1976 22' Starcraft Islander Rebuild - Chapter 2

[alipinski397]

So anyone that followed Jason's most recent update on his thread for the 22 Islander build, you now know it found a new home with me.

Given the epic build thread and history on it I felt i needed to start a new thread continuing the legacy.

I think a little back story on how I ended up with it is in order. I had a Mariner 220V I had started a rebuild on this spring and a couple months ago had finished gutting it and got the old foam removed. That's when i found some pretty severe corrosion. Its past life was in a salt water area and i knew there could be some corrosion to fix but it was bad, really bad.

So i started searching for solutions or replacement hulls and stumbled on Jason's Islander thread. I had been considering islander hull for a replacement and cutting the top off to have the open bow center console setup of a Mariner. I realized he was local and only 25 min away, so I sent Jason a message to pick his brain on the process Not knowing if I would even get a reply as he hadn't been active on the forum for quite a while. A few days later he got back to me and low and behold he offered the islander for sale. He had back in the garage and somewhat tore back apart getting ready to convert it to an outboard. He had some other things on his plate and it had been sitting for a while collecting dust and he was ready to part with it. We made a deal and I drug it home.

My plans for the boat:

• Finish the outboard conversion
• Convert the dual console to center console
• Plan to keep the bow storage and front seating structure as is
• Add a T-top
• Add a bow mount trolling motor

It will be a multipurpose boat for me. Duties will include fishing the great lakes, tender boat for our layout duck hunting rig in the fall and family fun boat in the summer.

Will post some photos in the replies as the thread progresses, need a few more posts in order to attach photos.

 

[ben2go]

Can't wait to see the center console. I think this is going to be a neat build. I thought about buying one of these $1500 bowriders or fish n ski type boats and doing something similar. Large tinnies are hard to find down here.

 

[alipinski397]

Can't wait to see the center console. I think this is going to be a neat build. I thought about buying one of these $1500 bowriders or fish n ski type boats and doing something similar. Large tinnies are hard to find down here.

Its coming together pretty well. I love a center console setup.

I had one hesitation with this hull and that its pre "v5" so its a little narrower and the deadrise isn't as steep...but all else considered I couldn't pass it up.

 

[alipinski397]

OK, heres a few photos the day i towed it home.

You can see Jason had the IO back out again, the console gutted, the bolsters removed from the consoles back and an outboard bracket built. It was pretty dirty as he had to leave it outside for a few months.

 

[alipinski397]

First up - remove the windshield and consoles.

Was able to sell the windshield and consoles to recoup some costs.




The hull this one is replacing sitting back there on jacks in the yard.

 

[alipinski397]

Gave it a quick spray down to knock the dirt off.

 

[alipinski397]

Seat boxes had to come out for the center console.

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Had to get a quick look and see how the fit will be.
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[alipinski397]

We'll get the trailer work out of the way early...

Wont need both trailers now so I swapped the islander over to the trailer I already had. Made a couple modifications as the ribs weren't in the same place on this hull. This trailer has beefier axles, tires and trailer brakes. It will get a lot of miles so this was the better option.

I had already converted this trailer from rollers to bunks when the Mariner was on it and had chosen to put composite on the bunks instead of carpet.

Slapped a quick "patch" over the keyhole and went to the launch down the road and floated it on its new wheels.

Sold the other trailer and recouped a little more cash.

 

[alipinski397]

So after digging into the project further and going back through Jasons thread I realized it wasn't going to be possible to get all the wiring and rigging under the current floor. No way was I going to rip all that out...so my solution was raising up 1.5 inches and plopping down a new floor on top.

Yes its a little extra weight but I dont see it being an issue;

I had some 2x6s already so I ripped them in half to use as the floor supports and cut some 5/8 ACX for the floor.

I did that before finishing the seat box removal so i could start getting them sealed up while i continue the demo job.

I also needed to keep access to the hatch in the floor that accesses the front gas tank lines and wires.

 

[ben2go]

The old I/O notch is a good place for batteries and stuff. good deal on the floor.

 

[StarTed]

Looking good. I'll tag along.

 

[alipinski397]

The old I/O notch is a good place for batteries and stuff. good deal on the floor.

My plan is for bilge pumps, livewell pump and hoses along with wiring and fuel lines to run down there. Batteries will go under the center console.

 

[alipinski397]

Looking good. I'll tag along.

Thanks!

 

[alipinski397]

4 coats of spar urethane on the 2by material and bottom side of the floor plywood. And 1 coat of oil based paint on the ply.

Double coats on the ends and edges.

 

[alipinski397]

While the coats of spar were drying I finished getting the remaining part of the seat boxes off.

Sawzall and oscillating tool did the trick, but I will say Jason's original build was just about bullet proof. That was a tough job.

 

[alipinski397]

Also while the coats of spar were getting done on the floor I prepped and painted the Rude.

I'ts a 95 175HP V6 looper.

 

[alipinski397]

Also put new decals on.


Before:



After:

 

[alipinski397]

After sitting around staring at the transom and outboard pod I had decided to add a full width swim platform to it.

I drew up the design along with plans for the knee bracing and dropped it off to a buddy to weld it up.

3rd and 4th pics - the knee braces and C channel backer in orange are how I plan to tie it all in to the stringers. The green is where the bracket sits on the outside of the transom and the yellow is some 1/4 plate on the inside of the transom already used for backing from the IO and tie down straps.

 

[alipinski397]

While the bracket and knee braces were getting welded I started putting the floor in, I wouldn't be able to put the last piece of floor in until i got the knee braces installed.

2by material was glued and screwed to the original floor and the plywood glued and screwed to it. Also painted the ends with oil based paint for good measure.

The top side of the floor will get epoxy and Behr Deckover to match the rest of the boat.

I also added in some mounting plates for when the T-top gets installed. That will give me almost 2-5/8" of solid floor material to screw into as I won't be able use bolt through backers with this setup.

I laid in a few pvc pipes for running wire to keep it as neat as possible under there.

 

[alipinski397]

Next up was some console work. I stripped everything off and used Marine Tex to patch all the holes, then prime and paint.

The top of the console had a lot of holes that i left as is, I planned on just cutting out a new top piece for it.