1973 Starcraft SuperSport 16ft. restoration questions

[Moserkr]

Forgot to press send when I wrote this earlier.
To (hopefully) simplify what I wrote lol...

Scuff AL with nylon brush or sandpaper
Wipe with 50/50 vinegar water mix
Apply spray can self etching primer within a day (this is a very light coat, AL still visible)
Apply primer with fine roller brush within a day or two
Apply topside paint within a day or 2 (check specific primer directions to be sure)
Apply second/third topside paint coating (follow directions)


To answer your latest post, I think the idea of leaving the hull below the waterline as bare aluminum is great. Paint on the bottom just gets scuffed up and if topside paint is left underwater too long, can permeate and peel. I would have left mine bare but did not have the option. A white boat with blue trim will look very sharp indeed. I painted my outer hull first (turtled though). Once I flipped it back over, I painted the interior. My splashwell and consoles were painted so they were installed prior to painting the interior.

You could paint the interior or exterior first, whichever you want, since you do not plan on turtling the boat. I would focus on one or the other, giving yourself time to get it just right! Sounds like you have a great plan in your head!!

 

[piperjoe]

Thank you, thank you!

I certainly appreciate the step by step outline and I would have forgotten the separate etching primer step. Thought the etching was taken care of with just the zinc chromate primer…glad you called the separate steps out for this old guy! I have more confidence, now, that I can do this. With this painting idea in mind, and Winter coming on in our neck of the woods, I think I’ll finish the caulk work on the countersink deck holes, perhaps get the marine varnish on the top of the decking and then call it good for now. The painting probably would be best left for next Spring. There’s a lot of miscellaneous work yet to be done on boat items so I can keep busy as time/weather allows. I believe next year will be a good one as far as the restoration goes!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

“There’s not as many as there was awhile ago”….countersink holes to fill with 3M 5200 caulk, that is. Getting the decking ready for the marine varnish coat that I will put on in a few days if all goes well. Takes a bit of time to fill each countersink and I sure appreciate the wax paper suggestion in an above post; makes it relatively easy to level the 5200 without making a real mess of things (though I am wearing a few of those White Badges of Dedication on my person).

Started with a new tube of the caulk and have used about half of it on the decking so far at the time of the photos in this post. I will need to purchase another new tube next time I in town. Well, time to get back to the task at hand!

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Well, I completed the 5200 caulking on three of the deck pieces, and then ran out of the caulk. This was alright because my knees were hollering at me and it was getting colder outside. I’ll purchase another tube of 5200 tomorrow as it’s supposed to be a nice day to enjoy the sunshine.


Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Hooray! Finished putting the 3M 5200 on the stern decking piece. Man, I am glad to get off my knees.

One bump in the road: yesterday, when smoothing out the 5200 with the wax paper on top, I worked the caulking blade slowly over the wax paper and the caulk lay flat to the decking. Today, I removed a few pieces of the wax paper (mainly to see if the paper would come off the caulk easily…it did) and immediately noticed the raised caulk dome at each of the exposed countersink holes. Not happy to see that after all the work to keep each countersink location flat.

So, the question: can these 5200 caulked locations be sanded smooth/flat using a palm sander, and, the second question would be: what grit and type of sandpaper would work best on this caulk/plywood deck surface without gumming up quickly? I don’t want all of those raised “bumps” to show themselves under the intended vinyl flooring.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

It’s 40 degrees and starting to rain…a cold rain. And radar shows some snow not too far East of us at the moment. Sure feels good inside the house!

If/when the rain stops I will remove all of those wax paper pieces from atop the 3M 5300 caulk/decking. Then we will re-tarp the boat and leave it alone for a week so as not to disturb the caulked countersink locations. After a week I’ll sand the caulking via palm sander and 80, 120, and 220 grit sandpaper disks. Then I can see whether I made a mess of things or not on the deck plywood. By the time I am finished with that task it will most likely be time to put the boat away for the Winter season. Might as well wait for warmer weather in the Spring to apply the deck topcoat varnish.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

The rain stopped long enough for me to get the wax paper pieces off the countersink holes/caulk. Just long enough…

Here’s what I found: I started taking the wax paper off at the transom end, which is where I finished the caulking task yesterday. The countersink hole showed the raised caulk “dome” as expected. I poked a needle into one of the caulk domes and the dome remained unchanged. Then I cut off one of the caulk domes and looked at that…oh, man…

So, I just started taking the wax paper off all the countersink hole locations starting from the transom and working towards the bow. When I reached the are where I had stopped caulking for the day, two days ago, I noticed that the caulk domes were not as proud, and the further I went towards the bow the caulk domes had flattened even more. When reaching the bow deck piece, where I had first started caulking, the caulk domes had flattened nicely…not all the way yet but getting close. It would appear that there is hope yet for the caulking to settle down nicely. Will have to do some sanding work though maybe not as much as I anticipated yesterday. That would be a good thing! Will give it a week and then take another look.


Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Gibbles]

Hooray! Finished putting the 3M 5200 on the stern decking piece. Man, I am glad to get off my knees.

One bump in the road: yesterday, when smoothing out the 5200 with the wax paper on top, I worked the caulking blade slowly over the wax paper and the caulk lay flat to the decking. Today, I removed a few pieces of the wax paper (mainly to see if the paper would come off the caulk easily…it did) and immediately noticed the raised caulk dome at each of the exposed countersink holes. Not happy to see that after all the work to keep each countersink location flat.

So, the question: can these 5200 caulked locations be sanded smooth/flat using a palm sander, and, the second question would be: what grit and type of sandpaper would work best on this caulk/plywood deck surface without gumming up quickly? I don’t want all of those raised “bumps” to show themselves under the intended vinyl flooring.

Safe boating,
Joe

I use a razor blade to trim 5200 after it cured.
I also use them to act as a squeegee to get the 5200 on there nice and flat.

I always keep a 100+ pack in my toolbox for gaskets, and general "I can't find my knife".
I buy them cheap on amazon.

They also have the plastic ones; but I haven't been able to find much of a use for the plastic ones.

 

[piperjoe]

The razor blade idea is good and I have some put away in my hobby room. Will give it a try in a week or so.

I used a relatively new putty blade for getting the caulk nice and flat with the wax paper covering. Each countersink location looked good before I went to the next location. All I can think of is that the caulking/smooth out operation must have trapped air within the rivet hole. The escaping air could cause the fresh caulk to expand upwards which would then raise the caulk into the surface dome. Maybe…maybe not. After looking at the oldest filled locations and seeing that the caulk is settling down there is a bit of optimism that all will work out fine. That’s about all I can do for the time being.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

We are currently having a lot of rain and this is to last until Saturday (dang it!). After the rain comes snow showers, etc, Sunday and continuing until…?

All the above weather forecast to say I believe, for all practical purposes, the Admiral and I will be calling it good for now. Time to get the boat tarp secured for Winter and then parked off the driveway.

A huge Thank You to those who provided assistance via comments and suggestions this year, and to those following along as we proceed, albeit slowly, with the restoration work. God willing, we will be back in the Spring to continue onward.

Safe boating,
Joe and Joyce

 

[Moserkr]

Great work this year! Looking forward to you finishing it next year!! Especially since the floors are in and now the fun part begins.

 

[piperjoe]

I appreciate the nice post, Moserkr. Still raining here so haven’t done anything under the boat tarp recently. However, while cleaning up the garage a bit it occurred to me that I can still work on the boat…well, not actually on it. There are a number of wood items to make up for the restoration work to continue, such as the helm trim and the the bow area wood which will be either the stock bow seats or a casting/fishing deck with storage space underneath. Need to make a decision on that one. It would be nice to have items actually ready for installation in the Spring. Thinking also about using 3/4” marine plywood with a 3/4” marine plywood reinforcement square underneath for the casting deck and pedestal seat location.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

Great time to do some winter work on pieces of the boat that can be installed later. I got lucky the year of my resto and worked through the winter outside!! Only 6" of snow that year vs 20 FEET last year haha.

I did the 3/4" ply with a casting deck, with a 1/8" AL backing plate for the pedestal, and its really nice to have for fishing. My boat is dual purpose though so theres also removable cushions for seating up front too. Only downside to that was poor storage access, need to work on that one still.

 

[piperjoe]

I thought about using an aluminum plate underneath the actual pedestal mount/on top of the fishing deck with the reinforcement plywood covering the t-nuts and epoxied into place underneath. Hadn’t given thought to using cushions on top of the fishing deck, held in place via Velcro, for extra seating when desired. The best use of the bow area space indeed. Need to give this some serious consideration! Thanks for the heads up, my friend.

Where are you located? 20’ of snow is a bunch! We can get 10’ - 15’ or so if conditions are right for lake effect snow and that’s enough to keep me and the snowblower busy enough. Supposed to get some snow starting Monday and with the Lake Michigan water temperature as warm as it is now it could be an interesting Winter in our woods. Should be beautiful outside though and that’s what the Admiral and I enjoy.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Went outside to the “Little One” to check on the tarp between rain showers and ended up going into town for a new tarp and new bungee cords. By setting the 4 Craftsman saw horses up on the decking centerline I will have good rain/snow runoff whilst she’s parked for the Winter. Loaded some aluminum parts inside the hull for storage and to make room in the garage.

One thing I did: used a long snap off blade and a new single edge razor blade to pare a 5200 “bump” off the plywood…works good. Then, using a palm sander, I went over the 5200 area with 60 grit and then 220 grit sandpaper. Did a good job of dressing the 5200 over the countersink hole. Think I can do a nice job on the task come Spring.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[piperjoe]

Okay folks, it’s official!

The Admiral and I wrapped up the Little One in a new 15 ml tarp and fresh bungee cords for the Winter. Backed the boat into her parking space and we are calling it good for this year. Then, I used my skill saw and cut the old plywood decking into small pieces and placed them into the refuse container. It’s good to rid the old plywood from the garage! Hope all of you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season this year and we’ll get back together in the Spring to continue our friendship and restoration work on Little One.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[shinytopgeezer]

Good Morning Joe and Admiral! I was just looking through Watermanns old post "1978 Sea Nymph SS 160 resto", and at the bottom of pg 7 and into 8, he talks about the finishes he used on the plywood decking. Good read and maybe one more option to interest you. Stay warm and dry,

 

[piperjoe]

Good Morning Joe and Admiral! I was just looking through Watermanns old post "1978 Sea Nymph SS 160 resto", and at the bottom of pg 7 and into 8, he talks about the finishes he used on the plywood decking. Good read and maybe one more option to interest you. Stay warm and dry,

Thank you for the heads up, my friend! I will read the information.

Safe boating,
Joe

 

[Moserkr]

I thought about using an aluminum plate underneath the actual pedestal mount/on top of the fishing deck with the reinforcement plywood covering the t-nuts and epoxied into place underneath. Hadn’t given thought to using cushions on top of the fishing deck, held in place via Velcro, for extra seating when desired. The best use of the bow area space indeed.

Where are you located? 20’ of snow is a bunch! We can get 10’ - 15’ or so if conditions are right for lake effect snow and that’s enough to keep me and the snowblower busy enough. Supposed to get some snow starting Monday and with the Lake Michigan water temperature as warm as it is now it could be an interesting Winter in our woods. Should be beautiful outside though and that’s what the Admiral and I enjoy.

Safe boating,
Joe

My bow pedestal used nuts n bolts so no t-nuts. The captains chairs used t-nuts though. Both will work with either wood or AL backing it.

I was going to velcro the bow seating down on top of the deck but surprisingly did not need to. Has stayed in place even at freeway speeds!

Im in the sierra nevadas of CA (sadly) at 4000' elevation. Beautiful place to live but we can get wet, heavy snows, locally called sierra cement. Had to build a "boat-port" to cover the boat from snow as it gets too heavy to tarp. Our snow wont come til around xmas though. Its 70* here today! Been busy stacking cords of wood for this winter.

Your boat looks great all tarped for winter! Stay warm, enjoy the holidays, and will see you next year!

 

[piperjoe]

Hi mates! Spring is here and the Admiral and I brought the boat up to the driveway this afternoon. Time to get back to work on the boat! One thing that made my day…there was no water in the boat when I pulled the tarp back to check the bilge area for moisture. Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring and getting back on the water.

Safe boating,

Joe