Another Maine Starchief

[StarTed]

Looking good.

You should get lots of fun time in that boat. I suppose that it'll be a stealth boat compared to the original setup.

Soon you'll be putting fear in some fish.

 

[laurentide]

That is so awesome. Congrats Ron, you took a beater and made it both really nice and very much your own. The Merc looks great on the transom! I know I speak for all of us here in saying that we'd love to see some video of the outboard on plane if you can manage it.

You must be really psyched to get out this week(?) for a break-in run. We don't have many of those 'round these parts!

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Cant stop looking at these pics. Nicely done! Also, I second the video request with chem!

 

[Decker83]

You are going to turn a lot of heads at the boat ramp.. What a great looking rig.. That big 90 on the transom looks awesome..
+3 on the vids..

 

[Watermann]

Super nice motor added to an already stunning craft! :thumb:

Looking forward to the splash day pics & vid!

 

[oldhaven]

Thanks all, and yeah I'm pretty excited about this. I have a few more critical things to do before I get it into the water, so it's going to be a few days. I don't want to end up getting towed in or forgetting something like dock lines, and the required gear and safety equipment is still not on the boat. The fuel system is not yet hooked up, and I don't want to run it on a portable tank, since every disconnection means air in the lines and rough running. These engines do not use a primer bulb. I also have a few questions about the Smartcraft system that I need to resolve.

Break in is varying throttle settings up to 4500 rpm and WOT for one minute out of ten for the first two hours. For the next 8 hours avoid continuous full throttle for more than 5 minutes at a time. I guess I am forced to open her up a bit right away to get the rings to seat. Oh well... Still, I bet my first hour on the boat will be mostly trying to remember what I read in the owners manual and getting used to the systems not far from the ramp.

I'll try to get a video when the time comes, but expect a couple more getting ready progress reports before that.

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

I put the Lowrance HDS-7 in today, though not the transducers, but the GPS and charts are working.. I have to figure out how to get the sonar cables back through the transom. I am thinking of putting them over the top of the transom, rather than drilling a 1 inch hole for the connectors to pass through. It was fun to fire it up and see it show my location sitting in my driveway. I can also see engine functions/data on the display. It tickles me no end to put this stuff on a 60's boat. It has more computer capability than my newish car.

Ron

 

[laurentide]

A vote for over the transom with sealed cable clamps here. I put my first one through the splashwell drain tube, no bueno for drainage.

 

[Watermann]

Did you get the gen 3 model Lowrance?

Yeah bring the transducer cable out of the rigging hole in the SW and up over the transom to the transducer.

 

[oldhaven]

Nope, gen 2 touch. It has everything I need and is on sale and a great deal most places now.

up and over it is. I like simple.

Ron

 

[MARUSS]

Things are looking Great Ron.
I just bough a Humminbird HELIX 7 for my fishing boat but that HDS-7 just blows mine right out of the water. Your gonna love that thing.
Sweet.
Russ

 

[oldhaven]

I got a Navionics Maine Marine charts chip for it, since I am here on the coast. It is very detailed and up to date on navigation aids, and I am all set for coastal navigation if i choose to do that. I was surprised it included some coastal lakes like Sebago, but I will have to use the OEM Lowrance Insight maps for Moosehead and others. It's pretty impressive, and I can't wait to get the sonar working, since it can be overlayed on the chart, . Of course I have to get the boat in the water first. Waiting on some parts for the fuel tank fill hookup for that.

 

[Patfromny]

Jeez, this boat just got shoved squarely into the 21st century. One question though oldhaven...will this fancy shmantsie HDS-7 let you play Pokemon go on the screen while boating? Lol. Sounds like more info than I could digest coming at you on that old tinner. I think it's ultra cool though. Like a new LS7 engine in a 60's Camaro or Chevelle. In the auto restoration world they call what you are doing Restifying. Keep up the great work. She looks awesome.

 

[oldhaven]

Restifying eh? Sounds a bit like a Bob Marley term. Nice to see you are also getting so close to done. I'm afraid my boat's owner is still squarely in the mid 20th century, and has never played a video game in his life. I did think it was silly to have that new engine with all the digital data available and not be able to use it, so a multi function display screen was necessary. This saved some wiring of instruments and sensors and helm space too and I don't have separate tach or speedo gauges, since the Mercmonitor and MFD can display that information in several different formats. The other small gauges I added are linked in repeaters, and are there so I don't have to push buttons to get critical engine and fuel information at a glance This system gives me no electro-mechanical backup, but no modern car with a computer display would have extra mechanical gauges. I will have paper charts and a compass for navigation backup, but that is a safety issue.

Ron

 

[Patfromny]

With a 13 yrs old daughter I have to have my ear to the 21st centuys door to make sure all is as it should be. I can't understand half of what's going on but as long as it's at a regular murmur I don't have to worry. Lol. I guess Rastafied would be cool too. I have never been much of a video gamer. Always had a car I was tinkering with. Can I say I preferred to be outdoors while I spent most of my teens in a garage? The doors were open most of the time. That counts right? Good luck on the soon to come water test. She should look great back on the water with that monster pushing her.

Buffalo Soldier sounds like a good name for a boat. I guess even better if you were in the heart of the Caribbean.

 

[oldhaven]

Just got the horn compressor and button working. At first I thought something was wrong with the horn, though I had tested it before putting it on the boat. It would not work today and blew the 15 amp fuse in the circuit. Remember how I mentioned the mud daubers? In the short few days I had the horn in the boat and the air line not hooked up one of the little buggers had gotten in the hose barb and plugged it. I fixed that and now I can scare the neighbors again. Also mounted the fire extinguisher and put on the distinctive Starchief cabin grab rails, which are pretty essential due to the already high deck being raised 1 inch in the boat. They really change the look of the boat. I had to make new ones since the old ones were pretty trashed. The forward hatch has been reinforced with 1/2 ply as someone else did, I think brighp2 or rheagler. I also have the fuel tank filler installed in the port side gunwale and piped down to the tank, but need a few more hose clamps and to secure the line a bit more. That took some doing and I had to cut a few holes that a future owner will probably damn my eyes for. I am going out now to polish the strakes where the registration numbers will be, so they can be put on. Getting close to shake down, but I want to find a barrel or something big enough to take the lower unit so I can do a dry dock test of the engine and fuel system.

Ron

 

[laurentide]

I think the hypothetical future owner will be happy to overlook a couple of "get it done" shortcuts in light of all the other excellent work and foresight.

I know that livestock watering tubs are big enough and have drain spigots at the bottom. The challenge would be finding one without spending an inappropriate amount of money on a seldom used thing.

Edit: I just found this, a liquid storage container that had a hose connector on top, which is now on the bottom of one side:

 

[Patfromny]

I just used a large contractor type plastic garbage can. I don't remeber having any trouble tipping it over when I was done. You could put a few very small holes in the bottom and keep the hose running enough to keep the can at the right level. Then just turn off the hose when done and let the water drain.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Whats wrong with using the muffs tk run the motor? Did i miss something?

 

[laurentide]

Whats wrong with using the muffs tk run the motor? Did i miss something?

You can't get real world RPM on muffs due to the lack of back pressure on the hub. I'm assuming Ron wants to see fuel flow data for the actual engine idle speed in the water.