1984 Starcraft 16ft Glutton for Punishment [Splashed July 2019]

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sopwithcamel74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 15, 2018
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203
So many smart build choices throughout. Good luck with the splash, and take plenty of pics!
 

SHSU

Lieutenant Junior+Starmada Splash Of The Year 2019
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
1,658
SPLASH!!!!!!!

2 1/2 years after this project started!!!!!


Sorry it took so long to post pictures. We have gone out once at Lake Somerville and twice at the Texas City Dike. Here are some pictures from both

Pictures at TX City Dike
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Pictures from Lake Somerville
Admiral and Little Admiral playing in the water
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Livewell tested. I just have to manually prime them... Air gets stuck in the pumps with the way they are orientated. So I have to manually fill livewell with buckets of water initially or while at speed use the high speed pickup to force in water to the pumps. Minor annoyance, but something to consider for future builds

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Front Anchor cleat works and chocks are good to go
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Motor needed some minor tweaking as I had the idle set to low. But once fixed ran great.
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The next outings at TX City Dike ran into issues with the motor not getting to WOT. Think it is the fuel pump but that is for future postings.

Just want to say

THANK YOU

to all that have followed and helped on this build (Especially @watermann). Admiral and Little Admiral are thrilled they finally got to get out on the boat.

I will post some additional pics and such as I will continue to make some modifications and work on the boat, but we are officially

SPLASHED!!!!!!!
 

Watermann

Starmada Splash of the Year 2014
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
13,747
Thanks for the update! SPLASHED and looking great on the water!!! :clap2:

Nothing as rewarding as knowing you did all the work and know every last inch of the boat. Super work man, everything looks great. :thumb:
 

FIGMO

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 18, 2017
Messages
320
Beauty! Well done, nice to see the finished product.
 

sopwithcamel74

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 15, 2018
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203
Wooo hooo! You made it!

Congratulations; the end of one journey (restore), and the start of another (fun times on the water)!
 

Decker83

Commander
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
2,592
Very Sharp looking boat. Awesome job..:peace:
Great to see another Texas gentleman here..:rockon:
 

SHSU

Lieutenant Junior+Starmada Splash Of The Year 2019
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
1,658
Thanks all for the kind words and support. Sorry its been awhile, went back into the hospital again....

Finally got out and added a couple things to the boat. With the front fishing area, Admiral agreed she needed some rod holds up there. So added one on each side for her. As usual SS bolts with 5200 bedding

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wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==


Earlier I had mentioned I was adding flood lights for night fishing. The first ones that I chose are 18 Watt LED. They worked "Ok", but wasn't overly happy with them. The mounts are rubber stoppers that I drilled a hole to except a bolt so it would be elevated off the gunnel a little bit.


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When one of the cheap'o's went out, I added a little extra wattage for the Bow lights. These are 60 Watts. Haven't been able to try these out on the water yet, but they are good at home in the driveway

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So back on the engine now as that is what has been giving me the problems right now. Originally I thought it was a fuel pump or fuel related. Replaced the fuel pump and went through all the fuel lines and re clamped them. Below is a pinch I found for the bottom cylinder. So the bottom was running lean at high RPMs. Saving grace is I haven't been able to get above 2500 RPM the last two times while out on the water so no damage there.

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After the last time out, realized it wasn't fuel related.... So it was back to the drawing board and researching/reading. Did the normal (not in this order, but you get the idea), checked the power pack, checked the coils, verified spark on all cylinders, rebuilt the carburetors, verified all the linkage, checked the fuel pump, verified all the fuel lines, finally think I narrowed down the issue to a bad head gasket. Found some water on the spark plug in the Number 1 Cylinder. Also the cylinder is really clean. No Carbon build up at all. Pulling the head gasket off, you can see the water intrusion on the bolts from the top cylinder. I used a wire wheel and die to clean up the bolts.

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Picture of the head removed. Used a Dremel with brass wire wheel to clean up the edges. You can still see the head gasket installed in the below picture. Forgot to get a good picture, but you can kind of see the top cylinder was clean because of all the water being pumped in. No carbon build up.

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I believe the water intrusion was coming in at the area highlighted. You can kind of see it in the picture at the bottom of Cylinder 1. The discoloration is corrosion on the metal seal

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After installing a new head gasket, torqued all bolts back to 20 ft lbs. Started with finger tight, 10 ft lbs, then 15 ft lbs, and finally 20 ft lbs per the manual. Will go back before next outing and go once around again.

Started the engine up and she ran much better then I remember, so think I finally got the issue resolved. Engine sounds great on the muffs, but she did before as well. Only way to confirm fix is getting her in the water under load. Here is crossing my fingers the engine works....

Until next time

SHSU
 

ShoestringMariner

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
Messages
1,560
That is a beautiful build. You have incorporated many of the things I want to do with mine. Congratulations on getting up in the water after such a long project. Sounds like your luck with health has been rather tough, best of luck with your health and well-being in the future. Get back out and enjoy some fishing and family time !
 

garbageguy

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
1,531
Been following your build for awhile - looks great! Well wishes heading to you and your family still - enjoy that great family boating time!
 

baldwibr

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
128
Sorry, late to the party. Congrats on finishing this stunning beauty of a boat!! I've been following you since your beginning. I like involved your admiral was with your build and how you did not cut corners. You got a boat to be proud of there!
 

Rikkie

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 7, 2020
Messages
171
Looks and sounds your in for some fun when you getter done,I have a 18' 1981SS haven't restored yet but it's in good shape or good enough to go fishing I'll try to send some pic
 

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Rikkie

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 7, 2020
Messages
171
I am new to this so I am having a hard time
 

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GA_Boater

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
May 24, 2011
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49,038
Sorry SHSU. Time to close this out because nobody looks at when you last posted.
 
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