18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

[Pcolafisher]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

It's been a cold winter, The thought of spring out on the lake keeps me going!
but we are getting lots of snow; and that = more water for the lakes around me!

I'm shooting for a late spring early summer splash since I still have a trailer refurb paint, and the cabin still needs lots of work.

I also ran the LED strip lights, each strip had enough to run along the side of the splashwell, all the way to the front of the boat.

I tested them out with a 9v battery and they look good!

I got two types the first one I bought kinda sucked and I had to use some super 77 spray glue to make it stick, I also ordered it directly from china... I'm using that one to light up under the splashwell and it will have it's own switch.
the other set I bought came in a nice pretty package, shipped from the US, and it was very easy to work with and had no issues sticking up.
I installed the better ones under the gunwales.

anyone thinking about them, get these ones; ebay

I'll get some pictures of the lighting once I get some more wiring done, right now I have to hold the wire ends to the 9v battery :lol:

I'm interested in the lights, but no source came up when I used the link. Any other information available?

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Free Shipping Waterproof White 5M 60leds M 3528 Flexible Lighting 12V LED Strip | eBay

 

[Pcolafisher]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Free Shipping Waterproof White 5M 60leds M 3528 Flexible Lighting 12V LED Strip | eBay

Thanks! I thought you had also found some better made in America ones. Maybe I misunderstood. I may get a chance to start the demolition on my Islander this weekend, if so, I'll start a thread.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Yeah, Still Chinese ones, but from a USA seller.

These appear to be the same... different seller tho...

 

[dozerII]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

What's happening Chris, are you still working on the Chief? You pop in once in while.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Chief is all frozen solid right now, I have been working on the house tho.

Just finished dumping most of the carpet in the house in favor for laminate flooring, by the time I finish everything related it may be time to start un wrapping the chief.

Dog loves her new bed tho, and soon it will be time to start taking apart the pads for the cabin...

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Getting close to that time, this weekend we had some real nice weather on Friday (72F!), Saturday was about 62F, until later in the day as a storm rolled though, nice lighting and snow in the canyons.

We got a good winter, it should top off most of the lakes up there

Right now I'm working to get my tow rig all ready to roll + the whole safety inspection due by the end of the month... I have been putting off way to much work on it, and it's piled up.
Right now as long as I don't get tagged for the rust hole in the muffler I'm gtg :facepalm:

I even spent time going through the state safety inspection details, they have it setup out real nice and clear, explains what to "advise" and what will actually fail me.

So far I have a list of things I have been failed for in the past that clearly say "advise" so I printed out those pages just incase :lol:

I also got my backyard "respectable" my next door neighbor apologized for antics he put me through last year (Calling the cops during the build ect) so we are good now.

And I found a nice bottom feeder friendly chainsaw Pulan pro 50cc with 20in bar, refurbished for $120(pp5020av), real nice has a Husqvarna power plant (they bought the company a while back it seems), even confirmed the H crown logo on the top of the piston and H crown logo on the engine case... made quick work of the massive logs I had in the backyard.

Anyone looking for a cheap saw, this one is decent, but it came running a bit to lean for break-in, and I prefer a but richer running overall... requires a special screw driver I assume due to California emissions.

Right now fully broken in and running perfect, I fill up twice per tank of bar oil, manf had it setup to use a tank of bar oil per tank of fuel...

Then got a neighbor to come over and load up his 30ft trailer, I knew I had a lot but it really filled up that thing

then Saturday I "Fell'd" another tree with the saw, so far I knocked over two trees alone with that thing, I think that makes me an official lumberjack now.. :watermelon:

One more tree that has to come down, then I'll have one last popular that's still alive to knock down when I'm ready.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Lumberjack, Mechanic, when are you going to get the chance to be a S/C boat builder again Chris? Glad spring has made it's way to you.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Oh you know us lumberjacks, a strange breed we are. :lol:

I finally took the time to get the admirals car into the shop after Mr Gibbs damaged the back, as I was accepting a smaller boring car for a few days, a black challenger rolled in... :watermelon:

Yeah I'm a happy boy right now, I love the car so far

now I'm a muscle car driving lumberjack/mechanic/boat builder/systems analyst/cool type guy (for a few days when the admiral is not driving it)

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

I mean come on, who wants to be that guy:

now I'm a muscle car driving lumberjack/mechanic/boat builder/wealth, generous benefactor/cool type guy ..........

This guy, that's who :watermelon:

Keep your foot outta the throttle around town. Hot laps on 275 or at Bonneville ARE acceptable right?

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

I won't lie, I like the sport shift feature (not sure if I made that name up), put it in manual and lay a patch down

When I was a kid it was $85 ticket to do that.. I don't think I want to find out how much it went up... :lol:

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

I guess boat work is on the days when the Admiral is a cool muscle car driving chick. :lol:

 

[barato2]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Gib, i was recently drivng the parents' late model Chrysler 300....pretty sedate car but i think the same running gear and drivetrain as the V6 Chrager.....i hit the gas a little harder than i meant to pulling out into traffic and car laid down a big black stripe....no manual shifting, holding the brake down, etc needed. big change from my 4 cyl Taco! enjoy the hot rod while you have it, and use your age to play dumb if you get stopped for lighting em up ...."Ossifer, i'm just not used to this thing they stuck me with......"

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

yeah you know that engine has variable valve timing n stuff, it would of been nice if they had some performance buttons to click...
Only thing bypassing that was the manual shift option, with that it shifted hard and fast (baby?).

in auto mode the trans shifted soft and spongy, even my wifes Saturn with the v6 shifts quick and firm... disappointing of Chrysler, but that can be tuned out easily (had to do it with my blazer), lower the tq management, and raise the trans line pressures (all handled in the pcm).
If I owned the thing, I would of pulled the computer and sent it off to a company like pcm for less for them to fix it :lol:

I started looking at the Camaro and the challenger side by side on their respective sites...

Charger v8 is only about 60-80hp more than the V6
Chev has their V6 at about 50-60hp higher than the charger's V6 of the same size...
And then you get into chevs V8's (tons of options all the way to the Z28!)
V8's in the chev range have some power... and with the Z28, a price to match...

Comparing the base line V8 to the base lins v6's Chev wins, more power for the same money... but I sure liked that car

I need to now rent a Camaro, and then return to reality :lol:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

No need to rent a Camaro, just go in & ask for the Jeff Gordon test drive experience.

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

I had to google that, funny!

Also how did the epoxy trick work for you?

For the nova I'm thinking about switching epoxy brands and saving a little money...
At this point I may start over on it, I have some wood damage I noticed from the last time I looked over it..

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Oh yeah, and we have a bush track, and now a nascar track not to far away, they let you rent time on it... also on the bush track, there is a drag strip you can rent, and they have races you can get into...

Me; I have no interest, I just like causing a little havoc here and there :lol:

reminds me, while causing havoc with that dodge, I noticed a neighbor had an orig challenger off the side of his house, the other day coming home from work, I saw that came car fry the crap out of his tires and smoke out an intersection, it was impressive... but caused some issues in that intersection as nobody could see, I almost had a lady swerve into the side of me trying to avoid the cloud...

Yeah... one day, I'll find an old muscle car for a project... but the prices are getting crazy for the good looking ones...
I'll stick with boats for now eep:

I'm starting to get in the mood for boat building, I might just unwrap the chief and do a little work.

I still need to finish polishing the sides and get the stickers on her...

I also need to finish mocking up the center windshield (top windshield taken from that poor glasser via sawsall bwhaha ), then take the old glass down to have it trimmed to fit.

I'm thinking cardboard would do the trick, then use some painters tape on the glass to mark where I want it cut, then let the shop do their work.

I also messed up on the center frame, I had measured it out all perfect, then had a few drinks before I started to work polishing/wet sanding the boat sides... got up on top and found the top piece was to long, so I marked and cut... yup... found out I had some weight on the center of the roof causing it to bend in, and shortening the gap :facepalm:

Not that big of a deal, I can still use the piece, but I have a good 1/4 - 1/2 in on each side gap... not getting that perfect spacing I was hoping for...

Lesson on that one; if your cutting and measuring, don't drink! :embarassed:

Not quite sure where I can get a new frame piece with the same shaping, I can come close with the Home depot stuff tho...
but where it is, nobody will notice except for me :lol:

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

If you keep drinking you won't notice either, Gib. LOL

Good to see you back on her.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

I had to google that, funny!

If you liked the car salesman pepsi ad, take a look at part2:

Also how did the epoxy trick work for you?

The wax paper epoxy trick? It worked pretty good, but I didn't use it on the other coats. Turned out fine.

For the nova I'm thinking about switching epoxy brands and saving a little money...
At this point I may start over on it, I have some wood damage I noticed from the last time I looked over it..

Swapping from & to? Hasn't been that long since you worked on the Nova has it? Damage? Bummer..

 

[Gibbles]

Re: 18' Starcraft Starchief OB Rebuild

Thinking about switching from west system epoxy to the us composite gallon jugs.

And on the nova I decided to do transom in three pieces, but I forgot it's built different than the Jetstar's transom...

I also learned the importance of the multi coats, especially on the edges.

On the nova while the rear floor seems to be holding up fine, the pieces I fitted to merge the different flooring sections got water inside, and split the plywood...

So I'll need to pull the rear decking and clean it up, then decide if I'm going to re-use the floor section.

I also did not plan the transom out very well, while I coated the main transom well, I decided to do three pieces, forgetting about that long sweeping curve of the Nova's transom...

I'm really not happy with the way the transom came out, plus the top sections were out in the sun unprotected all summer long, I noticed the epoxy did indeed break down...
Not a big deal really, but I need to decide what I'm going to do with it, also the extra top corners of the transom had noticeable gaps, think I'll try again with a single piece transom...

good news is I took what I learned from mistakes on the Nova to the Chief, main reason why I went with a one piece transom... however I had already installed the transom and the flooring before I learned my lesson with thin coats on the edges, and underside... :facepalm:

it should be fine however, the nova's flooring was exposed, where the Chief's flooring was fully installed, and covered before getting any water near it.