66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

[prelude219]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

I just wanted to say good job so far. I
have the exact same boat and did a transom job last year. its still a work in progress but its getting there.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Prelude, Since I got this boat I've looked at a ton of Starcrafts, but not ONE sunchief. Any pics of yours?

 

[prelude219]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Well thats where i get confused. My title says its a Starcraft Holiday, but by the pictures its identacle..i mean right down to everything so far. I don't have pics right now but i will def get some on here. I like your idea for the decals, i think i'm going to do the same thing that you did.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Prelude, How long is your boat? I thought I read somewhere that 66 was the last year for the sunchief. I read some of your other posts and see that we have the same motor. I haven't run accross many of the 110 HP Type One's either.

I got these back today from the powdercoater. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out.

And it looks like my son's stuff will be out of the shop early next week so I can begin cutting and coating the deck and installing it. Can't wait! It's too danged cold to do any liquid stuff in the Boatel

 

[prelude219]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

my title says 18, but i know its more ..i've never measured total. One thing i changed was all the rubber in the drive..kind of a pain and i also had to change the shift cable. We found a used upper that fit off of ebay because of worn gears on the original. I see your oudrive is black, i believe mine was originally white..but thats just from odd posts on the internet.

By the way..i can't tell the difference on that powder coated decal from the original..thats cool

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

All the photos in the 66 brochure and the 66 Mercruiser pamplet show my outdrive being white also. Not sure what the deal is there.

So we moved all of my son's stuff out of the garage today. Wood decking is cut to fit and sometime in the next few days, I'll be throwing the resin on the back sides. In the meantime, we can move the boat into the heated garage and apply the gluvit to the rivits and seams.

Hope to be posting some additional pics showing some movement on this project real soon.

Unfortunately, work keeps getting in the way of my playing

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Great work on your boat project. Keep the pix coming.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

OK we finally moved my son?s stuff out of the heated garage so I took a day off and my nephews helped me lay the new deck in the boat to check fitment.This is marine grade douglas fir 5 ply plywood. We used the old peices as templates and cut it out with a jigsaw. This wood was in a heated shop since just after Christmas so I'm sure it's dried out plenty.

We made some small adjustments and laid the wood out to coat the bottom and edges with resin.

I bought 2 gallons on the Part A resin and one gallon of the Part B medium hardener. We?ll use some for coating the bottom side and the rest when we glass in the top side.

This stuff mixes at 2 parts resin and one part hardener. Here?s what it looks like after I hit it with the paddle.

This is sort of a first for me so I tried to roll it on-That didn?t go to well so I used the small squeegees I bought with the resin to spread it and then back rolled with the paint roller to make it uniform. That seemed to work much better. All of the cut edges were thoroughly saturated with resin also. That new wood really seems to soak up the resin.

The first mix was 1 pint of Part A and ? pint of Part B. To give an idea of coverage, we got this far with the first mix.

So I mixed up a little more and finished it off. I?ll let it dry overnight and do it all again.

After I get the bottom side of the wood ready, I?ll clean up the inside of the boat and move it into the heated garage for the Gluvit application. Then we can replace the flotation and put the deck back in.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Lookin' real good!

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Yeah, boy...you're cooking with gas.

 

[Russdog]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

NB - Awesome job! What you're going through I'm going to do the same, unfortunately I found out yesterday that I am going to have to replace the transome This is going all going to be a first for me, this is my first boat too. I hope to start a thread (see Feb 14, 2009) seeking help as I go forward, however what you are doing and the detail that you describe your work is going to help me tremendously. Thank you and keep up the good work.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Thanks guys! I just realized that since I know absolutely nothing about restoring an old boat, a lot of learning would be done here. So I figured I'd go into some detail while the folks here guide me through it and maybe it will help someone else.

BTW, here's a shot of the old man killin his kneecaps

 

[jonesg]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Make your boating experience easier, put the wood on workhorses and sit on the chair.!

then get a bigger brush.
Seriously, yer doin it the hard way.
I use a couple of trash cans to get the work up where I can see it, you'd be surprised at the spots you miss when its not at eye level.

 

[sschefer]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Killing the knee caps, I can relate! I did my 18' Starcraft this weekend. Started last week working a couple of hours a night. Like you, I was able to use the old boards for templates. I used a slightly different method. Starting from the stern, I cut the first piece, sealed the edges and underside then installed it. I used a stringline, a couple 2 by's and a couple of bottle jacks to get my stringers perfectly aligned then screwed the deck down and went on to the next one.

Here's a little trick that will save you frustration, before you lay down your second piece and when you put the aluminum strip back in that ties the deck pieces together, screw it to the existing piece before you lay in the new piece. That'll keep it from flopping around and make it easy to drill new holes.
My deck was all in by Saturday night and I was too! I was almost a relief to go chase parts on Sunday.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

JG, thanks for the tips but I wanted to get it all at once and I don't have a 22 foot work bench. And the little brush was just for the edges

SS, I'll remember that trick with the strips. So you screwed your decking down in lieu of rivits?

 

[Russdog]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

What is the aluminum strip that ties the deck pieces together? I don't recall having this piece.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Russdog, go to my first post in this thread and look at the 5th picture.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

OK, as predicted, this project just keeps growing. Not a really big deal as we were prepared for this. After moving the boat into the regular shop I noticed this problem in the outdrive.

Looks like the exhaust and driveshaft boots have split open. So, we removed the outdrive and this is what we found.

Along with the busted boots we found a good bit of gunk buildup and also don?t like the feel of the gimble bearing. With this in mind and since we have the outdrive off, I figure it?s also time for a new water pump and shift linkage.

So the parts are ordered and I?m gonna blast the outdrive and prime and paint before we put it back together.

Note should be made that the tilt shocks are in good condition but the lines were leaking so we?ll be replacing the lines as well.

Has anyone noticed how far along we are on this project, and all we?ve done so far is take stuff apart?

 

[sschefer]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

SS, I'll remember that trick with the strips. So you screwed your decking down in lieu of rivits?

Absolutely, I talked to a couple of boat builders and they advised screwing it down. I used 1-1/2 #10, 18-8 stainless truss head screws spaced 6" inches apart. I also layed Vichathane down over the aluminum stringers to give me a barrier between the wood and aluminum. Vichathane is vulcanized moisture barrier. You can get it at Home Depot. It's comes in a 6" wide roll and is normally used around house windows.
I also counter sunk the screws and sealed them over with 3M marine filler. They won't be fun to remove the next time but I don't plan on doing this again.

My deck is solid as a rock, no squeaks and no flex. I'm very happy with the way mine is compared to other newer boats I've walked on.

P.S. For the naysayer's on the Vichathane. It isn't called Vichathane anymore but that's the only name I know it by and if you go to any lumber yard or even HD and ask for Vichathane you'll get the stuff I'm talking about. The stuff they sell now is safe to use on aluminum.

 

[sschefer]

Re: 66 Starcraft Sunchief Re-Build

Has anyone noticed how far along we are on this project, and all we?ve done so far is take stuff apart?

LOL, and the adventure has just begun. My big suprise was finding out that most of the interior parts that I was so careful to save were hacks in the first place. I made a couple of pieces up using the old pieces as templates and when I put them in place they just didn't look right. So,, out they came and sure enough, nothing was cut on center or square. I can still use the basic design but I now have to check everything and correct it as I go. The problem is that if you don't fix it, it will telegraph all the way through the job.

Moral of that story is if you are using the old pieces as templates, measure twice and cut once.