Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)
Back again with an update and a slew of questions.
First some pictures of the swim platform:
It's in pretty good shape considering it's probably +30 years old. It definitely needs to be oiled as it looks like its been neglected a few years but the wood is very solid and in great shape throughout. It came with the swim ladder and four of the eight mounts for attaching it to the boat. I'll need to build up some small 90? stainless brackets, luckily I have a small sheet of 10ga in the shop that should work perfect.
I think I'll be waiting to mount it until after I've had the boat in the water and drawn a good water line to work off of. So this most likely means I'll be waiting until Spring. Although with the new deck and cuddy wall in place I'm quickly approaching the stage where I could drop a gas tank back in and go for a "motivational" cruise down the canal.
Now for the slew of questions.
First I need some advice on seats. I'm having the cushions in the cuddy refurbished with new bottom fabric and one new zipper, they're otherwise in good shape and will be reused. The two main seats however are in a bit rougher shape, they have torn upholstery, soft wood frames, etc, etc. I don't think they'll be worth refurbishing and I'm looking to replace with new. What are some good budget conscious seats I should be looking at? I'd like to stay as close to the original style as possible. I'm willing to pay for quality but cannot justify ~$300 a seat, $300 for the pair is doable.
Same question for the jump seats on either side of the doghouse/engine cover.
Now on to some electrical questions.
First, where do you recommend shopping for marine electrical? A quick list of what I'm looking for:
Dual battery setup with a way to isolate the starting battery and the accessory battery so I won't get stuck on the lake because I was listening to the radio all day, I want the alternator to charge both batteries.
Interior lighting, I want to setup the boat with lights in the upholstered sides so I can see what I'm doing later in the evening or for the times I'm spending a weekend on the boat. Ideally I'd like LED for reliability/efficiency but will look at all options. I also want to replace the two overhead lights in the cuddy as one is beyond repair and the other is in pretty rough condition.
A radio/stereo system. AM/FM and an auxiliary input are all I need. I'll be doing some research in this area but welcome any suggestions. I'm somewhat of an audiophile so I want what I install to sound reasonably good (keeping in mind it is a tin boat and not a concert hall of course). I've had good luck with JBL gear at home but have no idea how their marine gear (speakers) stack up, I'll be doing some research. Again, I want to do this on a budget, but if $400 is really $300 better than $100 I'll consider it. I'm hoping to spend $2-300.
(2) 12v accessory plugs on or near the dash, for phone chargers, portable lights, dancing Santa Claus, whatever...
Like these:
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=71714&pdesc=12V_Outlet&aID=601S6&merchID=4006
Whatever fuse box(es) I'll need to make this all work safely. Ideally I'd like something that could be mounted into the cuddy wall opposite the dashboard so I would have easy access to the fuses from within the cuddy and have all my wires going into the area behind the dash where they could then be run wherever they need to go. I'd like +10 separate fuses so I'll be able to keep navigation and interior lights separate, and have plenty of space for accessory plugs, the radio, GPS, and whatever else I may add in the future.
Maybe this seems a tad overkill for a little tin boat but I'm a firm believer in doing it right the first time so I don't go back to do a major revamp after a year.
Any and all advice is appreciated!