingly very solid. The transom too. The Johnson 140 runs like a champ. Got her up to 43 MPH and idles silky smooth to boot. This is the first boat I have had with power tilt and trim and I will NEVER go back. This boat is very much worth restoring and I am going to do it!

A couple of observations - 1) I had never seen a V5 hull in person. I assumed it would be like an 18 SS with more deadrise. WRONG! This boat is completely different. It is beamier, has more freeboard, and is just beefier all around. The transom and splashwell design is completely different too. The steep deadrise at the bow does make for a slightly tighter feeling passenger area up there, though. I am not sure if it just feels that way, but I remember the 18SS I have been on feeling a little roomier up front. Perhaps one of you can take a measurement to compare? 2) There is a thread up here looking for info on ride quality on the V5 hull. Well I have ridden in a "standard" Supersport 18 and now in the V5. I think the regular hull does a great job in a chop and is no slouch in the rough stuff. There is however a noticeable increase in comfort with the V5. The biggest difference I noticed is that the V5 just kind of cuts through stuff that would make the standard hull start pounding. Not a big deal under most conditions but I do plan on taking this boat out on Lake Michigan and I think for my purposes it is ideal.

....and a disclaimer....I have three kids, a job, and a 100 year old house that is in a constant state of renovation. This restoration may not go as quickly as some of the others here but I will try to do right by all of you and share as much info as possible and post as often as I can.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Nice. I've seen that on Craigslist for a while. Where you from? Good luck!

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Hi DJ. I'm from Chicago. I have been following your thread on the 22 footer. Its the closest to my boat that I have seen on here. I keep checking back and you haven't posted in a while. I must have looked over your posts on the poured in foam at least a dozen times. All of my other boats did not have the pour in stuff. All indications in previous threads were that anything 79 and newer had pour in foam. I was dreading that part. Well guess what. I pulled up a small section of deck and I don't have pour in foam! Mine is a 79 by the way.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

That is one sweet rig manny! This should be a great project

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Nice lookin' rig Manny. I was comparing the deeper 'v' of your hull to my 16' SS, as my back took a pretty good pounding the other day in a 2- 2 1/2 ft chop. My SS rides good taking the swell on the side, but straight into the waves can be bone jarring. This one should do you nicely... congrats and looking forward to your restoration

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Great looking boat Manny, if I remember right the 18SS bow seating width at the front of the consuls is 61x1/2"s .

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Good luck with the boat. I wish I had one!

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Me likes a lot!!! Nice find. 43 is plenty fast --- don't know if you checked the transom on the edges --- but often it seams fine and then ya check out the edges and it isn't so fine! Nonetheless, great looking boat! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I finally got some free time and decided to tear into this project. I didn't have much time tonight so i was only able to get into the bow section. I figured I would share some pictures. First, I think I was right about the bow section being a little tighter than an 18SS. Here are the measurements I took on my boat:





I also scored big time when I removed the bow cushions. I had seen this emblem on other photos of V5's and was wondering why my boat didn't have it.


Do you think these are still good?


Got Mulch?

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Couldn't really get into it too far as I am working outside and it is getting dark. I can't wait to get my new garage up so I can move this project indoors. Here a couple more pictures and a question below:




And my question....So as I was looking at the consoles and planning on how to pull them off I started thinking that it might be easier to remove just the vertical sections and leave the horizontal sections on until I get the deck on. I would support them so they wouldn't sag and bend. Have any of you done it this way? The consoles extend over the gunwales and under the outer trim and I would rather not remove the trim and closed end rivets that hold it on. Plus I should avoid some of the alignment issues some have run into. Thoughts?

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

I believe some have left the whole console intact and worked around it.

Oh, I got that emblem too!!!

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

djpeters said:

Oh, I got that emblem too!!!

Click to expand...

I know you do! I was referring to your boat when I said I had seen it. I saw it in your restoration thread. Until I found mine I thought that it was unique to the 22 footers. I'm glad I'm wrong because I think its cool.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Hey Manny, that is the same problem I ran into on my SS201, the tops of the consuls are structualy part of the gunwalls. I drilled the rivets out of the inside panels and removed them then just put a length of 2x4 under the top to steady them.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Here's how I did mine

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Hello All,
Its been a while since I last posted. I finally got my garage built and my Starcraft has a new home and I now have a dry warm spot to work on her. I took the day off from work today and got the deck up, pulled the tank, and did a leak test. The few times I was able to take her out she would collect about a gallon of water in the bilge over a few hours. Today was a good day in that I was able to confirm that there was no pour in foam in my boat. It is a 1979 and I have no idea why the other 79's on here had pour in but mine didn't. I am not complaining. Also, all of the white foam was bone dry. I filled the boat with water and not a single one of the gazillion rivets on the boat leaked a drop! I did find my leak though. A few of the screws that go through the transom were leaking real bad. I had suspected the leak was in that area but I thought for sure the culprit would be one of the screws for an old transducer. It was instead the original screws that Starcraft installs through the transom skin. Anyhow, now that I know where the leak is I can proceed with the new deck and transom this winter without worrying about re-bucking rivets. Here are some pics of my slow progress:

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Nice to see you back Manny, and once again a great boat.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Hey manny, thought I'd drop this over here in your resto thread, as you just mentioned a post or so ago that yours had sheet styro foam instead of pour in.

manny91979 said:

My boat is a 1979 Supersport 18. It is the V5 Model. My bilge area is separated into four different sections. There is a section in the stern between both stringers aft of the fuel tank. There is a section in the bow area that continues under the tank between the stringers and there are two sections outside of the stringers, one on each side of the boat. Each section is separated from the others by either a bulkhead or the stringers themselves. Wherever the stringer or bulkhead goes over a support rib there is a cut out that is sealed with some type of sealant. Looks like silicone but is much harder. Between each compartment is a plug, just like the drain plug on the transom. I have another Starcraft, a 1964 Jetstar, and used to own a 1974 Supersport 16. Neither of these boats have this setup. My question is Why did Starcraft do this? I want to give any bilge water as clear a path to the transom drain as possible. I guess I could pull all of the plugs out every time I pull the boat out of the water but if there is no harm in just leaving them out I will. Here are some pictures of what I an describing.

Click to expand...

I haven't seen every SC thread @these parts, but this is for sure the 1st time I've seen the compartmentalized bilge w/ drain plugs installed

Interesting, if the stringers & bulkheads have been notched to fit down over the ribs, sealed, then have drain plugs installed in every 'limber hole' locations, for sure any water that does make it below decks will have a difficult time reaching the bilge.... :emptiness:

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

That drain plug is for the compartment that the fuel tank is in. Not sure why, but mine was/is the same way.

Manny, as for the fuel filler, I haven't checked the fit yet, the angle on the new one is less so I have to see if the filler hose will bend the extra little bit, otherwise he might be making me another.

I'd check locally, any weld shop should easily be able to copy the one you have, even if it's busted up.

Re: Supersport 18 - V5! I'm Gonna Restore This Bad Boy

Thanks DJ. I will check around and see if I can find someone locally. I am also contemplating patching that square hole and installing a newer style fuel filler on the gunwhale. Kind of like this one:



I think it might look cleaner than the filler on the side of the hull. I have a long way to go before I have to make that decision so I am not going to sweat it for now.