Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

Hello all. First time boat owner here. 22 years old and I finally have my own rig to striper fish on the Hudson River. It's taken awhile to get the ball rolling but I'm getting there. I bought the boat with a 1984 70hp Evinrude for $800 w/ trailer. The previous owner had the transom caulked all over the place and it was bowing pretty bad. But, for $800, I figured it'd be awesome to purchase my first boat and learn a lot through fixing it up. A lot of the work I've been doing is out of order because I didn't plan on replacing everything. But once I replaced a few things I just had to keep restoring everything. As you can see in the pictures, I redid the carpet in the bow seating and the sliding doors in the back, - they aren't screwed into place I just put them there for pictures. The ugly blue carpet is still there in the pics - I have removed it, removed the deck, and just recently cut a new deck, epoxied it and will be screwing it down and putting new navy carpet in. One question for anyone... what kind of styrofoam have you used under the deck? Pour in or closed from lowes/home depot? I think I will be fine with the stuff from lowes, but I'm wondering whether or not to put it in certain places where there is drainage. I know the closed seal stuff won't retain too much water but i'd rather have any water that does get inside the boat flow nicely out and not be blocked by styrofoam.

Will update through the week as I continue to make big strides :joyous:

Re: Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

I previously bought some white styrofoam from lowes that was pretty cheap, but then after doing research I realized it may not be good. But it says "highly moisture resistant". The original foam in my boat looks the same. I'm wondering if they used cheap styrofoam to fulfill requirements, but obviously my concern is proper floatation. here are more pics

Re: Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

hey neighbor, i boat the hudson all year long!! did you seal the new wood in the transom??? I used two layers, drilled all the holes and removed and sealed with about 4 coats of valspar , then I glued the sheets together and resealed again.... i think it important to seal inside the drilled holed , because if water will try to intrude those holes will be a possible spot....

I think the mixed pour in foam does absorb water, especially if the outer skin gets damaged.. that blue 2" thick foam board at lowes and home depot is good stuff.. you can cut it to fit in between the ribs and water should still drain fine... I made sure i cleaned and cleared out the openings under the bttom of the ribs down the cnter so water could flow easily..

have you puled the floor? are you planning on pulling the floor?

i have two starcrafts a 1982 stripped ss180 and a 21 or 22 ft islander( not sure of the proper measurement)

bob

Re: Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

Hi Bob. Where at on the Hudson? Saugerties here. I used two 3/4 inch quality exterior plywood for the transom, sealed them with Evercoat epoxy > glued, then resealed. New transom is very sturdy and sealed tight. I didn't seal the holes actually where the screws are for the engine mount. That's a good point, eventually I will be repainting the back of the boat so when I do that I will remove engine and seal. I didn't seal the holes for the drain plugs, but I glued the fittings for the plugs in well and I'd imagine the fitting + glue will be a good sealant. I pulled the floor and old styrofroam already, the styrofoam isn't waterlogged and I will salvage a few pieces because they are already cut to fit nicely. I recently cut the new floor out of plywood and sealed with 4:1 epoxy from Us Composites because that one cured in this frigid weather unlike the Evercoat one that I had which wouldn't. Once I'm done with the styrofoam my next step is to screw the floor in, apply the new carpet and start assembling my new bow seating and cockpit seating. I took the styrofoam that I already bought from Lowes and submerged it in a tub of water with a weight on top, I will wait a few days to see how much (if any) water it retains. If it's good I'll go with it, otherwise I'll just spend the money and find something better.

Re: Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

I dont live on the hudson....I trailer my boat there, from havestraw up to the catskills , but mostly in newburg or kingston

going to be chasing stripers again this season.....

bob

Re: Restoring a 1976 Starcraft

Welcome to the forum, Starcraft division, bradley. The foam sheets to use are extruded foam, either blue or pink stuff. It's the panels used for insulation and many of us have used it. It's rigid so it sits on top of the ribs to allow water to flow to bilge. Good luck on the SS resto and keep us filled in on your progress.