Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project
Re: 1964 15' Starcraft Aluminum Runabout Project
A frustrating day, but in the end, productive.
I spent the day fabricating a new board for the control and cutting out seat boards. You wouldn't think it would take that long, but...The control mount board had to be completely redesigned and adapted to fit the newer controls, made larger and thicker. I just plain screwed up the first time and cut it wrong. (It was early!) Then I got my act together and remeasured, cut drilled and glued. I needed to increase the thickness for clearance for the lever travel, and the high idle lever to operate. I'll apply some epoxy and then plan to cover it with vinyl.
Cutting the seat boards was very frustrating, until I finally figured out what was going on. I measured and re-measured and measured again, thought it was right, laid out the cuts and cut the front board out. It was way off and I was out of 3/4" exterior by then, so I had to hook up the trailer and make a mid-day excursion to Lowe's. Got back and started in again, and darned if I didn't keep coming out with a different measurement every time. Unbelieveable, I didn't think I was
that bad at it. I was using my trusty old measuring tape and an excellent 4' T-square that I use for cutting mats for photographs. After my umpteenth calculation, measurement and transfer to the plywood, it was screwy again. OK, really started thinking and checking things out and here's what I discovered.....my !&%#}*! 4' T-square is only 47-7/8 inches long!!! Never noticed it when measuring from the right end!
You wouldn't think it would make that much difference, but I was using them interchangeably, having to measure certain distances from the center to the edges etc. Well, from now on, it's only a square, not a ruler too.
So after figuring that out, the re-cut went really smooth and it fit right in, and the measuring & cutting of the rear seat board did the same. I'd hoped to get to some more epoxying done today too, but now I'm shot for the day, too much sun etc. Felt triumphant though when the second board slipped right into place!
When I bought this boat, I didn't realize at the time just how much of a rebuild it was going to be, but as I got into it more and more, it turned into a lot more work than I imagined. It's enjoyable, but some days I wonder "What was I thinking?".
Not sure I'll get to epoxy tomorrow, might be getting some rain & thunderstorms.
