1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

[piperjoe]

Hi folks! Thought I'd stop by the forum and wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season. Take care!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Rasdiir]

Hi folks! Thought I'd stop by the forum and wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season. Take care!

Safe boating,
Joe

Happy holidays to you and your family as well!

 

[piperjoe]

Joyce and I would like to say Season's Greetings and send best wishes for a happy New Year to all of our friends here on the forum.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Happy Spring Season! Joyce and I are anxious to get back to working on the boat. As an update, we found a shop nearby that can paint the boat for us when we are ready for that step. They can also apply a Rhino Liner (thinned composition) coating to the inside of the boat/floor and then paint that a light color. Just need to have some more snow melt from the yard so I can haul it back up to the work area near the garage and driveway. Won’t be long now!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Pulled the boat up to the work area near the garage this evening. Spent the last three days doing Spring clean up in the yard and probably will need a few more days to complete the task. However, I have the boat in place to keep me sidetracked while I am taking care of outdoor chores.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

Nice to see that spring is here and boats are being pulled back out of storage!

 

[piperjoe]

It’s been awhile since my last post and today I finally got the opportunity to work on the boat. Having no experience with pop rivet installation I was a bit apprehensive. No need for the initial lack of confidence once the work was started though, and armed with a new Milwaukee M12 electric pop rivet tool and a new box of 5/32” rivets, the two aluminum flooring supports were reattached to the aluminum hull ribs. 48 rivets installed in 15-20 minutes; what a nice tool to use for the job. A couple of aluminum straps to rivet in place and I will be looking at cutting and installing the 2” thick foam floatation board and then installing the new marine plywood floor pieces to the boat. At least that’s the plan for now…

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Thanks, guys, for the likes ! Good to see you are still here.

Well, you know how plans pan out from time to time. Took the tarp off the boat this morning and decided I had so much fun installing pop rivets yesterday…. I just had to do some more riveting today. The Admiral and I started attaching the six gunwale pieces to the top of the hull using the 5/32” rivets. Can’t say enough “good” about the electric pop rivet tool; very easy to use, quiet, retains the rivet mandrel in a catch attachment, and best of all I can use the tool in a one handed manner as needed. Need to attach the two forward top pieces later when it cools off a bit. Also need to think about how I am going to cut the 2” thick floatation foam sheets to fit between the lower hull ribs without making a real mess of the task. More fun to come….

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[junkman306]

Very excited to see how the flooring part goes. My 16ft Mariner is laid out exactly the same and I have been trying to decide how to go about re-flooring it.

 

[piperjoe]

Hi junkman306! Don’t know if following my flooring restoration lead would be a good idea…LOL! Fortunately, there is enough original flooring plywood to use for patterns. Laying the foam board floatation in place should be interesting though. I want to pack as much floatation as I can under the new marine plywood while keeping the flooring flat.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

One of my favorite parts of the resto - a super clean, bright bare hull. Best way to get a clean, no mess foam cut is a hot wire. I used a jigsaw and made a mess..

 

[piperjoe]

Hi Moserkr! I am certainly happy to see boat items being attached to that clean hull. The Admiral was right there with me passing those rivets and helping out and had a big smile as she saw the progress. Tickled the heck out of me just watching her, so I took her out for dinner to celebrate. Your idea of using a hot wire for the foam work is a good thought and though I have not used a hot wire tool I am going to look into it. I have a Japanese saw with a very sharp and thin blade that might work though the blade is quite flexible. Nevertheless, I will be learning how to handle another new task.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[junkman306]

Hi junkman306! Don’t know if following my flooring restoration lead would be a good idea…LOL! Fortunately, there is enough original flooring plywood to use for patterns. Laying the foam board floatation in place should be interesting though. I want to pack as much floatation as I can under the new marine plywood while keeping the flooring flat.

Safe boating,
Joe

I think I have been over thinking framing the floor. Too much time spent on TBN. After seeing a few others and yours, I may re-secure the original runners and just lay plywood over them and go with it.

 

[piperjoe]

That’s the decision I finally arrived at as far as the flooring is concerned. My primary goal is to lay in as much floatation foam possible prior to attaching the new marine plywood; that and perhaps add a couple of hardwood blocks under the plywood in case we decide to locate two pedestal seats for fishing. And so it goes!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[junkman306]

That’s the decision I finally arrived at as far as the flooring is concerned. My primary goal is to lay in as much floatation foam possible prior to attaching the new marine plywood; that and perhaps add a couple of hardwood blocks under the plywood in case we decide to locate two pedestal seats for fishing. And so it goes!

Safe boating,
Joe

What plywood thickness are you going to use? I was thinking about using 1/2", but I was also planning on running aluminum framing from side to side. Looking at it currently with just the runners, I'm a little nervous that 1/2: may bow in the areas between the runners and the sides and the runners themselves.

 

[piperjoe]

I am using 1/2” marine plywood sheets cut to size as required and replacing all of the original flooring. Before attachment to the boat all plywood surfaces will receive brushed on West Systems epoxy to seal the wood. The plywood flooring will be attached to the rails/ribs and rest over the floatation foam. Note: forgot about the 1/2” plywood thickness and purchased rivets with 1/2” barrel length…not really long enough for a good hold on the plywood and metal rails or ribs. I could countersink each flooring rivet…not! Will need to purchase some rivets of the correct length for the job.

The Admiral and I worked on the boat this morning getting the gunwale pieces attached. Six less pieces to keep moving around or stepping on. We are making some progress!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

7 pieces reattached to the boat now using 235 rivets (I counted them). Who’da thunk?

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

9 pieces back on the boat. Posted a wrong number (7) in the above post.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[junkman306]

Exciting!!! Do you think that the foam will provide enough support for the plywood in the open areas? I.E. between the runners? I guess that is my main paranoia with my boat. I worry about the weight of seats and people on the unsupported areas.

 

[piperjoe]

I believe the new marine plywood flooring will be fine…especially when compared to the original beaded floatation foam/plywood installation. Also, the plan is to get the Admiral to walk around on the new flooring for awhile first..just for inspection purposes of course…

Safe boating,
Joe