1988 Starcraft 18'

Hello Everyone-

This is my first post and this is my 1988 Starcraft sports fisherman. I know the pictures aren't the best, but that is was I have at the moment. I am going to take some better interior shots soon.

I have been looking on this site the last few days and I am blown away by the amount of stuff here! The remods are amazing work as well. Very impressed!

So I have a few questions and looking for some advice from people who have worked with these boats and have done some restoration on them.

The boat is in pretty good shape except that we have some dry rot in the bow floor and side panels under the gunrails. I also want to replace all the carpet and lay down vinyl flooring as well. I am sure when I start to pull up the carpet I am going to find more damaged wood and will end up having to replace more of the floor as well. The motor was also rebuilt a few years ago and it runs great.

You can also see that the side of the boat has a nice scratch and dent that happened on a musky trip to Canada. I wish it was musky teeth, but no luck! I would like to give the whole boat and motor a paint job. This

I use this boat right now for just fishing but in the future, if things work out, probably would use it for other water sports. It does really move across the water with the 140.

Now to my questions....

What do you think my boat would be worth currently...

What do you think my route going forward should be if I decide to fix her up.

Thanks for your advice, thanks for reading and thanks for the tons of information on this site!

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

Hey CR --- Welcome man!! and nice rig!

If you like your rig then it is likely going to be waaaaaay cheaper to fix it up and keep it then to sell and buy an equivalent newer or new rig. It also gives you the opportunity to customize the boat to your liking if you go down the rebuild route. If that isn't your cup of tea, then the other route is the only option.

My vote for what it's worth would be to keep it and re-build it! Make it your custom rig!

Jim

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

Great looking SS CR, she must scoot along pretty good with the 140 on the back. Thae values of these old girls varies wildly by where you are in the country, If you are in the north west or Canada they go for considerably more than in the midwest or Florida. As Jim said above, they are fun and easy to rebuild, custom to your needs for a lot less than a new one.
And welcome to the Starmada.

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

Welcome to the club CR! Nice looking SS,

X2 what dozer said, & i'll add, all my toys are worth more to me than what I can replace them for!!!

I tried to buy a new Pro-guide 175F/S From BPS last year, SURE AM GLAD that didn't happen(they wouldn't budge on price)I ended up with the invader in my sig & the 18SS that I'm rebuilding, I'll prolly end up somewhere around 2500-3k invested for virtually the same thing & paid for!!!

QUESTION: How does that 140 do on yours, I have a 150 johnson on my invader that I love & am debating on putting it on the SS?

Good luck on your decision, If that was mine, I'd keep & restore/rebuild. Don't know what part of the country ur in, but here in Tx a SC of anykind is hard to come by....

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

Thanks guys for the replies.

I am definitely leaning towards the rebuild aspect of this. The process seems a little overwhelming but I think it would be fun. I am a little worried I wont be water ready for this spring since I am getting a late start on this project but I guess I just need to roll the dice to see what happens.

My 140 moves the boat great. It loves to run at about 35rpm. I did get it up to about 45mph racing a storm back into the dock and my fishing partner is about 350lbs!! That is probably why I have the soft spots! I would not think twice about switching motors to the 150.

Question: Was is orginal to have carpet on the bow and gunrails or do you think that was someone else "upgrade"?

Thanks again for the help. I am sure I will be leaning on you guys a little as we get going!

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

CaptainRev said:

Thanks guys for the replies.

I am definitely leaning towards the rebuild aspect of this. The process seems a little overwhelming but I think it would be fun. I am a little worried I wont be water ready for this spring since I am getting a late start on this project but I guess I just need to roll the dice to see what happens.

My 140 moves the boat great. It loves to run at about 35rpm. I did get it up to about 45mph racing a storm back into the dock and my fishing partner is about 350lbs!! That is probably why I have the soft spots! I would not think twice about switching motors to the 150.

Question: Was is orginal to have carpet on the bow and gunrails or do you think that was someone else "upgrade"?

Thanks again for the help. I am sure I will be leaning on you guys a little as we get going!

Click to expand...

This is my 1st SS, but I've looked at alot of SS's all over, yours is the 1st 1 I've seen with carpet on the gunnels??? Some of the other guys can prolly give better info tho...

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

That's a great looking Starcraft Rev, she's sweet

Welcome to iboats man

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

CaptainRev said:

Thanks guys for the replies.

I am definitely leaning towards the rebuild aspect of this. The process seems a little overwhelming but I think it would be fun. I am a little worried I wont be water ready for this spring since I am getting a late start on this project but I guess I just need to roll the dice to see what happens.

My 140 moves the boat great. It loves to run at about 35rpm. I did get it up to about 45mph racing a storm back into the dock and my fishing partner is about 350lbs!! That is probably why I have the soft spots! I would not think twice about switching motors to the 150.

Question: Was is orginal to have carpet on the bow and gunrails or do you think that was someone else "upgrade"?

Thanks again for the help. I am sure I will be leaning on you guys a little as we get going!

Click to expand...

Hey CR, that was factory carpet on the gunwalls and bow deck, my 84SS and the Naked lady both had it. It doesn't look to bad till it gets sun faded and then add a few years of stains from fish blood and guts.:facepalm:

Re: 1988 Starcraft 18'

Dozer-

Thanks for the info. I was kind of curious about that.

We are going to start pulling the deck up next week sometime and see what this girl looks like below.

Question: Has anyone replaced the wood floor with Aluminum instead? Will new flooring adhesive bond to the aluminum?
I know that it is pricey but my Dad has a sheet metal shop and can get it laser cut. I am wood guy and that is what I am most comfortable with.