1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

[Feendog]

Hello everyone,

Here is my 1968 Starcraft arrow that I got from my father as a trade with another boat that I had. I have ripped out the original back to back seats that I will be redoing and re-upholstering this winter. Then the fiberglass floor got removed with the old wood that was a little soft. I recently put in pressure treated plywood and new fiberglass over the plywood to make it water tight. The photos that I am attaching are with the floor ripped up and the start if me strengthing the cross members. I will keep everyone posted on the progress and what I have done. Maybe some of you can give me pointers or hints of what has worked out for you when you have redone one of these boats.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Here are the pictures.

 

[82rude]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

nice start ,you would be better served getting one of the mods to move this over to boat restoration threads though.lots of help over there.

 

[NYBo]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:

The problem with using pressure treated plywood is the moisture content. You may have a problem with resin sticking to it.

 

[roffey]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Correct me if I am wrong but I think the pressure treated will rust the screws as well.. I was told to use marine grade plywood, lighter and stronger.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Roffey,

There are no screws that hold the floor down. The fiberglass does it all. It kind of floats in a way. That is how it was when it was originally done so that is the way I did it. So I won't have any issues with that. At the time I did it I didn't know there was marine grade plywood, so you could say I messed up there. I will do some research to see what the difference is between them. If you guys have any ideas or hints for me with anything else that I will run into, I would love to get a heads up. Thank you.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Just looked at the difference between the two and the marine grade uses Maine grade glue, has no gaps, lighter, and is made out of better wood. Looks like I messed up that part. I did put fiberglass over the whole floor of the boat so I don't foresee any water even getting to the plywood. If it does fail I will just rip everything out and do it right.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

What does your boat look like now that you have the deck in?

If you notice you fiberglassing on the deck turn milky you may want to remove it, the milky color will be because of the moisture in the PT wood and it will meanyour resin hasn't penetrated or bonded properly.

If your decking wasn't screwed to the stringers it should have been bonded with adhesive. Either a home made resin adhesive using the fiberglass resin with thickeners and fillers for strength or a commercial adhesive like PL Premium (waterproof).

What did you use for floatation foam below deck?

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Jigngrub,

I did use stainless steel screws to hold down the plywood. There was no floatation foam below the original deck so I didn't put any down. Also if any water does accumulate under the deck it has a hole in the rear that drains it. The epoxy didn't look milky at all it is pretty clear like glass. I already sanded the epoxy down and am going to apply one last final coat to have a nice finish. I will post pics with what the new floor looks like at a later date. Also I will post how the old back to back seats look and the new pics of the redone. Thank you again everyone for some good ideas.

 

[z28]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Good job, hope it last you a long time.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Jigngrub,

I did use stainless steel screws to hold down the plywood. There was no floatation foam below the original deck so I didn't put any down. Also if any water does accumulate under the deck it has a hole in the rear that drains it. The epoxy didn't look milky at all it is pretty clear like glass. I already sanded the epoxy down and am going to apply one last final coat to have a nice finish. I will post pics with what the new floor looks like at a later date. Also I will post how the old back to back seats look and the new pics of the redone. Thank you again everyone for some good ideas.

First I will move this to the restoration section.

Second...... are you going to paint, carpet or put anything over the epoxy on the deck? Epoxy does NOT like UV rays from the sun and it will break it down. You can use marine varnish over the epoxy to keep the gloss but you must cover it with something.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

I am going to paint it like it was done back in 1968. I am trying to do the same things and keep it as close to the original way it was done when it was new. It was painted with no carpet, so I am just going to paint it.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

How would I move this to the restoration section?

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

It says it is under boat Restoration, building, and hull repair. That's what I am doing.

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

What type of marine paint would I use to paint the inside of a boat?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Nice to see you started a resto thread F-dog.

The transom is solid & doesn't also need to be replaced? Based on the general condition of the boat & the staining on the transom, it seems suspect:

But in one post you said the plywood 'floats' in place & isn't fastened to the stringers, in another you said you used stainless screws to hold down the deck.... Since the plywood being discussed is the deck, I'm unclear what is floating & what is screwed down.

Good luck w/ your project..

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

Jbcurt00,

From the factory they didn't use screws, but they might of used some sort of marine glue. So when I ripped out the old fiberglass and plywood it seemed like the fiberglass on top of the plywood was holding it in place. When I put the new plywood down I used stainless steel screws to told it down. Then proceeded to apply the fiberglass on top of it. It seems three times stronger than it was before. There should be no way that water would get under the plywood or fiberglass. As for the transom it is solid and will hold the 50 hp outboard that I have for the boat.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

If you look at the pix I reposted above, you can see 2 strips of glass running fore & aft and another running port to starboard (they appear white in the pix), that is probably roving that was wetted out w/ resin, laid out on top of the pre-fab stringer grid just before the deck plywood was applied.

Most original decks didn't have glass on the down side (probably had nothing) so it's more likely to be the roving I mentioned rather then glass that was pulled off the back of the original deck, when the deck was removed.

You choose 1 of the other ways to fasten it down, using screws. Stainless was a good choice. You probably used thicker ply then SC did originally as well.

At some point it appears that a MOD moved your thread to the resto forum, and possibly moved 1 of your posts & any replies to it out of the other Arrow thread you posted in....

Typically boats w/ mulch for decking also have damage to the transom, if you've determined it's GTG, great. Fortunately, your Arrow has no wood in the stringers.

BTW: Water will get below decks, probably condensation. That's why 'sealed' decks like yours & my FireFlite have a drain plug for below deck. Why would there be a drain plug if the deck is sealed & there's no way for water to get in.....

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

What have you done to determine that the transom is solid and sound?

 

[Feendog]

Re: 1968 Starcraft arrow 14 ft. Restoration

The white strips are new pieces of fiberglass because the stringers were a little cracked in those areas. I put those in place and used resin to strengthen the stringers so there would be no give when you stood on it. There is wooden stringers under the fiberglass that they used to form the fiberglass stringers that were still strong enough. The plywood that I used was a little bit thicker than the original plywood that came out. There is also a hole at the pocket where the bulge pump goes that does drain the underneath of the boat if water were to somehow find its way under there. As for the transom, I will get a second opinion from I buddy of mine that does restoration to see if it is good to go. I checked it and there were no weak points thats why I said that it wasn't an issue.