Another Maine Starchief

[oldhaven]

That Jetson light is not strictly legal as an all around light since it does not extend up above the outboard cowl and is obscured in that sector. It is not the extendable type. I will have to do something about that, but I like it too much to not use it. The anchor light on top of the windshield has two bulbs and I can wire it for use as both anchor and all around light so I will do that. I would have to wire the Jetson with a on/off separate switch and only use it when I want to be vintage. (though I did put an LED bub in it). You are right about the light rules for small boats being very confusing with all the options. Another thing to solve is the blue stbd running light lens not being legal now, but I have read that adding a yellow transparent tape on the inside will make it green.

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

In the course of the rebuild I am doing, I have not been able to put the Chief under cover, since the barn is used for other things right now. As a result I am already seeing some sun effect on the finished surfaces. The sunny hot drought has really been intense this summer. I will be having a bimini type cover made pretty soon, but even then, that is an expensive cover to sit out in the sun all summer under UV exposure, especially if it has clear panels. Has anyone found a ready made and available mooring type cover that approximates the unusual (for nowadays) shape of an 18" Starchief? If not, I will have to resort to cheap plastic tarps that are hard to keep on the boat in the wind and rain without some support bodges. I have looked at the iboats selection, but nobody seems to make anything for a cabin boat with a tall upper windshield.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Watermann]

I wish that someone made a cover for these commercially, the only way is custom. I thought about shelling out the money for a custom cover but where I live it's like literally the clearing in the sticks, I would have to travel a couple hundred miles and leave the boat for them.

So what I've been doing is buying an over sized heavy duty poly tarp, one a year seems to do it at around 40 a pop at Home Depot. One side is silver and the other is brown. I put split pool noodles around the upper windshield and frog tape it on. The other wear spot is the front points of the cabin so I put frog tape on it too. The corner and bow caps are stress points so you can use a towel to buffer the edge so it doesn't wear the tarp if it's real windy there. The tarps are a pain to put on and pull off but seeing what the elements do to the interior of boats is a pretty good motivator to keep it always covered when not in use. For winter snow load I have a PVC T stand I made to elevate the tarp in the middle of the boat so snow slides off.

 

[oldhaven]

That sounds like a good plan for now. After 3-4 months out in the full sun and weather I can see slight indications of varnish deterioration and the wind blows in weed seeds and pine needle and lawn clipping detritus. I've got some 2"pvc at the other place and home depot is just down the road. Silver side for summer and brown for winter. Pipe insulation will serve for padding Does your PVC T-stand partially disassemble at the fittings for storage? I made one for last winter out of wood, but I was not happy with it.

Thanks,

Ron

 

[Watermann]

For the stand you can gorilla tape the joints rather than glue them, that's what I did. I also use the gorilla tape to repair any holes that develop over the course of the year.

 

[oldhaven]

OK, great tip. The disadvantage is that the more persnickety half of the house does not like "ugly blue tarps" that seem to proliferate due to my projects. The more expensive brown ones help, as does occasional renewal, but I will still have to move the boat to a less prominent place in the yard.

Ron

 

[laurentide]

This tarp has given me two winters, it's 16 mil and heavy: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Heavy-D.../dp/B002X88DJC

It holds up well to snow loads.

I used to tarp it after every use, it's a huge PITA. I have the canvas and clears now that protect the wood and electronics, but, yeah, it's definitely going to age faster. I use the 303 canvas protectant and the vinyl cleaner/protectant once a year. I'll see how long the expensive custom canvas lasts outside for half the year I guess.

I use a cheap aluminum 6' step ladder in the cockpit to elevate the tarp, and something similar to what Watermann does at the stress points.

 

[jbcurt00]

Try old billboard vinyl for a boat cover. Just be sure to get the ones w pipe pockets
15X33 ft tarp w pipe sleeves, $45 +ship
http://billboardtarps.com/product/15-x-33-9-oz-black-vinyl-tarp-reused-billboard-11-mil-0-09-sq-ft/

Several members on another forum have had temp garage 'tents' covered w a billboard tarp for upto 10yrs in northern climates w lots of snow....

 

[oldhaven]

Wow, that is a lot of helpful information. First, I can see that others have the same problem and how they are dealing with it, and second, I had never heard of used billboard tarps, but they seem to be cheaper than anything else I have seen and they even come in up to 50 mil as new vinyl. This might help me with the both the boat in winter and summer and the leaky woodshed roof. I have an appointment with the local marine canvas lady for an on the water solution similar to Chem's, but now I can probably keep the boat in better shape on land and while storing it. The availablilty of black and white will help with the looks too. Thanks Starcrafters.

BTW, nice tin fins JB
Ron

 

[jbcurt00]

Thanks, @ fins

BTW, make sure you notice if the billboard tarp you order is black, white or other on 1 side AND that its got advertising print on the other side. No telling what ad you'll get or how much of the ad you get either......

 

[laurentide]

Great info on the billboard tarps! I had no idea they were that cheap. Definitely a no-brainer.

 

[oldhaven]

Is the ad side of these tarps color fast? Wouldn't want the boat printed with a reversed Calvin Klein Jeans ad after the first rain.

Edit: I see on the FAQ that the advertising will not rub off or transfer

 

[oldhaven]

Went for a second trip today, and took my wife along, duplicating the Kennebec first trip for another 20 miles. She was very pleased with the seating, footrest, and even the terlet got some use. I managed to get a few stills, but when I tried to get her to take a holeshot video, she was not happy about one hand for the camera and one for the boat, since it was a bit choppy out in the bay where I stopped to try it out, so the video did not turn out well. I should have tried it in the sheltered area where I took the pictures. Just as well, since it seems adding the weight of the berth furniture plywood up front, plus another ten gallons of gas, (total 24 gal in the forward tank) plus the weight of the seats has changed the top end from 39 to 34, plus I could not get above 4800 rpm. I should be up around 5800. It looks like I will be downshifting from my 21 prop to a lower pitch, but I will be doing a bit more testing under better conditions before I get into an expensive replacement. 15 kts of wind on the bow did not help. The Laser II I have has the cavitation plugs with the medium openings in it, and I may try some solid ones first. I was certainly not over revving on take off. Anyway, it was a good day. the motor was so quiet at idle coming in to the dock I thought it had stalled out, but no, and reverse was there when I needed it.

The sonars/transducers worked well, both the down scan and structure, though I did not really try them out much except for function. That can wait for a quiet day trolling. With the paddle wheel installed I could get correct inputs into the monitor for vessel performance. On the basis of very limited data, best economy cruise from the monitor, with the headwind, and suggested trim, is around 20 MPH at 6 MPG. I am not sure if changing the prop will help with that, but it might. You can see the navigation/chart screen in one of the pictures, and in this rocky river, I really appreciated it.

Ron

 

[Watermann]

Looked like a great day on the water, even with the wind. Nothing like first impressions! I hope your admiral had a good trip and enjoyed the ride. We had some wind in places on the river today to, whipping up a mild 1.5 - 2 foot chop. That barely makes these old Chief's vibrate.

These boats fight going fast, I swear they do :lol: A 21p prop on a 90 HP motor would work out great on a boat with a speed hull but the dead rise these boats have saps a tremendous amount of power to gain speed over 30 due to the wetted surface. Adding weight of people, supplies, fuel really becomes an issue for lower than max rating HP OB's then there's wind resistance of the double windshields and fighting current too. It all seems to battle against you when it comes to propping the motor right for loads and conditions. You should gain some speed back by dropping pitch and increasing RPMs not much but it will keep your motor healthier to run in it's suggest range of RPMs. For some perspective on prop pitch and HP. The 140 Merc I'm working on has a 17p prop on it. My Chief with the I/O I have 2 props for it a 22 and 23p.

 

[laurentide]

Is that a Navionics chip in your Lowrance? If so, I've been very happy using their app on an Android tablet. The community edits and open source sonar logs make it very reliable in my experience. We're really spoiled to have all this technology for not a lot of coin these days. It tremendously enhances the overall boating/fishing enjoyment.

 

[dozerII]

Looks like another great day on the water:thumb:

 

[oldhaven]

WM, you have it nailed regarding power on a Chief hull, I think. I was flummoxed by how much adding just a bit more weight between my initial trip and this one affected performance on this relatively small hull. In fact I should not have been, since when I was running a 500 pound 18' Lund open boat with an economical 25, solo or one passenger and good weight distribution would give a very nice plane and cruise, but adding 2 more passengers and gear bogged it down and slowed it considerably. Yesterday we could also feel the wind resistance of the windshields when fighting against the wind, since the wind tends to blow straight up and down the river. When traveling with the wind at lower speeds it was almost like sailing. I like the Merc 90, but I am glad I did not go for the 75 as was my first inclination. The 115 would have allowed me a bit more top speed, but I don't expect to be WOT all that much and it uses a lot more fuel and is almost $1000 more initially. A good economical plane in the low-mid 20's will be perfect, and I think I can get that with a bit of playing around with pitch.

I will have to get some good advice from some local people here about prop pitch, though I suppose a 19 would be a good start. I may be able to borrow some lower pitch examples from my dealer friend to experiment with. I'll also go back to the Mercury prop calculator and use different hull types to see what differences they cause. Maybe a 17 would work. As you say, this is not a bass boat hull.

Chem, yes I am using a Navionics chip. It has a lot more features than the Insight charts that came with the Lowrance. It will make me a lot more comfortable in some of the bony waters around here, and is up to date with the navigation aids and depths. It comes with free daily updates for a year. I knew just where I was and what to avoid yesterday. I am even able to overlay satellite images of the land on the chart to help with visual navigation. I like the fact that the Navionics web app allows me to familiarize myself with the area I will be in before I am on the water.

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

Hey Dozer, yes it was. Mostly it all went by too fast, but we were getting used to the boat. Next investment is a propane grill so we can anchor or pull up to the tidal sandbars in the bay and relax a bit and have lunch. I also have to find a friend who fishes stripers, mackeral and blues here so I can get schooled on how and where and when to do that. I'm good on Togue and Salmon trolling, but saltwater migratory fish are a new thing for me.

 

[oldhaven]

My friendly dealer lent me a Merc 13 x 18 Vengeance prop to try. He had warned me that I would be over propped at 21, and rubbed it in a bit. I went out this morning and everything is much better. 41 MPH at 5750.

I am putting in a URL for a youtube video of the test. I don't know how to embed it, so perhaps someone can tell me how that works.

https://youtu.be/7391DP4FJkU




The river was flat calm and perfect for this. In the video, you can hear the RPM change when I trim up the motor, and it felt very responsive. In the picture below, the flat wake is what I get at economical cruise and there is a picture of the Mercmonitor showing MPG, RPM, and speed/trim. I was getting over 7MPG at a pretty good speed. That pleases me. Other shots are of sonar screens. I was seeing sturgeon jumping near the boat, so some of the dots there must be fish. Also pictures of Richmond Maine from the river. Pretty town with an interesting history as the end of the line for log drives on the Kennebec in the last century. All the guys who had not seen a woman or had a good drunk all winter got paid off there and went to town. It also had a large Russian immigrant presence and still shows the influence of that culture. It is much milder now, and has a great pub called The Old Goat, and a wonderful breakfast and lunch place called Annabelle's.

I think I got this thing licked. I could play around some more, but don't see why I need any more than I have.

Ron

 

[Watermann]

Now your talking Ron, that was a nice hole to WOT video. Man that motor is super quiet!

All you have to do to embed is hit the A (advanced) right top above the text box and click on the video button, then paste the share link into it.