1976 22' Starcraft Islander Rebuild

[Patfromny]

Congrats bud. Looked like you were getting at it. Way to go. Must have been a great feeling. Probably had all sorts of flashbacks during that rip through the he lake. Next up some pics of the fam. Enjoying it along with you.!!!

 

[GA_Boater]

Now it can be said;

STARCRAFT ON THE WATER!

:thumb:

 

[BWR1953]

Allrighty, so after a successful run in the drive I took the Islander out to the local lake, check it out..l

Now THAT's what I'm talkin' 'bout!! Congratulations!! :thumb:

 

[budski]

Congratulations Jason splash looked great.

 

[maddiedog]

AWESOME!!!! The look on your face is just sheer joy! Very happy for you.

 

[bajaunderground]

SCOTD...

I had a smile on my face watching that video...the amount of effort, sweat (and blood) that went into having that moment is priceless!! I have to ask, how fast?



That's Starcraft of the Decade

 

[Zyen]

congrats jason! glad to see it working!!

 

[bear_69cuda]

Brutha!

Awesome!

 

[oldhaven]

Best sheer joy video ever.

Ron

 

[jasoutside]

Thanks a ton guys, couldn't have gotten here without ya!

It was a great day! Though I had a mix of great stuff and a few issues I need to deal with.

So here's the good stuff...

The V6 starts right up, idles well, shifts nicely, gets up on plane very well.

She runs nice and cool, 140 - 150 range, batts are charging, oil pressure is great. Fish pox pump works excellent, all the lights work, blowers work, all set with all that stuff which is nice.

The hull drives like a Cadillac, on rails, really nice! Spinning doughnuts and figure eights was really fun, she pulled so easy through those turns.

Everything feels really solid on this boat, no rattles or squeaks or that kind of annoying stuff.

The helm is really comfortable. I know a few guys were concerned about the positioning of the captains seat but it was perfect actually! I can slump down just a little to get behind the windshield. I can straighten up a little a see right over and still have the wind blocked. I can stand down on the deck and very comfortably drive and reach the controls. The wheel in all positions is really comfortable too. Super nice set up all in all, very happy with it!



Here's the stuff that I'm going to need to work on....

The biggest issue is WOT. She idles well, and really feels really nice cruising along in the 3000 to 3400 RPM range which gives me about 30 to 34 MPH. Then, when I throttle to about 3800 RPM I get about 37 MPH but that's it. At full out I get 3900 - 4000 RPM's. I was anticipating about 4800 RPM's and upper 40's for speed. So there is an issue here somewhere. Maybe propped incorrectly? Maybe the new carb needs tuning? Dunno but I'll need to troubleshoot and address this issue.

A smaller issue is the exhaust tube I installed instead of the bellows. The feedback I was reading was that is was louder than the bellows and there tended to be a bit of soot built up on the transom. I didn't think much of it at the time and I was really in favor of an easier install than the bellows. Well, I don't think the extra noise is an issue but man, the exhaust soot is a giant mess! Check it out...

Simple Green takes it off easy enough but sheesh what a hassle. Next time I have the drive off I'll absolutely be swapping the tube out for a bellows. Maybe over the winter I can get that done. I really regret putting that tube on, rats.

I'm also going to need to make some adjustments with my transducer. I'm getting a lot of snow on the screen and lose it at speed.

So yah, not a perfect run but a good sea trial.


From here, I have a short list to FINISH this boat...

I have to name her! And put some decals and such on too.

I need to install a bow trim piece up there between the two cockpit combing pads to finish that off nice.

Build and install a swim platform.

Install jump seats on each side of the doghouse.

I have some grey vinyl that I'll get a pair of curtains (of sorts) made up to go in front of the mechanicals at the transom on each side of the doghouse. That should dress that up nicely.

Then, I'll call her finished!:encouragement:

 

[old islander]

Ya know Jas, I think you could pick up 4 0r 5 mph easy if you move those batteries to the rear of the boat:faint2:

Congrats man. She's AWSOME!

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

See we all knew you'd make it past the rough spot.

Congrats on a successful sea trial!

I think you should add rebuild the old carb just so i got a spare on the shelf to your list.

 

[dozerII]

Congrats Jason, you have to have the record for the most posts and longest thread till a splash.
The soot is from running too rich If the carb is adjusted right you will not get that. I have the exhaust tube on In The Red and have none of it on the transom.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Congratulations on an awesome job on an awesome boat. Looking back at when you first got her it's almost impossible to believe what she used to look like. You did a superb job on redesigning her. She turned out great. :encouragement:

 

[Patfromny]

I would guess she's a bit rich by the ring around the collar there but not bad enough to effect rpm. I'm guessing, if she's idling nice and running smooth up to 3400 that you have too high a pitch prop. I have been trying to figure out what prop to put on my new engine because it came off a pontoon and I have nowhere to start. I think the rough formula is 300 rpm per pitch change. So you will gain 300 rpm each step down on the prop. So if you are running a 21 pitch, go to a 19 or even an 18. To get the 4800 you are looking for. I used the "Turning Point" prop wizard program to figure out where I should start. Give it a try and see where it puts you. If nothing else you can let me know if it is accurate. If the program tells you to step down 2 or three then it might be a good program. My boat is a few days away from the sea test so I couldn't speak to the programs accuracy just yet.

 

[jasoutside]

Congrats Jason, you have to have the record for the most posts and longest thread till a splash.
The soot is from running too rich If the carb is adjusted right you will not get that. I have the exhaust tube on In The Red and have none of it on the transom.

Ah sheesh, I'm not so sure I'm proud of those stats!!!

Ah, that would be awesome if I could make some adjustments to get rid of that soot. Is there a good tutorial somewhere around here that I could tap into on adjusting this carb correctly?

Congratulations on an awesome job on an awesome boat. Looking back at when you first got her it's almost impossible to believe what she used to look like. You did a superb job on redesigning her. She turned out great. :encouragement:

Thanks man and agreed! I actually just stuck the name of this boat on the stern, hang tight and I'll get you guys the name plus the story....

if she's idling nice and running smooth up to 3400 that you have too high a pitch prop.So if you are running a 21 pitch, go to a 19 or even an 18.

Right now I have a 23 pitch stainless Quicksilver Mirage prop. Thankfully I have a couple of props laying around here from dead glassers. I've got a 14.5 19 pitch aluminum and a 14 19 stainless that I can try to see what kind of difference that might make. Cheap and easy trouble shooting there.

 

[Patfromny]

Right now I have a 23 pitch stainless Quicksilver Mirage prop. Thankfully I have a couple of props laying around here from dead glassers. I've got a 14.5 19 pitch aluminum and a 14 19 stainless that I can try to see what kind of difference that might make. Cheap and easy trouble shooting there.

Good to hear. I like cheap as well. The 19 might be a bit aggressive but I would guess it will tell you exactly where you should be. If you plan on having the family with you often, the 19 might be perfect with the added weight. Watch your tach and bring it to 4800 or whatever the power range for the engine is and see how much throttle you have left. I would be careful with the 19 that it doesnt over rev the engine. I would bet you could sell all three props and buy a new one while still keeping some cash in your pocket.

To adjust a carb you need to warm the engine up to operating temperature and then turn each idle screw in (one at a time) until the engine almost stalls. Slowly turn the screw out until you stop noticing an improvement in idle and then either a quarter turn more out or a half turn. I would start with the quarter turn. Turn the idle screw out slowly about an eighth turn at a time and listen. You will hear the difference but it sometimes doesn't happen instantly. Once you have one screw set right, do the other. It's not too complicated you just have to listen. Make sure the timing is right and the engine is warm. Set timing with the vacuum advance (if there is one) disconnected and when the engine is warm.

 

[Watermann]

Sounds like some fine tuning is all that's needed, nothing big and we've all been there that's for sure.

Just to give you an idea from what I run for a prop with my Chief is a QS Black Diamond AL 23"p and it's LX 205 HP 4.3 with a 4bbl carb. My Chief is probably lighter but the big difference is most likely the HP if yours is the 175 HP model. It's 200 RPMS for each inch of pitch dropped so 19"p is a good place to start to give you 800 more RPMs. That 19" prop will be huge difference and pull your eye teeth out on the hole shot. When I tried a 21"p prop on my Chief is was crazy how fast it was at low end but I had to back off so as to not over rev.

The soot looks pretty bad are you sure that choke is opening all the way up? Also the temp sounds too cool to me, mine runs at 163 degrees so the choke may not open up all the way if you have the wrong t stat. I know 140 degrees is for some models though.

 

[dozerII]

I agree with Rob, 23P is to much I think a 21 would help you a lot. I don't know any tutorial on the interweb for adjusting the carb. The only adjustment is the idle screws. Make sure your choke is coming all the way off once you are up to operating temp, it should be held wide open with a little pressure from the spring. The idles screws turn them in slowly one at a time till you hear the rpm slow down or the idle roughen up a little, then very slowly back them out till you get the fastest smoothest idle, If the idle comes up too high you will have to back it down to adjust the other side. Then repeat for the other side. If you had a vacuum port and a vacuum gauge it is even easier, adjust for the highest reading then back off an 1/8 turn.

 

[Patfromny]

I'd be happy with 150 degrees but if it is a newer engine it can stand up into the 200 degree range. Newer cars run up there to help the emissions work better. 160 to 180 is where I thought my old Pontiac motor ran the best. A thermo change might be a pretty good idea. That would help burn more fuel in the combustion chamber for sure. If you are going to do this, do it before adjusting the carb. Or make sure you redo the carb after changing the thermo. Dozer is right about the idle. If the carb is way out your idle speed will increase so you'll have to keep lowering the idle screw to factory specs to adjust the carb correctly. Do this after you have found that idle screws happy place and before moving on to the next screw. You are looking for maximum vacuum so the easier way to go is with a vacuum guage plugged into manifold vacuum. Any vacuum line above the carb base plate is going to be ported vacuum and might not give you an accurate reading. Look for a port on the manifold or one on the base of the carb where the butterflies are.