Restoring a boat with the intention of selling it.

[DeepCMark58A]

I was out working on the boat last night and while I was paused to have a beer and look at the project I had a holy crap moment. Looking at the seats and the backs I realized all the wood pieces are interchangeable. I can flip the good non weathered wood to the outside making refinishing so much easier.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

The screws in the gunnels and the seats grrr it is worse than when I took my 68' Scout apart.

 

[MNhunter1]

With wood gunnels and seats, you may be dealing with a different animal than most of us are familiar with. Do you know what year and model Starcraft you are dealing with?

 

[DeepCMark58A]

No Title

The boat is a 1957 Starcraft Speed Queen.

 

[Watermann]

With wood gunnels and seats, you may be dealing with a different animal than most of us are familiar with. Do you know what year and model Starcraft you are dealing with?

... and there's the reason why it's not a good idea to splatter threads around on the same craft for each issue that comes up.

His thread in the resto forum.
​​http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...-of-selling-it

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Actually It is a different topic all together, this one is in the starcraft forum because it is a brand specific issue and chances are better that I would get a response with the issue in the starcraft forum. I don't think I have to have a topic in the resto thread with the whole project documented.

 

[GA_Boater]

... and there's the reason why it's not a good idea to splatter threads around on the same craft for each issue that comes up.

His thread in the resto forum.
​​http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...-of-selling-it

Fixed now and all together in one topic.

DeepC - You may not think it's problem, but to those helping it is. It makes helpful advice disjointed and difficult to follow with scattered threads that really are connected.

 

[ssdale]

The boat is a 1957 Starcraft Speed Queen.

​IMHO what you have is a 1957 StarCraft Super Constellation. It is the third picture from the left in the top row of photos in the 1958 brochure. The names of the models of the boats do not all correspond with the pictures. You have to study the straight down drawing of your seating arrangement and the write up of dimensions and material under the boat name to identify your boat. IMHO. It is pictured without a windshield and all were made with mediterian green accent paint.

​According to the 1958 literature,the seats, dash, and transom are mahogany, thus explaining how come the nails and screws wont give up. The gunnels are red oak.

​I used a putty knife to get under the heads and then a cats paw like the one Waterman shows, using the putty knife to protect the aluminum. I actually got all of mine out and reused them- believe it or don't. Good luck with the swap around with the wood. disassembly, refinishing and reassembly were uber time consuming. More pictures of your project please. Heres a before and after to show others what your up against. Never saw another one until yours. Press on!
​Dale
http://
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[DeepCMark58A]

I will look at it, currently I just call it the #*! boat because it seems to fight me to give up every single nail and screw.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

I threw a tape on the boat and it is 13' 8" transom to the front of the bow.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Well there is a tool for everything, I picked up a cordless mini impact driver those screws in the seats and gunnels are no match. So much faster and easier.

 

[ssdale]

I threw a tape on the boat and it is 13' 8" transom to the front of the bow.

​I thought you had mentioned that your boat had a "second" bench?. I assumed that you meant 2 behind the drivers seat.? Can't see that all working with a 13' 8" boat. Mine is right at 16'. More pics when you can would help to positively identify. Hope your buddy the buyer is helping. LOL
Dale

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Why oh why did Starcraft make the floatation boxes under the seats out of tin? Why when making an aluminum boat why use steel in an environment like that?

 

[mickyryan]

just so 50 years later they could be retired and old and snicker as some one on a boating forum complained? sounds legit

 

[DeepCMark58A]

So I have been busy sanding the bench seat I pulled out and got busy on the bow cover, it is just plywood under the aluminum skin, got me thinking of an idea I have had wood on tin. I could put a mahogany bow cover in marine grade around the same price as refinishing and having the aluminum bow cover repainted. I guess the boat kinda grew on me.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

just so 50 years later they could be retired and old and snicker as some one on a boating forum complained? sounds legit

They also evidently has no idea that philips heads screws make it easier to disassemble.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Well it took some calling around and probably over paying but I found a source for the full length white oak gunnels. A logger with a sawmill about an hour away from me.

 

[ssdale]

Good to hear you're sticking with it!. I went to the hometown lumberyard and they ordered the 1 x 4 x 16' footers that I needed. then took them to a buddy with a cabinet shop where we ripped them down and planed them to match the existing pieces dimensions exactly. Not sure if your "green" sawmill wood will work better or worse. Good luck with the process, it is very time consuming or it was for me. Press on!
​Dale

 

[DeepCMark58A]

Not using green lumber it will be kiln dried just like a lumber yard.

 

[DeepCMark58A]

So any reason to save the aluminum skin bow cover? I am not putting it back on the boat and don't suppose there is any resale value.