196X Starcraft Mariner 16

[junkman306]

No recent progress. However, sitting here at work I am perusing over brochures and pictures. After all this time, I have found some decent, viewable, pictures of a 1970 SS 16 and a 1970 Mariner 16, and I do believe that my boat may in fact be a SS. The SS transom shape in the brochure and mine are identical. Along with the decorative rails up front. The Mariner in the same brochure looks to be far more plain with basic wood benches and a more squared, not as low cut, transom. The brochures on Flickr are nice, but there just isn't any zoom capabilities on them. Take a gander and tell me what you think.

 

[MNhunter1]

No recent progress. However, sitting here at work I am perusing over brochures and pictures. After all this time, I have found some decent, viewable, pictures of a 1970 SS 16 and a 1970 Mariner 16, and I do believe that my boat may in fact be a SS. The SS transom shape in the brochure and mine are identical. Along with the decorative rails up front. The Mariner in the same brochure looks to be far more plain with basic wood benches and a more squared, not as low cut, transom. The brochures on Flickr are nice, but there just isn't any zoom capabilities on them. Take a gander and tell me what you think.

I would tend to agree. The bow casting deck and existing side console were a PO add on and the side panel structure, supports, and console attachment are all consistent with the SS model. Looks to be a heavily hacked SS.

 

[junkman306]

I would tend to agree. The bow casting deck and existing side console were a PO add on and the side panel structure, supports, and console attachment are all consistent with the SS model. Looks to be a heavily hacked SS.

This excites me because I can run a bigger motor. Mo powah!!

 

[shinytopgeezer]

Still nothing new to report. I keep forgetting to buy a drain plug for it. It is holding some water well. It has rained a lot lately and we are supposed to get up to another 7 inches of rain tonight. I could leak test it if I had a plug in it.

https://flic.kr/p/2oVy5cS

Your drain plug method is certainly a test that's been used successfully many times in the past! But please don;t do that until you have the trailer tailored to fit the hull! All that water weight could do tremendous damage to the hull. But it does seem to have passed both it's strength AND leak test during it's previous life in the boonies! Have you thought of a TINY (not much bigger than a leaning post) center console? This will be a great family boat!

 

[shinytopgeezer]

I changed the float, needle, and seat on the carb to my Johnson Seahorse 9.9 to try to solve some low speed/idle issues on my jon boat and decided that I would put it back on today to get it ready to go to the lake tomorrow. Got it all installed and it won't even try to fire. So I got mad and shuffled some boats around. I moved the Starcraft onto the driveway so that I will have a better spot to work on it.

https://flic.kr/p/2oUf9QC
https://flic.kr/p/2oUosqs
As seen in the picture above, the side bunks need covered and adjusted. There is some wear on the boat where those rollers touch. I assume it if from years of sitting on the trailer not strapped down and allowed to move around in the wind and such. The roller trays underneath are quite a ways off also. I need to get the boat off the trailer and get that adjusted as well as rewired.

https://flic.kr/p/2oUkTfM
https://flic.kr/p/2oUhZwb

I'm not sure winch is scarier, the transom or the trailer!!!

 

[junkman306]

I thought about cleaning up the hull a hair more and starting some floor action today. Then, at 103 degrees outside temp with a new area record 122 degrees heat index, I decided that I would just stay inside.

 

[junkman306]

Well... It's me again. Lol. I have moved the boat to the backyard since the last post. still in the same condition. However, I have really had the bug to get back to working on it. I still need to work on the trailer. I am not trailer savvy, so I really do not know what to do with it other than try to adjust it to fit. Onto to plywood. I figure 1/2" pressure treated will suffice. I am stuck on whether to use pour foam or foam board. Ugh.

 

[MNhunter1]

No place for pressure treated wood an aluminum boat. Stick with marine ply or an exterior grade ply like ACX or BCX and seal with Epoxy or spar depending on the application. The chemicals in pressure treated wood results in corrosion of the aluminum.
I'm doing my trailer work now. I recommend doing it early as its not a lot of fun and becomes easy to put off after the boat is complete. Much more important from a safety perspective as well, and way easier to manipulate the hull around when its stripped down and without the motor.
I suggest staying away from the pour foam and sticking with the foam board. The pour foam has a tendency to trap and hold water/moisture which over time causes corrosion when its trapped against the hull. I know there's an argument about the pour stuff adding structure/rigidity to the hull, but its debatable. There's a pile of older Starcrafts still on the water today that were originally outfitted with the foam board, so its not a problem that necessarily needs to be fixed.

 

[junkman306]

No place for pressure treated wood an aluminum boat. Stick with marine ply or an exterior grade ply like ACX or BCX and seal with Epoxy or spar depending on the application. The chemicals in pressure treated wood results in corrosion of the aluminum.
I'm doing my trailer work now. I recommend doing it early as its not a lot of fun and becomes easy to put off after the boat is complete. Much more important from a safety perspective as well, and way easier to manipulate the hull around when its stripped down and without the motor.
I suggest staying away from the pour foam and sticking with the foam board. The pour foam has a tendency to trap and hold water/moisture which over time causes corrosion when its trapped against the hull. I know there's an argument about the pour stuff adding structure/rigidity to the hull, but its debatable. There's a pile of older Starcrafts still on the water today that were originally outfitted with the foam board, so its not a problem that necessarily needs to be fixed.

Looks like ACX can be bought cheap enough. I'll buy some and seal it and see how it goes. I'm sure it'll last several years as is.

 

[junkman306]

Anyone have any thoughts on the trailer? I don't know anything about how a boat should sit on a trailer so I don't know if this is right or not.

 

[Moserkr]

I have zero knowledge on roller trailers, but @MNhunter1 has been rebuilding his recently. Check out his trailer thread, maybe he can help answer any questions. https://forums.iboats.com/threads/shorelandr-rebuild.772860/

I do know that the more support the better, especially for our riveted boats. My trailer has a lot of bunks and just center keel rollers.

 

[MNhunter1]

Anyone have any thoughts on the trailer? I don't know anything about how a boat should sit on a trailer so I don't know if this is right or not.

To be honest, the trailer looks like its in pretty rough shape based on the pictures. I'd start by stripping those rusted side guides and raw wood off, as well as that makeshift wood cross member for the transom support. Your rear rollers should really be aligned with the transom as that is where the bulk of the weight rides. Your boat is currently sitting too far back on the trailer and you risk hooking your hull if left that way. When the hull is stripped, it's not a big chore to get it off the trailer and allow you a better opportunity to look over the trailer. I couldn't tell if the rear frame on the port side was bent, or just the angle of the photo. I'd assess whether its worth the effort of a rebuild, or if your better off finding a replacement. You'll definitely want to check the tires(likely need replacing) and repack the bearings/replace seals, which should be done as regular maintenance. Once the hull is off, some additional pictures would be helpful as I can't really see much of the bunk/roller set up. Any old wood I'd also tear off to ensure there is no pressure treated anywhere on the trailer. The trailer is actually more important than the boat from a safety perspective. There's a lot at risk if it's not up to the task and can wipe away all the effort of your restoration in a heartbeat.

 

[junkman306]

Well, here we go again. We've had some decent weather lately and my 8 year old has been asking about getting the boat ready, so I drug it out of the backyard, up to the driveway. He helped me clean the dirt and leaves out and used an antenna to clean the drain channel under the ribs. Then he rinsed the boat out and I started planning the seating layout. I'm still stuck on what to use for a console or what to build one out of.

 

[Moserkr]

A metal bender or press and some AL sheet could make consoles pretty quick. Maybe not as sharp as stock but close enough. Once the foam/floor is in you could get exact measurements for the height you want.

I ran a magnet along all my ribs too, was amazed at what came out from under them.

 

[junkman306]

A metal bender or press and some AL sheet could make consoles pretty quick. Maybe not as sharp as stock but close enough. Once the foam/floor is in you could get exact measurements for the height you want.

I ran a magnet along all my ribs too, was amazed at what came out from under them.

I'll probably end up fabbing a console that way. I may just make the one in it work for the sake of getting it on the water. I've never thought about using a magnet, but it seems like no matter how much compressed air and water I send through the ribs, stuff keeps coming out. I have an ADHD/OCD paranoia that once I put the floor in, they'll clog again and water will get stuck sitting under the floor.

 

[junkman306]

Does anybody have the actual like Coast Guard information labels as far as weight and person capacity and horsepower ratings for our boats? I am still not 100% sure what boat I have and half of the brochures and stuff in the above sticky, aren't there anymore or don't open and most of them are just marketing materials. I would like actual specs of my boat. I'm concerned about weight by the time I add floor and build benches for my seats and build a console and such.

 

[Moserkr]

That was my other thought as well - fab the consoles later and get on the water the way it is now. Hopefully where you mount the seats work so thats just another variable.

As far as capacity goes, I bet it's close to a 160SS given the bare hulls look identical. Other than that, no clue. Someone smarter than me probably knows though haha.

 

[junkman306]

That was my other thought as well - fab the consoles later and get on the water the way it is now. Hopefully where you mount the seats work so thats just another variable.

As far as capacity goes, I bet it's close to a 160SS given the bare hulls look identical. Other than that, no clue. Someone smarter than me probably knows though haha.

I have spent almost all of this evenings shift at work looking at brochures. Lol. I looks like a Mariner, SS160, Sprint, and Star Trek. I cannot zoom in the brochures with specs well enough to see measurements though.

 

[junkman306]

I got a wild hair the other day and thought I'd hook power and ground to my truck battery to see if it would turn over. Then thought why not see if it'll try to fire? So, I hooked up power and ground, got my muffs and the garden hose out, and grabbed my 3 gallon john boat tank and hose and gave it a whirl. It's the little wins, right?

 

[junkman306]

Weeelllllll.... Today was good and bad. I've been wanting to put the boat on the water and see if it leaks for 2 summers now. I had some time today before work to do that, so I did. My 8 year old son wanted to come along and I needed someone in the boat to look for leaks, so it worked out. Now for the downside.... I wasn't as prepared for this trip as I thought I was. We left the house and I had forgotten to slime the boat trailer tires (both tired have slow leaks). So we stopped in the next town at a local parts store to grab some Slime. That's when I realized that I didn't have a safety chain on the trailer either. The parts store only stocked a rather expensive safety cable, so I passed. We went across the street to a hardware store to buy some bulk chain and came across a Reese pre-made safety chain on the shelf so I bought that. I grabbed 2 small cans of Fix-A-Flat and paid and went back outside. We flattened both boat trailer tires and started with the Fix-A-Flat. It didn't take me long to remember why I hate using that stuff. Neither can had enough pressure to air up either tire. I do think I managed to get about half a can in each tire of the Fix-A-Flat stuff itself. I used my battery powered air pump to get each tire up to 30psi and then went over to the gas station to top them off. 70psi and we were on our way. We get to the lake and it is freakin WINDY. like 30+ mph steady winds. I picked up a Minn Kota Endura Max 45lb transom mount trolling motor for my Jon boat and thought I'd give it a whirl on the Starcraft. WAY too windy so we didn't try it out. I put my 8 year old in the boat, unstrapped the back, and backed it into the lake. Then I climbed across the bed of the truck, down the trailer tongue, to the winch. I let out about 6ft of the strap and pushed the boat out to float. Then it got even better. I had backed in on the downwind side of the dock hoping it would block some of the wind. Not exactly. The boat got crooked before I could winch it back up and I couldn't get it around the guide pole to straighten it up. When I tried to pull it out of the water, it rested on the rear guide pole and tried to rollover. I dont think my 8 year old will help with that again. I was able to go over to the dock and throw a rope with a carabiner to my son who wrapped it around the rear tie point and I was able to pull it over onto the trailer. Now, for the leaks. Because there are some. The leakiest part was 2 holes above the drain plug where something had been mounted at some point and the right rear corner of the boat. There was the slightest dribble from the front where the boat starts it's curve upward. The underside of the boat at the curve looks a little rough. I think some Gluv It will solve that. The 2 holes in the transom just have some old silicone in them. I'll clean that out and fill those in. Hopefully, when I get back from vacation next week, I can try again in some calmer water. My boy earned him some pizza for riding out the mishap in the boat during testing. Lol.