1972 starcraft chieftain

[heyyou325]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I have an old Crestliner that listed just like that, even after I moved the kicker,and fuel tank. Never found the problem, but after I added a lot of weight to the bow, hard top and 30 gal fuel tank, both centered, it no longer lists. Not sure why it did , or stopped. Good luck, and that is a great lookin boat. Got a son in Scott's Bluff, southwest corner, and he lies it there a lot.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I thik you might be right heyyou. There is alot of weight in the back of the boat. The plan is to eventually put a permanent fuel tank under the floor near the front, untill then i will just have to deal with it or hope it goes away on its own :facepalm:

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Hmm, my cheif sits level, and my kicker 15hp is on the same side as yours. I moved my fuel tank for the kicker mid boat left side, both batteries are on the left side, one in the back, one forward about 6 feet, fish box is on the left. Depending on my fuel levels it sits pretty level. I have twin fuel tanks under each seat so depending on if one is empty and other fuel it will list allittle.
I have moved as much weight forward as I can, anchor, fishing weights, fish box, tackle boxes and such. Mine only has the 140hp merc 4 cylinder

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Im gonna try to move some weight forward and see what happens. It seems once it planes out its not so bad. I would rather have the weight as evenly distributed as possible.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

?????????????? I have a 200 hp johnson and a merc 9.9 4 stroke mounted on the left side next to it. I have both batterys and a floor 35 gallon gas tank and store my downrigger balls in the rear as well as the downriggers. tthey go under the full width seat. The rest of the gear is along the sides and light weight things under the bow The Boat is a 1975 Holliday 22 ft. It has never listed and is real quick out of the hole and will run, if I let it, 45- 50 mph. I usually only run 25-30 max. I have had this for 4 years now and it has origional floor -transom and interior is origional . A little rough in a few spots but a very nice boat. I still have the origional canvas but only the top fits enought to keep the rain and sun off. I do have Bennett Trim Tabs, adjustable, and use them only in the salt water to adjust for the tideel current when running.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Ya im not sure Pudget.......Im eventually going to restore the boat but would like to get this figured out first. I'll just have to keep moving stuff around until i get it to sit like it should. Hopefully i can figure it out soon.

 

[heyyou325]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Never did figure out why mine listed. Had the decking and everything out. But moving the weight evened something out. I strapped my tank down in the bow, now it doesn't feel like it is gonna flip whenever I take off. But I did lose some speed, in a fishin boat, not that big of a thing.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

My boat seems to sit level at rest but it does list if I don?t have the weight just right when I am on plane. I have trim tabs to take care of that. You may want to add some weight up front and see if that helps. You could fill a few 5-gallon pails (sp) with water and stick them up in the cuddy. I think these hulls have lots of V in them and it?s sensitive to weight. Let us know what happens and if you do find the problem.
GLG

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

So.... If i wanted to remove the cabin hardtop to fit this in the garage would i be able to??? Im assuming i just drill out the rivets to get it off. I was just curious weather anyone had ever done this. Im wanting to do a full restore but am putting it off due to not being able to fit it in the garage.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Man, I wouldn't do it. I am all about going to great lengths but that one is a bit extreme.

Cheers!

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Thanks jas....it was just a crazy idea.....i wondered if it came off how well it would line back up when i go to put it back on and i dont want to find out the hard way. I guess ill either have to work on it outside or wait untill i can get a bigger garage built.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I think if it were November and we were getting ready to move into winter it might be worth kicking around. But now, moving into summer (well some of us) I think you would be better off just playing the weather. Plus that keeps you garage open for epoch/paint work when it's raining.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I think I agree with you there. I did some measuring and if i take the upper windshield off (once i figure out how) I would be about 3" short of getting it into the garage, but i think i can air down the tires just enough to make it fit. The paint I definatly want to do inside due to all the dust and stuff floating around outside.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Yah, I bet you could fit it in there with that windshield off. I know with mine off I have plenty of room, enough that I could have squeezed a Chief cabin in.

You can also slide that boat off the trailer and onto some furniture movers, that would give you lots of room. You can check out my thread for both good ideas and bad ideas on how to do that:facepalm: There were a couple of scary moments mixed in there.

Having my rig on furniture movers was awesome. Super easy to move the rig around and work on er.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I thought about furniture dollys, they seemed to work well for you. I need to get the garage cleaned out and organized as I tore another boat apart and all those parts are scattered about the garage:facepalm:. Hopefully I will get this weekend off and can get a start on things.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

I don?t know about yours but mine will fit in a garage if I remove the windshield. My windshield has stainless steel nuts and bolts that attach it to the cabin. The PO must have had that in mind when he worked on this boat.

 

[Kstar]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Good Luck with your restore. I have a 1973 Chieftain but I won't be doing anything major soon. I just got the engine running before winterizing last fall and am looking forward to trying it out to see if it runs as well as it did on the muffs. I plan to replace my top this summer so that it stores outside better. Tops are pretty pricey in themselves. I have lots of pictures of my boat that you can look at if you wish. I would bet the PO just used a bait and switch tactic on you in describing your boat as 26 feet long. You cant' trust anybody these days.

http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa463/Kstar57/Chieftain Pics/

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

Well i pulled the kicker off and put it back in the water today. Still has the list but not nearly as bad, maybe an inch and a half. I think if I move some more weight forward it will be ok. It runs very good the only thing i noticed is it kinda floods out under acceleration, ill replace the accelerator pump and that should take care of it.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

When i got the boat it had no seats......still doesnt. I decided im going to try to get the interior done before our fishing trip memorial weekend. So today i pulled up the carpet and it looks like PT ply. I decided im going to replace the floor as it is retaining some moisture. I got one piece of ply pulled up and the foam looked pretty good but im going to replace anyway. I also want to add a fuel tank farther up under the floor to help with the list.

 

[jetstreakdave]

Re: 1972 starcraft chieftain

here is a picture of a 24 ft chieftain mkiv. this is a 77