1971 Starcraft Chieftain Restoration/Modification

[Sonny Tanner]

This is my first boat restoration ever. I looked everywhere and i couldn't find anyone with the same idea as i had. I have always wanted an aluminum boat and I thought i found the perfect one for a decent price of $1000. Not a bad price for something that is in pretty good condition and as per the person I bought it from , he told me the engine runs and that it has no leaks. Now being that the boat is from 1971 I know that the rivets might not be in the TOP SHAPE but I drove 5 hours from my house with my daughter and we went to go buy a boat. I have heard may people say that the happiest two days for a boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. Well i am not a quitter and I am up to any challenge even though it may take me more time than other people that have better skills and tools. I will try to take you guys through the experience if you will allow me and I will tell you all that i can think of as far as what I learned and the level of hardship since I am after all a novice. So after driving to pick it up I can say that the pictures made it look a LOT BETTER than it looked in real life but after looking around the boat I decided that for me and the price it was worth it. So here are some pictures of the way the boat looked when I first got it then I will try to post more pictures as I got further into it. I am not done with it but I am not giving up and I am not giving in.

 

[Sonny Tanner]

So after I brought the boat home I realized that the color was faded and had different faded spots on it so I wanted to change the color , even though I like the yellow. I bought some paint and of course did the inevitable and painted it another color. I will post pictures of what the next process was. I sanded the whole hull and then primered everything above the water line in what i thought was gonna be some darker orange but some people say it looks kinda red.

 

[BWR1953]

Welcome!

Nice Chief!

Be sure to check out the Starcraft sub-forum here. Click on the link below. Your Chieftain will be much appreciated there.

Starcraft Boats

forums.iboats.com

 

[Sonny Tanner]

Now, comes the interesting part. Its the time I got behind the steering and realized that where the steering was positioned it was extremely difficult to see the front end of the boat and the places i would take the boat , there are lots of kayaks and surfers and I would like to see everything so I dont hit anyone or anything for that matter. After some thinking and probably not enough , I decided that i should redo the entire cuddy cabin part of the boat. One of the reasons I already stated it in the beginning of the paragraph and the other reason was , that in the winter months I could be warm and I could( why not) move the entire steering inside the cuddy cabin that i would build. I took the entire old cuddy cabin apart with the help of my kids and now I was left with a boat that looked very interesting because I was kinda stuck. I am always full of ideas but one thing I know is that I AM NOT A WELDER. Welding is one thing but welding aluminum is an entire different world. So here it goes.......

 

[Sonny Tanner]

I forgot to mention in my last post that I kept the roof off the old cuddy cabin. It was the only part i kept because of the measurements and I am new to remodeling a boat so I needed something to help me along the way with everything. So I finally did what I thought would be the frame of the cuddy cabin and decided to put it on the boat to test fit it. Sure it would fit because I measured everything 5 times. However I learned that metal twists and bends when you weld it. So one night I put it on and I was very pleased with the way it started to look. It is in no way professional , and I will do my best before I enclose everything to make sure that all the welds are done in a way to at least I am pleased. Here are some pictures of the frame on top...

 

[Sonny Tanner]

After taking a look at the boat in the daytime , I saw some things I was pleased with and some that needed changing. Some of the things that needed changing were the window shapes. I liked the fact that it was tall enough for me to walk through and not bump my head on the ceiling. Here are some of the pictures with some of the changes on the windows.

 

[Sonny Tanner]

I would like to add that if there is anyone that can give me suggestions on this build , I am open to any help i can get because I am just winging it. Here are the latest pictures of what has been done. I simply ran out of ARGON so I couldnt continue welding. My goal is to have it on the water before SPRING time of next year ( 2021) . Im not sure how much I will be able to get done by that time but hopefully a lot or all of it . There is definitely a lot more work to do and I know i will have a hard time with the windows because Im not sure what the cheapest way to go. Im not trying to make it like a brand new boat but I am trying to make it as comfortable as possible for my family. We like to go to the ocean and fish and that is one of the main places this boat will go into. The Northern California Bays and some parts of the Pacific Ocean. I have to work on the pictures because it stopped letting me upload them. Till next time

 

[Sonny Tanner]

Welcome!

Nice Chief!

Be sure to check out the Starcraft sub-forum here. Click on the link below. Your Chieftain will be much appreciated there.

Starcraft Boats

forums.iboats.com

Thank you for the welcome note. Much appreciated

 

[jbcurt00]

Moved to the Starcraft forum

 

[classiccat]

Welcome @Sonny Tanner ! It looks like you're well underway!

Word of caution: Don't be one of those guys on youtube who misjudge those bridge clearances! Everyone has a camera these days !

 

[Watermann]

Welcome aboard,

Well now that is a different take, I see now why nobody else had the same idea, a chopped rat rod steam punk hard top?

 

[Sonny Tanner]

Welcome @Sonny Tanner ! It looks like you're well underway!

Word of caution: Don't be one of those guys on youtube who misjudge those bridge clearances! Everyone has a camera these days !

Thanks for the tip, but I driver a big rig for a living....Bridges are my "friends" lol

 

[Sonny Tanner]

I would like to add that if there is anyone that can give me suggestions on this build , I am open to any help i can get because I am just winging it. Here are the latest pictures of what has been done. I simply ran out of ARGON so I couldnt continue welding. My goal is to have it on the water before SPRING time of next year ( 2021) . Im not sure how much I will be able to get done by that time but hopefully a lot or all of it . There is definitely a lot more work to do and I know i will have a hard time with the windows because Im not sure what the cheapest way to go. Im not trying to make it like a brand new boat but I am trying to make it as comfortable as possible for my family. We like to go to the ocean and fish and that is one of the main places this boat will go into. The Northern California Bays and some parts of the Pacific Ocean. I have to work on the pictures because it stopped letting me upload them. Till next time

 

[ski2rule]

My only suggestion would be to change the topic from restoration to modification...

 

[Sonny Tanner]

My only suggestion would be to change the topic from restoration to modification...

If i knew how , i would add that as well

 

[jbcurt00]

If i knew how , i would add that as well

You cant, but a Mod can, and has....

 

[Sonny Tanner]

Welcome aboard,

Well now that is a different take, I see now why nobody else had the same idea, a chopped rat rod steam punk hard top?

The thing is that these boats had the helm in a very bad position and also I have always wanted a boat with the steering inside so it can be away from my fishing area )