1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

[Alecapone]

Today was a nice day to be outdoors so I brought the shop vac up from the basement and vacuumed the inside of the hull. You know, to remove all those rivet bottoms and rivet round tops and aluminum curls, from drilling the rivet tops out with the 3/16" drill bit, that happened to fall out of my hand from time to time. All of the Bradford Pear tree blossom petals that landed in the boat went by the wayside too. I wanted to make sure none of those aluminum items made it into the drain openings at the center of the ribs or those openings at the end of the ribs. Wasn't much to vacuum off the hull bottom so I felt I did a good job getting the aluminum boat parts separated and out of the boat without making a mess of it. Now I can get back to paint removal and general cleanup of the boat items. The Admiral and Chief Sentry came out to watch the cleanout show...but that interest didn't last long at all! LOL

Safe boating,
Joe

When detailing my vehicles, ill use a compressor with a blower nozzel to dislodge all the unseen micro debris the vacuum cant get to. Even cleaning engine compartments and stuff.

 

[piperjoe]

Good idea to use the compressor and blower noodle for cleaning purposes. I plan to do that after all the paint removal work is completed and the hull/parts have been pressure washed/rinsed with water. I will use the pressure nozzle for the ribs and such and my electric leaf blower for the hull and large aluminum items. It will be awhile before I get to that stage of the restoration though...LOL

Safe Boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Questions for the experienced:

When you cut the new plywood flooring from the plywood sheet did you set the saw blade to cut the chamfered edge during the initial cut? Or, did you make the first cut a square edge cut and then cut the chamfer along the edge as a second cut? I am thinking a saber saw would be the tool of choice for all curved edges and my skill saw for the straight cut edges. Am I on the right track here?

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[BWR1953]

Questions for the experienced:

When you cut the new plywood flooring from the plywood sheet did you set the saw blade to cut the chamfered edge during the initial cut? Or, did you make the first cut a square edge cut and then cut the chamfer along the edge as a second cut? I am thinking a saber saw would be the tool of choice for all curved edges and my skill saw for the straight cut edges. Am I on the right track here?

Safe boating,
Joe

For my Kingfisher, I made a single chamfer cut using my jig saw and a circular saw for the straight cuts. I plan to do the same thing with my Chieftain.

 

[piperjoe]

Thank you for the quick response BWR1953! That's the way I want to do the plywood flooring cuts. I appreciate your continued support, my friend!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[classiccat]

+1 on the jigsaw for scrolling around curves/edges. For edges that aren't hidden (like a raised bow deck), I like cutting a little large and trimming to size using a belt sander.

 

[piperjoe]

Thanks, classiccat! I appreciate your idea of using a sander around the plywood edges to obtain a good fit as needed. Nice and neat for the Admiral and she will think that I know what I am doing!! LOL

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[BWR1953]

Ya mean I have to buy a belt sander now too?

 

[piperjoe]

Ya mean I have to buy a belt sander now too?

...'cause that's what the guys said I had to get, Dear...I mean Admiral Dear. That's what I am going to tell her!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

While coming home after getting the dog groomed I noticed a Fastenal business tucked away within a small business mall. Stopped in to ask some "riveting" questions (...I could not resist the temptation on that one) and the guy was real nice about answering a few questions. So, I am wondering if you folks have used these Fastenal aluminum rivets (3/16 dia. x 1/2" long) and what your thoughts are with regard to overall quality. Comments would be welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Joyce and I hope you all have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend! The Admiral and I will be enjoying some time with the boat restoration as the weather looks to be nice and warm here in Up North Michigan...hooray!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Alecapone]

You have a great weekend too Joe. Funny how much of this little boat project takes me back home to Michigan. Born and raised in Detroit, lived in hale for a while, now I'm in the pacific northwest. Just got my ats air hammer, made in oscoda by aircraft tool supply, getting rivets from Rivetsonline out of Farmington hills. Cool to support someone other then Bezos. Im working for Amazon right now, so I'm redistributing some of his wealth.

Haven't been to Michigan for several years. I'll be there this summer to go canoe the rifle. Love northern Michigan!

 

[piperjoe]

Just finished a discussion about rivets with a fellow who repairs boats of all types and has built three home-built aircraft. He recommends the Avex non-structural aluminum rivets in a 3/16" x 7/16" shank size for my restoration application of re-installation of the interior hull items. They will be ordered from Aircraft Spruce company once I get a good idea of the quantity needed. He also convinced me to get a pneumatic riveter to make the rivet installation easier on my hands. Mentioned the Milwaukee M12 cordless to the Admiral and she said, "Yes, I think that would be a good one for you." It's tempting...so, when I get a rivet "head count" I will get the rivets ordered. Onward I go!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Fuel tank:

I am looking for information about fuel tank options other than multiple 5 gallon plastic tanks for my Starcraft 16' SS. If you have used/are using a larger single unit fuel cell in the aft cubby space, or a centerline fuel tank under the plywood flooring, please chime in with your experience and comments. The 1972 85 horsepower Johnson I have is noted for going through the fuel rather quickly thus the desire to carry more fuel onboard without a bunch of single 5 gallon tanks to change out rather often. Thanks again.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Alecapone]

Lol. It seems the few active threads are asking all the questions, or giving the answers I need. I've been looking at fuel tanks, among other things. I had a center fuel tank under the floor on my 18' chief, but it was toast. I think I like that option the best. Gets the tank out of the way.

I also picked up the 12 volt milwaukee. Have you had a chance to try it yet? I was debating ifv12 volt was enough.

 

[piperjoe]

Glad to see you are interested in the restoration questions asked! I sometimes embarrass myself with asking so many questions but I'm finding out there's a lot more to this restoration than initially thought. Only want to do this one time while I have the breath to get the job done so I'm going to take advantage of the vast experience the readers have to offer.

How many gallons of fuel did that center tank hold on your 18' boat and did you have a fuel gauge to keep track of fuel? As for the Milwaukee riveting tool I am still considering whether or not to make the purchase...a very good tool albeit costly. My other Milwaukee tools have served me well so I am a bit biased.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Alecapone]

I'm not sure. I saved it from the scrap yard several year ago in bad shape. Not much of the boat was any good, but the hull seemed solid. Cutty and windscreen where gone. Not much original.. The po had a very rough home made dash, but there was a gauge on it.

 

[piperjoe]

Well, the good news there is that you can do something with the hull and the ole gal can quite possibly get back on the water again. From what I gather from talking with some of the boaters/fishermen around these parts the old Starcraft boats are looked on as well worth the effort to restore. Haven't met a person yet who said I was wasting my time and money on this project..which makes me feel great!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Another embarrassing question 'cause I can't find the answer:

I brought my Ryobi electric power washer up from the basement today to strip paint from boat parts again. I recalled putting Briggs & Stratton pump lubricant into the power washer to winterize/protect the pump. Now I wonder if I need to remove the lubricant, other than shooting water through the unit/hose & wand, before using the power washer on the aluminum parts and hull. Will the pump lubricant residue remain on the aluminum, when using only water, and cause a primer/paint problem later? Sorry...had to ask...

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Well, I will go ahead and hook up the water hose, tip the power washer on its side over a bucket, turn on the hose water and flush out the extra Briggs&Stratton fluid until I see clean water. Hook up the outlet side hose and wand, flush those out with water, put the wand nozzle on and get on with the paint removal work. That's the plan anyway 'till I see what happens.

Safe boating,
Joe