1976 Starcraft Chieftain 18' OB - restomod

[BWR1953]

I just dropped the Chief off with the aluminum fabricator guy! He'll call me once the new knee braces are done.

 

[ShoestringMariner]

It's a trailered boat. I'll be paying a guy to spray it for me. The same fella who did the dustless sandblasting.

I did a photo edit a little while ago and didn't really like the gray. Moving on... probably back to white.

I would look at a two-part epoxy

 

[BWR1953]

I forgot to put up the pic of the Chief at the fabricator's place. He has 40 acres. Nice.

 

[BWR1953]

Got the Chief back from the welder this evening. He did good work and I'm happy. Everything is solid and clean. There was no evidence of any burn through on the bottom.

We also discussed having him fab up a fuel tank for me. We took some measurements and he'll let me know after he gets a quote for aluminum stock.

 

[BWR1953]

We got the first leak test done today. Found a couple dozen routine leaks. But we also found some pinholes.

Tomorrow I'll check out those pinholes in detail.

Tetanus city in the bow section.


Cleaning... the boy's favorite sport. NOT!!




All clean. The brown stuff is staining, which we'll remove later with wire wheels and whatnot.


Plenty of leaks.




Somebody's been here before us.




There are several "double headers" in the hull




Another silicone fixup.




Pinhole corrosion at the aft end, just behind the keel.


Done for the day.

 

[BWR1953]

I just went to order some Gluvit and remembered that Coat-it is cheaper. Now I'm seeing that Coat-it has Kevlar. Really?

Is it supposed to make it a bullet proof solution?

 

[BWR1953]

Corrosion issues.

 

[BOYS & TOYS]

Time to pull the knee brace and see what you have to work with. Possibly sandwich some plates larger than the corrosion. Coated with 5200 to keep water from being trapped between.

 

[BWR1953]

Time to pull the knee brace and see what you have to work with. Possibly sandwich some plates larger than the corrosion. Coated with 5200 to keep water from being trapped between.

Yeah, and I was also thinking that I might need to pull some of the keel rivets to get a look under there. But I dunno though.

 

[BWR1953]

I went out to the garage this morning and started working on the Chief (by myself) while the weather is so good. Made progress. With only a little blood spilled!



I started by removing the rusty bolts which had been holding the transom mulch in place.


So much for silicone sealant "protecting" those bolts.


I removed the vertical knee brace rivets, but stopped at that point so that the boy could get in the boat this afternoon to remove the remaining rivets.


The boy got busy on the bottom knee brace rivets. He's a lot smaller, lighter, flexible and more maneuverable than me!


The keel brace was full of gunk.


We found a treasure in the keel trash! The boy and his mom didn't know what it was.


Getting the port side stringer out.


And removing the starboard stringer. It took the boy less than 10 minutes to remove both.


Stringers removed.


And here's the mess under the keel.
Corrosion is significant. I'll be investigating in greater detail. I'll start by removing the rib closest to the stern. I know that there is some corrosion there too.

 

[BWR1953]

Honestly guys, if I'd attempted the Chieftain first instead of the Kingfisher, I would probably have given up when I saw all that corrosion. Seriously.

But thanks to the Starmada Mob and all your knowledge and help, I was able to complete the Kingfisher while both the boy and I learned a great deal.

What we learned from the KF project and all the other projects here on iboats.com is being tested now for sure!

So, many thanks to y'all for all the help!

 

[BWR1953]

This morning I bought an air hammer and this evening I ordered clecos, bucking bar, a large tube of 3M 5200 and a set of rivet setting bits.

I anticipate a lot of work to clear up that corrosion. So, it's time to arm up!

And I have to order rivets as well. That'll be after I get a better look at how many will need to be replaced.

 

[jbcurt00]

Good looking progress

 

[BWR1953]

More corrosion investigation and work today.
Really quite nasty. Yuck.


We got the first rib out.




Rib corrosion isn't as bad. This can be cleaned up and reused.


I cut the BCX plywood (that I bought last month) to the correct width for the deck and will be using the "scrap" piece as a working floor while I'm in the boat.


With this wood inside, I should be able to maneuver safely.


I received the air hammer bits today. Still awaiting the bucking bar.

 

[BWR1953]

QUESTION: should I repair & replace 3 or 4 ribs at a time? Or just go ahead and pull them all?

Removing all of them simultaneously seems like it could compromise the structural integrity of the hull. Especially while we're moving around inside.

I'm thinking that I should go along removing a few at a time, cleaning everything up and making repairs, then replacing the ribs in that section before moving to the next section.

What say y'all?

 

[BWR1953]

Any help?

I've been busy with other stuff over the last several days and haven't done any work lately. We only have 3 ribs removed thus far and I'd really like get some feedback on whether or not I can safely remove all the ribs simultaneously.

And before I order 1,000 rivets, I'd like to know if I can use the 7/16" length for 2-layer sections as well as the 3-layer sections. Or would that be too long?

The area under the knee brace will likely end up being 4 layers, so is 7/16" okay for that too, or should I move up to 1/2" there?

I should have some time available to work on the Chief tomorrow. Part of my time lately included buying tools, supplies and coming up with an eye lift plan, so I haven't been totally slacking.

 

[BOYS & TOYS]

Do you have to remove all the ribs? When I did mine I just pulled the ribs with holes under them for welding.
Not sure I would remove more than a few at a time. I don't see any big advantage by doing that.

 

[BWR1953]

Do you have to remove all the ribs? When I did mine I just pulled the ribs with holes under them for welding.
Not sure I would remove more than a few at a time. I don't see any big advantage by doing that.

Whether or not to remove all of the ribs is a very good question. I absolutely don't want to do that if it really isn't necessary. It adds expense, significant time delays and serious stress.

I pulled the #1 rib (closest to the stern) and it had a pinhole and some corrosion under the center of the rib there. So, I moved on to the 2nd rib and there was no pinhole but some corrosion.

Pulled the 3rd rib and there were no pinholes and only minor corrosion.

My initial thought is that the boat is already 46 years old and that I really shouldn't worry about minor corrosion under the remaining ribs. But it's a roll of the dice I suppose.

I certainly won't be around in another 46 years to check though!

 

[jbcurt00]

@classiccat @Watermann any help?

I would only remove a couple/3 at a time and I'd do every other or every 3rd one rather then 3 in a row.

 

[BWR1953]

@classiccat @Watermann any help?

I would only remove a couple/3 at a time and I'd do every other or every 3rd one rather then 3 in a row.

Uhoh. We already have 3 out.



I really like having the Chief in the garage; easier to work on.


Chief in the garage and the Kingfisher connected up to go fishing the next morning. No, I don't tow with that tarp on there.