1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

[piperjoe]

Put the eight screws through the inside bottom transom angle and into the transom. Used 5200 on the threads as a sealant. Then I removed the two screws, one on each side of the angled vertical transom support, because I wasn’t sure if a screw went there or a bolt went through the lower corner holes of the outside plywood motor plate and through the transom and the lower aluminum angle piece. Darn if I can find a photo among all those that I took that shows that spot/hardware. Anyone care to look at this area on your boat and see if that location has a screw or bolt attachment? Thanks!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

So far this afternoon I put the first coat of West Systems epoxy onto the bottom surface and outside edges of the aft flooring plywood, and also onto the back surface of the motor transom plywood piece. Tomorrow I will put a second epoxy coat on these two pieces of plywood if all goes well. Painted the epoxy coat on with a wide disposable foam brush and then used a squeegee to remove the excess epoxy from the painted surface. Now I will get the next flooring sheet ready…

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

The Admiral and I put the first West Systems epoxy coat on the bottom of the second piece of plywood flooring. Moving right along…for us.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Second coat of West Systems epoxy is now on the bottom surface of the above plywood pieces, and, I coated the inside surface on all of the transom piece holes. Had run out of the epoxy last evening so the Admiral and I took a color drive into town today and bought another epoxy round. Should have enough to finish the remaining flooring pieces now.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Riveted the two aft floor straps to the flooring rails and then started attaching the new marine plywood to the rails today. Decided to go with the larger rivet placed within a 5/8” diameter countersink. I marked the rib and rail locations and then used wide painters tape to mark out existing drilled holes. First rivet went in great…nice and solid. Second rivet went in great but the pin got stuck in the rivet gun. Really stuck! . Had to take the gun apart to remove the ….file! Thought I would just push the rivet pin back into the gun and into the pin catcher. Nope, the file end got stuck in the gun! . Had to take the entire top off to get the pin out and then put it back together. Turns out I was using the wrong size rivet puller piece and it was too small for the larger rivet. Well, I got the rivet tool assembled and thought I really needed a break for a few minutes so I came inside and had lunch. Went back to the boat, picked up the rivet tool and a large rivet and proceeded to do exactly the same dang thing again because I had hurriedly put the smaller rivet head back on the tool before going into the house. After a dozen or so palmslaps I got everything fixed correctly and got back to the task at hand. Should make for a good chuckle a few years down the road while I am quietly waiting for the fish to bite.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

I am glad for the new day and opportunity to get out of bed on the correct side so that I can have another go at the flooring task. Did you see my “other” error from yesterday? Forgot to use the 5200 with the new rivets…let’s just say that the first hour or so this morning should prove interesting ! Geeerzzzz…I think I am getting too old for all of the excitement during this restoration process.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

We are back on track after taking the rivets out. I also found the longer rivets I had purchased especially for the plywood flooring. It’s going much smoother today!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

First sheet of the new marine plywood is now fully attached to the flooring rails and boat ribs. The second sheet is waiting in the boat. Today is the first time I have stood on something solid in this boat since we brought it home many moons ago and it sure felt good.
Wondering if I should fill the countersink holes with 5200 and smooth off the tops, or, use a good waterproof wood filler to fill the holes?
Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Beautiful day! Will be adding the second plywood flooring sheet to the hull. I can try to give you folks a break from the camera as the pictures would be much like the first sheet photos. And away we go….

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

Steady as she goes! Keep up the good work Joe!!

 

[piperjoe]

Steady as she goes! Keep up the good work Joe!!

Thanks, my friend!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Gibbles]

First sheet of the new marine plywood is now fully attached to the flooring rails and boat ribs. The second sheet is waiting in the boat. Today is the first time I have stood on something solid in this boat since we brought it home many moons ago and it sure felt good.
Wondering if I should fill the countersink holes with 5200 and smooth off the tops, or, use a good waterproof wood filler to fill the holes?
Safe boating,
Joe

I did something like this on my starchief build, but I also had my floors coated in west system epoxy, so I filled the holes in and sanded smooth.

When working with the west system stuff, I found that name brand wax paper was my best friend.
The cheap wax paper liked to stick and not remove cleanly.

It also works for 5200, helps keep bugs and dirt out of the piece.
Back it up with some masking tape to hold it there, and then keep going.

I also used vinyl flooring and doing that kept everything nice and smooth.
5200 would probably be easier and should work just as good.

 

[piperjoe]

Hi Gibbles! Thanks for sharing your suggestion for using the wax paper. If I am reading your post correctly you placed the wax paper over the filled in countersink holes while the filler dries?
Hadn’t planned to use the West Systems epoxy on the upper surface of the plywood; I would like to put 3-4 coats of brushed on spar varnish over the entire top surface of the flooring after filling each countersink hole with 5200, letting that dry, using a palm sander to smooth the surface and then vacuuming the plywood top. A slightly damp string mopping should pick up the residual dust prior to applying the spar varnish.
What kind of vinyl flooring did you use and what adhesive to keep it on? I like the idea of using the vinyl flooring as I could then easily mop/clean up as needed. Wondering if the vinyl would be too slippery for the Admiral and me when damp/wet?
We have to get the last of the floatation foam placed into the boat and all of the flooring completed first before the covering choice needs to be made. And, if Winter shows up early that would put a stop to the restoration work for awhile. In the meantime we will keep on track and accomplish what we can for this year.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Gibbles]

I used MariDeck vinyl flooring, and I used some outdoor rated flooring glue from Home Depot to stick it down.

Look on ebay for the stuff, that's where I bought it originally.
Main thing you want is some UV protection from whatever you use.

The marine flooring also has a nice texture to it, non-slip even when soaked.

I like the stuff since I can make a nice, sealed floor using it, and I left the sides a little long, so they worked their way up the sides of the boat, and under the side panels to hide it.

And yes, I used the wax paper directly over the epoxy to help it stay in place, and it even held it in place when upside down.

I was able to coat both sides of the panel at once doing it that way.
It also made it easier to get the sides of the piece to work up a nice thick protective coating.

You can also do it with the 5200 when filling the holes, all the way to the top and flatten it nicely using a plastic spade.

If you have ever applied tint or wallpaper, it's the same idea.
Just the wax paper gets peeled off when cured.

 

[Gibbles]

Actually, I think it was Nautolex that I used.

Nautolex Marine Boat Vinyl Flooring 74" wide SOLD BY THE FOOT-MANY COLOR CHOICES | eBay

Nautolex Marine Vinyl Flooring. The textured "pebbly/sandpaper" design provides skid resistance while being a beautiful addition to your boat or outdoor area. Nautolex vinyl flooring is constructed of PVC with a non-woven poly/cotton backing that is easy to clean with mild soap and water.

www.ebay.com

 

[piperjoe]

Thanks again for the helpful information and I appreciate the brand name lead. Vinyl flooring would be good as we have a lot of sand around here and the Admiral has already said she doesn’t want any boat carpet installed. She likes your vinyl flooring suggestion.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Actually, I think it was Nautolex that I used.

Nautolex Marine Boat Vinyl Flooring 74" wide SOLD BY THE FOOT-MANY COLOR CHOICES | eBay

Nautolex Marine Vinyl Flooring. The textured "pebbly/sandpaper" design provides skid resistance while being a beautiful addition to your boat or outdoor area. Nautolex vinyl flooring is constructed of PVC with a non-woven poly/cotton backing that is easy to clean with mild soap and water.

www.ebay.com

That’s the brand I was initially looking at back a few months or so. I will be checking it out again. Thanks!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Wasn’t able to spend time with the boat yesterday, so today the Admiral and I riveted the second piece of new marine plywood onto the boat. We finished the last rivet on the piece as the first raindrops hit the deck. Scrambled to get the boat tarp in place and got everything else into the garage before it really started to rain. Glad to be off my knees, too.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Will be drafting the pattern for the next plywood decking piece, the one that lays under the helm. The original deck piece is in rough shape, however, I think there is enough left on one side to allow me a good chance at making a pattern. O’boy…I get to use my drafting tools again!!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Went to the marine store today and bought another tube of 5300. While there I looked over the Rule Bilge Pump display. Thinking of purchasing a 800 gph automatic pump (to install wired directly to a marine battery), and a 800 gph manual start pump (wired to the helm dashboard). As our boat didn’t have a bilge pump (the original owner must have just pulled the drain plug when needed), and I really am a newbie here, I need to find the best location on the transom for the bilge pump water to exit the boat and if there’s a specific fitting for the dump hose that would be installed on the transom. Comments welcome.

Most likely we will wait until next Spring to purchase a marine battery and install the bilge pumps. It wouldn’t hurt to buy the two pumps and miscellaneous items required for the installation in the near future and have those parts of the restoration ready to install later on.

Safe boating,
Joe