1983 26' Starcraft Sportfisherman 261V Rebuild

[Watermann]

SC transoms are 15 degrees so it's still a wash either way.

 

[GA_Boater]

Now that's a nice bait tank with cutting boards. :wink:

I don't think the 1 degree will make any difference in looks or performance when that cool baby is hanging off the transom. Nice score, Jas. :thumb:

 

[Patfromny]

I think if you wanted to go crazy you could use some aluminum shims but the one degree can be compensated for with the trimost button.

 

[jasoutside]

Yah, heck, 1 deg can surely be within the fudge factor there somewhere:becky:

Man, I'm getting pretty excited to get after this project. The boat I have in my minds eye that I hope this will become is pretty sweet! It's going to be a bigwater machine. Plus, for all practical purposes this hull will grow two more feet when I bolt on that big ol bracket:thumb:

I'm pumped!

Now I just need to build some shelter for her.....

 

[GA_Boater]

for all practical purposes this hull will grow two more feet

Oh no - More room for batteries! LOL

And pick up more than 2 feet in cockpit length by dumping the doghouse, won't you?

 

[laurentide]

That's gonna be a big boat. Wow. Here's a 26'er with a single on a similar bracket for reference:

 

[Pusher]

I'm excited for you so I bet you're PUMPED!! I really want a pod and lose the splash well, but I also want a pole barn. I'm about ten years behind you so I'm taking notes

Good to know on the pod. Is the ideal pod level with the hull, or do they build a bit of recessing angle into them so when the boat goes on plane with bow up the pod's running level?

 

[jasoutside]

Oh no - More room for batteries! LOL

And pick up more than 2 feet in cockpit length by dumping the doghouse, won't you?

Heck yah, the space I gain back there will be huge. Here's the dog house that covered the 470 (V8 doghouse may have been even a little bigger than that)...

So yup, tons of space rescued. That's prime high dollar real estate too, not just in some random corner of the boat.

A note on the batteries....

So my last two builds, the Islander and the Sea Numph, I learned the hard way that voltage drop is a very real thing. I pushed the batts as far forward as I reasonably could and attempted to compensate with really big fat heavy cables. On both of those engines the batteries were unable to spin the engines to their full potential. It worked but compared to the short runs right next to the engine, it was obvious, they needed to move back. So, on both of those builds I ended up moving the batts back right next to the engine. The Sea Nymph was no biggie and neither was the Islander really, but holy moly did I waste a lot of time on the front end trying to design a way to get that weight forward.

Moral of the story? Batts go next to the engine, period.

And even though they are big heavy chunks that could otherwise be used to level out the boat, there are other ways to make that happen. Batts are off the table!

For this Sportfisherman I have that gigantic 100 gal tank I can simply slide forward some to help level things out, no prob.

That's gonna be a big boat. Wow. Here's a 26'er with a single on a similar bracket for reference:

Yah chem, that Hewes is a beautiful rig, great inspiration for me and that's kinda/sorta what I'm after - for pennies on the dollar:thumb:

Good to know on the pod. Is the ideal pod level with the hull, or do they build a bit of recessing angle into them so when the boat goes on plane with bow up the pod's running level?

Well, the pod ought to be level with the hull/deck/gunwales/water as much as possible. Getting up on plane that's obviously not the case. But, shedding the additional stern weight of an IO driveline and pushing the fuel tank forward I should be able to get where I need to be.

Cheers guys:becky:

 

[jasoutside]

Oh yah, I bought another Stacraft yesterday too:becky:

See, up on the lake I moore my boat like yo, here's the Islander...

Last summer I bought a zodiac which was pretty cool, lotta fun. I used that to get out and go boating. The water is freezing cold the first part of the summer and we'll often times have gear and whatnot to get out to the boat, so, swimming isn't always a convenient option. We have a little shed on our property where I store it when we are away. Well, last time I pulled it out I found the mice had gotten to it and chewed 4 holes in the stinkin thing! It took me a half a day to drive to the marine dealer, get the patches and finish the job, what a pain. I can see this will be an ongoing battle that I'll hate and likely lose with these mice.

So, here's the replacement, nice little Starcraft 12 footer...

The price was right and I'm not even sure of the year or model but the hull is solid and straight for the most part. I do think I'll overhaul it, strip the paint off, repaint the inside, new transom, refinish the seats....should be a pretty quick job as there sure isn't a whole lot there!

She'll make an excellent tender:thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Perfect little SC tinny to get you out there and back. :encouragement:

 

[Patfromny]

Good for you Jas. Easily refurbished too. Looking at that last pic, the brick wall sure looks pretty thin to support that barn. I realize that is probably the previous owners barn but boy that looks like you could just push that wall right over. I hope it's just an illusion.

 

[jasoutside]

Perfect little SC tinny to get you out there and back. :encouragement:

Yah, it's nice and light so dragging it down to the waters edge will be easy. Plus, that would have to be one monster mouse to chew chew holes in that! I think I'm safe:thumb:

Good for you Jas. Easily refurbished too. Looking at that last pic, the brick wall sure looks pretty thin to support that barn. I realize that is probably the previous owners barn but boy that looks like you could just push that wall right over. I hope it's just an illusion.

Yup, that's the previous owners barn.

Yah, I'm thinking it could be overhauled in a weekend really. Should be a fun project. You know, the one bummer is I actually already had one...
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owner...raft-sea-scamp

I felt it was too small so I upgraded that to a 14 footer. Course at that time I didn't have our beachfront property with boats moored offshore. Had no idea that dream would ever come about. It would have been convenient to still have that little Sea Scamp, but, no sweat, this will work just great.

 

[Patfromny]

I remember that little guy. You bought her so you could fish during the week at a lake house with the family right? I was wondering what had happened to that one.

 

[jasoutside]

I remember that little guy. You bought her so you could fish during the week at a lake house with the family right? I was wondering what had happened to that one.

Yup, you got it. That boat served it's purpose and then I pretty much swapped it out for a Starcraft 14 footer. Then I actually sold that 14 footer for a wider/deeper 14' Sea Nymph that was pretty sweet. Then I sold that to help fund the outboard for this 26 footer. I didn't even bother to post up all that horse trading. I probably should have, you guys would have been the only ones to truly understand, right? My bride sure doesn't get it!!:embarassed::embarassed::embarassed::behindsofa:

 

[Pusher]

Looking at that last pic, the brick wall sure looks pretty thin to support that barn. I realize that is probably the previous owners barn but boy that looks like you could just push that wall right over.

I think there's an interior wall running perpendicular to the exterior wall adding the support.

I reinforced my 12 footer this last summer and ended up ripping the back seat out and putting a flat bench at gunnel height in so my kicker can or battery could fit under it along with my tackle box. My boat wasn't as nice as yours though so this might not be an option. It sure feels better on the back though!

 

[GA_Boater]

The perfect place for the batteries is on top of those darn mouses - But you need long cables which comes right back to the original voltage problem. Oooops!

Nice little tinny - Take that you meeses! Gonna row or put a small motor on her?

 

[jasoutside]

Nice little tinny - Take that you meeses! Gonna row or put a small motor on her?

To row out to my mooring anchor it's really just a few quick strokes, very easy. So, for the most part this will be a just row boat for tending.

If/when I can find a good price on a small OB I'll pick one up. The harbor is less than two miles by boat. We run up there for ice and showers and stuff so this little 12 footer will be good for that kind of thing too. So yah, I'll be on the scout for something. I guess I'm on the fence about size though. A nice small light 2.5 hp with an on board tank would be great for carrying from the shed, down the beach and back at the end of the day. On the other hand, the trip to the harbor would be quick with a bigger 9.9. Though the carry is a whole lot heavier and two trips with the external tank. Or maybe somewhere in the middle, 6hp with on board tank? We'll see, no rush on that...

About 90lbs. plus tank, or about 60lbs., or about 37lbs...

VS.

VS.

 

[jbcurt00]

Dont you and the Admiral have 2 young outboard sherpas for motor toting duty, for about the next 5 to 7yrs?

The jump from a 5 to a 7.5 then to a 9.9hp were not small incremental jumps on my 12ft Sylvan, esp w 2 people aboard.....

5hp got us around, but plowing most (nearly all) of the time, even on flat, slack water.

The 7.5 did much better, but was still no where near the effortless power to plane from the 9.9, along its cruising speed for even short distances

Going to make a nice little tender, OB or no OB.

 

[Patfromny]

I had my 69 9.5 on a 1542 Lowe Jon boat and it pushed to boat at around 20 (my and the lake owners guess as they watched me approach) I would say the 9.9 on a 12 footer would be crazy.

 

[jbcurt00]

Nope, rated for a 12hp