my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

yep pulled the old alt apart and sure enough its toast
did some shopping around locally to find,, just like everything else canadians
get screwed for everything, best price i could find was 325 plus regulator another 50.
Hope i did the right thing i got a marine, one wire replacement alt.
off of ebay new for 99 dollars, there were 3 different ones 65A 120A and 160A
i went with the 65A figure its as much or more than the stock one and is easy
to install with no need to upgrade wiring. alt and regulator all in one (newer style) .
just a matter of time to get it here.
still think i will be putting the boat in the water this weekend to test run it should be fine
if i charge it up good,
and while its off the trailer do some repairs to the trailer
hope i dont get stopped still haven't gotten a license just another 50 dollars
i dont want to spend!

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

LOL, including your income source and quite possibly your spouse

Glad to hear things are shaping up and moving forward!

speaking of spouse,,, she is onboard with this project but she wasnt impressed
when i said i was looking at another one lol

matt

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

was a nice day today....
so took the boat out to pigeon lake and floated it off of the trailer
did the repairs i wanted to do, removed the old bunks, some cutting and
welding and the trailer is now done all it needs is a little paint...

Just about forgot to say the boat went well idled it around a little
trying to find deep water,, then opened it up a bit about 70% throttle
sounded great
gets up and out of the hole better than i expected with the 19 pitch.
didn't go to far almost out of gas and an alt. that isn't charging.

all i have to say is its been a few years since I have been out to that lake
and is it ever low!! i am guessing its a min 4 feet maybe more low!!

also anyone thinking of going to battle lake forget that boat ramp there
is a mess!

matt

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Sounds good, glad to hear she's running well for ya and these boats do love to jump onto plane as they are very light.

Where are you located? You can fill in your profile if you want so we know where all these lakes are you refer to

BTW we need photos and video if ya can, love to see the rig on the water!

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

will update my profile right away. i am near edmonton alberta, canada
didnt think of taking a camera till after i was already half way to the lake.
today really was only to work on the trailer, but just had to run it and see
how it would go. grin
I am very happy with the performance.
my dad stayed with the boat while i went off and worked on
the trailer at a friends place 15 mins away.
sounds like i missed lots of entertainment at the boat ramp while i was
away. with the lake being so low most boats have to be pushed out 20 yards
or more, i guess someone with a new boat dumped it off the trailer and after
2 of them pushed it the 20 yards out realized why the bilge pump was
pumping water out like mad (drain plug), my dad said they had their hands full dragging it
back to the ramp,, ouch on a new boat

Sounds good, glad to hear she's running well for ya and these boats do love to jump onto plane as they are very light.

Where are you located? You can fill in your profile if you want so we know where all these lakes are you refer to

BTW we need photos and video if ya can, love to see the rig on the water!

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

well it was a little nicer out today so i had a chance to test fit the top that
i have been fixing up, was in really bad shape its still not great but not bad
also a pic of the inside now that its done.
matt

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

couple more

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Looking good! I like the color combo! That top would probably fit mine like a glove, wanna send it here so we can try................

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Looking good! I like the color combo! That top would probably fit mine like a glove, wanna send it here so we can try................

I sent an email to the canadian canopy co. asking if they still make the tops for
the starcraft and if so how much for a new one for my 181.
cant wait to hear the answer to that question. lol

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

well the alt. showed up and went on with out to much drama, just needed a
spacer and it was done.
It even works!

now all thats left is to put in the new tach i got my hands on tonight.
found a real deal on a old stock omc tach thats a close match to the starcraft
gauges, just hope it works.

for anyone in my area i could give you a name and number of an old guy who
used to have a dealership who still has piles of old stock.
I got a bunch of the odds and ends that i needed for my project and there
is lots left.
he has lots of old gauges, gaskets, gears, cases, almost everything that
you could ever need.
matt

 

[sprintst]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Let me know what it works out to and we can do a x2 on the order.

C+M upholstery here in Edmonton say they can do one in Sunbrella or whatever you like...and they do amazing work. Since I got my cover there maybe they can cut us a deal on two if that angle doesn't work out. All my upholstery work will be done there as well so they need to cut me a deal somewhere.

I sent an email to the canadian canopy co. asking if they still make the tops for
the starcraft and if so how much for a new one for my 181.
cant wait to hear the answer to that question. lol

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

no word from the canopy co. the original top i have is in fair shape, i just finished putting all new plastic windows in, it looks not bad now, could use new zippers but the old ones will do for a while yet. not bad for 30 years old!

yes when i made the moorage cover I looked at the sunbrella fabric its nice
stuff and easy to work with but i thought seeing i had rolls of cordura left
i would use it, supplier should have told me about the expanding in the
cold issue.

seeing i have the factory top if i ever do need to make a new one it will
be easy for me to do using the old one as a pattern, if i didnt have a pattern
i would pay someone else to make it.

matt

Let me know what it works out to and we can do a x2 on the order.

C+M upholstery here in Edmonton say they can do one in Sunbrella or whatever you like...and they do amazing work. Since I got my cover there maybe they can cut us a deal on two if that angle doesn't work out. All my upholstery work will be done there as well so they need to cut me a deal somewhere.

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Got the new tach in and working
Was starting to wonder what was up when the stock one wasnt working
and the new one i got didnt work.
turns out the new one had a problem as well, so it got swapped out with another
and I now have one that works great
Everything is now done!
....
....
Ok now what....
I need another project boat I feel like i have nothing to do now! LOL

matt

 

[sprintst]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

The tach is definately something good to have. Gotta keep an eye on those rpm's

Keep me in the loop on the whole canopy thing. I've got mine but some sections look great and others are ratty. They might be good enough though to use as templetes thopugh.

 

[nowback]

Re: my 1980 starcraft holiday 181 restore

Just thought i would post a quick update on my boat.
took a couple pics in the water but not off the camera yet.
had a chance to really try it out while on vacation and all is well.
17" pitch prop is just what it needs the 19" was just to much.
gets 35mph top speed which is ok
a little water is getting into the omc stringer top gear case, not sure where
the problem is there, any input would be great
one thing i noticed was I couldnt trim the thing low enough and at anything
lower than full throttle it seems to porpoise quite a bit, what should i do?
I was thinking of putting a thicker block under the front motor mount that would
trim it down a bit more but the angle of the leg seems quite low when its
trimmed all the way down.

matt