1970 starchief

[Slaviolette]

Well it's almost done.. buying my first "big" boat, I should be able to go pick her up this saturday.

the seller says its a 970 starchief, the serial plate confirms that but he says its a 20ft.. I only see references to 18 ft online, can anyone confirm ?

it has the 140 hp merc, boat seems to be a invery decent condition, run's daily and does not leak, overall I am getting a deal for 3k CDN, at least I think lol

I am wondering.. anything I should look for when I go check her up ? I am not planning any massive restoration project right now, I will use her primarily for fishing, the front cabin is almost gutted, I assume there is a bed there usually ? seems pretty small on the photos.. can 2 adults sleep in there ?

if all goes well might be contributing here on a regular basis as I do work on it !

 

[jbcurt00]

If you look at the specs for a 1970 Starchief, it lists 2 lengths:
18ft 2in transom to bow
19ft 6in measrured along the gunwale

Some makers did measure gunwale length, others measured bow to transom. As its pre-1972, at some point post 1972 at ownership transfer, it was probably labeled a 20ftr based on the gunwale length.

Starcraft considers it an 18ftr, not a 20ftr....

What does the title say? Unless it'll really nag at you, leave it a 20ftr....

Some states charge more for registration of a longer hull. Here in WV its at 18ft, so either way, I'd be paying the same no matter what length it actually is...

Whats the break point in your state? Wisconsin is 18ft too....

 

[Slaviolette]

I`m in canada and it`s different, here I need to register it to get a hull license number, that`s free, and I could but it`s optional, get it registered, which is pointless for an older boat in my opinion.

it was more curiosity than anything else, once thing I am trying to find is the towing weight.. we have a mazda cx-5 and I am pretty sure it will likely not do the job safely..

 

[jbcurt00]

Dry 1650lbs
http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Starcraft_Marine__Starchief_V18__1970/bp/66b87441

 

[ski2rule]

Looks like a sweet deal for 3K. I am in British Columbia and have a 1963 Starchief outboard. I would buy it if it was for sale near me, and i already own 4 boats..

 

[Watermann]

Let us know if the deal went through and you get her home.

 

[Slaviolette]

The deal went through ! tomorrow morning we leave at 7am and diver 4.5 hours to get to her, its a long trip but I think it is so worth it.. I am already starting to make plans.. not much work is needed, she is already in great shape, but she will be getting a new paint job all over, the front cabin is completely bare, I can`t wait to see how much space there actually is in there, then I decide what I do with it.. likely cushions on each side and a removable table in the middle maybe.. so many ideas !

Stay tuned !

 

[Slaviolette]

Here are some photos of the inside..

 

[Slaviolette]

She is home now !

I got lucky, the marina will let me dock for the rest of the season and they will not charge me anything extra as long as I remove my old boat, they even gave me bigger slip since this one is much bigger.

I plan on getting her in the water for the rest of the season, there's still a lot of fish needing to be caught ! a few things I will need to do is replace the bilge pump with an automatic one and the lights do not seem to work, actually funny thing at one point nothing worked (bilge, wiper, blower) until I smacked the wiper motor.. I actually did it a few times.. maybe the wiper motor is shorting something out ? weird.

Also need to look into the gas tanks, I have a gauge for each tank both are not working, can't be too complicated of a system..

Overall for what I paid I am more than satisfied.. we brought her back with a 2018 caravan and drove 450km, we hardly felt it, the trailer was awesome and is probable worth at least half of what I paid for the boat !

I will start posting as I do work on her, wish me luck !

 

[Slaviolette]

Funny problem solved.. blower, wiper, etc nothing electric would work unless you smacked the wiper motor.. the wiper motor was missing a screw to the chassis, replaced it problem solved.. all electrics work on demand, even the wiper motor is faster ! should I be looking for a bad ground ? how could the wiper motor have this effect on so many components ?

 

[SHSU]

Sounds like everything is daisy chained together. Motor was pulling current and draining what we being supplied to the other devices.

SHSU

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to the Starmada,

You'll love the old Chief like a brother as most of us do who own them. Be sure to inspect the bellows closely for any signs they're needing replaced, if the drive bellows rips open no amount of bilge pump will keep you afloat for long. That's the only worry I would have, were you told how long ago the bellows were replaced? Always store and moor the boat with the drive in the down/in position, as that's what causes most the issues leaving them in the extended position for months and years. In the water critters like a muskrat for some reason like to chew on them. The bellows should be replaced around the 6 year mark and I'm due before the next season on my Chief.

She looks nice with the cabin enclosure. 303 makes a great product for keeping the clear vinyl supple and crack free. https://www.iboats.com/shop/clear-vi...-products.html

Yeah that trailer is a perfect fit :thumb:

 

[Unrooly1]

That is a pretty sweet looking ride .
Pretty nice when you can run them for the rest of the season with little work. I like it.

 

[Slaviolette]

you bring something I never taught of.. the bellows.. I never had an inboard boat so this is pretty new to me.. I will be sure to check them out. I am guessing changing them out is a pretty big job ? easy find and buy ?

 

[Watermann]

Bellows are found anywhere boat parts are sold including here at iboats, not sure about Canada though. There's aftermarket bellows and genuine oem out there, shift bellows, drive bellows and exhaust bellows with bellows adhesive.Only a few special tools, hinge pin tool, shift cable nut socket and bellows expander. Depends on how much you want to learn to do it or have pay every 6 years for someone else to do it. Personally I feel better knowing I did something right but I know others question themselves and if they did it right.

 

[Slaviolette]

My bellows look fine, over the winter I will shop around and get some and will change them in the spring.

I have a question regarding the mercontrol unit.. the seller told me I have an electric choke, that;s fine, he said to start her up, turn the key to start the engine and activate the lever 3 times.. (the idle lever), does that lever prime the engine ? honestly I started her by simply lifting it about 3/4's of the way and she started fine, I lower it to keep her at 1k RPM, but it does take a long time, after a few minutes of time RPM drop below 1k and she still runs but rough.

also curious to know, can you go forward with the idle lever up if she is not warm enough ?

 

[Watermann]

The issue with high idle is when you put the drive in gear, it causes wear and tear. You can still adjust the electronic choke if it's closing the plate too much.

Every motor has it's preferred starting ritual, just use what works best.

If you can, contact the seller and ask when the bellows were last replaced. If recently then there's no need to do it again.

 

[Slaviolette]

Well she is in the water ! took her out yesterday.. my previous boat was a 15 foot tri-hull.. so it took a little bit of getting us to and being my first ever deep V hull it was an experience in itself to drive.. and park at the marina, I use to park my little boat on a dime in tight spots, not anymore, good thing I asked for a larger slip for the rest of the season, with the current and the wind parking this beast was a little scary to be honest.

Now getting my list of things to do for this winter to get up up to par.. the bellows the previous owner had it for a year, he has no ideas, they look awesome, but in the spring I am having a mechanic go over everything.

Not knowing if it is normal, when I put her in the water and started her hep I kept the idle at 1500, but after 5 minutes i could just not drop the high idle handle completely, ran about a minute then was able to drop it, could it just be a choke adjustment ?

So far I love this boat, just have to get use to the rocking sideways when people move around in it lol.

As for the throttle, to engage the motor I really have to move the handle super far, like halfway.. is that normal or it would need an adjustment ? i just find it a little annoying since the handle sits so low compared to the seat.

And speaking of seats, the previous guy installed nice rising posts and brand new swivel seats.. the swivel is annoying, anyone ever build a box that double for storage and mounting a seat with a smaller post ?

 

[Watermann]

The controls you have sounds like the ones used for both OB and IO's rather than just for IO. The drive should start to go into gear as soon as you move the handle forward so there is way too much travel if you have to go forward that much. Does the throttle pick up too before the drive goes into gear?

Seat boxes and posts. Mine are able to be tightened down to stop the swivel and are adjustable for height. The little jump seats are mounted to the box hatch.

 

[Slaviolette]

I like those boxes..on the passenger side i do not have the foot rest, let's just say the wife didnt appreciate having her feel dangling while sitting on a swivel seat with no lock lol the remote control I have is a mercontrol (red handle), i do believe it is used on outboards as well, I just feel there is just too much travel to engage.