1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

[lakelover]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Hate to admit it, but it's looking great! I ease my pain by pretending it's not a Jet Star. Well, it isn't any longer. It's a Jas Star.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

That turned out nice. Looks like it was meant to be.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Hate to admit it, but it's looking great! I ease my pain by pretending it's not a Jet Star. Well, it isn't any longer. It's a Jas Star.

I thought about getting a deal made up...

"Jet Star SC"

SC for side console - lil bit of old, lil bit of new.

That turned out nice. Looks like it was meant to be.

Thanks BN, trying to make it look like it was built that way from the beginning, eh.

 

[Teamster]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

More fuel is always better!!!,.........My 1984 40 horse Rude' will burn up 12 gallons in a day,....The 3 horse Yamaha kicker will burn a couple of gallons a day as well,.....My opinion is to stick with the bigger tank,..Heck yous already have it,...

For a fishing boat I prefer a black bottom,...I'm convinced that fish are less spooked by black,....

I have no hard evidence to support that though,..

 

[third times the charm]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

wow Jas, That really cleaned up the front, You know the more i look at the jetstar, the more like it. clean and simple. I might try to find one after im done with the hoilday and build it for my sons Leaves more room in mine that way. Man what have you people done to me. Im hooked on the starcrafts. :facepalm:

 

[Broadcast]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I like the Jas Star idea! That's the way to go!

Custom name for the custom rig.

Nice work Jas!

 

[Triton II]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Jas, good to see you're living up to your reputation for bomb proofing things. Nice work on the bow structure!

TII

 

[maddiedog]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Ok so I was deprived from not getting my daily Islander update so I came over to this rebuild! Perfect!!! You can hit the eyes in the river and in the shallows of the bay with this one...go out deep in the bay with the Islander then switch gears and go hit the salmon in the summer. I shuddered a little seeing the riggers in the 15 footer! You need to hurry so you can go get some walleye. It will be a little easier installing this motor then the IO. It looks great but I don't see all the floatation yet. I would also go with the fuel tank you have. A day of running for eyes will probably burn 10 gallons. If you get a little kicker for your islander you can use it on this too. If you get an evinrude or Johnson the fitting will be the same so you can just switch it over once you are out there. A 50 hp won't slow down enough for eyes.

 

[Wrongsyde]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Ok so I was deprived from not getting my daily Islander update so I came over to this rebuild!
... A 50 hp won't slow down enough for eyes.

I too miss watching you swinging through the work on the big girl, but you've got some fun stuff going on this thread too! Don't know what's more fun... major body modification or watching you try and mount up an I/O!

And I'll confirm maddie's thought on the need for a kicker motor. My 14' has a 40 horse 'Rude on it, and with four long lines out pushes the boat at about 3.5 mph according to GPS. I can get it down to a little over 2 with a "redneck trolling sock," (five gallon bucket with a few holes punched in bottom on a rope) but that is a poor solution. The 40 uses far more fuel, is louder, fouls up because it's not meant to idle for hours, pours oil exhaust in the water that fouls my depthfinder transponder, still won't get down to the 1.3-ish mph that's necessary for slow fish, and is a general PAIN IN THE NECK.

A second motor is almost a necessity for any trolling work you'll be wanting on either boat. Should be a two minute job to switch kicker between boats. Keep an eye out for ways to have fuel sources for it on both boats... and a way to lock it to existing helm steering. Look around for a motor that will provide power to move the Islander but can drop down far enough to keep the JasStar moving at sedate paces.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Hey Jas,

I just realized that the faded out blue paint on your boat, looks a lot like my "Blue Flamingo". R U gunna keep it that Color??? If so I got the Paint Mix formula if you need/want it.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

My opinion is to stick with the bigger tank,..Heck yous already have it,...

For a fishing boat I prefer a black bottom,...I'm convinced that fish are less spooked by black

Yah, I have gone back and forth on that tank. It's up on clist at the moment, no bites, I think it's going in the Jet Star.

I was always under the impression that white bottoms are best as when the fish looks up it blends better with the bright sky? Ya know, like the belly of a fish, almost always white eh.

You know the more i look at the jetstar, the more like it. clean and simple. Man what have you people done to me. Im hooked on the starcrafts.

Yah, that is what I am hoping for, stripped down, basic, but nice, fishin rig.

Yup, owning more than one alum boat is wise

I like the Jas Star idea! That's the way to go!

Custom name for the custom rig.

Nice work Jas!

Jas Star, that's a hoot! Thanks for swinging by bcast!

Jas, good to see you're living up to your reputation for bomb proofing things. Nice work on the bow structure!

TII

Thanks buddy, have yet more structure going in. Hopefully some progress posts soon.

Ok so I was deprived from not getting my daily Islander update so I came over to this rebuild! Perfect!!! You can hit the eyes in the river and in the shallows of the bay with this one...go out deep in the bay with the Islander then switch gears and go hit the salmon in the summer.

If you get a little kicker for your islander you can use it on this too. If you get an evinrude or Johnson the fitting will be the same so you can just switch it over once you are out there. A 50 hp won't slow down enough for eyes.

Yah, that is what I am thinking. I pretty much have all the basis covered between the two boats.

I think I may get a high thrust bow mount trolling motor for this Jet. But, yur right. A 8 - 10 hp kicker would be great for both if I wanted to go that route

I too miss watching you swinging through the work on the big girl, but you've got some fun stuff going on this thread too!

Yah, sorry about baggin out on the Islander. I just needed to come to grips with how my summer workload was shaping up. I could see the end of the summer but not the end of the project. I am really thankful I have this project to pick away at.

Now, if I could shirk some of my other very important responsibilities and obligations I could get somewhere on this Jet!

Hey Jas,

I just realized that the faded out blue paint on your boat, looks a lot like my "Blue Flamingo". R U gunna keep it that Color??? If so I got the Paint Mix formula if you need/want it.

Yup, that is baby blue under all that dirt there. Well, since I am a Rustoleum man and am looking for my touch ups to come from a rattle can picked up from the local lumber yard....

Uh, well, that pretty much leaves Blue, Green, Black, White, Gray for me.

That classic blue is best for vintage beauties. My rig will be more utilitarian eh.

________________________________

Well not much progress, just a few little things here and there.

I just picked up the trailer from a bearing job. I felt vibration the whole way home when I was towing that 4Winns. Thankfully it was a short drive to get er home My mechanic said they were totally burned up. So, I got a whole new setup, both sides. Spent some money (rats) but pick and choose my battles I suppose.

Hopefully I can post something interesting in the next few days.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

OK, here is something I have been stewing over since I bought this rig. Ah, likely even before I brought this home.

Splashwell Reduction

I know a bunch of you guys have wrestled with this too, eh.

OK here is where I am at...

This splashwell is ginormous. It is a full 2', quite a bit for a little 15 footer...

As I see it I am working with three options.

1. Leave it be. Honestly, I think it's super cool looking. Really gives the boat some cool lines. Function? Well, it's huge so I am sure it sheds any splashes coming over. But, it sure eats up a lot of space. Especially right at the stern there where I'd like to be fishing.

2. Surgery. I have kinda figured that I can reduce this thing by roughly half, see...

The red line was my first measurement, blue line was a second measure that I liked a little better. So, basically make the cut, and the whole set up slides back to the transom. I don't remember at the moment but I think that would be about 9" or so lopped off. Going this route there are some fit and finish issues, but, I think I pretty well have those figured out so I won't bore ya with that stuff. Surely more work going this route, but, smaller splash well, more usable space in the boat, not as cool looking as the biggen, still kinda cool.

3. Removal. Leave it out entirely. I really like this option, all sorts of space in the rig!

Cool factor, not so much. Space factor of 10!

Now, I know the splashwell serves as a bit of a structure piece in addition to shedding water. So, if I take it out, I'll add structure. Here is what I have...

A full 1/4" thick piece of 6061 aluminum, 4' long 13"wide. I'd notch trowel on some 5200/PL, through bolted with stainless carriage bolts, and install it like yo...

(the boat was held up by Keeper Straps, not balancing on those tires/foam, in case yur wondering)

I'd also cut tapers in the sides to match the lines of the hull keeping it a lil more factory looking, ya know.

Honestly, I have fully committed to each of these options many times over. Sometimes all three in one day! I am about ready to pull the trigger on one of em.

What do you guys think??

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I think I would keep part of the splashwell in there. Like you said it helps keep water out. It would also keep some structure to it. You would lose a little of that extra space you want at the rear, but you could use under the small splashwell for extra storage and stuff.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I would shorten it but keep some of it there. It is definitely too large from stock. Not a fan of the big patch panel on the back. Looks hacky. Probably all these years of looking at boats with shot transoms poorly patched with something similar

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Hey Jason, I agree with BN and Ez, shorten it up but I wouldn't take it out completly. Adding the aluminum does nothing for adding torsional strength like the splash well anyways. And like Ez said it looks like a patch.

 

[yooperangler]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I agree with the other guys leave some of the splashwell in there if for no other reason than that is what makes it look like an SC.I also think it provides an added degree of safety/peace of mind on a smaller boat especially if your planning on trolling a lot good chance with trailing waves and wandering around in the stern fightin those big ones you may get the occasional splash over the transom.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

Well now, how the heck did you guys come up with that unanimous decision so quick?!

Sheesh, I've been stewing on that for months!

Man, those paint chips I snacked on for all those years must be taking their toll:facepalm::facepalm:

Cool, I like it, splashwell surgery it is!

Thanks for chipping in guys, always great to have another set of eyes checking out and helping the project along

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I'd want to keep a small splashwell too, I agree with these guys^^^.

If you eliminate it all together then you will always be worried about a boat cruising past on the river at displacement speed when your stern is anchored facing their wake(glassers aren't always courteous on the water).

Leaving it as it is would be the easiest and quickest option

 

[mark1961]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

I'd be inclined to leave it as is but each to their own.

If you decide to shorten it check beforehand that you wont have any clearance issues on the front of the splashwell when the motor is tilted right up.....

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1968 15' Starcraft Jet Star Rebuild

If you decide to shorten it check beforehand that you wont have any clearance issues on the front of the splashwell when the motor is tilted right up.....

Jas, this is CRUCIAL advice right here!!!!!!!!!!!! I've even heard of new boats that had a problem in this area due to poor design. They need more space than you think. You wouldn't want to be kinking control cables and such due to too tight a fit. Gonna be a pain but you may need to do a complete mockup. Or at least measure everything with the Johnson tilted up the whole way on the stand.