First boat 1960s DeepV project

Well after scouring Craigslist with no luck for months I decided to post a wanted add. A few hours later a guy emails me about this old 16 footer. $250 with the trailer. Trailer has new tires and bearing buddys. I am picking it up Saturday and the project will be in full swing. Anyone recognize any features that could give away the manufacturer? I figured this would be the perfect boat for me and my boys to fix up and get them out fishing. Mother Nature has not been friendly or it would already be here at the house. I plan to open up the floor plan and make a layout that will be comfortable for me and the kids but also me and a guest out trolling. Let me know what you guys think and any suggestions you may have. Thanks for looking.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Well the 1st thing that I noticed was there appears to be no registration numbers on it which then begs the question, does the seller have a title or resistration for it? If not depending on where you are could pose a real headache. It also looks new enough that there should be a HID number on the outside of the transom. That would help in ID'ing the boat.

Second thing I noticed is that it looks as if the middle bench seat has been removed. Then the question becomes was that seat structural to the hull?

With those things said and there is no trouble with the registration for you then I think you found a bargin.

Also, welcome to the forum, read, learn, ask questions and enjoy!

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

The seller does have the title. He use the boat 3 of the last 4 years. He was in the process of fixing things up last year when he unexpectedly stumbled across an upgrade and he hasn't done anything since the tires and bearings on the trailer. I definitely noticed that about the center bench. I have no plans on replacing the center bench but definitely will get some type of support in there for the side of the hull. New brackets of some sort. I am not sure yet if the remaining 2 benches have flotation in them but I will make sure they do before I put it on the water. I am leaning towards a Lund Outfitter type layout for this one. I will attach a pic of a cheesy MS Paint diagram I came up with to give you guys a general idea. I will know more about make and model tomorrow about noon but its driving me nuts in the meantime. Thanks for looking and I look forward to some feedback and advice.

Diagram of layout:
Yellow - storage
Red - fuel tank storage (possible 12 gallon permanent install)
Orange - battery storage
Light blue - aerated bait well
Brown - access to pumps
Green - seat bases
Purple - tiller console area

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

W/ the diamond bow plate & rivets it appears to be a 16' Starcraft or one of the derivatives: Sylvan, BlueFin (correct?) & etc..........

If the paperwork is in order or you're in a title-less state for boats, it's not too shabby, and if you're not too worried about looks, it will be an quick & easy process to get it water ready. I'd probably test it for leaks before I did anything else once you get it home. Either a float test w/ several hundred pounds of weight onboard to simulate having a couple guys, gear, motor, battery, etc etc... Or slowly fill it with water up to the waterline. But if you fill it w/ water you need to make sure it's well placed on & well supported by the trailer. And watch for signs of the weight causing stress to the hull. The leak test will help determine if you NEED to remove the multiple coats of paint on the interior & address any problems. Leaking rivets can be re-bucked, replaced w/ stainless bolts & nuts or removed & replaced w/ a new blind rivet.

Do NOT use pressure treated plywood when you replace the tops of those benches or new transom wood. It reacts w/ water & your aluminum hull & corrodes it quickly.

Spend some time reading thru the threads here:
[h=3] Starcraft Rebuilds and Restorations, they're all here!
[/h]

If it is a Starcraft, you may find some visual clues once you get it home to compare it to the info here:
[h=3]Starcraft brochures[/h]

The Starcraft owner's group forum is VERY active:
[h=2]Starcraft Boats[/h]
Welcome to iboats, tin division



Here's your Tin-sanity hat: :tinfoil3:

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

BrettSass844 said:

Diagram of layout:
Yellow - storage
Red - fuel tank storage (possible 12 gallon permanent install)
Orange - battery storage
Light blue - aerated bait well
Brown - access to pumps
Green - seat bases
Purple - tiller console area

Click to expand...

Use photobucket (free acct) & under each pix is a list of image codes, copy the text in the box next to IMG code, it looks something like this:
IMG]http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/rhPlU_zps27ad8dcc.jpg[/IMG

Puts your pix IN your post instead of as attachments that need to be opened to be viewed:

Great news on the title........ Pix when you get it hooked up (since you're using an iphone) or at least when you get it home.............

W/ the iphone the photobucket thing may be troublesome, some forum options are difficult to use from my smarter-then-me-phone, but will work great via a computer.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Thanks for the photobucket tip. I can text pics from my phone to my acct and upload them that way. I will snap some pics hooked up to the truck then some detailed pics of the boat on Saturday. Thanks guys. This is going to be one fun project.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

The confusing part of trying to ID this boat is the plate on the front of the bow that the eye is attached to and also the small lip that runs along the bottom of the seats on the inside of the hull. Can't seem to find anything else that matched. I will find out tomorrow but in the meantime it's killing me.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

The structure / support of the gunwale will definitely need to improved.

Doesn't look like a Starcraft to me. Although it does have the Lapstruck sides. No splash rail. The back end caps looked to be formed alum.

The seat construction is one of the easier ways to ID boats. You can look around on Fiberglassics library.

Classic Boat Library

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Found out it was manufactured by a company called Traveler. Not sure if this is good or bad. Thoughts and opinions welcomed please.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

This should be of some interest...

Arkansas traveler - Classic Boat Library

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Thank you. Well after further research it was Arkansas Traveler which I am sure most of you already knew. Not sure this model is listed on that page though. It is just under 16' and is 60" wide at transom. Possibly a 1968-1969. I will have to do more digging as this sparks an interest in the company and availability of decals for the boat. Anyone have any info on the stability and quality of these old boats?

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Picked her up today and got some pics. Here is the link to the album

Boat Photos by brettsass844 | Photobucket

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Link doesn't seem to want to work for me. Love to see the pics.

Working now in the AM

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Looks like a nice blank page to build from, the foam was a nice touch, not sure if it would work but it's better than nothing. What kind of Powe are you thinking for that fishing machine?

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

The guy I got it from said he had a 9.9 on it and it would push him and his buddy fine. I was thinking about a 20 or 25. Here are better pics of a few problem areas I have to address first.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Gotta love non-stainless hardware stickin' outta the side of a boat!

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Yea I thought that was a bit ignorant to say the least. I drilled out several 1/4" rivets and have a couple spots well above the waterline I will need to get filled. Any idea what the best hardware to use would be? I was trying to find something that had a low profile on the inside of the hull to prevent snagging and such.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

If a small aluminum patch panel would cover all the holes in 1 go, prep the surface, thru drill the patch for closed end rivets & use 5200 to 'glue' patch to the hull and then thru rivet to the hull.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Stainless 1/4 / 20 truss head would work. Sealant, SS washer and SS nut on the inside. You could also use SS Acorn nuts if you wanted a rounded head on the inside.

Other option would be to get some big closed head rivets, don't know how big they make them.

Re: First boat 1960s DeepV project

Will definitely go with the acorn nuts. Also I have a question about a small baitwell. I have access to some 10" PVC at work. So I was thinking a 12-15" piece of that with a cap on the bottom and drainage through the center of the cap. A small hole for an aerator line (the air line and air stone type). Thoughts on how that would work for say a couple dozen minnows? If it was hot out I could toss a couple ice cubes in there once an hour or so and I could freshen up the water by allowing a little to drain and replacing it with a small container of lake water. Obviously this would keep me from drilling more holes and adding a pump just for a baitwell. I would have to take care of some sort of seal on the top but that's not an issue really. I would assume 2-3 dozen minnows could survive quite some time in a gallon to gallon and a half of well oxygenated water.