'77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I haven't done much to the boat, but it sure felt good to see the thing float AND run so well. This season, I hope to do some work on it as I go. On this first run, I found the front storage space annoyingly hard to access, and the very front space is inaccessible and just wasted space. I might tear into that this season.

The trailer is from Art Roll. It's not a bad trailer, but narrower than I would prefer. Maybe it came with the boat originally. I have a wider old Art Roll trailer under an old Lone Star that would be just about right. I've thought about switching around the trailers since the Lone Star is currently not being used, but if I could find something nicer, I would go that route.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I found the front storage space annoyingly hard to access, and the very front space is inaccessible and just wasted space. I might tear into that this season.

I agree. Here's what I just built for my 18'

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2497.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2499.jpg

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I agree. Here's what I just built for my 18'

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2497.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2499.jpg

That's along the lines of what I'm thinking although I would like to have seats/cushions mounted on top if possible. Will you add latches or depend on the tightness of the carpet to hold the doors closed? On my Lone Star, I used carpet and it was sufficient by itself, although clean up was not as easy (shop vac time). If I use vinyl (easy to clean), I suspect that it won't keep doors from bouncing w/o some sort of latch.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I wasn't planning on a latch. I do intend to have removable cushions made at some point.

 

[Aqualift]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Hey, what lake in Nebraska is that? I live west in Wyoming and where I boat, the lakes are still frozen. Nice boat, by the way.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Glad to hear that she floats deadstriper

I agree that the factory bow isn't perfect for storage...I plan on using the side areas for lifejackets only...and making a hatch for the front like Ezmobee did on his SS.

Agameforus has a resto project going and I like what he did in the bow area as well. Lots of potential up there

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

well at least one of us from Nebraska made it on the water Thursday, what beautiful day, my guess its Big Mac, but I've been wrong before. Good looking boat maybe we can catch up

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Hey, what lake in Nebraska is that? I live west in Wyoming and where I boat, the lakes are still frozen. Nice boat, by the way.

I took the boat to Harlan. Kind of a mud hole (especially compared to Big Mac), but not too bad for boating. I was happy to hang up the ice cleats for the year! The water is definitely cold - my kids thought that the spray over the bow heading into the waves was refreshing, but they kept saying "Faster!"

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

well at least one of us from Nebraska made it on the water Thursday, what beautiful day, my guess its Big Mac, but I've been wrong before. Good looking boat maybe we can catch up

Thursday was crazy. I don't know that I've had a boat on the water so early, but I just had to do it. I was almost expecting to take my kids snow sledding the next day.

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Glad to hear that she floats deadstriper

I agree that the factory bow isn't perfect for storage...I plan on using the side areas for lifejackets only...and making a hatch for the front like Ezmobee did on his SS.

Agameforus has a resto project going and I like what he did in the bow area as well. Lots of potential up there

It's not at the top of my priority list, but when I get to it, I will try to cut a single piece of plywood to cover the front storage area and then cut three top access doors into that. I think I saw a couple months back where someone cut just one piece instead of three. I like the idea of a single piece for extra stability. I bought a sheet of 1/2" marine plywood for the task, but it will probably just take up space for a while. The air smells fishy

I'm not too sold on the existing side access holes. It really felt like I was cramming to get the bigger life jackets through those small holes. I could more carefully cram (I mean organize) more goodies from the top. The front area (which is inaccessible now) will likely see a deep cycle batt for a trolling motor.

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Glad to hear the kids liked it, that's a big plusHarlan isn't to bad of a lake, we do most of our boating at Johnson Lake.

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Glad to hear the kids liked it, that's a big plusHarlan isn't to bad of a lake, we do most of our boating at Johnson Lake.

Johnson, now that's a mud hole

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

not as bad of a mud hole as Jeffrey is south of Brady, you only have one channel to make it through to the south end, usually marked but don't bet on it, if you miss it, abrupt stops are eminent

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I did some work on installing power tilt. Dealing with the used/corroded junk was an ordeal. Before the series of pics, I have a question. Does some sort of bolt go into the following hole which the trim rods contact? The empty hole is the result of removing the assorted springs and other junk from the manual tilt/lock.

Here is the work that went into (mostly) installing the power tilt. The unit had two cut off bolts that required removal. Heat got this one out:

The other one was stubborn and cussing didn't coax it out. I finally said screw it (well maybe not that PG) and drilled it:

Then tapped it. Should have repainted the scorched area on the tube.

The wood behind the manual tilt was entirely rotten:

Didn't take any pics of the outboard levitating, but here is the power tilt mostly bolted in. Need to do motor/wiring.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Ask about it in the J/E section with your pics. They'll know.

 

[tinkeringwackyone]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

looks like you'll have your tilt in no time.

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Sounds like I need to get some thrust pads to complete the tilt conversion. In the meantime, I might tear off that external board (between the outboard and transom), cut a new one from marine ply, seal it and reinstall. What would you guys recommended as a sealant for this board?

 

[deadstriper]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Any suggestions on sealant for the exterior transom stiffener board? I had seen some discussion about this in the past, but I'm not immediately seeing it. I see that epoxy sealant is generally not good due to UV issues. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

Personally I'd just omit it. That's what I did on my Jupiter. No ill effect and I think it looks nicer. Glass boats don't have 'em. Newer aluminums don't have 'em. My SS came with a piece of diamond plate there which I think looks sharp so I'll probably re-install it. How about a piece of King Starboard? BUT if you're dead-set on having a hunk of wood there, I'd seal it with epoxy and paint it.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '77 Starcraft SS 16 (freshen)

I plan on sealing my transom with epoxy resin and then painting it. You could also mix in some UV resistant paint right in the resin but I'm going to try to keep it simple and do it one step at a time

Other folks have done away with the board all together or used some sort of plastic that won't rot. I'm sticking with ply/epoxy.