1979 Starcraft 16’ SS Refresh

[Moserkr]

*** Official Start ***

Was able to tear into the bow today through different pieces of lumber and screws, to get to where I can see the hull. No surprise since I know the PO that the project was done, but not done right. Deck boards are all screwed down using square head screws into the hull supports. Underneath the main deck is little to no foam as expected, with the little foam being original styrofoam. Lots old rivet pieces lying around - nothing was cleaned up after his work - again, expected. Not sure if the rivets he put in are done right though. The old ones and new ones look different. I also measured for the fuel tank location and its going to be tight to get it up front. I will lose a lot of storage that I previously had so im going to have to look at my options before making that big decision. I see a bunch of junk on the hull too that needs to be cleaned up before I apply gluvit so will have to research that too.

Next step while I consider my gas tank options, is working on the main deck. I need to get the electrical all labeled before disconnecting, take out the batteries / old gas tank, and then remove the consoles. After that i can get the main floor out which shouldnt be too difficult.

My garage is small and full of all my outdoor stuff, so im literally against a wall while working. Had to remove the trolling plate and trailer hitch to close the garage, but the boats only in there during the winter. Goal is to move fast yet do it as right as I can before winter really hits and it gets colder. Usually february-march is when we could see massive amounts of snow. Almanac is calling for a drier winter here so maybe ill get lucky.

 

[SHSU]

Was able to tear into the bow today through different pieces of lumber and screws, to get to where I can see the hull. No surprise since I know the PO that the project was done, but not done right. Deck boards are all screwed down using square head screws into the hull supports. Underneath the main deck is little to no foam as expected, with the little foam being original styrofoam. Lots old rivet pieces lying around - nothing was cleaned up after his work - again, expected. Not sure if the rivets he put in are done right though. The old ones and new ones look different. I also measured for the fuel tank location and its going to be tight to get it up front. I will lose a lot of storage that I previously had so im going to have to look at my options before making that big decision. I see a bunch of junk on the hull too that needs to be cleaned up before I apply gluvit so will have to research that too.

Yep, we all have found surprise "fixes" that PO have done. With what you are showing, I would recommend taking all the flooring out and do a fresh install.
The junk on the hull is leftover from the original material Starcraft put their vinyl/carpet on with. You can use a wire wheel to remove if you want or install your own vinyl or something over it. I added Nautolex to the sides, but will admit I wouldn't do it again. I haven't had great success with getting it to stay adhered to the hull. Not a Nautolex issue, just a glue issue.
Also, those different rivets are blind rivets. Those aren't solid rivets and would suggest replacing them with solids.

Next step while I consider my gas tank options

So for the gas tank fitting, I was referencing dropping it below the floor and have it come up under the front deck. By installing it like that, you get the extra 8 or so inches from under the flooring to use with the extra space created by the front deck. That gives you enough room to play around with.

My garage is small and full of all my outdoor stuff, so im literally against a wall while working. Had to remove the trolling plate and trailer hitch to close the garage, but the boats only in there during the winter.

I know how working in a garage can be. I am always envious of the guys that have these massive workshops/space for their projects. My HOA would have a fit if I had tried to leave it parked in my driveway.... lol

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

@SHSU Well it looks like my rivet count just went from around 30 that I knew needed replacing to probably 200+, given that the PO replaced 170ish. Im guessing they will all be blind rivets, not solids.

My plan for the side wall in the bow will be to just paint it so thats easy at least. Not messing with glue or materials if I dont have to. Wife wanted it bare aluminum and I told her shes welcome to polish it out haha.

I see what you mean for the gas tank. I need to get the floor completely out to measure where you’re thinking. Part of the deck that the consoles are mounted to sticks out a foot into the bow area so looks like ill be getting on that soon as I can. Question: If I have a gas tank down there where you’re thinking, will it be an issue having the fuel feeding from the point towards the bow? If its low on fuel would it have an issue feeding? I like the idea though cause its pretty much a belly tank then.

I saw your garage and made me feel better that Im attempting this in mine haha. Its only 16’x20’ and I have lots of stuff. One day a large shop will be in order. Right now I have an HOA too but my neighbors are awesome and I can tear a project apart outside if I wanted to without worry. Only issue is the cold and possible weather. We can get 5 feet of snow in one storm easily. One year we got ten feet in 3 days!! Sierra cement - heavy wet stuff thats a pita.

 

[classiccat]

@Moserkr aren't HOA's wonderful? I have a quazi-HOA where we pool together our $$ to insure the forever-green areas of our plan...but there are still restrictions. If it weren't for an HOA, I'd have a pole-barn with a lift & room for 3+ boats!

Polishing a hull is miserable, dirty work... so if you can get the Admiral to do it, you'll be forever in her debt! I'm grateful now that I've done it... I've already tattooed the polished areas of my hull on poorly protected river docks and it just buffs right out.

 

[classiccat]

Oh...and congrats on getting the teardown started!

this picture is pretty cool! did you strap a go-pro to a hamster?

 

[SHSU]

@SHSU Well it looks like my rivet count just went from around 30 that I knew needed replacing to probably 200+, given that the PO replaced 170ish. Im guessing they will all be blind rivets, not solids.

@Watermann has a great sticky on the main page discussing the rivets used on Starcraft. Reference there to get an idea of what you will need.
As for ordering them, most guys get them from Jay-Cee. They offer a large supply of everything rivet related.
https://rivetsinstock.com/

I hope your admiral is as willing as mine in helping doing that.

My plan for the side wall in the bow will be to just paint it so thats easy at least. Not messing with glue or materials if I dont have to. Wife wanted it bare aluminum and I told her shes welcome to polish it out haha.

Painting is what I was thinking to for future builds. If the Admiral is willing to polish I am with @classiccat!!

I see what you mean for the gas tank. I need to get the floor completely out to measure where you’re thinking. Part of the deck that the consoles are mounted to sticks out a foot into the bow area so looks like ill be getting on that soon as I can. Question: If I have a gas tank down there where you’re thinking, will it be an issue having the fuel feeding from the point towards the bow? If its low on fuel would it have an issue feeding? I like the idea though cause its pretty much a belly tank then.

I don't think there should be a problem. I have no issues with mine and when you are up on plane the gas tank will be higher so it will be all down hill.

I saw your garage and made me feel better that Im attempting this in mine haha. Its only 16’x20’ and I have lots of stuff. One day a large shop will be in order. Right now I have an HOA too but my neighbors are awesome and I can tear a project apart outside if I wanted to without worry. Only issue is the cold and possible weather. We can get 5 feet of snow in one storm easily. One year we got ten feet in 3 days!! Sierra cement - heavy wet stuff thats a pita.

It is cold for us here in Houston, Texas ~40-50 degree F. I love cold weather and a little snow, but don't think I could deal with 10 feet in 3 days. lol

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

@classiccat Thanks! Feels good to have started at least. HOA’s are definitely a love/hate relationship. On one hand they can keep the neighborhood nice, on the other you can get neighbors with sticks you know where. Luckily Im in a good, relaxed HOA. I could leave the boat in pieces on the driveway for years no problem. I definitely have no plans to polish any part of the boat. Even stripping it to bare metal has been scratched off the list. Ill be happy just painting over it. Wonder how many coats of white it will take to cover black and bright green lmao. Hopefully i find that hamster before it starts to stink too lol.

@SHSU I have read watermann’s rivet sticky and will do so again soon. Admiral will be helping me put those in for sure. Thanks for the rivet link!

Ive been looking for stock belly gas tanks that will work with no luck so far. But I did find some that are close so still doing homework there. Not ruling out a custom build either. I know my friend can build one for me if I can convince him, but paying a shop would be easier. Everything will depend on price since this is a low budget refresh. Low budget as in as little as I can pay to do it right and how I want it lol. Still cheaper than a new boat payment. Trying to keep the fuel tank around $300 as its one of the highest priced items in the build.

We are just above where people get the novelty of snow. Weather is holding good for now in the 40-50s, so hoping to get rivets and gluvit done this month. May be able to get the remaining interior removed this week which would allow me to count rivets I need, and measure accurately for the fuel tank. Would be nice to get the floors back in before the temps drop and Im shoveling snow as an unpaid part time job. Lost 7 lbs moving snow from that 10’ snow storm last year - not fun.

 

[Moserkr]

Sitting in the boat right now, seats removed. Gas tank and auxiliary battery are out, as well as some foam and other boards. Gas tank was fun getting out being half full (9 gal) - used a skateboard to get it outside and into the gravel. Not sure what to do with the remaining fuel but given that the tanks all rusted, I wouldnt run it so maybe i will carefully add it to some burn piles. Going to start labeling my rats nest of wires so I can pull the main battery and the consoles out tonight. Dont mind the crazy wires - all will be replaced if needed and many are spliced together so... If that goes well I may even have the floors out too!! Better go on a beer run quick so i am motivated to work more haha. Admiral is having her cousin and sister/nephew over so Im better off out in the garage. Will give a live update here in a bit once my taste buds are satisfies. Admiral took a look and is excited too!! Even said she will polish the windshield frame...

 

[Moserkr]

Got a little more done and got invited to go duck hunting tomorrow so after dinner work is now on hold. Got all weekend though so not a problem. Took out the port console and disconnected the speaker wires over there, then took off the panel running along the floor/gunwales. Will have to get some advice on tying it back together since it looks like its structural when done right. Also will need some advice on my cracking SW. It was not tied in well to the structure (missing rivets in places), and I had down riggers next to it which added a lot of stress. Plan will be to heavily reinforce the area to accommodate the down riggers I plan on running. Early bedtime coming up so will see if I can finish stripping to the hull by weekend’s end.
Cheers!!

 

[SHSU]

Moving right along!!

Ya, old fuel can be a pain. I know some guys have run it over time through their trucks, but don't think it was as contaminated as yours sounds.

As for your splashwell, I had the same type of failure. That was another reason why I went the custom splashwell route. They could have just done a right angle underneath that runs the length of the splashwell and gunnel and it would have been stronger.... Less of a structural stress point then what it is and that seems to commonly fail.

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

Got some more work done this weekend but got slowed down with a surprise waterfowl hunt. Went with some youth and got a few geese for them.

All batteries are out and Ive disconnected/ labelled half the electrical. Cleaned up the areas I opened up and was able to get a good look at the SW area. @SHSU Damage to the SW was not as bad as I thought, and the one broken bracket was cause by missing rivets. Looks like I can salvage it easily so thats good news.

Other concern is the transom support has a broken rusty bolt, probably not a huge deal as everything else looks ok. Will take some pics of the transom area soon as the floors are out so I can find out if it needs major work or not. Really hoping it doesnt need much work besides rivets.

Sent off some emails regarding fuel tanks. Anyone have any experience with RDS? Pic attached of the one Im interested in. It may work as stock, or Ill need all the fittings on one side of the tank instead of both sides. Dimensions seem to work so far...

Been slammed with work so hoping to get into the boat tomorrow or the next day to finish removing the drivers console and floors. Trying to leave all the wiring in place as well as my steering so I dont have to redo that later, except for a few lines which are ghetto. Whole setup doesnt seem to be grounded either so will have to address that later too i believe.

RDS belly tank, first mate playing captain, and duck blind view.

 

[SHSU]

Love the pic of your First Mate. My Admiral/Little Admiral were constant supports too.

For the SW, yes it should be an easy fix. Rivet some aluminum angle iron underneath along where the SW meets the Gunwales. Run it on that vertical edge and along the horizontal edge and it will help firm it up.

If I see what you are talking about for the broken bolt in the knee brace through the transom, that is no issue. Bigger concern when the knee brace is cracked or the tabs are completely broken off.

The fuel tank looks possible, but you will need to measure to make sure you have the room in the front to put the entire 36 1/2 inch length under the deck/platform. Not sure I had that much room up front to work with even if I did let it go above deck. One question to ask is the height of the fill/pickups. That will need to be factored in, but don't think it should be a major issue since you are planning to keep the raised platform up front.

SHSU

 

[Watermann]

Not too many guys have got a fuel tank under deck on a 16'r, most I've seen here have given up on the hope and gone above deck. I'm rooting for you! Just be sure to give the details for those who follow.

That sort of SW damage can be just from heavyweights walking or standing in and on the SW and or in conjunction with rot a compromised transom. My SS had a corner cracked in an area similar to that but I believe it came from people.

Keeping your boy involved in an outdoors lifestyle will pay off for him and you big time.

 

[SHSU]

That sort of SW damage can be just from heavyweights walking or standing in and on the SW and or in conjunction with rot a compromised transom. My SS had a corner cracked in an area similar to that but I believe it came from people.

Yep, second that thought. Never thought it was very stout, hence my desire for a custom build.

@Moserkr
If you plan on people getting in and out at the transom for tubing and such, you might want to think about how to stiffen up that area. Additional aluminum angle should help with that.

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

@Watermann @SHSU Definitely going to add some al angle iron to the sw supports, especially since Ill be torquing it there with down riggers. Also thinking about tying in all my gunwale panels to the bow deck and all the way back to the transom. May be overkill but i know more stout is better than less.

Been in the boat today and the electrical is labelled and removed as much as im going to remove it. But its out of the way of my console so last part is disconnecting my steering. Im trying to do this without having to reconnect anything except the bolt plates and steering wheel. Currently im stuck getting the steering wheel off. Any suggestions??? Been talking with my friend who installed it and its where it should pop off we believe. Thats literally the only thing stopping me from taking out the floors, which brings me to rivets, gluvit, and ordering a gas tank hopefully if i can find one that fits lol.
Appreciate the support and advice. First mate has been playing in the boat daily and wont let me not work on it haha. He wants it done so we can go fishing. Trying to get the floors out by tomorrow so i can tarp them before the rain comes this weekend. Also will probably bear hunting during the storm so that will be fun.

 

[classiccat]

Nice work on a careful deconstruction!

You're likely going to need a puller of some sort to remove that wheel. 3 jaw puller, harmonic balancer puller (with a chain around the backside), etc. I've also used an air hammer on that shaft while putting pressure on the backside with a board.

 

[Watermann]

For the wheel apply pulling force while using a hammer tapping the shaft with the nut on a few turns.

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks guys. Looks like careful force or a proper tool is required. Will be fiddling with it here in a little bit. Rain starts around 4 today so I still have time to get things done.

The wiring in the boat was functional for the most important things, and completely dysfunctional for everything else. Tach, trim, and voltage meter never worked so those will be addressed when I reinstall everything. Really did not want to have to wire everything from scratch again, and as long as the transom remains intact it makes my job a lot easier. Shooting for pretty good looking, functional, and most importantly safe.

Been reading other threads while Im working, and for loose/leaky rivets I have already done a water test. I have a very good idea where my leaks are coming from.

Additional story:
Was kokanee fishing this summer by myself, and watched other guys pulling them in left and right in their $80,000 bada$$ fishing boat. I only had my boat out maybe 5 times by now, and my setup/knowledge was pretty weak lol. After having no luck for a few hours, I noticed I was sitting a bit low in the water. Pulled up my sw cover and saw I had taken on water up to my floor boards!!! Usually I run the bilge pump every so often to check if Im taking on water, but was so focused on not catching fish I had forgotten. But 2 hours usually doesnt cause that much leakage!! I had a serious issue. Flipped on the bilge and my 1800 gph pump ran for over 5 minutes straight!! Instantly had my gear up and headed back to the dock to call it a day. At home I found one rivet completely gone. So i did a standard fill the boat with water on the trailer test, and found additional leaks all over. Fixed em and busted a few more rivets on purpose next time out by hitting wakes hard enough to find the weak links. Fixed those too and ive hardly taken on much water since, but I wanted to fix things right. Also went back out kokanee fishing and caught enough to feed the family so that was fun!

Anyway, im ready to order some rivets soon as these floors are out and the hull is cleaned!! Also looking forward to putting a proper amount of foam in - with the maybe 6 old styrofoam blocks the boat has in it now, my boat would have sunk to the bottom if I hadnt seen it taking on water in time.

Also made a xmas list for my family since they said they had no ideas for me for xmas. Boat lights, coatit (cheaper than gluvit), foam deck flooring, cup holders... should be a fun xmas!

 

[Moserkr]

Sweet! Consoles, steering wheel, and 75% of the floors are out!!! Took a bit longer than expected due to the heinous green foam floor cover I had to rip out. Also half the square head deck screws were epoxied in. Would have finished the deck removal tonight except the admiral had a white elephant party to go to and graciously let me stay home with the first mate. Was actually surprised by how much foam the boat had in it. All of it was original and in horrible shape. PO left lots of junk under the deck before he put the new deck on. Pretty sad but Im not surprised. Going to get the big shop vac out now and maybe haul the boat outside for a pressure wash once the weather clears up.

At least I can now measure precisely for my fuel tank and sunday I can finish the deck. Then start counting rivets and gathering tools. Father in law has an air powered rivet gun at the body shop he works at so that will have to be borrowed at some point. Lucky for me he is well versed in building stuff - theres a 50%+ finished 1-ton rear steer tundra powered 90’s 4-runner rock crawler on 42”s in his garage.... completely homemade custom and done right.

Deserve another beer I think... photo dump!

 

[classiccat]

She's lookin' less and less like a Jackson Pollock in there .