66' starcraft sportsman

[850Merc]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

Everything above and below deck looks identical to a 16' Supersport (except the consoles), I like the design good luck with this project. The supersport says it'll take up to 85hp, I wonder why the rating would be different?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

Here's may take on your boat:

Your transom, since you're removing your motor for paint there's no reason not to pull that transom wood. Motor removal is the hardest part of replacing a transom. It may look like a daunting task, but it isn't that bad.

Your transom hasn't been sealed properly and this is evident by the checking in the wood above the splashwell. Even though the side you can see doesn't look too bad, you don't know what the other side looks like and it'll be the first place rot starts.

Remove your transom wood and check it for rot and moisture, if it's good and dry you can sand it down properly and seal it and put it back.

While you have the transom wood out you need to check the inside of the transom skin (metal) that the wood was up against. If your transom wood is wet on the back there's a good chance you may have corrosive pitting (a common problem we see lots of in this forum) on your transom skin. If you have pitting it will need to be skimmed over with a marine epoxy like JB Weld Marine or Loc-tite Marine Epoxy and then painted. If there isn't any pitting you should just paint it. A coat of aluminum primer and then a couple coats of metal primer will protect it from pitting in the future.

Gluvit or Coat-it:

Clean and degrease the inside of your hull like you described and then follow the manufacturers prep instructions to the "T". There's prep instructions on the can.

Sealing your transom and deck wood (plywood):

I strongly suggest using 2 part marine epoxy resin for this, it's the toughest most durable sealer you can buy. Several coats of epoxy resin on your wood is like a sheet of Lexan over it, you don't need glass cloth or mat because the epoxy is strong enough by itself.

Durabak:

I like the idea of using Durabak on your decking and the exposed side of your transom. Apply it after you epoxy seal the wood and before installation of the decking and transom for a durable water shedding finish. Install your decking with exposed fasteners so you can remove it later if you need to without tearing up your deck or finish.

You also mentioned marine vinyl:

I did my boat with Nautolex marine vinyl and love it:
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...ir/97-tracker-pro-deep-v-facelift-509163.html

It is considerably more costly and a lot more time consuming than the Durabak though.

You also mentioned the interior design of your boat:

I would enlarge the front deck and raise it up to about 6" below the gunwale.

I'd also move the console over tight to the starboard side for more room and better access to the front deck.

The bigger front deck will be nice for a pedestal seat and you can put in some hatch storage too.

 

[Green Bananas]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

jigngrub, thanks for all the advice and recommendations. Your thoughts on the transom make a lot of sense. i had not thought about the side up against the aluminum skin. I like you ideas regarding boat setup as well. Do you think offsetting the console to the starboard side would cause any significant tilt right to left. The boat seems big enough that the effect would likely be minimal.

also, does anyone know the hull aluminum thickness on boats of this age or specifically this boat. The seller alleged it was 0.125 which would not be too surprising. They just seemed to make things better back then. Now a days most are 0.100 or less unless you go higher end like Sea ark.

Thanks.

 

[Watermann]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

You can offset any list from your weight by battery or fuel tank placement and even a livewell. My 16' SN is set up with a starboard side console and once you have a blank slate your imagination is the limit to how you want to set up the layout for under deck storage and hatches. I removed a rod locker that took up too much space and became a junk bin. Then I added an under deck marine cooler to my layout and found to be the best thing ever not to have a cooler sitting in the way all the time.

On both of my rebuilds so far they have had galvanic corrosion set in between the wood and the transom skin that needed repaired just as JnG stated, I used Marine-Tex. When you pull the transom wood out you'll know for sure if that old ply is worth messing with.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

Do you think offsetting the console to the starboard side would cause any significant tilt right to left. The boat seems big enough that the effect would likely be minimal.

also, does anyone know the hull aluminum thickness on boats of this age or specifically this boat. The seller alleged it was 0.125 which would not be too surprising. They just seemed to make things better back then. Now a days most are 0.100 or less unless you go higher end like Sea ark.

Thanks.

Boats are typically starboard helm to counter prop torque so it may even help a little to move your console to the side.

As WM mentioned weight distribution is important for balance. I have 2 batteries on the port side of my boat to counter the operator at the helm.

I seriously doubt your hull thickness is .125, it would be extremely rare for a riveted boat. Probably more like .0625. You'll find out what your hull thickness is when you start taking her apart.

The .10 gauge are mainly welded hulls nowadays.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 66' starcraft sportsman

I wonder why the factory used that funky little side conduit to direct the controls to the stern, rather than going below deck like a modern CC? Seems like it's set a little far forward as well, but maybe that's the best spot for it considering that's about where you'd steer from a normal helm. The hull looks to be in pretty good shape. You may as well replace all the wood while you're at it. You'll have a virtually new boat when she's done.