Another Maine Starchief

[oldhaven]

Thanks for the help CW and Watermann. I was wondering if I would have to pull the inside gunwale rub rail to get at the top rivets for the splash well. There is a definite order to deconstruction that I was hoping to follow. Now I've got a clue. I just got it all home from up North, so will be posting pictures this afternoon now that I am back on cable modem. Interesting trip as I noticed people slowing down in the passing lane on I-95, pointing and smileing. Probably due to the Tobacco Road look of the boat right now. I lost one of the Perko chrome vent covers off the gunwale on the trip, but no other casualties.

Later,

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

Finally home from near Moosehead Lake with the Starchief. Here are a few pictures i took when I had it there. More to come

 

[oldhaven]

A few more

 

[oldhaven]

Now the story. The boat is a 1967 Starchief. The burgundy paint has been stripped from the sides and front deck and gunwales. Yeah...sigh of relief. The black vinyl landau top material is gone and only one cabin side is painted???? the floors are usable but punky at the rear, and the transom would probably last a year or two with the 50 that was there, but is bad enough I would not trust it with anything larger, like the 90 or 115 I would like to add. The cabin bulkhead is starting to get bad at the bottom. I can see expanded white styrofoam flotation under the bow seat, so that has not been changed, but the floors may have been done once before, then carpeted and that was not a good idea. the glass in the windshield is foggy at the edges, and one pane is cracked, so replacement necessary, as will be the plexi, which is cloudy and crazing. the bottom looks OK but will need to be looked at. I don't see too many paint coats from original. there are MANY replacement ferrous fasteners added, but no serious corrosion from that and I am not sure this boat has ever seen saltwater, despite being here close to the Gulf of Maine. The trailer is good and galvanized and it has a two speed winch, but I need to add a bow roller and probably move the winch tower a bit when the motors are on. the wheels, tires and hubs need looking at and I am glad I got it here today without bad things happening.

My wife is excited about getting it done, despite her earlier misgivings when she saw the pictures. She sees the potential, and it didn't hurt when she saw what some of you had done with boats in this shape or worse. My plan is to get as much off the boat as I can before bad weather, and work on things down cellar during the cold months, leaving the big outdoor stuff for next black fly season. another good thing is that if fits in my post and beam barn even with the upper windscreen, but I can use it occasionally to suspend or tip for working on it, or to get out of the weather if I behave and ask nicely to keep the cars out for a few days.

I am psyched.

Later,

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

By the way, this is not my first big aluminum boat. I was executive officer and later CO of USS Chehalis, PG94, back in the early 70's. 165 feet, 275 tons with an aluminum hull. It ran on diesels for 12 knotscruise, but also had a gas turbine that allowed it to run 37+ knots. (@1200 gal/hour) that was fun.

later,

Ron

 

[laurentide]

Looks like you've got your work cut out for you, skipper. The starmada collective should be able to answer any questions you may have as you progress...if you read my project thread then you know it even applies to stupid ones and over thinking :lol:.

May I ask if you boat in the salt at all in Maine? I'm considering a possible move to the southern coast (Saco river area probably) and am curious about the boating/fishing opportunities if I relocate my 18' Chieftain (which would be trailered to a freshwater ramp and maybe used inshore on the coast). I've noticed a lot of small, open tin boats near the ocean there. Sorry to get off-topic, and thanks.

 

[oldhaven]

Your project was one of the ones that got me interested in a Starchief, and as you can see from my pictures, I realize this is a well traveled path. Thanks for being a pioneer.

You should read " The Outboard Boater's Handbook" by David Getchell. He did a journey up the coast of Labrador in an 18 foot aluminum Lund S-18 and considers it the ideal small boat for coastal exploration. I spent some time in a 18 ft. Lund as an island monitor under his tutelage on the Maine Island Trail, and that was what got me interested in bigger Starcraft. I was looking for something that was not so spartan but still light enough to poke in around some interesting places in shallow water. These semi-small aluminum basic boats are very capable of handling 4 footers and stand up to salt water for a long time. I am more interested in the big lakes and rivers now, but want to get into doing some striper and bluefish in the tidal Kennebec so this Starchief seems like a good big small boat I can do most of what I want with, plus it offers a place out of the spray for my wife and two dogs. Mid coast Maine is a great area with lots of small boat opportunities, and there are some nice big lakes and fishing inland,so if you think about moving here, I don't think you will regret it.

Later,

Ron

 

[laurentide]

Ron, thanks very much for the detailed reply! I have family in Kennebunk, who in turn have access to a modern camp on Brassua lake near Moosehead. Sounds like I can go for salmon, trout and stripers all in a 5 hour range. I agree with you regarding the versatility of this particular boat. I also have two dogs who love the shade in the cabin, and you can get into less than a foot of water. I love mine and I believe you'll feel the same about yours. I've inadvertently tested the 4 foot sea claim...yep, they pop up like a plastic bobber!

Oh, and thanks for the book recommendation... Sounds like it's right up my alley!

Andy

 

[oldhaven]

The Getchell book is available used on Amazon. I really recommend it.

As with all boats, I think my Chief will be a compromise. The trade off of a cuddy in an 18 foot boat is poor bow access, and if I want to go ashore after beaching, or want to nose up to a hard place for landing, I will have to do some balancing or get wet. There is a bit too much sail area, and that could be a problem. Maybe a fold down upper windshield would be possible. Probably an open bow boat with a nice canvas dodger would have been more ideal. Still, I wanted a boat that would weigh less than 1500 pounds all up so I can trailer it, launch, dock and recover single handed, store in my yard, and take almost anywhere. I wanted an outboard boat for ease of maintenance, powering and re-powering. It had to be a modified V with a relatively soft chine for comfort. I went for an 18 foot boat instead of a 16 or 20 as the best compromise of weight and length required to bridge wave tops in a chop. It had to be a big little boat with lots of capacity in its short length. It had to be inexpensive to buy and something I could work on myself. Finally it had to be something with classic lines that was unusual enough to be the only one at a dock, and pretty enough to be proud of. That's a Starchief.

Later,

Ron

 

[Watermann]

She looks to be in great shape for a resto that is! :thumb:

You'll be complimented on your Chief every time you have her at the ramp, I get lots of comments and most are shocked that my Chief is getting on 50 years old.

You won't have much spray to worry about, I've been in some big wind whipped water and there wasn't a drop that hit me, just a tiny bit on the upper windshield.

 

[oldhaven]

Thanks Watermann, I knew what I was getting into from your project and others. I just did the first work on her, taking off the funky kicker mount that was blocking one of the splashwell drain holes and contributing to transom rot. Not that it matters much now, but it might help dry things out for removal.

BTW, what is that forward hatch good for? I guess just ventilation. I could probably struggle up through it but I don't intend to try. Someday I have to get my wife to put on a bridal gown, get a rented tux, and get a guy to hold a cake in the back and take a picture. That is one of the strangest things I've seen in a boat brochure. (Starcraft 1967). I can just see a cake face plant if the boat hit a wake.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/starcraftbrochures/3878939131/in/album-72157622210184948/

Ron

 

[laurentide]

The hatch IS good for ventilation...and that's it. You can get around the cabin walking on the gunwales, but I wouldn't do it by myself or in cold water. Some kind of strap on top of the Bimini/canvas would help a lot. Docking is no problem, but beaching may be interesting. An anchor buddy might be a good alternative to beaching (or a crazy expensive ipilot on the bow for spot lock instead of an anchor...see the last few pages of my thread. I love it but it wasn't cheap).

 

[oldhaven]

Yesterday's progress:

Trash well


Two layers of deck




After I took these pictures I also removed the internal rub rail and the transom cap and corners and began pulling the through hardware from the transom. I will leave the aft deck in until I get the splash well out, as was wisely suggested. I can now see how the splash well well comes out, and as CW suggested, one corner will need to be repaired. It looks better already. Apparently the somewhat crispy original floors were just painted burgundy red like the hull, with no other covering. Someone just covered it with 1/2 ply and carpet. The soaked 4x6 foot piece I took out must have weighed 80 pounds. The splash well makes a good dumpster.

It looks like the transom was pieced together with the upper port and stbd "ears" being separate from the lower main section. At least I can see a parting line. My pile of winter fixit parts is growing. I will probably leave the cabin bulkhead ply in for the winter to prevent any damage to the cabin roof if my tarp covering system fails under snow load.

 

[oldhaven]

"You can get around the cabin walking on the gunwales, but I wouldn't do it by myself or in cold water. Some kind of strap on top of the Bimini/canvas would help a lot. Docking is no problem, but beaching may be interesting. An anchor buddy might be a good alternative to beaching"

Another possibility for a hand hold is to extend the side rails forward then up and over above the upper windshield. I was not aware of The Anchor Buddy system. Very nice.

 

[Watermann]

Ah yeah the wonderful tear down phase where you discover all the wonders that a PO or two left as a surprise for you. the double decking over rotten ply is the typical doofus repair job. Probably used a bunch of steel deck screws to hold it down too.

Go easy loading up that splashwell with debris, they seem to be a bit fragile suffering stress damage when the boats are used rotten and you don't want to cause yourself any more repairs down the road.

 

[oldhaven]

Ah yeah the wonderful tear down phase where you discover all the wonders that a PO or two left as a surprise for you. the double decking over rotten ply is the typical doofus repair job. Probably used a bunch of steel deck screws to hold it down too.
Go easy loading up that splashwell with debris, they seem to be a bit fragile suffering stress damage when the boats are used rotten and you don't want to cause yourself any more repairs down the road.

Exactly right. Drywall screws, most of them galvanized, but not all, so I have lots of holes in the aluminum angle at the deck edges. the original (I think) floor is riveted. I am going after the splash well later today or tomorrow if I have time, if not it will be a week and a half until I can get back at it. The SW is empty now. I had not realized until now that the earlier Starchiefs like my '67 have a full width splash well, while the later ones have a more complex shape that saves a bit of room underneath. I am still considering shortening it like MichaelP did. We'll see.

Ron

 

[laurentide]

If you plan to put the fuel tank under the deck, then it would absolutely be worthwhile to shorten the splashwell with just enough clearance for the raised outboard.

 

[oldhaven]

More progress yesterday


Only the bottom center styro log was waterlogged








One of these on both sides holding the rub rail insert in



Debris in the bottom behind the side bulkhead, rusty nails. glad it did not see the ocean.



This has been polished before. 2 minutes by hand with Mothers mag polish and a rag, boat selfie

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Nice pic of the small outside spot with the reflection!

 

[oldhaven]

Nice pic of the small outside spot with the reflection!

Thanks, g0ne, this boat must have an interesting history since someone went to a lot of trouble to remove the paint from the sides and front deck, and it has to have been buffed out very nicely to allow me to get that shine with so little work. It's hard to believe that the same person could do the double deck and the nails holding in the rub rail insert.

I have the top windshield T-bolt nuts off now, and I think I can take the windshield off in three pieces by removing the corner fastenings, right? Too awkward to try a solo lift in one piece. After that, transom removal, and a good power wash I am just about done with major deconstruction for now except for covering it up in a safe spot. I am going back on the Fleetcraft project and will try to finish it this fall. I have enough Starchief parts removed and stashed to keep me busy inside this winter except for giving my credit card a workout, and an occasional trip out to fit or measure. I should have a new transom and refurbished windshield next spring. I did just order a 27 gallon belly tank, and will be playing with location when it gets here. Either up front at the cabin bulkhead like Watermann's, or aft like others have done. It would be nice to keep that weight in the center of the boat. Nice to have a clean slate to work with.

Ron