1977 StarCraft 18' SS restore

[sphelps]

Just checking in Decker ! Ramcharger looks ready to roll ! My sister and her kids had about 3 of them ..She delivered papers out of it ..
Now how many of those fish did you bring in ? If your wife is like mine she always out fishes me when I take her !! :fish2:

 

[Decker83]

Just checking in Decker ! Ramcharger looks ready to roll ! My sister and her kids had about 3 of them ..She delivered papers out of it ..
Now how many of those fish did you bring in ? If your wife is like mine she always out fishes me when I take her !! :fish2:

The Ramcharger is close. Need to get it inspected now.
The wife always catches more fish than me..
I don't know why either.. I spend more money on fishing gear than her, and she still out fishes me.. :facepalm:

 

[Decker83]

Just stopping by to wish all my I-boats friends a Happy Thanksgiving..

 

[Patfromny]

Happy Thanksgiving Decker. I hope all is well and that you and your family have a great holiday.

 

[laurentide]

Those 80's Rams were great trucks...simple, reliable, and bulletproof. I towed dozens of boats with a pickup version in my youth...it was my boss's yard truck and it never skipped a beat despite the abuse we heaped on it. They're pretty thin on the ground here in NE these days, now I just see rusting out 10 year old Dodge trucks. I think they must like to get the rust started at the factory on those.

 

[Decker83]

Hey guys. Have a question about the trim tabs. I-boats has these on sale. Has anyone used these? Which would be better for my SC? "Factory Blemish" SX Smart Tabs For Boat Length 15' - 19' FT and 60-150 HP - Nauticus or
"Factory Blemish" SX Smart Tabs For Boat Length up to 20' FT and 150-240 HP - Nauticus.

Both or the same price and with the 15' to 19' is in the right size but pushing the limit. Would the 20' be a better or to much?

 

[jbcurt00]

Watermann used the blems on his 18ft Chief and chemicalwire may have used them on his too..

 

[laurentide]

Ya, mine are sitting in my shed...too much stuff on my transom for tabs now. But they were fine and worked well. I emailed the company with my specs and they recommended the right product.

 

[Decker83]

Thanks for the response guys..
Good ideal chemicalwire on contacting the manufacture..

 

[Watermann]

I used the 60# model for my Chief and they work great, anything more would be too much I think. Sig also put them on his SS to help control that Yamaha 150 he lashed to the rear end. :lol: Sig said there was a night and day difference in his boat control with the tabs. After running my SS with the 140 I see no need for the tabs as the motor only weighs in at 290 and the 2 batteries are counter acted by 2 up front with the fuel tank being mid ship that's a wash. It's all about stern weight if you need the tabs or not.

 

[Decker83]

Thanks for the reply Watermann.. A lot of good information.. The ole W.L.O.D. had one of the fins on the outdrive so I thought I might need the smart tabs..
I'm going to hold off for now and see what happens when I splash it..

 

[Decker83]

Well I have been working on a 1974 evinrude 70 hp for the last few weeks.. Have a post in the Johnson/evinrude motor section.

Just dropping in to wish all the I-boats fathers a great Fathers Day.

 

[jbcurt00]

Happy fathers day Decker

 

[Watermann]

Thanks Decker and right back at ya. Hope you get the wrinkles ironed out of the old Rude.

 

[Decker83]

It seams like forever since I did anything StarCraft.. Sold my RV I had at Lake Fork.. Brought home a 1969 Skeeter Hawk with the above mentioned 70hp Evinrude.
Worked on that motor and got it running like it should.. Giving it to my youngest daughter and son in law.. She grew up fishing on that old boat..

Last week I was trolling CL and found a sign shop that was selling 4x8x1/2 marine grade plywood for 5 dollars a sheet.. Went to his place and bought 12 sheets.
The back side of the sheet has a brown paper sheet glued to it. The front side has a the brown paper and then a primer and then the vinyl sign..
Took a 6o grit sanding pad and cleaned it down to bare plywood. Took me about 45 minutes a side.. A lot of work but for 5 dollars a sheet and free labor, it was worth it.


Before and after. The second sheet looks a lot better..
Have a great week.

 

[Watermann]

Nice looking ply for 5 bucks, that's got to be a bottom feeder record wow! :biggrin-new:

 

[Decker83]

I have 4 of the sheets all sanded down. Cut 2 sheets for the transom. Need to use the router to cut out for the 3/16" plate on the inside of the transom.
Will try to do that tomorrow. Will try to have some pics. Have a good week!

 

[Decker83]

I took some 2"x4"x8' and ran them over my jointer and made them nice an straight. Laid out were I needed to rout out the 3/16" depth on the transom. Setup my router with a straight cut bottom bit 3/4" dia. Put the transom piece on top of the flat side of the 2x4's and screwed it down to hold it flat. Setup a straight edge
to make the first cut and then did the rest free hand. Didn't realize I that the bit was not tight enough at first and it slipped down on the first couple of passes.
After I figured out what was going on the rest worked ok. Didn't get it all cut out tonight. Will do some tomorrow.
Couple of pics..





I have a small piece of the aluminum plate for a gauge. I will sand all this down smooth and fill any low spots.

 

[Watermann]

Haven't seen this before, what's the plate for on the inside of the transom?

 

[Decker83]

This is the plate I put inside the hull to support the transom way back on page 9.