2005 Starcraft Islander 191

[Furrylittleotter]

I bought an Islander. Correction, my wife bought an Islander. I refused to hear the lies the used boat dealer was going to tell me so I sent her to buy it. $16,000 Yes, that's a lot. If you can find one cheaper near Seattle you are better shopper than me. There aren't many this new for sale. It was was "ready to fish". Yea right. I got it home knowing whatever was wrong I could fix. Now it has a brand new engine, new gimbal bearing, seals, bellows, impeller, heat exchanger, shifter cable, etc. etc. I started it Friday, splashed it Saturday having never been in a cuddy, let alone an Islander. I hate it. The seat has a platform that makes it impossible to get comfortable. Can't sit, can't stand. Can't lean. I will have to remove the platform on the drivers side. I will leave the other one because it has a livewell in it. Current questions are. 1. What is this floor covering? Is it available? 2. Has anyone else removed that box? 3. What is the carpet on the engine cover? Is it available? Is there something better I can use? Thanks. Neil

 

[Candutch]

Nice looking Islander you have there. From the one photo it looks like your flooring is just a glue on vinyl similar to Nautolex. It's available online by the linear yard or foot depending on the site. As far as the carpet on the doghouse I would guess it's plain old marine carpet. Go to any hardware store and you can get similar outdoor carpet.
I don't have an islander but as far a replacing your seat box I would think you could proably go with some type of Pedestal system which iscwhat i did on my ss. Maybe even a box with a Pedestal that way you keep some storage as well.
I hope that's not your only tow vehicle, there's an awful lot of weight on that hitch, it's popping your front end way up which will cause you some steering and handling issues.
Goodluck with replacing your helm, I'll be interested to see what you come up with.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

Hey thank you. That Nautolex you mentioned I hadn't heard of. I looked it up and I think that's it. Not sure of the color though. I might just cover the engine cover with it as well. I'd like it fishguts resistant. The van pulls the boat well. Almost level.

Neil.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

 

[Watermann]

Yeah buying a tin boat in the PNW requires a fat wallet no matter the year. In my Chief I have a low box with a pedestal mounted so I can stand. If you add a seat slide you can slide the seat back to give you more room to stand.

This is the first pic I came across that shows my set up. The helm side is the same but with a seat slide and the little jump seats are mounted on a hatch lid that opens to store rope and fenders.

 

[GA_Boater]

Not a bad looking Islander.

Didn't you ever get out on the Chieftain that was stolen? The layout is very similar.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

I like that setup for you but I think I'm going to have to mount my pedestal right on the floor. I can't stand below the Bimini if I'm on a platform. I believe my line of sight would be directly into the top frame of the windshield. No I never splashed that boat before it went to someone less fortunate. I'm curious to see what is under my box. I hope it's covered floor but I doubt it. I wish I could be happy with stock things but for some reason I have to customize everything.
My curse. Neil

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

This marine helm seat locker by Arrigoni Design might be a good option. out of my budget, but maybe I can modify the stock box to something similar.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

Current setup. As you can see even sitting still the boat is very unlevel. Makes the problem even worse. I've read about guys adding sandbags to the bow area to level the ride as well as moving batteries forward....wondering what's best. It's even worse under power.

 

[laurentide]

A couple of deep cycles under the center berth hatch solved the stern-heavy issue on my 18' chieftain. It rides and sits very level now. That's about 150#'s, plus I have a trolling motor on the bow that's about 80#'s. It jumps on plane immediately, and I'm a bit underpowered with just a 70hp outboard.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

Thank you. I may need to move them. I had to look up center berth hatches. I don't know boat terms. I found a picture of a berth like mine but I don't think batteries will fit. I suspect your model has larger hatches...might fit mine just behind bulkhead(?) in foot area. That might help. I did have an extra fuel tank and tools back there as I recall. That probably didn't help. I will move them to berth next trip. Neil

 

[laurentide]

This is where mine are:

You'll need a lot of heavy gauge battery cable to get back to your starter and alternator if they're that far forward. Mine are just for the trolling motor with a dedicated AC charger. But if you can get them away from the stern it will help.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

Ok, thank God there was flooring under the box! Just have to clean it up, fill some holes and come up with a new seat arrangement. I think this will be much better.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

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I found a cooler that matches the boat and can support 250 lbs on the lid. I believe I can make a base to get the height where I want it, add a cushion and I'm golden!

 

[Watermann]

Is that a type A helm rated ABYC cooler? :lol:

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

Is that a type A helm rated ABYC cooler? :lol:

I have no idea what that means.??? I went to HellDepot and bought some 1/2" birch ply, some 1x8 pvc boards and some stainless Torx screws. Came home and made this...it works in many ways. I can sit on the cooler, kneel on it, or If the Bimini is down I can stand on it. The ply lifts off and will be screwed down with a few Torx screws I just don't happen to have a driver for mr. Game warden, sorry. I painted the ply, waiting for it to dry.

 

[jbcurt00]

Seat pedestals are rated, for use in the helm position and underway, which is type A, or not, w an ABYC rating scale........

Most birch ply is interior, did HD happen to have exterior rated birch? Seal it well.

 

[Furrylittleotter]

Seat pedestals are rated, for use in the helm position and underway, which is type A, or not, w an ABYC rating scale........

Most birch ply is interior, did HD happen to have exterior rated birch? Seal it well.

I thought he might be talking about he voluntary yacht builders code...I get the joke now. No worries there. I don't know or care if that $20 piece of ply will last forever but I'm ok with replacing it later on if needed. Thanks for the heads up though. I will keep that in mind for more critical applications later.

I'm just thrilled I will be able to stand in front of the wheel like a real boat!


Neil

 

[Furrylittleotter]

No Title

I am trying to level the ride out a bit front to back by moving the batteries forward as suggested. They will also be a bit lower which can't hurt. Yesterday I extended my starter cables to the helm using 2 gauge cable. Today I built an aluminum battery box with textured ABS lid. It has a little vent on the right. I will cover it in flooring later. It covers a bunch of screw holes left from removing stupid helm box. This is a horrible freight brake. Highly recommended for the money. Building aluminum stuff with it is fun. Btw, yes that gives me more weight on the port side but I can fill the livewell (baitwell?) on the starboard side to compensate....Neil

 

[laurentide]

That looks great. One option to help weight distribution would be to add a second battery on the port side and a switch somewhere. They're run in series so you wouldn't need more starter cable, just both positives to the switch and ground to the engine, which can be connected to the port battery from your current battery's post. Then the switch goes to a breaker and then a fuse panel or bus bars.

If you're comfortable with one battery the live well method should work fine.

I'm kind of into redundancy on the boat. I have two outboards and four batteries :lol: