capitolcity
Recruit
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2024
- Messages
- 1
Recently purchased this 60's Fiberglass Starcraft on Facebook Marketplace. I have zero boat knowledge and this is my first boat purchase ever. The ultimate goal is a nice weekend lake cruiser.
The cool 1963 Mercury "Merc 350" engine
Last registered in 1991, this boat has been in storage for over 3 decades. At least that is what the previous owner told me, but the actively wet mulch like transom and stringers might tell a different story...
What stood out to me was the relatively complete state of the boat. It has complete running gear, a 60's Mercury gas tank and half way decent interior. Upon inspection it was pretty clear that the transom was blown out and the motor was sagging. The floor was also quite soft. Typically in Wisconsin these boats have been gutted and left in a farm field as a rotting shell, so I suppose this is a decent start.
For the two hour trip home we decided to remove the motor and place it inside the boat. The amount of flex in the transom was concerning to the point where I was worried the fiberglass could give out and leave the motor on the road. The drive home I had zero issues otherwise.
First order of business was starting to pull up the floor to get an idea of what was going on- of course I already knew that the stringers would be gone.
The stringers are indeed mush.
Next we moved on to the transom that I was eager to get into. We decided to cut the rear lip covering the transom off of the top as opposed to remove the entire top of the boat. Eventually that will get fiberglassed back in and the top of the boat will likely be painted. The top and the inner tub transom wall is no longer bonded together and has failed, so this gives me ideal access to that area and the ability to drop the new transom in from the top. The rear outer tub/ transom wall we cut out and that will be all new glass tabbed over the edges on the rear.
Not one inch of the transom was dry.
Close up shot of the rot from the top
And the old transom cleaned out
That's pretty much were I am at currently. I was going to remove the rest of the floor today and clean up the edges, but my oscillating tool decided to stop working. My first question for the community is about the stringers- I did my best to inspect them and and I see a few different points of construction in the floor. the side to side stringers definitely had wood in them. From front to rear seems to be hollow fiberglass tubes that have no evidence of anything being in them. Also running front to rear between the fiberglass tubes are sort of ribboned fiberglass sheets. They are pinched at the bottom and suggest that they never had any wood running inside them. I am looking for opinions on the construction of the floor and if the front to rear fiberglass "ribbons" had some sort of wood in them, maybe like wood dowels
My hopes are that I can get away with just replacing the side to side wood stringers and re-fiberglassing the rest of the floor construction of the boat
The cool 1963 Mercury "Merc 350" engine
Last registered in 1991, this boat has been in storage for over 3 decades. At least that is what the previous owner told me, but the actively wet mulch like transom and stringers might tell a different story...
What stood out to me was the relatively complete state of the boat. It has complete running gear, a 60's Mercury gas tank and half way decent interior. Upon inspection it was pretty clear that the transom was blown out and the motor was sagging. The floor was also quite soft. Typically in Wisconsin these boats have been gutted and left in a farm field as a rotting shell, so I suppose this is a decent start.
For the two hour trip home we decided to remove the motor and place it inside the boat. The amount of flex in the transom was concerning to the point where I was worried the fiberglass could give out and leave the motor on the road. The drive home I had zero issues otherwise.
First order of business was starting to pull up the floor to get an idea of what was going on- of course I already knew that the stringers would be gone.
The stringers are indeed mush.
Next we moved on to the transom that I was eager to get into. We decided to cut the rear lip covering the transom off of the top as opposed to remove the entire top of the boat. Eventually that will get fiberglassed back in and the top of the boat will likely be painted. The top and the inner tub transom wall is no longer bonded together and has failed, so this gives me ideal access to that area and the ability to drop the new transom in from the top. The rear outer tub/ transom wall we cut out and that will be all new glass tabbed over the edges on the rear.
Not one inch of the transom was dry.
Close up shot of the rot from the top
And the old transom cleaned out
That's pretty much were I am at currently. I was going to remove the rest of the floor today and clean up the edges, but my oscillating tool decided to stop working. My first question for the community is about the stringers- I did my best to inspect them and and I see a few different points of construction in the floor. the side to side stringers definitely had wood in them. From front to rear seems to be hollow fiberglass tubes that have no evidence of anything being in them. Also running front to rear between the fiberglass tubes are sort of ribboned fiberglass sheets. They are pinched at the bottom and suggest that they never had any wood running inside them. I am looking for opinions on the construction of the floor and if the front to rear fiberglass "ribbons" had some sort of wood in them, maybe like wood dowels
My hopes are that I can get away with just replacing the side to side wood stringers and re-fiberglassing the rest of the floor construction of the boat
