1979 Starcraft 16’ SS Refresh

[Moserkr]

Haha thats true I could air them down a little. I live in the forest so no need for a lawn tractor. An atv for hunting, with a snow pIow?? Absolutely!! I actually would have to go in head first with my truck if it fits lol. Cant back in due to the antenna being on the drivers side. But i have a front receiver hitch so Im going to give it a shot soon.

Just picked up some lumber to finish the job - cross member supports, foot board for the post side, and a brace for the inside of the garage to reinforce the main header. Neighbor lent me a paint sprayer (would have been nice to have that for the boat), and have primer for it to start. Rain coming in a week so the clock is ticking…. At least need the frame painted to start. To paint the metal roof I get to employ some boat building knowledge - wipe down with vinegar/water, clean it before priming, then paint. Still a bit to do, especially solo, will be worth it in the end!!

 

[Moserkr]

Roof is on and the lean-to has been primed!! Paint sprayer sure came in handy, wish I had that for my boat before lol. Once everything else is done on the boat, interior in and motors running, I think ill sand down her sides and give her another coat with the spray gun. Thats a ways off but its on the list. Heres a few pics, will paint it to match the garage/house color soon as the primer has ample time to dry. Shiitake tan and clove brown from sherman williams are the colors.

One thing i am wondering is which manual should I use for my motors, and where can I find it? Will seloc suffice, or should i get the original? Digital or hard copy doesnt matter. Putting a tv in the garage soon so would be easy to see on a big screen. Appreciate the advice! Going to be wrenching and tinkering in the next month or so I think.

 

[SHSU]

One thing i am wondering is which manual should I use for my motors, and where can I find it? Will seloc suffice, or should i get the original?

I have a Seloc and it hasn't been bad. If I were to do again, I would try and get an original. I keep hearing about extra information in them that the Seloc isn't to clear on. Then again, I don't know what is in the originals either....

SHSU

 

[classiccat]

The boat port is lookin' good! HOA Karens should stay off of your case.

man, factory service manuals got expensive on fleabay! if you don't need it right away, try making offers or just holding out.

Here's one for the '78...70/75hp only.

in '83, it's all models (I have this exact FSM):

 

[ShoestringMariner]

I have a Seloc and it hasn't been bad. If I were to do again, I would try and get an original. I keep hearing about extra information in them that the Seloc isn't to clear on. Then again, I don't know what is in the originals either....

SHSU

I bought a multi model Seloc for my old 650 merc and I was frustrated and left wanting more info.

I recently bought original evinrude/Johnson factory service manuals for my 60 and 50hp and I think they are much more informative with better photos. I will always buy factory manuals now. You can get them at ken cook.

 

[Moserkr]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Haha thanks guys! So far the neighbors love it so no worries on the hoa. It is painted and blends in great. All done, and my truck even fit!! Used the front receiver hitch to pull ithe boat up into place. I have about a foot on each side of the trailer, but with my nice trailer steps, lots of room, and plenty of head space.

Last few things to do are reinforce the header board and header wall, and do some paint touchups. Pretty easy. But a hard part will eventually be lining the driveway with a low rock retaining wall, and opening up my path into the lean-to by digging out the hillside. Then I get to rearrange/organize the garage. Going to put all my tools and boat stuff next to the side door so its close to the boat. Hunting gear on the other side, office in another corner, and weight lifting gear in the last corner.

Reason Im moving the office to the garage is I live in a 3 bed 2 bath house right now, and theres a new first mate on the way. So making room, and Ive always wanted my office to be in the man cave anyway.

Appreciate the advice on the manuals. I remember you @SHSU mentioning seloc’s being less than perfect. I will check out fleabay and ken cook - i remember reading that name before. Motors are similar so I may be able to get away with one, but Im leaning heavily towards an original regardless of cost. Ill start with whichever motor I think has the best shot of running well. Going to have to do some tests starting with compression again, see if thats changed. Im going to source another cylinder head/cover too regardless so I have 2 complete motors, and give the stinger its original one back. Thats the plan for now. Once my other little projects are done I will get going on the boat again!!

 

[ShoestringMariner]

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Haha thanks guys! So far the neighbors love it so no worries on the hoa. It is painted and blends in great. All done, and my truck even fit!! Used the front receiver hitch to pull ithe boat up into place. I have about a foot on each side of the trailer, but with my nice trailer steps, lots of room, and plenty of head space.

Last few things to do are reinforce the header board and header wall, and do some paint touchups. Pretty easy. But a hard part will eventually be lining the driveway with a low rock retaining wall, and opening up my path into the lean-to by digging out the hillside. Then I get to rearrange/organize the garage. Going to put all my tools and boat stuff next to the side door so its close to the boat. Hunting gear on the other side, office in another corner, and weight lifting gear in the last corner.

Reason Im moving the office to the garage is I live in a 3 bed 2 bath house right now, and theres a new first mate on the way. So making room, and Ive always wanted my office to be in the man cave anyway.

Appreciate the advice on the manuals. I remember you @SHSU mentioning seloc’s being less than perfect. I will check out fleabay and ken cook - i remember reading that name before. Motors are similar so I may be able to get away with one, but Im leaning heavily towards an original regardless of cost. Ill start with whichever motor I think has the best shot of running well. Going to have to do some tests starting with compression again, see if thats changed. Im going to source another cylinder head/cover too regardless so I have 2 complete motors, and give the stinger its original one back. Thats the plan for now. Once my other little projects are done I will get going on the boat again!!

Looks great. Plenty of clearance after all!

When I ordered from ken cook, I had my manuals in 2 days. While that might not be impressive in itself, add the fact that I am in Canada. They must be used to catering to mechanics that need very fast service. Part of what you pay for I guess

 

[SHSU]

So were you able to use the truck to pull the trailer under or did you have to winch it in like you originally planned?

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

I was able to get the truck under it completely with an inch or so to spare!! Plenty of clearance is right lol. No winching required.

Found my manuals through ken cook for around the same price as ebay - roughly $140 per motor. Its on the list and Ill pull the trigger fairly soon. Put a new soft cover on my boat list too since my old one ripped. Nothing special, just to keep it cleaner when parked in storage. Found one that will fit it better, current one that came with the boat was way too big.

 

[Moserkr]

Slowly but surely, getting the gears winding up again. This just happened…

New to me cylinder head/cover for the ugly duckling sitting on the boat! Hoping it gives me the parts to have 2 complete motors. Still need to order the manuals to go along with it. First boat part I ordered in months… felt good lol.

Going to clean up the garage this weekend and put all the parts that need installation in to the boat for future work. I just need the space and now have a sheltered workspace. Finishing up the lean-to as well with 100’ of LED rope lights, the header board reinforcement, and final paint touch ups.

This year will quickly come to an end and I have lots to do so not expecting to get much work done on the boat until January. Mainly bought the motor part because it was the only one I could find online that was a direct match - the 70hp are a different part number apparently. So are the ‘78 stinger covers, which it has on it now, but I suspect the only difference is the way the electronics mount on the side because it was working for a bit. Need to revisit my carb work first…. I suspect it was what is giving me issues as of now. Manual will help. Coming up next!

 

[Moserkr]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Received the new head cover a few weeks back but Ive been swamped with xmas chores. Garage is cleaned and organized though, should make boat work much more efficient. Happy to say that the lean-to boat cover just held up to over 4’ of snow in 3 days. I did clear most of it off just in case, but it didnt even make a peep from the weight. Spend 8 hours yesterday and 4 hours today digging my house and vehicles out. Boat cover just had a slight dusting if snow on the bow/stern - perfect. More snow in the forecast too…. No power or internet except for my phone, barely. Generator is our only lifeline (house has no wood stove which sucks…). Pictures to show what it looks like - the Admiral’s car is buried by my truck.

Good news is the snow is filling up the lakes!! Should be a great boating season next year so I need to get to work. Going to order a manual and start wrenching again soon. I have an idea of whats wrong so will trouble shoot and go from there.

Been catching up on some other peoples threads too and Im getting the itch. Pretty surprised at the SOTY votes too lol. Was not expecting it to be where its at right now. Ive been told Im my own worst critic. Hope you all are well and looking forward to the next steps!

 

[ShoestringMariner]

Wow, it’s a lot of work but that’s a winter paradise. Hope your gennie is up to the task. Wood stove would be nice but that is a lot of work too.
Are you on gas or propane? They have fireplaces/stoves that should run without hydro(??) for future update ideas…

 

[Moserkr]

We are on propane and have a great little propane fireplace - that needs electricity to run its fan lol. Generator is up to the task so far. Its 11kw so lots of juice, i still took a hot shower. Usually run it 10 hours on, 2 hours off. Change its oil every 50 hrs per the manual’s rec - they like their oil.

It is kind of a paradise until I run out of places to put the snow lol. Always throw it downhill… haha. Id still like a wood stove one day. They just put out a stronger, more efficient heat than anything else, and wood is almost free around here. I cant even give away rounds lol.

 

[classiccat]

Happy Holidays @Moserkr !

Your lean-to is certainly earning its keep!

Thanks for taking all of the snow this season (i can still see my lawn here in upstate NY !)

 

[Moserkr]

Thanks CC! Very happy with the lean-to and just in time. It would have been a nightmare with this much snow burying the boat. A tarp and wood in an A-frame, or a cheap metal carport wouldn't have survived this storm. Last year Im pretty sure I had the boat turtled just about now and there was only a dusting of snow. Picked the right year to restore it, thats for sure! Enjoy your lawn lol, I wont see the ground for the next 3 months. At least slightly warmer weather and some rain is next in the forecast, which should get rid of some of the snow. But February is always the worst….

The old timers say winters up here used to be worse than this, and you would have to tunnel in to your front door!! I can but dont want to imagine…

 

[SHSU]

Man, that is a White Christmas!!!! To think I was on the golf course with people in shorts and t-shirts today... lol

Stay safe and enjoy the quiet time.

SHSU

 

[Moserkr]

Yes it definitely is white here! Still have some snow removal to do. Enjoy your warm weather, shorts and golf, im jealous lol. Im just glad Im not in Canada - that place is frigid!! Its kind of quiet if you dont mind the hum of everyone’s generators running haha. We may get power (and hopefully internet) back tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

 

[Moserkr]

Finally was standing in the boat again since last summer!! First mate wanted to play in it and I wanted to finish the lean-to project so we peeled the cover off. Looked just like I had left her so that was great, storage is working as planned. Actually cleared enough snow to where I could pull her out if necessary, and a lot had melted too. The lean-to finishing touch was lights - I got around 50’ of LED rope light and just ran it around the top of the structure. Plugs in to turn on but its easy and didnt take away from my small amount of clearance. Also gives me great coverage all the way around the whole structure. Now I can see when I work!!

Leaving for a pheasant hunt in sodak soon so wont be getting any time in on her before I go. But when I get back, plan is to wrap up the list so when spring hits, we are able to go fishing right away. Figure Ill be back to the old ways of knocking out an item or 2 on the list per weekend til its done.

 

[SHSU]

Finally was standing in the boat again since last summer!! First mate wanted to play in it and I wanted to finish the lean-to project so we peeled the cover off. Looked just like I had left her so that was great, storage is working as planned.

Got to keep the First Mate happy!!!! lol

SHSU

 

[ShoestringMariner]

Got to keep the First Mate happy!!!! lol

SHSU

New shelter works great! Around here, it would be half full of snow form the winds