'73 Holiday 21' - finally found my Starcraft

[fishnpete]

Hi all! I've been a long time lurker of the Starcraft forum and have been looking off and on for several years to upgrade from my 14' tinny to a larger Starcraft. Believe when I started looking I had 1 young son and now with 3 boys ready to fish the 14 footer was getting a bit cramped. This forum has been a great resource during my search and has kept me fired up about finding the right Starcraft. About 2 months ago I ran across this Holiday on Craigslist and 1200 miles, 24 hours, and 2 flat tires later I had her home!

cont.

 

[fishnpete]

She's a 1973 21' Holiday with a 165 Mercruiser that's been pretty well cared for over the years. Hull is in decent shape with no significant dents/holes/pitting, interior is about 1/2 original and floor/transon are solid. Runs really well, and from the little I know about outdrives everything there seems to be in good shape. Came with shop orders and maintenance records back to the 70's and even had the original registration and MerCard. Main use will be for fishing in both freshwater and in Puget Sound with a little lake cruising when the admiral joins us.

Started with electrical and have added a 2nd battery, installed a battery switch, ACR, fuse block and ran new wires where needed. Also added a FF/GPS and VHF. Just picked up a kicker 2 weeks ago and got that installed on a bracket this past weekend and had her out in the salt for the first time Monday. 80 degrees, calm water, and a few dungeness crab in the cooler made for a great first trip with my boys.

I hope I've read enough photo tutorials so the pics in the following post show up!

 

[fishnpete]

 

[No-AH]

Welcome aboard mate! That trek was well worth the set backs, she's a beaut with room for the fam to enjoy. Nice find and I love that avocado green!

 

[Candutch]

:welcome: to the Starmada! That is a great find you got there and looks pretty solid. Any plans to give her a facelift or resto?

 

[fishnpete]

Thanks for the welcome!

I’m planning to run her mostly as is this season and then hopefully find some covered workspace this fall/winter and do a bit of a facelift. Have a set of Craigslist downriggers going on this weekend and hope to be chasing salmon shortly after!

 

[fishnpete]

Got the downriggers installed this am - ended up using 3/16" plate above and below to shore things up a bit. Can't wait to get a chance to use them. Also included a few pics of the kicker bracket I installed last weekend - didn't get a chance to try it out this past week, but thinking it will be a good troller/backup.

 

[Scott Danforth]

congrats on the buy.

 

[Watermann]

Welcome aboard :wave:

The closed bow Holly will serve you well on the sound if it gets rough and get you guys back safely, great choice!

Be sure to keep the old gal covered as the elements over on your side will kill her quick with what looks like could be the original decking and interior.

 

[fishnpete]

Thanks Watermann.

Fortunately she came with an almost new custom cover that’s reinforced on all corners/windshield etc. Definitely a must on this side of the hill.

 

[fishnpete]

In process of trying to maximize space on the boat and found that my 9 gal kicker tank fits perfectly under a rear seat...just a little concerned as it’s right next to my batteries/wiring.

Everything is ignition protected, secured and I have good working blowers, but was wondering if there is still risk with this setup? It’s just for this season as I hope to install a belly tank this fall and plumb to both motors and will most likely relocate batteries forward. Thoughts?

 

[Watermann]

Having a cap vented tank in an enclosed area with electrical would be poor choice most times. An IO config that has a blower may minimize the risk of explosion as fuel vapor is heavier than air and it will sink into the lowest portion of the boat which is the bilge that should have the intake hose for the blower.

Another thing you can do is take off the cap unscrew that vent screw, enlarge the hole, tap it and screw in a nipple fitting so you can run a vent line out to a proper fitting on the outside of the hull, then you won't have any worries about the fuel vapor.

 

[North Beach]

Nice! This is pretty much the same rig I'm running...