1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

[S.S. MINNOW'S Captain]

Well...where do I begin? Feb 2008 I bought a great little project boat 25' twin engine (3.0L 4 Cyl mercruisers) fiberglass Starcraft flybridge cruiser. It needed some tinkering and drive work but after a little more than a year she made her maiden voyage. We used her all summer this year and had a great time in fresh water and salt.

Now all along I knew I had some soft spots that would need attention but as always these issues seem to have exponential consequences. I knew the motor mounts and stringer area was soft...turned out it was junk, The floor was soft and the individual bulkhead cross stringers are in poor shape. I have read and re-read the great threads here on i-boats and I am very comfortable with all of the structural repairs I am about to jump into. My only question / concern really is how do I match the finish on the new floor into the the gelcoat on the old inner hull and make it look real nice? I realize that I have to lay fiberglass and finish but I would like to have a very clean floor that can e washed down easily without an ugly joint if that is possible.

Also another little concern I have is the boat is on a trailer and fairly well supported do I have to be concerned about the hull sagging, or twisting when I cut the floor out?

Thanks for any advice!:

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Welcome to iboats and once we see pictures The Starcraft club . I would say there wouldnt be a problem regelcoating the whole interior to make it look good and you can smooth the edge of the repairs so there isnt a noticeable seam . The rest of your questions I will leave to the Glass guys as I am a tincanner .


Rick

 

[drewpster]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

I would fill and fair any joints to make them a smooth transition. I would then paint everything to match the floor. Two part poly paints are very durable and hold up to traffic. Simply paint the whole cockpit to match or coordinate with the deck. I would also use additive in the paint to make the deck non-slip.
(after painting I would still make the crew and guests go bare foot or deck shoes only just to keep things pristine)

 

[S.S. MINNOW'S Captain]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

I would fill and fair any joints to make them a smooth transition. I would then paint everything to match the floor. Two part poly paints are very durable and hold up to traffic. Simply paint the whole cockpit to match or coordinate with the deck. I would also use additive in the paint to make the deck non-slip.
(after painting I would still make the crew and guests go bare foot or deck shoes only just to keep things pristine)

Thanks for the advice. And I definately agree on the non skid compound. My thought is to cut the floor out just before the small drain channel down each side and use that to make a duplicate reference point for the height of the new floor.

 

[S.S. MINNOW'S Captain]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Welcome to iboats and once we see pictures The Starcraft club . I would say there wouldnt be a problem regelcoating the whole interior to make it look good and you can smooth the edge of the repairs so there isnt a noticeable seam . The rest of your questions I will leave to the Glass guys as I am a tincanner .


Rick

Thanks,

I have some great pictures and I will continue post them as soon as I can figure out how to shrink their file size so they fit.

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Capn open a photo bucket account it will make life 100 times simpler posting pictures of your toy just copy and paste links to have full sized pictures right in your post.


Rick

 

[S.S. MINNOW'S Captain]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Thanks for the Photobucket tip.

Hopefully this works. Here are a few pictures of what she is. I have more and I will send project pictures as the project progresses.

http://s997.photobucket.com/albums/af95/Marden1234/

 

[Rickairmedic]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Capt'n that is a fine looking craft looks like you are already enjoying her quite a bit . I will include a picture here from your album for the others . There are quite a few guys here that are very well versed at Glass boat repair . Most of us Starcrafters here have Tin Cans and wont be a great deal of help LOL. I will invite you to our little get together we are planning for June next summer at Lake Anna ,Virginia . We would be happy to have you . Theres a link to more info at the bottom of my post.

Rick

 

[S.S. MINNOW'S Captain]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Capt'n that is a fine looking craft looks like you are already enjoying her quite a bit . I will include a picture here from your album for the others . There are quite a few guys here that are very well versed at Glass boat repair . Most of us Starcrafters here have Tin Cans and wont be a great deal of help LOL. I will invite you to our little get together we are planning for June next summer at Lake Anna ,Virginia . We would be happy to have you . Theres a link to more info at the bottom of my post.

Rick

Thanks again for all the help. I look forward to more tips. We did enjoy her quite a bit and I would love the chance to come join in the Starcraft fun.

 

[North Beach]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

Oh Great! Fricken TWIN I/O's! Now I gotta make some changes to my boat

Just kidden That is a danged nice boat!

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Flybridge Cruiser - Stringers / Floor

I like it! I've never seen a glass Starcraft that big! There's a Chieften 25' lummie cruiser around here, but no glass ones. Now I have something new to look for...