1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

[piperjoe]

Dodging rain showers (don’t ask how many times we have removed the tarp/re-tarped so far today) and working to get the final floatation foam and deck plywood attached to the boat. And the Admiral and I are determined to get ‘er done! Well, I‘ve got to get lunch first and dry out a bit…

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

We got run out of the boat work due to some cold rain with a bit of sleet mixed in. However all the floatation foam is in the boat now and the two plywood deck pieces are also laying in place though not riveted to the boat. Had to make a couple of adjustments to the deck piece that goes under the helm area so it will fit nicely but nothing serious. We’ll see what tomorrow looks like.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

You know that story about the best laid plan? Well, here’s a mighty humble bumble! After taking a really good look at the deck piece that fits in the helm area and trying to figure out why it didn’t fit correctly this morning, I suddenly realized that I had cut the plywood 1” too wide. Long story short…I had to cut 1/2” from each side along the entire length, and had to recut each rib notch. And, that means applying the West Systems epoxy to the fresh cut edges so they will be sealed. I had relied too much on the original deck piece that is in very poor condition over the entire port side and didn’t double check my measurements against the boat. There’s a lesson learned today during Boat Restoration 101!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

The Admiral and I successfully trimmed both of the two bow area deck pieces, the one that fits underneath the helm area and the smaller bow piece. Both deck pieces now fit much better onto the hull. Started to cool off quite a bit by the time we got everything fitted the way I wanted it so I elected to hold off on applying the epoxy edge coats until tomorrow and I will rivet the deck pieces afterwards.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Just finished brushing two coats of West Systems epoxy over all of the outside edges on the forward deck pieces. I’m satisfied with the fit of these two deck items now and plan on installing/riveting them to the boat tomorrow. Going to take a break from boat restoration work for now and fire up the lawnmower so I can cut the grass.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Everything cured quite nicely overnight with just a very small amount of tackiness in a few small areas along the plywood edges. The Admiral and I decided to put the deck pieces into the boat and we are riveting the plywood to the boat today. It is laying down nice and flat and the edges, bow to stern, are matching together as well. I left a small void between each deck piece, about the thickness of a credit card, for material expansion as our seasonal changes can be quite varied. Will get back to the work at hand right after lunch.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

32 more rivets to go! Yepper! I counted the places for the remaining rivets.
Need to go to the hardware store and get some longer rivets for the rib/side locations. There wasn’t much “grab” at those areas, and, countersinking not one but two rivets too deep (yes the rivets did pull the bottom of the plywood out ) kind of got my attention really quick. Figured out how I will get those locations corrected already so I will take care of it tomorrow when we finish riveting the deck piece in place. Other than that the day was a good one!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Gibbles]

32 more rivets to go! Yepper! I counted the places for the remaining rivets.
Need to go to the hardware store and get some longer rivets for the rib/side locations. There wasn’t much “grab” at those areas, and, countersinking not one but two rivets too deep (yes the rivets did pull the bottom of the plywood out ) kind of got my attention really quick. Figured out how I will get those locations corrected already so I will take care of it tomorrow when we finish riveting the deck piece in place. Other than that the day was a good one!

Safe boating,
Joe

If you don't have one, that harborfreight pneumatic rivet tool is super nice to have.

 

[piperjoe]

Forgot to post the photo for today!

The small bow deck piece originally was attached to the hull using two rivets forward at the rib and three rivets at the small metal joining strap. This was the total support for the back edge of the little pointy bow deck piece and the front edge of the larger, underneath the helm, deck piece. I built up the floatation foam under the support strap so that the deck pieces/support strap lay flat on the foam. Also added additional rivets at the strap location and now this area feels solid when standing on the deck.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

If you don't have one, that harborfreight pneumatic rivet tool is super nice to have.

I have been using the Milwaukee battery operated rivet tool from the very first rivet on this project. Nice, one handed operation when required, a single draw per rivet, relatively quiet and quick. With all the rivets I put into the boat so far I am still using only the second battery charge. Very pleased with this tool.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

WE DO IT!!
The Admiral and I now have all of the deck plywood in place and riveted to the hull. I am not going to kid you here…that floatation foam/marine plywood deck installation was a lot of work and my knees are telling me about it right now! However, it was worth the huge blister on the port kneecap and the cut right across the starboard kneecap as the Admiral and I can now stand up in the boat on solid footing. At the young age of 73 this is an important improvement within the boat! It is supposed to rain here for a day or two so we’ll leave the boat alone and let the 5200 set up nicely, then I’ll fill the countersink holes, and a few “oops” that showed up along the way, with the 5200 to seal the rivets. Anyway, the main thing today is that the new decking is in the boat!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

Big step done!! Great job Joe. Attention to detail is superb.

 

[piperjoe]

Big step done!! Great job Joe. Attention to detail is superb.

Thank you!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

You just know that there has to be a question for the day.

I would really like to paint the inside of the hull an off-white or light sand color, from the decking edge upwards to under the gunwale, and from bow to stern. Would I be able to do a nice job of this task using the small roller/brush technique and dedicated marine paint/primer on the cleaned aluminum surface? Rattle cans are, of course, an option though I am not real keen on the probable mess I could create. Have decided to not go with the bed-liner spray idea, for a couple of reasons, and don’t want to put the sticky vinyl covering as per the original design on the inside surface. Mainly seeking a nice clean and brighter surface for the inside of the boat. Thoughts?

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Gibbles]

if you do it, find something like dx33 aluminum cleaner to prep.
they also have another part of it that turns the aluminum a gold color, but I haven't ever used it my self.
They sell that stuff at automotive paint stores.

I went with some etching primer rated for aluminum when painting the bottom and topside, it turned out ok.

It would suck to have that flake off later down the road.

 

[piperjoe]

if you do it, find something like dx33 aluminum cleaner to prep.
they also have another part of it that turns the aluminum a gold color, but I haven't ever used it my self.
They sell that stuff at automotive paint stores.

I went with some etching primer rated for aluminum when painting the bottom and topside, it turned out ok.

It would suck to have that flake off later down the road.

Thanks again, Gibbles!

The last sentence in the above post is exactly what I was thinking about. We have a very good automotive paint store in the area so I will check out the aluminum cleaner for the prep work. I need to find a quality aluminum cleaner that will work for all of the aluminum on the boat, inside the hull and the outside hull surface. Have not found a good painter that really wants to paint a small boat as they all want the big boat to paint. I have seen a few nicely painted small boats similar to ours where the owners did the paint work, and they looked quite good to me. Have made it through a number of new “experiences” so far with this restoration so I am thinking that perhaps I can tackle the paint work and succeed. Darn, I wish I knew more about what I’m doing on this project.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

I painted the interior of my boat where metal was visible. Topside paint, primer, cleaned the aluminum with a vinegar mix if I remember correctly. Paint adhered very well using mainly a roller and brush. It would look even better with a spray gun, but only my FIL who is a professional automotive painter notices my imperfections.

 

[piperjoe]

Thanks, Moserkr! Did you use a plastic spray bottle for the vinegar mix (what ratio), spray the mixture onto the aluminum and then wipe down the spray? Then painted on a separate primer coat, let that dry and then apply the topcoat paint? I really need to go back and reread your WIP thread.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

You're welcome Joe. Was fun just now looking back through my build for that info. Page 13, post #254 of my thread is where I started the wipe down and painting process it looks like. Plastic spray bottle, 50/50 vinegar water mix is what I used. Just spray and wipe clean with a dry cloth. Scuffed the AL first with a nylon brush on the drill, just lightly, a little scuff with sandpaper would work too. The scuff is to remove oxidation of the AL so you are starting with fresh AL. Vinegar wipe cleans it and keeps the AL from oxidizing for a bit so you have time to apply the primer. Id apply primer within a day of wiping the boat down with vinegar. Then paint within a few days of the primer being applied. I used a self etching primer in a rattle can, then a coat of primer with a fine roller, then paint. I went the slow route and did the primer/paint coats over multiple days. Definitely let the final paint coat dry for a few days if not a week. I just followed directions on all of the primer and paint cans. There are faster methods that use chemical adhesion but it's a marathon going that route according to watermann.

 

[piperjoe]

Thanks again, Moserkr! I really appreciate the assistance here between you and Gibbles.

Your advice matches exactly just how I would like to handle the inside paint work. Here is another thought that crossed my grey matter as I looked at the boat today: do I need to paint the outer hull surface too before adding more interior aluminum items to the boat? If so, and if I paint the hull myself, then the Admiral would have to get the boat off the trailer and turned over so the gunwales rest on the sawhorses. Of course I’d help a bit if she really needed an extra pair of hands.

So, to avoid the “turn over” task I am considering the idea of leaving the bottom of the hull, below the waterline, as bare aluminum. I could then leave the boat on the trailer, apply the vinegar wash, tape as required, and then apply the primer and the topcoat colors to the areas above the waterline. Was wondering how I would address keeping the hull bottom looking good and clean while sitting on the trailer anyway. The Admiral really likes the White with Blue trim look, so we would have aluminum color below the waterline, White above the waterline and Blue as an accent color and for trim work. Sound reasonable? Having never painted a boat before this is all new territory for me that I actually look forward to.

Safe boating,
Joe