Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Coldstream · Sep 11, 2013

I have been following the Starcraft Chieftain threads and really had no idea of the large following out there. I bought a 1973 Chieftain 18 in the spring. Made the deal at $1500 but before I could pick it up, the owner phoned to say that she couldn't sell it to me for that. How did I feel about paying $1000? Of course, I agreed.

Oh yeah, it has a 140 I/O with Ford power.

jimdgreat1 · Sep 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Awesome. I'm still looking. Offered I guy here $1500 for a lonestar cabin boat and pissed him off! He wants twice that!
Great score!

ricohman · Sep 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Nice find!
I am still looking for my Chieftain or Islander project. One of these days I will find one.

Coldstream · Sep 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Yeah & goodluck. Now that I have one, I am seeing them around though not for sale here.
Took the floor out to see what's what and got rid of the crappy beadboard flotation. Bilge looks good although dirty.

GA_Boater · Sep 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Since you paid too much, maybe one of the guys will take it off your hands for $750.

She looks good and solid. Good find, Coldstream. Are you sure that's a Ford motor? It looks very Chevy to me.

dozerII · Sep 12, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

GA_Boater said:
Since you paid too much, maybe one of the guys will take it off your hands for $750.

She looks good and solid. Good find, Coldstream. Are you sure that's a Ford motor? It looks very Chevy to me.

Great looking Chief, I agree with GA, that's a 2.5 or 3 liter GM.

Coldstream · Sep 12, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Thanks for that gents. I hadn't had a close look at the power, just going by the seller's information. Everything turned over so I haven't been paying attention to the power until I take things apart.

bakerjw · Sep 12, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

You guys and your tin boats. How are you ever going to itch working with those?

Coldstream · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Well, the stern deck is off and there is about an inch and a half of rot at the top of the transom. The rest is pretty solid. Unless I run into soft spots when I start working on the outdrive, I think that I will just cut the rot out and replace it with mahogany. I thought that I would make the whole rear deck into an opening hatch so that mechanical maintenance could be a little easier. Are there pros and cons about having the deck removable?

jasoutside · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Coldstream said:
I think that I will just cut the rot out and replace it with mahogany.

Nah man, don't bother. Just go ahead and replace the whole thing with new plywood. It'll be just about the same amount of work but with way higher quality results.

Are there pros and cons about having the deck removable?

Sure! Pros would be the ability to work on sub deck rigging if/when need be. Cons would be unnecessary build process along with irrelevant hinges/seams n' such if you never need to get under there. I suppose you'd just need to figure out what's most important to ya.

Welcome to the iboats drydock, Starcraft division:welcome:

GA_Boater · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

bakerjw said:
You guys and your tin boats. How are you ever going to itch working with those?

We Itch. We itch to get more of them so youse guys can keep itchin' on glassers.

Cold - I'm right with Jason on the transom. What sounds like an easy fix is usually only a band-aid. If you have rot on top, there is a good chance there is more you can't see. The transom is one place that needs to be solid, it carries the the weight of the motor and outdrive.

Weep'n Willy · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Nice score on the Chief. I too agree on the transom replacement, not a place to just skimp by. Do it once and do it right and you will never have to worry about it again. Good luck with your project.

jigngrub · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

The rot at the top of the transom that you can see is just a small fraction of the overall rot. The side of the transom that is up against the hull that you can't see has trapped water between the hull and the wood and there will be a much larger area of rot when you remove it and look at the backside of the transom.

For the removable deck you don't have to make hatches or use hinges, just put your deck finish (carpet, vinyl, or a paint product) and then screw or rivet it down to the framing, if you need to get back down below deck all you have to do is take out a few screws or drill out some rivets and you can lift your decking without tearing up your carpet or what have you.

I wrapped my decking in vinyl and then fastened it down in my Tracker so I can remove it without tearing up my vinyl job, the thread is here if you want to take a look.
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ir/97-tracker-pro-deep-v-facelift-509163.html

Coldstream · Sep 20, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Yeh, I knew I was just fooling myself into trying to get away easier. Deep down the right thing is to redo the transom. Thanks for the support, gents.
Really nice decks Talladega.

Coldstream · Dec 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Still "just about ready" to pull the motor but holiday craziness got in the way. I just wanted to wish you all
A Merry Christmas.

SigSaurP229 · Dec 11, 2013

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

bakerjw said:
You guys and your tin boats. How are you ever going to itch working with those?

believe me rotten wood and filth itches

Coldstream · Jan 1, 2014

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

Happy New Year, tin boaters.

Watermann · Jan 1, 2014

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

A new year and a fresh start on boat rebuilding!

Coldstream · Jan 2, 2014

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

I forgot to cover my Aldura 11 properly for winter. You know how you wait for one more day of fishing. Anyway, today was winter storage day, so I thought I would pass on photos of a boat that not many have seen. All aluminum, 8 watertight compartments, 11 footer will take 20 horses and the 13 footer takes 40 horses.

Watermann · Jan 2, 2014

Re: Freshwater '73 Chieftain

That is one crazy looking boat! Looks unsinkable too.

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