1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

:grumpy: It has been a bit since me and my 80 year old father have been out in the boat on a fishing trip. thought i would get the old islander running and in the water for a small fishing trip this year. After dropping it in the water i quickly realized that the sound of running water was from a very badly rotted transom. So much for the fishing trip and hello father and son boat repair extravaganza..... Here are a few picts of what we will be getting into over the next couple months... I just want to get'er done!....

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project Cont'd.....

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project Cont'd.....

More Picts...

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Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project Cont'd.....

Here is where they get ugly...

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

As the pictures show, the boat is probably overdue for some TLC. Guy we got it from years ago already had the thing Jerry Rigged to the max. Now after a couple of Michigan winters sitting, the rot has started. The good thing is that this aluminum hull boat probably could not be any more square and easy to work on it appears. the motor and outdrive are internally perfect and almost in factory condition. Even know it rarely has seen water, I have rolled the engine over at least 3 times a year to make a little oil pressure and keep the sitting parts in different resting locations such as the camshaft and lobes. The inside of the outdrive is pristine and is mechanically also in perfect condition. I still change the fluid every year and backwash the pump with seal softner (for impeller and seals).

Now,.... the rest of the boat needs to come apart. I already yanked the engine and pulled the outdrive last weekend, getting ready to pop the floor out and make quick work of the transom wood as well. I am hoping to keep it in one piece for a template as long as the periphery of the wood transom has not bloated and skewed itself out of shape a bit. Any suggestions before i take on the transom project such as materials and bumps in the path.........? It looks like I have found the right forum of specialists here that have a treasure chest of good experience and advice...

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Use a good exterior grade, made w/ waterproof glue plywood:

Auraco ply (Jas & others get it at Menards)

MDO (medium density overlay, not the carp knock-down furniture is made of (MDF))

ACX (exterior grade good 1 face)

Underlayment

BCX


A good waterproof glue to laminate the 2 sheets together: TiteBond3, Gorilla, epoxy, PL (& others)


What outdrive & motor? Same original OMC Jas HAD in his Islander (the other thread you posted in)?

Jas' & other SC threads should be a good road map for you to follow. Lots of good info in every one:
Starcraft Rebuilds and Restorations, they're all here!

Welcome to the iboats dry dock, tin division

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Here are some picts of our latest developments on the Islander:

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,... That looks alot like My '74 Islander looked like a few weeks after I bought it in '98,...

Not nearly as Pretty, once I dug in pass the pretty, 'n saw her bones... or lack there of,...

I thought it's a pretty easy hull to go through,.....
I did the cabin bulkheads in aluminum, rather than more wood or masonite,...

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Just got back home from working on the transom. Nearly to the point of getting her back in the boat and getting the engine and outdrive back in place. I just need to DA the back of the boat and get her prepped for a single coat of paint before dropping the transom in and attaching the gimble housing. Here is a video of the transom progress thus far. If anyone has any questions please drop me a line or a reply...

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Nice work! You'll be back on the water in no time!

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Was there any pitting on the inside of the transom hull metal? This is pretty common and should be addressed by skimming it with an epoxy metal filler.

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

jigngrub said:

Was there any pitting on the inside of the transom hull metal? This is pretty common and should be addressed by skimming it with an epoxy metal filler.

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I assume you are talking about the common pitts accompanied by crusty like white deposits on the aluminum. I have not seen any to speak of and it is pretty clean minus the skin of old factory adhesive still stuck to it a bit. I am not sure of the "T" rating or the magnesium content of the aluminum Starcraft used but it appears to be really resiliant for this particular hull. I have seen some Starcraft hulls in the past with the white deposit pitting and it is more than likely due to lesser grade aluminum. I feel fortunate here to get a project that needs a complete restore but has a lot of hidden quality to work with at this point. I used to work as a prototype Tool & Die engineer and a machinist for years so I am fortunate enough to have very good material senses for the most part. I have looked at this particular Starcraft compared to many other manufacturers I have worked on in the past and am impresses about the quality of the parts and material they use. Take the bolts and screws for instance. All of them are stainless and still shine like the day they were new. They are most likely close to a 400 series of stainless that has been used on their boats which is more costly than your standard run of the mill hardware 300 series stainless. Most of the boats that have 304 and 308 stainless screws still start to corrode over time and pit but they are much cheaper for manufacturing purposes. Out of all the boats I have had over the years, I have only 2 that are still seaworthy after almost no maintenance. Both of them are Starcraft, one is a 1973 16' bass boat and the other is this Islander.

I was however looking for an alternative to the 3m 5200 adhesive that may be more cost effective. I have a business rep I work with at LocTite that I contacted this week about the issue and he is sending me some samples of some marine adhesive they produce for commercial industrial use that it looks like I can get for around 8 bucks for a 10oz tube instead of the 13 I pay now for the 5200.. Ill keep everyone posted about it after I get it in my hands.

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Window Trim Seals:

I am having a bit of a hard tom identifying the type and style of window trim seals used on the cuddy windows. I have to pull all the glass and replace it with new seals but am having a hard time finding a company that has the window seal I am needing. Not too much specific information on the web that I have found so far and was hoping someone here with experience could point this "skipper" in the right direction.....

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

xtrememuckruck said:

I assume you are talking about the common pitts accompanied by crusty like white deposits on the aluminum. I have not seen any to speak of and it is pretty clean minus the skin of old factory adhesive still stuck to it a bit. I am not sure of the "T" rating or the magnesium content of the aluminum Starcraft used but it appears to be really resiliant for this particular hull. I have seen some Starcraft hulls in the past with the white deposit pitting and it is more than likely due to lesser grade aluminum.

Click to expand...

It's actually caused by galvanic corrosion, when water becomes trapped between the wood and hull metal the oxygen depletes from the water and it becomes acidic and pits and corrodes the inside of the transom.

This occurs under extremely wet conditions when the boat is neglected and constantly exposed to the elements and never has time to dry out.

Since your boat doesn't have this the top of your transom was probably sealed fairly well and the rot occured from another entry point.

Will you be replacing the decking, or reusing the old decking?

Have you considered installing floatation foam?

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

You are very correct! The water entry point was around the gimble plate due to loose mounting bolts over time. As for the decking it is getting all replaced as well as the bulk head. I have decided to do an entire overhaul and partial custom build that brings many new updated and features we tend to expect from new boats such as wiring, electronics and new dash & gauge cluster. Part of the reason for the entire rebuild is for my dad that is 80. It has been quite a long time since we have gone on a fishing trip together and our father son time together we have always spent revolves around rebuilding something in the garage. It consists of me doing a ton of physical work while me and my dad argue and point fun at each others mistakes. I have to admit, we both love it! This boat project has given us a great reason to do another project and gives us a goal of getting this thing in the water to fish the hell out of it in style. For me, I cannot think of a better way to make memories..

I have been following a post on the forum from Jasoutdoors about his 1976 Islander that is similar in many respects. I must admit that the community in here is sooooooo helpful and full of good insight and information it can be considered priceless!!

You made the comment earlier about using a filler for any pitting if I find any. I have some 2-part Alumi-Fill but never used it in a marine arena. My thought process is centered around all of the screw holes I need to fill and sand down from tons of bolt-on accessories that will not be going back on the boat along with many holes from male snaps from an old cover. Is there a tried and true product that people have been using for this type of application?

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

xtrememuckruck said:

You made the comment earlier about using a filler for any pitting if I find any. I have some 2-part Alumi-Fill but never used it in a marine arena. My thought process is centered around all of the screw holes I need to fill and sand down from tons of bolt-on accessories that will not be going back on the boat along with many holes from male snaps from an old cover. Is there a tried and true product that people have been using for this type of application?

Click to expand...

There's a couple of different methods for dealing with with unwanted holes in an aluminum boat.

For an epoxy type filler I personally like loc-tite Marine Epoxy:
Loctite 0.85 fl. oz. Marine Epoxy-1405604 at The Home Depot

Another method is to use closed end blind rivets, this is especially handy in the hull section of the boat. It's quick and easy, and these rivets are strong and vapor and waterproof:
1989 Sylvan Boat Rebuild Part 4 - YouTube

When installed in the hull they just look like another rivet and you don't have to mess with any sanding. They also work well for replacing leaking rivets below the waterline.

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

I managed to get the transom installed today. I was going to hold off until my primer and paint came into today but as expected, the marine store called and said it wont be until next week sometime. Not really a big issue but I will just have to do a few things in a different order than planned. I had intended to prep the back of the boat with at least a single coat of paint and mounting the gimble housing during the transom install. Oh well,...lol... I just had to go digging for some screws to use temporary and some clamps to get it held in place until the adhesive sets up. Here are a few picts of todays progress...

After the picts were taken, I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up the inside where there was dripping adhesive.. Still wearing quite a bit on my fingers....

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

xtrememuckruck said:

Jasoutdoors about his 1976 Islander

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That cat is so wierd:facepalm:

Hey, your last few photos there, Imah scratching my head a little. Did you laminate your transom to the alum skin?

Looking forward to your project:thumb:

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

^^^ Yep. Wondering just the same as

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

I use a special adhesive that bonds well with aluminum and wood on the inner skin in a few key areas before I slid the transom in. The rear skin is a bit warped and after a few dry runs making sure everything fit good it appeared that the skin would no longer sit well against the new wood as it would have from the factory. I have done tons or reading on the subject and some like to stick it and others do not recommend it for various reasons. After all my research I realized that I was no colser to forming a solid opinion about it that I was when I started. LOLZ. Living here in Michigan as you do Jasoutside, we have some good boat professionals around. I do some personal business with RBH (Recreational Boat Holdings) in Cadillac which are the makers of the Glasstron, WellCarft and 4Winns. I made a few calls trying to pull a personal favor and after a small road trip yesterday, I cane hime with a quart of adhesive that one of the engineers recommended to use for my application. As you can see all of my over-the-top clamping in the pictures, the big wood framed clamp on the back is holding in some of the warped areas of concern. I hope it was the correct choice to make in the long run. I must say that it has worked very good that I can tell. I just got home tonight a few minutes ago after removing all of the clamping and all looks flat as the plains of Kansas.. My foremost concern was the trapping of any water that got between the plywood but I went with the recommendation from the guys at RBH and went with it.....

May I ask what was the process you went with on your transom replacement on your 1976? Was your outer skin warped badly too?

Re: 1978 Starcraft Islander project.....

Last post UPDATE. As the adhesive I used for bonding my warped skin securely back to the new transom core had no label, I called my friend at the boat company and asked exactly what the compound was that they gave me. He said it was a special Polysulfide compound adhesive that they use for this issue in general. It is supposed to repel all moisture while acting as a tough bonding agent. It still allows for easy unbonding of the surfaces in the event any service may require the core to be removed at a later date (I hope I never see the day that may have to happen)lol.. I hope this helps answer both the questions.. I am also still on the learning curve here.