Another Maine Starchief

[laurentide]

You're flyin', sweet! That engine sounds great.

 

[oldhaven]

Up north this week and if the wind and weather cooperate I hope to get the boat into Moosehead this week. Meantime the Chief is attracting admiring stares from the neighbors.



Ron

 

[Watermann]

:lol: nice to have those kinds of neighbors rather than ones that have barking dogs and screaming brats.

 

[DLNorth]

I keep our SS in a cheap portable "garage" that I got used for about $100, it has a heavy frame with 8 posts and sides and ends. I suspect they make higher ones that your boat would fit in. Ours is the white one with a "straight" roof, it doesn't shed snow at all. I need to pull the snow off is itr gets deeper than say 4".
But the boat is completely sheltered.

Dan

 

[oldhaven]

Thanks DL. I had looked at these shelters, but we can get 6X that amount of snow in a single night, so for me it just won't be an option. The steep pitched tarp and support will probably be my method this winter.

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

Just about a year after towing the Chief home, I towed it back up North and yesterday had my goal of getting it into Moosehead Lake completed. We put in at Greenville and did a round trip run up the Lake to Rockwood and Mt. Kineo. The boat was great, and handled the slight chop easily at a best economy cruise of low mid 20's. I had a full load of gas in the forward 27 gal tank and my wife and two big dogs along, plus a spare 4 horse motor up in the cuddy, just in case. We had a 5-6 kt wind from the SW. The trip meter showed 43.9 miles and we used 7.3 gallons of gas. It was a wonderful late September day and about 75 degrees. All aboard were happy. It was a terrific day at the prettiest time of year. Probably the last real opportunity for this weather, and I will be leaving the boat at the canvas lady's place for a while next week and then may do something about the leaky rear tank, which involves some major teardown. I want things ready for next year, and I am unlikely to be out at Christmas dodging ice, like Chemicalwire tends to do. Here are some pictures. The steamer is the Katahdin, based in Greenville. MT Kineo is a striking peninsula that rises 700 feet right out of the Lake. This is big water for an inland lake.

 

[StarTed]

Nice place you have there to boat.

What a great place and time to enjoy all your work.

Thanks for sharing and the best to you and yours.

 

[Watermann]

Oh yeah awesome country you have to boat in, we're lucky to be in the north and have winter seasons because without it you have shallow green water with flat land for a view.

These little Chief's are amazing boats and handle that chop with barely a bump with just a tiny rumble under the hull.

 

[DLNorth]

Ron,

Beautiful lake and great place to boat, thanks for the pics. Didn't know you were in Northern Maine when I suggested the tent garage, with that much snow it would never work. I've used the steep pitch frame, tarp thing on the boat at the cabin, (Northern MN near Canada) It sheds snow find but the tarp doesn't last more than 2 years.

Waterman

Never been to North Dakota I assume. Plenty of flat land and green water and way North of most of Maine.


"we're lucky to be in the north and have winter seasons because without it you have shallow green water with flat land for a view."

 

[Patfromny]

Congrats Oldhaven, good to see you using her. And what a beautiful lake. I agree with you on this time of year. Pleasant boating and nary another boater about. My wife wants to trailer the boat somewhere else for a vaca. It would be the first time the boat was ever in another lake other than ours. I actually can't wait to do so. Maine is a bit of a hike from Long Island though. Would need 2 extra days just for trailering to and from. Maybe someday. Moosehead looks like a pretty good goal. Happy to see you met it.

 

[Mike B 1979]

Ron,
I like your Starchief! Nice job on the rebuilding!

 

[classiccat]

A day on the water that you and your wife will likely never forget Ron!

 

[oldhaven]

Thanks for your thoughts. They mean a lot. We liked the one day trip so much that we are considering renting a place on the big lake next year. We are not far from there now, but it would be great to not have to trailer the boat for a week or two. We saw only one other boat and a sailboat the whole trip not counting the steamer. The other boat was a Maine guide who pulled into the launch when we did with three sports aboard and some nice togue they had caught. This emptiness is not common in mid summer, and even the weekend before was the annual seaplane fly in, so the ramp was pretty busy. Late September can be great, but we picked Tuesday because of predicted mild winds. Wednesday was 15 kt winds with gusts to 25. That would have been an ordeal, and not so much fun. While we have been using this area for years, we had never been out in the middle of the bigger areas of the lake. After spending a lot of time on smaller lakes in the area, our greatest impression is of the vastness of the Lake and the distance to some of the mountains that ring it. Not the Rockies, but impressive enough.

Yes the Chief was great in the mild chop at cruise. Slower and she was not so comfortable, but OK. My limited experiences so far confirm what others have said about these boats. The hull is really almost 19 feet long and the older Chiefs carry their bow curve into the forefoot more than later Starcraft hulls. This gives a longer waterline length to help bridge wave tops, but at some sacrifice of speed. This fullness in the bow makes them pick up displacement quickly when heading into a wave, and keeps the passengers drier by riding over waves. I am sure a 22 chief rides even better, but they are surprisingly heavier than a 18 Starchief, and require more power and expense to do it. I can see that the extra feet would be good for fishing though, and our two dogs preferred to be out on the deck with us, so it was a bit crowded, though quite acceptable. I need to learn to stow gear better. I like this boat and it is perfect for us.

We are headed back downstate this weekend and I may get out down there once more, but the season is getting over with. This should be a quite different winter than the last one. I have a few things to work on to complete the boat, but I can let the obsession go a bit and relax more. Thanks to all who are following along and helping, and stay tuned, more to come.



Ron

 

[starry-eyed]

Ron (Oldhaven), I have enjoyed reading your Starchief journey and have benefitted from it immensely. I found the thread a few days ago and read it all over a three day period, taking breaks occasionally to compare your photos to my project.

A week ago I realized that my recently acquired 1966 Starchief had a rotten behind and that led me to a Google search that eventually led me to the Starchief forum. Your extensive documentation has already assisted me in de-construction and am hoping that you can provide me with further direction as I continue with the rebuild.

Please join me on my journey as I can really use your help!

 

[oldhaven]

Starry,

I will be following your progress as a subscriber, so feel free to ask questions of me and I know others with a lot more experience are paying attention and will chime in when they can help, even with just encouragement.

For a moderator, I have noticed that the Starcraft rebuild and restoration sticky list jasoutside started a couple of years ago has not been updated in quite a while. Is this something we do ourselves or does it require admin privileges? It is a really handy research tool and saves a hit or miss search of the whole Iboats forum.

Ron

 

[SCStarcraft]

Ron, I haven't posted anything on your thread until now, but have enjoyed your thread immensely and your readiness to help others as well. Your work on the Chief is first class. Loved the pictures of Moosehead. Hope you are not missing your camp too much. My family has one southwest of Moosehead on a pond near the Kennebec. Hope you get your fuel tank problem solved shortly. All the best.

 

[oldhaven]

Hi SC,

Thanks for stopping by. This is a nice part of the world and seems pretty quiet when we tune into recent news. The camp we sold is now in good hands and the couple who wanted to live there full time have been fixing it up, but will keep its rustic and historic character as much as possible. It was built in the late 20's, and has a nice history. She is a rather well known Maine guide and canoeist who spent several winters in a tent north of here, and he has a similar background, so they know what they are doing.

Ron

 

[oldhaven]

While we are up here this week I took the opportunity to unite the aluminum and riveted brother and sister in the family. This makes for an interesting picture, but probably won't happen often since the truck has terrible rear traction on ramps, a lot of diesel torque causing wheel spin on even wet grass, and a standard tranny. Jasoutside in another thread mentioned that his boat rebuild was a way to get through sickness in the family by being able to control at least one thing, and building this truck was the same distraction and consolation to me. Happily that was 14 years ago and all is well now. I know of at least one other Starcrafter in the midst of a restore who is going through this now so this reminds me to wish his family well and know they are in our thoughts.

Ron

 

[Watermann]

Oh yeah that's a super nice vintage couple! :thumb:

 

[laurentide]

Ron, great stuff going on in this thread. I love the Moosehead photos and that soft top LR is a beauty. I've been switching jobs (and now switching again) and working for a friend on another job, so I'm living vicariously through your north woods adventures as I catch up here. I hope to see a lot more of the lake in October-December.