1979 Starcraft 16’ SS Refresh

[Watermann]

There ya go, looking all good from here

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks @Watermann My kid sometime says “well... then something about something.” So before i added the support your and @SHSU ’s response was basically “well... it might work” . I much prefer “looking good” haha. Feels right now. Even worked through a thunder storm today, figure it was the old God’s giving me their approval.

Main deck from stern to bow are in!!! Big day. Got all the tie downs and neoprene in for the fuel tank too. I would take a pic of it in with both straps but the glue on the bow neoprene is still wet and its so tight i cant squeeze the fuel tank in without moving it. At least it will be tight!! Started on the transom now. Goal is to get as far as I can on the transom, splashwell, and consoles. Once those are all in its round 2 of paint and this girl gets some color

To top it off today, my neighbor stopped by to say hi. He gave me 1 cold beers, 2 warm ones for the freezer, and a set of kids skis for free!!! What a guy. I was out of beer too so i was thankful. My first favorite beer is free, my second favorite is cold. Then the cherry on top. Admiral brings me home a 12ver of my third favorite - sierra nevada hazy little thing ipa. First mates been helping me all day in n out of the boat. Today was a great day. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as me.

 

[SHSU]

The bolted D rings will do a nice job securing the tank. Helps going straight down to the stringers.

How are you running your feed hose, down the center under the deck?

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

I agree, they bolted in nicely, and I used larger washers with locknuts on the backside to help spread the load. Glad going to the stringer works cause I literally had no other option.

Fuel line to the motor will be run under the deck, along the lowest point. Resting across the ribs is a section of pvc that runs to the stern. I wanted the fuel line to be replaceable if need be easily, and also of it leaks it sits in the bottom of the hull. I didnt wanted to run it above the deck near hydroturf or flotation foam since neither react well to contact with gas.

Will figure out the fill line and water separator soon enough. Have ideas but will wait til I can look and measure it.

Worked late again and got some of the transom in. Will finish that up tomorrow with the few remaining bolts.

 

[Watermann]

You're on a resto blitz it looks like, once that deck goes in the rest seems to fly right along.

Cold garage beer.

 

[Moserkr]

The blitz continues lol. Been working as much as I can during a work week. Mainly just in time to feed the mosquitos. If i work hard enough, i dont notice those little b@$/@?%$. But they arent the size of birds like they are further east.

Found some issues where the gunnels and rub rail trim attach to the hull. A lot of the solid rivets I checked previously were kaput. So went through them all, pulled off the rub rail trim, and buttoned her up tight. Added a few extra where my down riggers will be. But since I decided to eventually go with traxtech tracks, im less worried about direct stress on the gunnels now.

Today I started to install the splashwell. Not done yet but looks good being where it belongs again!! Learned that my added gunnel/shelf support prevented it from even getting in place. Removed one so I can get it in and will replace after the SW is in. I do have a reason for wanted my SW and consoles in now. First, I want to paint everything in one shot that needs it. Second, I want to add pelican poop to the seams of the SW, and top it off with coat-it. Why coat-it? I get lots of gas n oil in the SW from my old 2-stroke that needs love. Until I have that issue solved, I dont want gas eating away my 5200 as Ive read it can do. I know coat-it will seal everything and resist gas well. If it ever needs to be removed, 60 grit sandpaper on an orbital makes short work of it. Hopefully I can just fix my motors to where they dont leak. But with coat-it back there I will be confident in it being extremely waterproof. Plan will be to coat-it then paint over everything.

Since the final paint is coming up soon and Im damn near ready... the plan will be white areas first. That includes transom, SW, gunnel tops, trim, and consoles.

Blue will be on the outer hull thats still open, and along the inside of the gunnels above the shelf. Not a whole lot of blue. I originally wanted to do the gunnel tops but the admiral shot that down... seats will be global white from wise. Is that too much white?? I could still do the gunnel top blue and override the Admiral... Final say is mine if I do all the work.

 

[Moserkr]

Sneak peak of whats going in tomorrow....

I put in an extra hour tonight and prepped the SW and consoles with solid rivets held in place by duct tape. Fuel tank was just set in for looks and a test fit now that the glue on my neoprene is dry. It fit perfectly!! Went in snug, with no room for movement, but plenty of space for expansion if it swells. Very happy with how it turned out. Consoles will not be attached to the floor until paint is done and I can test fit the windshield. I learned that one from other’s mistakes...

 

[Moserkr]

Consoles and SW are officially riveted in!! Went pretty well and the pic looks just like the preview. Really hoping my windshield lines up lol. Floors not attached yet but theres not much wiggle room given the fuel tanks location.

Storm is rolling in today and Im officiating a wedding tomorrow in the big city, so will be back at it on Saturday. Will be time to prep for the second round of white paint!! After that is the third and final round of paint - blue... Admiral and first mate are getting excited!!

 

[SHSU]

Blue will be on the outer hull thats still open, and along the inside of the gunnels above the shelf. Not a whole lot of blue. I originally wanted to do the gunnel tops but the admiral shot that down... seats will be global white from wise. Is that too much white?? I could still do the gunnel top blue and override the Admiral... Final say is mine if I do all the work.

A happy Admiral is key. lol

Do the white and you can decide later if you want to go to something else. I am still very happy I went the route of using the Nautolex on the gunwales. Trying to keep the white splashwell clean has been difficult, the Nautolex though has been a breeze.

SHSU

 

[Michigan Lakes]

Blue will be on the outer hull thats still open, and along the inside of the gunnels above the shelf. Not a whole lot of blue. I originally wanted to do the gunnel tops but the admiral shot that down... seats will be global white from wise. Is that too much white?? I could still do the gunnel top blue and override the Admiral... Final say is mine if I do all the work.

I had a similar debate 2 years ago when I ordered my seats. Actually ended up ordering both colors from Jeff Bezos & Co (free returns) to see how they looked in the boat. Everyone at home and on the forum said "go white" so I returned the blue and went all white. Personally, I was 51% pro-blue and still wonder sometimes...
Go with your gut.

 

[ShoestringMariner]

I had a similar debate 2 years ago when I ordered my seats. Actually ended up ordering both colors from Jeff Bezos & Co (free returns) to see how they looked in the boat. Everyone at home and on the forum said "go white" so I returned the blue and went all white. Personally, I was 51% pro-blue and still wonder sometimes...
Go with your gut. View attachment 340664

I did the white with blue nautolex. I think the white seat makes it pop.

 

[Moserkr]

Thank you gents. My vinyl arrived yesterday from iboats - wise company, global white color. Its not bright white but not really off white. I like it. The seats Im building will all be white in that vinyl. The floors are faux teak hydroturf, and the gunnel panels are going to be stained/sealed wood - no vinyl wraps on anything. Only vinyl will be seats.

In my previous post I was really referring to paint colors on the boat. I only have 2 to choose from lol - white or blue. The plan so far...

The outside bottom and halfway up the hull is white.
Top half of the outer hull will be blue.
Trim will all be white.
Inner gunnel will be blue.
Splashwell and transom will be white.

My two areas I can paint blue are the consoles and/or gunnel tops. Will probably do white consoles. I want blue gunnel tops, admiral likes white. I attached a picture to show the options and what im thinking. Port shows more blue, starboard more white. There will be a lot of dark wood inside too.

Makes sense that I can always paint blue over white a lot easier if I dont like it. Painting the gunnel tops white would also be easier with not having to tape off a bunch of trim... I get too that a white splashwell will show dirt very easily which i kind of like the idea of so i can keep it clean. Will probably end up being a pita but oh well lol. Cant make it blue.

 

[Watermann]

Looking good, yeah I painted my gunnel tops with a roller before putting the rub rail back on using non skid poly beads in the paint with catalyst hardener and it's proved to be very tough.

 

[Moserkr]

I will have to look up those non-skid poly beads. I was looking at options and dont want to do sand. May cut some hydroturf for a small step pad. Or when the fishing rails get put on they have removable non-slip inserts as well. Thanks for the intel.

 

[BWR1953]

I will have to look up those non-skid poly beads. I was looking at options and dont want to do sand. May cut some hydroturf for a small step pad. Or when the fishing rails get put on they have removable non-slip inserts as well. Thanks for the intel.

I used Rustoleum anti-skid additive on my KF deck. Works great.

 

[Watermann]

I will have to look up those non-skid poly beads. I was looking at options and dont want to do sand. May cut some hydroturf for a small step pad. Or when the fishing rails get put on they have removable non-slip inserts as well. Thanks for the intel.

The beads mix really well in the paint, they're like a powder and take on the color of the paint.

 

[Moserkr]

Didnt get a whole lot done this weekend with everything going on. Still got an afternoon in today at least. Cut bigger cupholders into the consoles per the admirals request. Last holes were cut with a hack saw so these went in nice with a proper hole saw. Also cut the spot for the gas tank fill. The vent’s hole used to be for an am/fm radio antenna and im repurposing it. I dont use the radio and the sound system has bluetooth. Last I got the SW fully bolted in with the admirals help, minus the corner trim pieces. (still need my rub rail). Put 5200 around the edges as sealant. Will do coat-it over that in a day or so when its dry. Then paint! Sanded a few things today, but will need to sand the rest down, clean her off, prep, and tape first of course...

 

[BOYS & TOYS]

"Cut bigger cupholders into the consoles per the admirals request."
You will never have too many cup holders in a boat. Mine are always full,sometimes with cups.

 

[Moserkr]

Baby steps...

a step a day keeps the summer blues away. Ended up putting in the splashwell drain tubes today. Lathered em up plenty good with 5200, and will seal extra good with coat-it afterwards. Hope I dont have to tear her apart for a long time.... shes going to be sealed up tight.

None of my amateur cuts lined up perfect between the original SW, my transom wood or hull, or the extra inner AL piece, or the transom trim. So, she has been forced into place as best as possible and it looks good enough. Definitely water tight. But my drain tubes angle downwards, which is good for drainage, but not original at least i think. Anyway, with some heavy finesse, I got em in and Im happy - they arent going anywhere and are definitely sealed up well.

Tomorrow is coat-it, and sand the hull for primer. The day after that will be cleaning, tape, and primer if i have time. Admiral and I did come to an agreement on the paint - its a bit more work with taping off things but I got my way - gunnel tops will be blue. Vast majority of the boat is still white though. In the evenings during the upcoming paint job, I may try to get the gunnel and console wood done. Every waking moment free goes towards the boat right now cause i want it done. Definitely took a chunk out of family time this year but the hope is that it creates greater memories than what was sacrificed for it. See y’all tomorrow

 

[SHSU]

Don't cover the 5200 with coat it. Two different sealants that are designed for different purposes. The coat it won't give like the 5200 is designed to and may cause tearing (where they are adhered together) of the 5200 when it fails.

SHSU