78 starcraft anchor questions

[Mr.Stuart]

OK, bare with me here, I got some "new boater" questions ready to throw at you, and the first one is going to be about anchoring the boat.

I'm posting a picture of the front of the boat so you can see what I'm talking about.

Other then throwing the anchor over the side of the boat, which I don't think is a very good idea, how do I go about anchoring the boat from the front on a closed bow? I see no easy way of getting up there to tie off the anchor in the first place, and I'm guessing that the walkway on the front of the boat is for looks? The guy I bought the boat from told me to never walk on the front of the boat, treat it like it's the hood of a car, and low and behold, before I could stop one of my kids from walking out there, he opened up the front walk through window, and pushed down on the window frame as he was walking out on the front and cracked both sides of the dash board where the window braces attach to the dash, and the front of the boat creaked and made all sorts of "strain" noises as he walked out front as I'm hollering at him to get off the front of the boat.

So my second question is, is the front supposed to be walked on? If it is, I'm going to have to brace up the window pillars before the kids do any more damage to the dashboard. and I'm not sure I like the idea of people walking on that teak wood up there, it's in really good shape for a 30 year old boat, and wouldn't want to damage it.

I'm also wondering what model this boat is, I'm guessing it's a Holladay but not sure, it seems kind of fancy for what it is, it is an 18 foot aluminum, but other then saying starcraft on the side of it, I can't find anything that would tell me the model, I can post more pictures of it if you like.

 

[dex76]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

hi there, i also have a 78 starcraft mine however is a 16' supersport but my bow anchoring is a windlass setup i believe here is a link to the iboats marine store that should get u what u need http://www.iboats.com/Manual_Windla....250569--view_id.250569--search_type.category
as to the make of your boat i think it is a holiday,there's a guy called chinewalker or sumthing like that that has started a yahoo group for starcrafters and he has quite a few of thier brochures for the early models maybe he'll chime in here or i can try to dig up the link,hope that helps

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

thanks for the info dex, I'm not sure if that anchor system is what I'm looking for or not, but maybe some others will chime in here with some ideas.

can you post some pictures of your boat? this is my first boat, so I'm new to all this boating stuff.

I got mine form the origional owner and he bought it new from the dealer, although it was the dealers own personal boat, but had not seen much use. but it was loaded at the time with a bunch od ski stuff, the the dealer kept it all.

from the pictures of the Holladays I've seen, they all look like they were I/O and this one is an outboard, that's why I was questiong which model it is.

Stuart

 

[dex76]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

here have a look at this .pdf file that starcraft sent me for 78 model specs
http://www.or1on.com/filez/78specs.pdf
seems holidays came either io or ob ,this is a pic of the boat the day i picked it up http://www.or1on.com/filez/boat1.jpg and in the second u can get a better look at the windlass the anchor is held at the bow but dropped/raised by the crank near the passanger console http://www.or1on.com/filez/boat2.jpg now the boat is just a shell as i discovered a 5 inch tear in the keel sum1 was nice enough to patch with bondo :/ i just got it back from the welders the other day so now im putting a new transom and floor in and re- upholstering it

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

Mr. Stuart,
The bow should definitely support the weight of at least one adult. If it does not, then something has been removed, fallen loose, or otherwise aged poorly. The teak rails are there to keep the paint from getting scratched up. Primarily used when beaching or tossing out the anchor. We had a 1979 20-footer with the same bow configuration and we would lay an old beach towel on the deck when lowering the anchor off the bow.
- Scott

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

Mr. Stuart,
The bow should definitely support the weight of at least one adult. If it does not, then something has been removed, fallen loose, or otherwise aged poorly. The teak rails are there to keep the paint from getting scratched up. Primarily used when beaching or tossing out the anchor. We had a 1979 20-footer with the same bow configuration and we would lay an old beach towel on the deck when lowering the anchor off the bow.
- Scott

Ok, then I'll brace up the windshield supports and use the bow, I looked under the bow from the inside and everything looks to be where it should be and in place and good shape, but I have a hunch that the guy I bought it from never walked out there, the dash was in perfect condition until one of the kids pushed down on the windshield and cracked the dash with the supports, it was really deflating for me, because the boat was absolutely perfect before that happened, heck, for a 30 year old boat, it doesn't even leak water at all, never had to use the bilge pump, and after a day on the water, you can pull the plug in the back to drain the hull, and not even so much as a drop of water comes out.

With bracing under the dash, I don't think you'll even see the crack, it's pretty small, I just know it's there and it bugs me, so I think I'll take it in and have it professionally fixed, it looks easy enough to do, but my wood working skills are a little lacking.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

here have a look at this .pdf file that starcraft sent me for 78 model specs
http://www.or1on.com/filez/78specs.pdf
seems holidays came either io or ob ,this is a pic of the boat the day i picked it up http://www.or1on.com/filez/boat1.jpg and in the second u can get a better look at the windlass the anchor is held at the bow but dropped/raised by the crank near the passanger console http://www.or1on.com/filez/boat2.jpg now the boat is just a shell as i discovered a 5 inch tear in the keel sum1 was nice enough to patch with bondo :/ i just got it back from the welders the other day so now im putting a new transom and floor in and re- upholstering it

thanks Dex, I printed up the pdf ad and mine looks like the Holiday 18 model but my bow is decorated differently, but it's my best guess that it's the Holiday model, but maybe it came with some different options? I don't really know enough about this stuff to know forsure

 

[iwombat]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

What kind of anchoring are you doing, exactly?

The NW coast method of halibut anchoring involves a line run from the bow to the back of the boat along the side. The anchor is tossed overboard in the stern and the line is then clipped to the running line. The current will push the boat stern first so the clip ends up in the bow. A little forward motion brings the anchor clip sliding along the running line to the stern. We clip buoys on the the anchor line so we can unclip the anchor line from the boat quickly and chase down a big flattie if necessary. The buoy keeps the anchor line from getting lost. Keeping he anchor line clipped to the boat and lots of forward motion will send the buoy down the anchor line until it pops the anchor loose.

It's a pretty good system, and never really requires getting up to the bow for anything. Kinds have to get used to dangling the running line along the side of the boat though.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

I'm so new at this boating thing that I'm really not sure how I should be anchoring the boat in the water, what I have been doing when we stop off at the islands and beaches along the river is to get close enough to shore to step over the side of the boat, (uselly end up waist deep in water when I go overboard) then I grab the ancor rope, tie it off to the front of the boat and drag the ancor up on shore, but I I don't think that's the proper way to ancor things, and I don't have an ancor buoy yet, and not sure I'm brave enough quite yet to drop the ancor overboard while in the middle of the river, I still have a lot of learning to do.

Stuart

 

[iwombat]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

There's about a zillion ways to anchor and they all depend on what you're trying to achieve. So, let's start there.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

There's about a zillion ways to anchor and they all depend on what you're trying to achieve. So, let's start there.

ok, that sounds like a good place to start, about the only anchoring I've done so far is as I described in my last post, but I see most people on the river when pulled up to a beach, the leave the stern of the boat facing the beach, and the bow facing the river and they have the boat tied off in both front and back, but the problem I have is that the bow of the boat is enclosed and it's hard to get to when it comes to anchoring from the front, so I'd like to somehow find an easer way to do it.

Stuart

 

[firehog6305]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

well unless you want to climb up on the bow everytime you anchor, then the only way is a windlass system, but it will cost a little money, but if the current is not that strong or tide very strong in the area that you will be boating in, it will be a little cheaper, because of anchor weight, and windlass power. But I always over anchor with size and weight, I dont like breaking free

 

[iwombat]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

If that's what you're doing you can do that with the method I described. Clip on from the stern and drop anchor just off shore. As you swing the stern around toward shore the anchor clip will traverse the running line up to the bow. Tilt the motor, and climb out the stern as you drift in. When you're ready to go, just motor forward toward the bow. Careful to keep the anchor line well to the side and out of the motor. The clip will traverse to the stern and break the anchor free. Unclip and haul it in as you motor away.

If you don't want to dangle a running line all the time, just keep one end on the lid right in front of the windshield and tie off to a cleat in the stern when you're ready to anchor up.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

you can do that with the method I described. Clip on from the stern and drop anchor just off shore. As you swing the stern around toward shore the anchor clip will traverse the running line up to the bow. Tilt the motor, and climb out the stern as you drift in. When you're ready to go, just motor forward toward the bow. Careful to keep the anchor line well to the side and out of the motor. The clip will traverse to the stern and break the anchor free. Unclip and haul it in as you motor away.

If you don't want to dangle a running line all the time, just keep one end on the lid right in front of the windshield and tie off to a cleat in the stern when you're ready to anchor up.

that sounds like what I need to do, but I can't quite picture in my head what your talking about, a picture says a thousand words, I think your clipping the anchor line to the bow of the boat and running in down the side of the boat before anchor, but I'm not quite following what your saying with the ....

never mind, reading it again, I see exactly what your talking about, it's kind of like a running line you'd tie a dog up to, I can picture it now

 

[iwombat]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

You got it!

Clipping a sliding buoy to the anchor line will help the anchor pop up while you motor out. The buoy will traverse the anchor line as far back as it can, even go submerged if it has to until the buoy pops up. Use the system all the time in 100+ feet of water.

 

[Mr.Stuart]

Re: 78 starcraft anchor questions

You got it!

Clipping a sliding buoy to the anchor line will help the anchor pop up while you motor out. The buoy will traverse the anchor line as far back as it can, even go submerged if it has to until the buoy pops up. Use the system all the time in 100+ feet of water.

I'll follow your method, I want to keep people off the bow, I've given the kids instructions on what NOT to do, but somehow still managed to get the dash board craked (easy fix where it won't be noticed) and also got one of the trumpet air horns broke, so following your method, I can make the bow off limits... period, and prevent any further damage, what damage that's there now is miner and easily fixed, but if the teak wood got broke, I'd be hard pressed to be able to match a replacement, so following your anchor methed will keep everyone off the bow.