1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

[850Merc]

A good friend of mine just gave me this boat, it seems to be in really good condition (except the deck and upholstery).

I have been reading a blog by Boatguy94 and he did a great job of documenting the work he did on his 1978. I have a feeling that our boats are extremely similar.

This is a Colorado original boat, so I am under the assumption that it spent 360 days a year out of the water (since a larger lake here is about 100 Acres...). I also know that it has been in dry dock for atleast 12 years since. My friend bought the boat and went through the engine very thoroughly and fogged it up before storing it.

The trailer has new tires and the wheel bearings were serviced (also 12 years ago). It pulled really nicely to my house, and just seems to need a coat of paint and some surface rust knocked loose. Someone must have extended the tongue on the trailer, because it is clearly longer that most. Everyone I talk to says it will make it easier to maneuver while backing.

Anyway, I built the Outboard stand from the dh4winn79 instructional thread (love the way it turned out btw). Great thread and a very nice and solid stand. I havent yet removed my motor, it is a Mercury 850 (85Hp). Apparently it is the largest motor recommended to go on these boats.

Here are some pictures of the boat as it was sitting, we have since moved it to my side yard. I intend to disassemble the interior and replace the decking with MDO (medium density overlay) 1/2" plywood.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0447.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0448.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0443.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0444.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0445.jpg

Anyway, I am hoping to learn from everyone elses successes on here and hope I can contribute some useful information to others.

Oh and here is the stand that I built. I am hoping to get the motor on it this weekend and start removing the consoles and decking.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/jeffnewcomb/1976 Starcraft SS 16/IMG_0461.jpg

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

I am still trying to figure out this picture thing, bare with me...

 

[magnumdeke]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Welcome to the dry dock!, looks like you are going to be gutting and rebuilding, beautiful hull and motor to start with. Good luck, any info you need is here that's for sure!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Welcome to Tinhalla, 850. She looks like good bones for a re-do. She's a little dusty but appears to complete which always a good thing. Is the motor free? Good luck on getting her back on the water and have fun.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

What a nice friend to give you such an awesome boat . Those old Mercs are good motors. If it's been sitting that long I'm sure it will need a tune up and carb cleaning and a new water pump impeller would be a good idea.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Welcome to Tinhalla, 850. She looks like good bones for a re-do. She's a little dusty but appears to complete which always a good thing. Is the motor free? Good luck on getting her back on the water and have fun.

Hello GA, Yes, the motor was free as well.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

What a nice friend to give you such an awesome boat . Those old Mercs are good motors. If it's been sitting that long I'm sure it will need a tune up and carb cleaning and a new water pump impeller would be a good idea.

I figure we will have to go through the motor again before we try to start it up. When my friend got the boat he replaced the water pump impeller, wiring harness and rebuilt the carb(s??). Hopefully the engine will be a slam dunk on this one.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Super sweet boat for the price!!!

For the motor you should consider checking all the wiring for dry rot. The impeller should be replaced, after sitting for 12 yrs. I wouldn't trust it. Impellers are cheap (about $20) and there's lots of good vids on youtube on how to replace them.

For the hull, your choice of MDO ply is an excellent one! Decking and transom of MDO will last a lifetime.
Check your floatation foam for waterlogging, take some core samples to make sure the foam isn't dry on top and saturated on bottom.


Looking forward to watching you restore this boat.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Welcome 850! You are in good company here. Lot's of SS have been rebuilt and well documented here on iboats

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Super sweet boat for the price!!!

For the motor you should consider checking all the wiring for dry rot. The impeller should be replaced, after sitting for 12 yrs. I wouldn't trust it. Impellers are cheap (about $20) and there's lots of good vids on youtube on how to replace them.

For the hull, your choice of MDO ply is an excellent one! Decking and transom of MDO will last a lifetime.
Check your floatation foam for waterlogging, take some core samples to make sure the foam isn't dry on top and saturated on bottom.


Looking forward to watching you restore this boat.

We are looking at replacing the existing 1/2" plywood with 1/2" MDO, several people on here seem to be going with 3/4". I don't want to add the extra weight to the boat, and I am under the impression that 1/2" MDO is going to be stiffer than the OEM stuff. Just curious what your thoughts are on this? Obviously the transom will get 3/4" MDO X 2, but someone mentioned that they were forced to adjust the consoles to accomodate 3/4" on the deck.

The Motor comes off tomorrow, and hopefully the consoles (fingers crossed). I'll make sure to update with pictures.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Welcome 850! You are in good company here. Lot's of SS have been rebuilt and well documented here on iboats

Thanks Jas, I feel like I am in good hands on here. This is my first boat project, but I intend on looking for answers before asking dumb quesitons:facepalm:

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

IF...... I had a GOOD friend like that, I would Prolly become a Tin Boat owner and learn about REEVITS and Gluvit and Noodles and all that other good stuff. But I have NO friends so I guess I'm stuck with Fiberglass. Very nice boat and I'm sure she'll be a Beaut!!!! when you're done. You ARE in very good hands!!!!!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

We are looking at replacing the existing 1/2" plywood with 1/2" MDO, several people on here seem to be going with 3/4". I don't want to add the extra weight to the boat, and I am under the impression that 1/2" MDO is going to be stiffer than the OEM stuff. Just curious what your thoughts are on this? Obviously the transom will get 3/4" MDO X 2, but someone mentioned that they were forced to adjust the consoles to accomodate 3/4" on the deck.

The Motor comes off tomorrow, and hopefully the consoles (fingers crossed). I'll make sure to update with pictures.

3/4" plywood is only 25 lbs. heavier per sheet than 1/2", and in a boat that big it won't even be noticeable. The thing about the OEM 1/2" decking in your boat is that it was/is supported by the expanding foam. If you don't foam your boat like OEM the 1/2" will be kind of bouncy/springy, not solid. Another thing about 1/2" decking I don't care for is that there isn't enough meat there to hold fasteners for accessories and anything else mounted to it. Fasteners will strip and pull out much easier in 1/2 than 3/4".

The ease of adjustments depends on the boat design and your personal skill level. Looking at the pics of your console it doesn't look like 3/4" will make that much of a difference, to me it just looks like you'll have to fill the existing hole for you winshield brace on each side and drill a new hole. If your windshield wrap around was sitting on your gunwale the adjustment would be more involved, but the wrap around looks like it just sits on the console in the pic.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Thanks Wood, I'm looking forward to getting my hands dirty and hopefully have it ready by the spring.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Thanks Jig, I will definately take this information into account when I go to purchase the new material. I am pretty sure that boat did not come with expanding foam, the giant hole in the deck just has blocks of white foam beneath. I was just reading Jas' Sea Sprite thread and the expanding foam scares me a little now I'm currently thinking I'll use the pink stuff underneath. Thank you very much for the input.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

The thing about the OEM 1/2" decking in your boat is that it was/is supported by the expanding foam. If you don't foam your boat like OEM the 1/2" will be kind of bouncy/springy, not solid.

Being a '76 I think his will still have the white foam blocks and not pour in.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Thanks Jig, I will definately take this information into account when I go to purchase the new material. I am pretty sure that boat did not come with expanding foam, the giant hole in the deck just has blocks of white foam beneath. I was just reading Jas' Sea Sprite thread and the expanding foam scares me a little now I'm currently thinking I'll use the pink stuff underneath. Thank you very much for the input.

The pink EPS sheet foam is the best bang for the buck when it comes to floatation, it has the same floatation value as the expanding foam but is considerably cheaper. The sheet foam is also cheaper than the noodles when you figure it for pounds per pounds of floatation value.

It doesn't really matter how you do your rebuild, just do it the way you're most comfortable with and don't try to cheap out and cut corners on safety and quality and it'll all be good. You'll have a like new boat for a fraction of the cost of a new boat, and that's real hard to beat.

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Update:

Pulled the outboard off yesterday and placed it on the stand I built.

Inspected the transom more thoroughly and I am confident that it is definately in need of replacement. I'll try take few pics of this.

I need to remove all of the hydrolics from inside the splash well and then begin disassembling the deck. Hopefully I can make some decent progress this week.

Thanks for the help everyone,

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Spent a little time yesterday working on removing the hydrolics from inside the splash well. I am feeling pretty good about how things are going. These boats sure do seem to be easy to work with.

I took a picture of the wiring I disconnected. I am hoping that this thread will also serve as documentation for the reassembly.

Really happy the forum is back up and running, I am still kind of curious what happened?

 

[850Merc]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Supersport 16'

Removed the splashwell and all rails from the deck, wasn't too bad getting the splashwell out. I had to remove about 30 screws from the that went in to the transom and drill about 12 rivets in order to get it off.