1982 Starcraft Center Console 18' Rebuild

[Mikesta]

Just picked this boat up the other day, it's a 1982 star craft center console 18'. I originally thought it was a mariner (and it still could be) because of the center console but there is nothing on the boat itself saying what model it is and the title only says "open floor". I'm thinking it not a mariner because of the splash well design. Anyways i plan on tearing it right down and rebuilding the whole thing from the bare hull. Previous owner says it was partially sank sitting at the dock at their vacation home because of either a bilge pump failure or a battery dying but doesn't look like it had an ill effect on the boat. the motor was also completely rebuilt in 2015 and i have the paperwork on it, not really sure why they would spend several thousand on such an old motor though. View attachment 1.jfif View attachment 2.jfif View attachment 6.jfif

 

[jbcurt00]

Mikesta
​​​​​​​Pick here in the Starcraft owners forum or the Resto forum to document your rehab, but dont start duplicate topics about the same subject.

Good luck w your project

So, here or Resto forum?

 

[Mikesta]

i'll keep this one, sorry for the double post. could find how to get to starcraft forum until someone posted the link to it

 

[Unrooly1]

I have the same 70 Merc. Some guys hate them but I really like mine. not real heavy and plenty of power

 

[GA_Boater]

It is a Mariner, but in the early 80's, Starcraft dropped all model names and used a letter/number naming system. SuperSport 18 became SS 180 and Mariner 18 became MR 180. Somewhere along the line splashwells were reduced in size because they took up too much deck space.

 

[SHSU]

Not familiar with your specific model, but an older motor is mechanical vs the computer. So when something breaks, you have a chance to fix it yourself vs having to take it in to a dealership. With that said, new motors have their warranty and such but will eventually be an "old" motor as well.

Just my 2 cents

SHSU

 

[GA_Boater]

Compared to my Merc, Mikes Merc is almost brand new. :smile:

The iBoats forum excels at keeping old motors alive. And a good manual!

 

[Mikesta]

It is a Mariner, but in the early 80's, Starcraft dropped all model names and used a letter/number naming system. SuperSport 18 became SS 180 and Mariner 18 became MR 180. Somewhere along the line splashwells were reduced in size because they took up too much deck space.

Thanks for the info GA

 

[Mikesta]

Luckily for me my sisters boyfriend is an outboard mechanic and will help me out with it in his spare time. Anyways i started tearing it down today, Got everything in the bow out, got some of the white vinyl that sits over the plywood floor out, got the side boxes with the rod holders out. So far all the plywood came out in good enough shape to use as a template but that wont last for long. The next sheet to come out is gonna be rough. It's slow going so far because all the screws that hold the floor down are rusted beyond belief and i can't really get a grip on them to take them out so i'm having to cut them and drill them out. I also got the front part of the console taken out, I tried getting the whole console out but couldn't figure out how to get the steering wheel off. That'll be tomorrows project trying to get that out and the rest of the flooring and side boxes.
View attachment 5.jfif View attachment 7.jfif

 

[Mikesta]

Does anyone know what size rivets i will need for this project? I power washed the inside and outside the other day and a few rivet heads went flying off. The stringer rivets must be missing too because the stringer on the right side is loose and flopping around so there will probably be a pretty good amount of rivets to replace. The previous owner put flex seal on the outside of the hull everywhere below the water line so that will be fun trying to get off, might just try to aggressively power wash it off

 

[classiccat]

yeah not good when a powerwasher knocks rivets off. They're likely corroded...and flex-seal will just trap water against the hull skin so it's good you're getting it off.

Watermann put together a nice sticky on rivets. Have a look and let us know if you have any questions!

 

[SHSU]

+1 for Watermann 's sticky. Its a treasure trove for Starcraft riveting knowledge.

The Admiral and I literally replaced every single solid/blind rivet on our SS16 project. Don't envy you the task ahead, but know that when you have done it how proud you can feel.

Also, as you replace the solids, we added a dab of 5200 to each one. On top of that we then did Gluvit, so far hadn't had a leak I can find related to a rivet.

SHSU

 

[Mikesta]

Good idea with the 5200, I’ll definitely be doing that for some added insurance. I ordered a ton of rivets last night, hopefully it will be enough. Apparently all the pictures I posted last night didn’t actually attach to the posts. Will reupload them when I get home later

 

[Watermann]

Someone must have done the bow work, I've not ever seen SC use dimensional 2x4 lumber to frame out sub structure for deck support.

 

[Mikesta]

Someone must have done the bow work, I've not ever seen SC use dimensional 2x4 lumber to frame out sub structure for deck support.

What did starcraft use for the framing? that front deck was definitely rebuild at some point, i can tell just from looking at the "hatch" they had in it.

 

[Mikesta]

I got some more work done today. Getting the steering wheel off of the console was a huuuuge pain in the ass but had to get that off to get the console out. Got the console out and a few more sections of floor. One section came out whole and the other came out in 5 pieces but i should be able to roughly piece it together to use as a template. I have one more piece of flooring left in it but I have to wait until I get the side boxes and splashwell out. I have the next two days off of work so hopefully I can get a motor stand built, the motor off, the splash well out, the side boxes out and that last piece of flooring so i can finally clean the inside. I know it will all take way longer then I expect because almost every screw and rivet have had to be drilled to get out. Not a lot of fun. I also ordered rivet 2 days ago so should have those soon

Questions- does anybody have any ideas how to get the flex seal off the hull, everything below the water line is covered and i don't think the power washer will blow it all off.

Does anybody keep the thin aluminum plates that go on top of stringers but below the floor? They're so flimsy I really don't see them being useful for anything
View attachment 8.jfif View attachment 9.jfif

 

[Mikesta]

Also forgot to mention that most of the rivets that attach the stringers to the hull are nonexistent....probably why the boat leaked for previous owner....hence the insane amount of flex seal.

 

[jbcurt00]

Those thin strips keep the stringers in place as you lay the deck AND link 1 plywood sheet to the next at the butt joint.

If you have them, keep & reuse 'em

Stringers run fore & aft across the top of & are attached to the ribs...

Ribs run port to starboard and attach to the hull...

Which rivets are MIA and buried in FlexSeal?

 

[Mikesta]

Those thin strips keep the stringers in place as you lay the deck AND link 1 plywood sheet to the next at the butt joint.

If you have them, keep & reuse 'em

Stringers run fore & aft across the top of & are attached to the ribs...

Ribs run port to starboard and attach to the hull...

Which rivets are MIA and buried in FlexSeal?

The whole bottom of the hull that is painted white is covered in flexseal....basically from the waterline down. i'll try go a closer up picture of it, it's kind of got a yellow tint to it so its hard to see in the pictures

 

[SHSU]

Is the flexseal on the interior or exterior? You might be able to cover areas liberally with paint remover wait 10 minutes and then blast with the pressure washer.

SHSU