'79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Here's a shot of the stern deck on my dad's new rig. It's nice and provides quite a bit of storage. The batteries are housed in the middle hatch.

The lower step has life jackets in it. It's a good boat for trolling or casting on smaller lakes.

Here's the Bert's tracks and Walker downriggers. We used two different types of planer boards too, Otter boards and regular ones.

You can see the orange planer board in the photos, and our place in the background, on the right with the sandy beach.

There is a piece that fits in the bow deck with a pedestal base on it, nice design.

We tested out drift socks for the first time. The 4-stroke Yamaha 8hp pushes the boat too fast to troll for walleye, so the socks work to get the boat down to 1.5mph.

They also work well to keep the boat tracking straight, and reduce bouncing in waves which is nice on a tinny.

Overall good review and I may get some for the SS eventually.

Here's a little video of the Lowe Fishing Machine planed out.

[video]https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o8S-_YK_5LIx32s8g9-LTg?feat=directlink[/video]

 

[Triton II]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Your Dad's Lowe is a beauty HA. Catch anything?

TII

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

The locking side rod locker is pretty nice. It's just a piece of aluminum track that slides all the way open.

I'm planning on putting flotation foam on my sides so probably won't go this route.

OK back to the SS. Here is the transom, getting it's first coat of resin.

$15 SCUBA tank. And it almost matches the boat too.

And I finally got the Starcraft back in the driveway. Ready to get to work now, and my weekends are actually free for the first time in a great while.

I had to put those blue straps across the top, since there are currently no stern eyes to attach the usual transom straps to.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Your Dad's Lowe is a beauty HA. Catch anything?

TII

Hey TII, hope all is well down under.

Thanks, it is a nice boat. Heavier than a older Starcraft by a bit. We did not catch any complete fish.

We did almost net a nice salmon...but right when I was about to lower the net it's dang jaw ripped out and we lost the fish.

Awesome time out on Lake Huron though, calm and sunny. It's not always that nice around here.

These zebra mussels that have invaded have made the water so clear that you can see bottom in 30-50ft of water easily. Too bad they have been killing all the tiny stuff that fingerling salmon and trout normally would eat.

Thanks for stopping by TII!

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Here are some photos of my install on the 3-switch panel on the starboard dash.

As you can see...I sprayed primer to mark the area to cut using the template included with the kit. However the orientation was off by 45 degree...hence the green sharpie you see as well.

Sometimes my plans don't always work out perfectly, but somehow.:facepalm:

Here you can see the cut. Good thing I'm gonna wrap these in vinyl, they are ugly.

It fits well, and it came with a rubber gasket to keep water out once it's installed.

 

[motorpsykler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

That's a good switch panel HA. The PO installed a similar set in my boat a few years ago. They hold up well and the switches appear to be decent quality. I've had some crappy switches on panels in the past, they were cheaply made, but sure weren't cheap to buy.

I like your Dad's rig, needs some more rod holders though . Drift socks are very cool. They are a must have on big water. They even helped reduce my motion sickness when we were on Mille Lacs a few years back.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

HA Sr.'s rig is pretty awesome! Man, looking at that sandy beach off in the distance, I am way jealous! I spent some time up that way at a buddies cabin on the big lake through my high school years. Beautiful out there!

Great to see that SS back home for some boat buildin action

 

[Teamster]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

On the drift socks, If you hang them mid-ship or towards the front some they also help hold the front down a bit helping the boat to track better,...And they are out of the way when fighting a fish,....

Myself I am a fan of the "Amish Outfitter" trolling bags, Very heavy duty,.......

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Flipped the transom sandwich over and applied a first coat on the other side.

Notice my patented tape method to fill a little void in the corner and also near the right drain tube.

I did not tape the other side of the board when I drilled out the hole, so it splintered up a bit and is now a mess.

I removed the sticker on the left, which was a "boater's checklist" of sorts.

The one on the right is the capacity rating and will be replaced by the sweet retro data plate that NB hooked up for us.

The stern is about ready for self-etching primer and paint. I will paint this area prior to the rest of the boat I think.

I plan to install the transom and then flip the boat so I can prep the underside.

Any extra resin at the end of a batch gets used in various ways around here. This time I added some protection to my canoe paddle, since it gets beat up and used as a push pole at times.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I went ahead and started taking the paint off the top gunwales with a flapper sanding disk. It worked pretty well, this paint has been exposed to the sun and removes much more easily than the sides that were perpendicular to the sun 100% of the time.

At this rate I will need a new drill or angle grinder with two battery packs, and about 12 more flapper disks.

Based on that I may explore stipping it but with all the holes in the gunwale it would drip into the boat and make a mess.

I will hold off on chemicals until I get to the bottom probably.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Paint prep, lots of fun eh Mike?

For me it rates just short of wire wheeling rusty trailers

By the way....

I am thrown off by the skunk you and HA Sr. had the other day. I was fully counting on the Bert's Tracks automatically catching fish. What am I supposed to do now:facepalm:

 

[Triton II]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey HA, mmmm Salmon jaw soup! :facepalm:

If it's any consolation, my fishing skills are pathetic... every time I take a mate along I get whipped! Considering going solo on all boat trips until I learn to catch more.

TII

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

This afternoon we test fitted the starboard side panel while I was waiting for the cordless drill to charge back up.

The jury is still out on whether or not to cover these in vinyl or go with the spar varnish wood look.

Carpet would dampen the sounds/vibrations more possibly but my philosophy does not include carpet in the boat.

I had a good helper today.

We went fishing on the Looking Glass river yesterday...from shore.

I did catch a 20" baby Northern Pike, and released it. Fishing from a bridge is a lot different from the SS. I think I prefer the boat.

He was asking all day long to go fishing again...but I keep explaining that today was a "work" day and that we will be able to enjoy fishing on the SS once it is completed.

I know that Jason, and a few others have done the same, in an effort to instill a good work ethic and show results of time spent on a worthy project.

In my opinion that is worth infinitely more than these old tin cans and possibly is the underlying reason that we have so many similar projects happening.

Here's the current status on the paint removal.

The paint from the Starcraft factory seems to be about 2-3 layers from what I can tell.

Sometimes I can tell the difference between layers based on how bright the paint is while it's being removed.

The camera does not focus so well after dark.

 

[Bighoss]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Looking good HA, I like the vinyl up the side walls. I'm putting the same vinyl on my floor. Was it as big a pain as they say?? I mean keeping the air bubbles/ripples out etc.. specifically the side walls with the ridges? I'd like to try it because my painting skills ....ehhh not so good.

 

[Hotrod1]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

This is my very first post. Read you were looking for non-electric shift 3 cyl Johnson
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/2423550588.html

 

[MichaelP]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I know exactly what you mean about stripping paint. Thats the worse part and can't wait till mine is done. I recommend a scotch brite wheel on a 4" angle grinder. It works fast and use a dust mask or resperator if you have one. Leaves swirls so you have to be careful. Down side is the wheels are pricey at Lowe's. A 2 pack is $11 but thats all you should need. They come in 3 grades I'm using the corse grade.

Liking the natural wood look you have there. You can always cover with something else later if you change your mind.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Excellent progress Mike, it's great to see her home in the driveway! It'll surely be a lot easier to keep the forward motion now she's just outside your door buddy

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Looking good HA, I like the vinyl up the side walls. I'm putting the same vinyl on my floor. Was it as big a pain as they say?? I mean keeping the air bubbles/ripples out etc.. specifically the side walls with the ridges? I'd like to try it because my painting skills ....ehhh not so good.

Thanks Hoss, I like the marine vinyl on the sides too. Reduces the tinny echoes that are so prevelant otherwise. As far as installing it, Roslynn is the pro at that.

Starting in the middle and flattening it out worked for us. The adhesive takes a little while to get tacky so it gives you time to fix wrinkles.

I recommend cutting the pieces to the right size first, then applying adhesive to the material before laying it down.

If you do get a bubble, the texture is such that you can just pop it with a pin and you can't really tell.

This is my very first post. Read you were looking for non-electric shift 3 cyl Johnson
http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/2423550588.html

Welcome to iboats Hotrod, thanks for the link. The price is reasonable.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I know exactly what you mean about stripping paint. Thats the worse part and can't wait till mine is done. I recommend a scotch brite wheel on a 4" angle grinder. It works fast and use a dust mask or resperator if you have one. Leaves swirls so you have to be careful. Down side is the wheels are pricey at Lowe's. A 2 pack is $11 but thats all you should need. They come in 3 grades I'm using the corse grade.

Liking the natural wood look you have there. You can always cover with something else later if you change your mind.

I've been thinking that an angle grinder would be a better tool for this job. I've been lacking one for quite some time now.

Excellent progress Mike, it's great to see her home in the driveway! It'll surely be a lot easier to keep the forward motion now she's just outside your door buddy

Thanks Jason, yes it's infinitely easier to have the rig back home.

Sadly, the van is still here with us too so we've got a pretty crowded driveway at the moment.:facepalm:

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Sadly, the van is still here with us too so we've got a pretty crowded driveway at the moment.:facepalm:

Que Snaford and Son theme song