1984 Starcraft 16ft Glutton for Punishment [Splashed July 2019]

[EchoNovember]

XD Love it!

I know a trolling motor won't work for you, I just meant while I was still planning on a kicker I was going to mount it all the way to the side and call it good. I didn't see the need for a separate bracket.

Btw, starting to eye those engine mount trolling motors... How sweet would it be to have an electric backup you steer at the helm? Not to mention how much easier it would make launching and retrieving...

 

[SHSU]

XD Love it!

I know a trolling motor won't work for you, I just meant while I was still planning on a kicker I was going to mount it all the way to the side and call it good. I didn't see the need for a separate bracket.

Btw, starting to eye those engine mount trolling motors... How sweet would it be to have an electric backup you steer at the helm? Not to mention how much easier it would make launching and retrieving...

I plan on making my splashwell smaller. Uses up way to much space for my liking. Its just a tough decision as to, will I actually use it or not. If i do great, if not.... I will have a paperweight that I won't do anything with and it will just take up room.

Now I don't have any experience with it first hand, but as for the engine mount trolling motors, don't think it will be as good as you think. Do some searches on it and you will see people talk about it having issues holding course due to the wind. For the price I could get a really tricked out bow mount with wireless controls. Truth be told, I thought about it for awhile too, but for the price its hard to justify when you can get so much more in a standard bow mount. I guess the plus is that it is out of the way, so out of site, out of mind.

 

[EchoNovember]

Get the kicker mount. At that price, if you don't use it you can put it on CL for an extra $10 over what you paid. ^_^

I've been wondering about how well they hold on and what kind of resistance they cause when on plane. If I could get them used for under $200 on CL like I can trolling motors, I'd be more inclined. Cheapest used price I've seen is $500. Too rich for my blood right now. I do like the idea of one as an auxiliary electric motor, steerable from the helm, though. Great for tight maneuvering, launching, retrieving, or limping to shore.

 

[82rude]

Well tore into my 76 today the rear section came out in 1 piece,middle 48x61 inch section of floor i just vacumed up,lol.As for kickers i have a 2011 60hp etec on the back and a older 6hp johnson sits comfortably besides her.Zero issues using the 6hp i just steer with the 60.Very rarely use as the 60 if excellent on gas.Have you thought about splitting the difference between 1/2 ply and 3/4 and using 5/8?That what was on my old flooring .Theres a special place in the underworld for people who rivet the heck out of the flooring,where do they think its going to go?

 

[SHSU]

Get the kicker mount. At that price, if you don't use it you can put it on CL for an extra $10 over what you paid. ^_^

I've been wondering about how well they hold on and what kind of resistance they cause when on plane. If I could get them used for under $200 on CL like I can trolling motors, I'd be more inclined. Cheapest used price I've seen is $500. Too rich for my blood right now. I do like the idea of one as an auxiliary electric motor, steerable from the helm, though. Great for tight maneuvering, launching, retrieving, or limping to shore.

You must be in sales!!!! LOL, I think I will be pulling the trigger this weekend then and go pick one up.

I see what you mean for the maneuvering, that makes sense. So not really for trolling. I could see that being useful.

 

[SHSU]

Well tore into my 76 today the rear section came out in 1 piece,middle 48x61 inch section of floor i just vacumed up,lol.As for kickers i have a 2011 60hp etec on the back and a older 6hp johnson sits comfortably besides her.Zero issues using the 6hp i just steer with the 60.Very rarely use as the 60 if excellent on gas.Have you thought about splitting the difference between 1/2 ply and 3/4 and using 5/8?That what was on my old flooring .Theres a special place in the underworld for people who rivet the heck out of the flooring,where do they think its going to go?

Do you have a thread? Would be interested to follow your progress. Sounds like it had some rot issues.... LOL As for your floor, I didn't think about 5/8. I have mulled it over some, but still riveting my hull so haven't really thought that far ahead. Only concern I would have is the 1/8th of an inch might not be enough room to redrill holes without drilling into the old holes... I might be over thinking it too. LOL

 

[EchoNovember]

Definitely not in sales, just good at justifying purchases.

Yeah, an engine mount trolling motor would not be a trolling motor for me, just a low speed motor. If you watched Star Trek, it would be like impulse and thrusters. The main outboard is the impulse drive, and the engine mount trolling motor is a thruster.

Due to our persistent engine issues, we already started using our bow mount motor to navigate at the boat launch. If I really want a rear motor, I'll probably throw on a transom mount motor and attach the tiller to the main motor control arm and wire up some sort of pedal to control the speed.

For the 5/8" board, I'd be worried about drilling into old holes as well. To figure out what size you need, Home Depot sells 4' x 4' plywood, too. Pick up something as strong or weaker than what you plan to use, and mock up the current floor support points out of 2x4. Assemble a mock floor and stand on the spot(s) with the least amount of support. Do this with 1/2" and 3/4" inch plywood. Jump on it, stomp on it, and throw your anchor hard on it. Subject it to whatever forces it would reasonably and unreasonably be subjected to normally. If the 1/2" survives unscathed, use that. If it doesn't, use 3/4". Keep in mind that marine grade and BCX are going to be stronger that what they have in 4' x 4' sheets. If a weaker 1/2" thick sheet barely survives, then marine grade or BCX should easily survive. Do small tests like this before committing to plywood thicker than you need. You could save a lot.

 

[SHSU]

Due to our persistent engine issues, we already started using our bow mount motor to navigate at the boat launch. If I really want a rear motor, I'll probably throw on a transom mount motor and attach the tiller to the main motor control arm and wire up some sort of pedal to control the speed.

Still having engine issues? Might be worth it to take it in and have a mercury tech take a look at it for you. Spend the money up front to get her to run right and then maintain it. That way you wont have to worry about it.

 

[EchoNovember]

Still having engine issues? Might be worth it to take it in and have a mercury tech take a look at it for you. Spend the money up front to get her to run right and then maintain it. That way you wont have to worry about it.

Um, the engine is taken apart in my driveway right now... Lol. The unit is off so I could change the impeller. Then I discovered the top of the water pump housing was missing a seal and the plastic was melted and deformed. I ordered a full new pump kit off Amazon for about $40. It is the entire water pump, just assembly required. Lol. My normal source for parts is Marine Engine, but the upper housing was $30 there, so I said screw it and ordered an entirely new water pump. That arrives Saturday, no Prime shipping. :-( There is always a small chance that the missing seal was causing excess drag on the drive shaft, leading it to stall. I am not putting much faith in that, though.

Also changing out the prop and gear oil, and inspecting everything else. The good news is that I don't see any sign of carbon blockage in the exhaust, though the exhaust tube is nastier than anything I've ever seen before. Lots of unburned oil/fuel that got deposited and evaporated, leaving behind crap. Then again, the other 2 stroke I've worked on had a catalytic, so that could be part of why I think it looks like it needs a colon cleanse... The plus side is it doesn't seem to be the issue.

I will need to get everything back together and do further adjustments once it is in the water. I need the backpressure of the water to be able to properly adjust the carbs as I can't get a barrel big enough to replicate it on land.

 

[EchoNovember]

I think at this point I just need to adjust the carbs, so I will hold off taking it to a mechanic until I try that.

EDIT: Also, after Prime Day I'm a little broke. :laugh:

 

[82rude]

I havnt started a thread yet im still fighting with flickr .Its my new photo place and im a newbe on it.Wonder if they changed the design of the ss160 over the years as my 76 had 5/8 wood ,its just down right rotton.The transom is or was professionally replaced by the last owner.I replaced the dash with 1 inch maple.Are you planning on coating the bottom of the hull with the fasco?Mines a fishing boat so will be minimalist.No front lockers ,no back to back seats just 2 pedestal seats .Motor wise im golden i have a 2011 60 hp evinrude etec i bought for myself when i retired in 2012.For you guys that seem to be going all out and i love it,have either of you may thought of doing the boat in vinyl wrap?Ive seen some pretty awesome colors and designs and its really not outrageously pricey.Talking about broke im going to be paying for dental work tomorrow as a toothache has cropped up ,that sucks big tiime.When i get my flickr figured out i will give you a link to pics for sure just dont expect much im on the fast, lets not sink on me budget till i can afford a new 2018 or 2019 hull which will last me till i die!

 

[SHSU]

Um, the engine is taken apart in my driveway right now... Lol. The unit is off so I could change the impeller. Then I discovered the top of the water pump housing was missing a seal and the plastic was melted and deformed. I ordered a full new pump kit off Amazon for about $40. It is the entire water pump, just assembly required. Lol. My normal source for parts is Marine Engine, but the upper housing was $30 there, so I said screw it and ordered an entirely new water pump. That arrives Saturday, no Prime shipping. :-( There is always a small chance that the missing seal was causing excess drag on the drive shaft, leading it to stall. I am not putting much faith in that, though.

Also changing out the prop and gear oil, and inspecting everything else. The good news is that I don't see any sign of carbon blockage in the exhaust, though the exhaust tube is nastier than anything I've ever seen before. Lots of unburned oil/fuel that got deposited and evaporated, leaving behind crap. Then again, the other 2 stroke I've worked on had a catalytic, so that could be part of why I think it looks like it needs a colon cleanse... The plus side is it doesn't seem to be the issue.

I will need to get everything back together and do further adjustments once it is in the water. I need the backpressure of the water to be able to properly adjust the carbs as I can't get a barrel big enough to replicate it on land.

Man, sounds like you found all sorts of issues. A bad water pump can lead to a lot of issues. Wonder how much just fixing that will help your performance. Also sounds like you need a bottle of SeaFoam to clean out your pistons and such. Guess the previous owner was running low end fuel and didn't spend the extra money for high octane

 

[SHSU]

I havnt started a thread yet im still fighting with flickr .Its my new photo place and im a newbe on it.

That is why I just upload to the site. I don't have to worry about it and it will always been on Iboats.

Wonder if they changed the design of the ss160 over the years as my 76 had 5/8 wood ,its just down right rotton. The transom is or was professionally replaced by the last owner.I replaced the dash with 1 inch maple.

Maybe the previous owner replaced it with 5/8 at one point.

Are you planning on coating the bottom of the hull with the fasco?

I plan on doing bottom, sides, and interior with Fasco. Seems like a very durable product. Will see if it pans out.

​Motor wise im golden i have a 2011 60 hp evinrude etec i bought for myself when i retired in 2012.

Man that is a sweet motor!!!! I wish and drool

For you guys that seem to be going all out and i love it,have either of you may thought of doing the boat in vinyl wrap?Ive seen some pretty awesome colors and designs and its really not outrageously pricey.

I toyed around with the idea, but decided that it wasn't for me. Ya, there are some nice designs out there, but seems to be more for people that want to change their designs every couple of years

 

[EchoNovember]

I havnt started a thread yet im still fighting with flickr .Its my new photo place and im a newbe on it.Wonder if they changed the design of the ss160 over the years as my 76 had 5/8 wood ,its just down right rotton.The transom is or was professionally replaced by the last owner.I replaced the dash with 1 inch maple.Are you planning on coating the bottom of the hull with the fasco?Mines a fishing boat so will be minimalist.No front lockers ,no back to back seats just 2 pedestal seats .Motor wise im golden i have a 2011 60 hp evinrude etec i bought for myself when i retired in 2012.For you guys that seem to be going all out and i love it,have either of you may thought of doing the boat in vinyl wrap?Ive seen some pretty awesome colors and designs and its really not outrageously pricey.Talking about broke im going to be paying for dental work tomorrow as a toothache has cropped up ,that sucks big tiime.When i get my flickr figured out i will give you a link to pics for sure just dont expect much im on the fast, lets not sink on me budget till i can afford a new 2018 or 2019 hull which will last me till i die!

Go ahead and start a thread and link it to us, and get the pictures up when you are able to. I just upload them here using the advanced editor. If the pictures are too large to upload, and they probably will be, google "picresize" and use the site with that in the address. Set it to 50% of original size, and most of them will be small enough after that. You can also do batch resizing, so you can upload and resize many pictures at one time.

Nothing wrong with going with the bare needed items. Some people are more than happy with a basic 14' aluminum boat with a tiller control outboard and trolling motor. Others want more. There is a boat out there for everyone.

Vinyl wrap could work, but I personally am going to seal mine with Gluvit or similar, then prime and paint it as close to the original as I can. Everything I'm doing is going to be as close to original looks as possible. Any really big upgrades will be hidden or blended to look like it was 1985.

Are you going to be adding a livewell or two? Baitwell?

 

[EchoNovember]

Man, sounds like you found all sorts of issues. A bad water pump can lead to a lot of issues. Wonder how much just fixing that will help your performance. Also sounds like you need a bottle of SeaFoam to clean out your pistons and such. Guess the previous owner was running low end fuel and didn't spend the extra money for high octane

I took it apart to preventively change the impeller and gaskets, since they were cheap enough. Glad I did...

The PO used dirt cheap TC-W3 oil, and I suspect that may be part of it. Someone pointed out that there really isn't ongoing quality checks to ensure the oil continues to meet TC-W3 standards, so the companies could start taking shortcuts, or just not exercise much QC. I'm switching to the Pennzoil XLF synthetic blend 2-stroke oil as the reviews are 99.999% positive, citing lower smoke output, better combustion, etc. I'm using up the last of the crap mix for basic testing, and will tune the carbs on the new stuff. I'm using 91 octane, ethanol free, non-oxy fuel.. My local gas station sells it, so I'm happy about that. I have sprayed seafoam into the carbs to clean out the engine, but now I am thinking I am going to get two spray cans, fire up the motor and rev it up in idle to full, then spray the entire contents of the cans, one into each carb, then shut it down to let it "hot soak" after the cans are empty to really clean it out. Then when I get the carbs adjusted, I'll drop in an entire can of Seafoam into a tank of gas and just spend the day running at WOT as much as possible to run it through. Afterwards I think the inside of the engine should nice and clean.

I had initially taken out the spark plugs, sprayed Seafoam in the cylinders, put the plugs back in and let it sit for a couple days. It fired up a lot easier after that for awhile, then got harder to start later. I'm really thinking that if it isn't the carb adjustment, then the cheap oil/gas mix isn't fully burning up, leaving crap in the cylinder and on the plugs to gum up. I noticed a spritz of Seafoam into each carb before starting it cold lets it fire right up, time after time. It runs great if starting off Seafoam, but that's not practical to do every time it's cold...

The symptoms mostly point to it running lean either from carbs being out of adjustment, or fuel delivery issues. I am rebuilding the fuel pump preemptively, and I might need to replace the bulb in my fuel line, I think the check valve isn't working right, so fuel may be flowing out of the motor back into the tank, and creating air bubbles in the lines.

 

[SHSU]

I took it apart to preventively change the impeller and gaskets, since they were cheap enough. Glad I did...

The PO used dirt cheap TC-W3 oil, and I suspect that may be part of it. Someone pointed out that there really isn't ongoing quality checks to ensure the oil continues to meet TC-W3 standards, so the companies could start taking shortcuts, or just not exercise much QC. I'm switching to the Pennzoil XLF synthetic blend 2-stroke oil as the reviews are 99.999% positive, citing lower smoke output, better combustion, etc. I'm using up the last of the crap mix for basic testing, and will tune the carbs on the new stuff. I'm using 91 octane, ethanol free, non-oxy fuel.. My local gas station sells it, so I'm happy about that. I have sprayed seafoam into the carbs to clean out the engine, but now I am thinking I am going to get two spray cans, fire up the motor and rev it up in idle to full, then spray the entire contents of the cans, one into each carb, then shut it down to let it "hot soak" after the cans are empty to really clean it out. Then when I get the carbs adjusted, I'll drop in an entire can of Seafoam into a tank of gas and just spend the day running at WOT as much as possible to run it through. Afterwards I think the inside of the engine should nice and clean.
.

Personally I would just chunk that old oil and go the Pennzoil route now. Do you know how old it is?

 

[EchoNovember]

The oil was less than a year old. Go to Walmart, find the cheapest TC-W3 oil you can. That's the crap. Lol. He gave me a quart, which let me fill up both tanks with fresh mix and use up the quart. So the oil is all gone, used up in filling both 6 gallon tanks.

I have 8-9 gallons of the mix left, and I really don't want to throw out about $25 in gas and the Seafoam I added (1 oz per gallon). I'd rather use it up in something, and we have nothing else that is two stroke. I have a friend I sold my old 2-stroke scooter to, but it's oil injected and takes forever to use up that oil. I could just "water" it down with plain gas and use it in the 4-stroke lawnmower. I did look that up and it will just lead to more exhaust smoke and possible plug fouling. Plugs are $2, and I just replaced the plug, so it's easy to change it out if it fouls.

I bought a gallon of Pennzoil and a measuring bottle for $20, so I am ready when it runs out.

 

[SHSU]

Seafoam I added (1 oz per gallon). I'd rather use it up in something, and we have nothing else that is two stroke. I have a friend I sold my old 2-stroke scooter to, but it's oil injected and takes forever to use up that oil. I could just "water" it down with plain gas and use it in the 4-stroke lawnmower. I did look that up and it will just lead to more exhaust smoke and possible plug fouling. Plugs are $2, and I just replaced the plug, so it's easy to change it out if it fouls.

You follow the instructions . Me not so much... :lol: I usually have to hunt them down after I chunked them and something doesnt work. When I used Seafoam I just poured the whole bottle in. Maybe not a good idea, time will tell

 

[EchoNovember]

I only replaced the mower plug because it was having issues starting. :laugh: It had a factory plug from 8 years ago.

 

[82rude]

Lots of guys use the supertech 2 stroke oil (warren oil) The xlf is a good oil as far as im concerned but if your having issues oil brand is normally the last thing id ever look at .What people use for oil and whats best is fodder for millions of pages of arguments with very little proof to back anything up.Now if it would ever stop raining maybe id get something done,this summer sucks.