!978 14' Seafarer restoration

[Watermann]

I'm back at it with another Starcraft but this time a little tinny. I've been looking for a number of months to find a 14'r to use on the small lakes and ponds that are electric only where my 18' SS is just way too much boat. This 1978 14' Seafarer popped up locally with the original 1978 Caulkins trailer. She's going to need a full restore but the good thing is nothing was missing or mauled beyond some pole holders.

Big deal, all the end caps are there with no holes drilled in them. No extra holes in the transom either and all the wood is original. The transom cap is cracked and there's a small wowie in the gunnel that needs straightened but no dents on the sides, just the bottom.

The trailer is without rust and even has dent free fenders with 5 lug hubs.

Looking forward to the project and I'm super happy to have this little tinny in my fleet.

 

[No-AH]

She is a fine craft in great shape Watermann. I can feel the serenity on a beautiful morning with only the hmmm of a tm and the splash of a bait breaking the surface of the water....ahhh
I'll be following along M8.

 

[Watermann]

She is a fine craft in great shape Watermann. I can feel the serenity on a beautiful morning with only the hmmm of a tm and the splash of a bait breaking the surface of the water....ahhh
I'll be following along M8.

Nice way to paint a serene picture with words No-AH :joyous: Thanks for stopping by and checking out the little tinny, she should make for some good times.

It was nice that the PO's didn't do a bunch of mods or own a sawsall or drill. I'm debating on what to do with her, back to original or modify her some to make for a more comfortable fishing rig.

 

[BWR1953]

Uh-oh, he's at it again! :lol:

Nice score on that little SC; seems to be a nice one. :joyous:

 

[MTboatguy]

How in the heck did you find a WA boat with a trailer and the trailer has no rust?



Must have been an eastern WA boat its whole life!

 

[Watermann]

How in the heck did you find a WA boat with a trailer and the trailer has no rust?



Must have been an eastern WA boat its whole life!

:lol: yeap exactly what I was thinking, the eastside here is dry as a bone.

 

[Decker83]

Nice score!! I always go for comfort.
What ever you do, It will be another great restore..

 

[Watermann]

Nice score!! I always go for comfort.
What ever you do, It will be another great restore..

Thanks for stopping by fellas and I hope to use everything I've learned so far to bring the little tinny back from it's aged condition.

She needs new everything wood and I'm sure some leak attention.

 

[MTboatguy]

I am looking forward to seeing her comeback to the glory she was, you never know that boat might have been a dream to a young kid puttering up and down the Columbia river with dreams for the future.. Get to it WM!

 

[Watermann]

Looked her over and took some more pics this morning, pretty standard fare when it comes to boats from the 70s.

The original white washed transom wood is shot but not horrible. Interesting how the transom wood is cutout around the knee brace and then there's the missing through the transom fasteners.

The seats are suffering from being out in the elements, sure hope they aren't ruined painted over mahogany, that would be sad.

Of course it wouldn't be complete without the obligatory rusted steel hardware. It's going to take some finesse to keep from breaking off that single bow eye bolt.

 

[bchaney]

Nice find! I bet this small one will seem quick and easy compared to your others. I vote to build for comfort, that way you'll use it more often. Good luck!

 

[M2HB]

It looks like you have a boat that is straight. It makes it easier when you start with something good.

 

[Watermann]

So today I got tired of seeing the tiny tinny sitting there with all that rusty junk still inside it. I removed everything that had ferrous steel nuts and bolts.

I also ditched the PO replaced rotten motor pad that they decided needed to be much larger than the original, after all if small is good then big must be better.

The transom is only 1-1/4" thick so I think I'll just go back with that using 3/4" and 1/2" that I have on hand as left overs.

Found a less than helpful creature hiding under the starboard end cap. Seen below as it rappelled down the side.

 

[BWR1953]

So are you going to configure the boat for the electric only lakes? I know that there are electric outboards available but they're really pricey!

 

[Watermann]

I have a transom mount electric that came with the boat but I'm considering making a small bow deck for a bow mounted motor.

 

[coostv]

I must not have been on here much in August... That is the makings of a cool little small lake boat.

 

[astor]

Nice little boat, its exactly what I'm looking for to round out the fleet
can't wait to see what you have in mind for this one.

 

[Watermann]

I'm thinking it'll be much easier on the small lake launches to get this 14'r in and out of the water since the bow won't be 4+ feet out of the water and bottom out 6 feet off the shore.

Got a new transom cap fabricated from 1/16" 2" angle AL. I was going to start in stripping the paint off but time got away from me on this weeks days off. I need to retire again so I have more free time. :lol:

 

[Watermann]

Got some more work done today, pulled out the transom wood and removed one of the benches to look at the wood and foam under it. SC used SS machine screws with steel nuts with the star washers to hold the seats on, they were all loose and came off sort of easily.

Original transom wood was only slightly rotten on the bottom.

The inner transom skin is in good shape, odd how they only painted 2/3rds of the transom.

The seat wood is original and ruined with cracks all the way through (pic shows underside of bench). The old styrofoam is rotten but will be a good template for new closed cell.

To be clear about the solid rivets, Starcraft used 2117T4 alloy rivets even in this little tinny as you can see in the pic below the dimple in the center indicates this type of alloy rivet. All the solids are 2117T4 alloy, the 5/32nds and 3/16ths sizes alike.

 

[classiccat]

Nice project Agua!

Are you sure that the transom wood is original? It looks like a P.O. hack (or the Friday S.C. crew :lol