Dad's old boat 1968 Starcraft Jupiter/ Merc 650

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

Thanks Watermann, the USPS tracking says the rivets should be here today. :whoo:I need to weld up a bracket for the new winch first so the Jup doesn't roll off the trailer with me in it. The old style had a completely open "face" and the angle is very steep. The new one has a closed restricted "face" and would bind on the plastic at the current angle. I didn't think I would have to weld anything after the motor stand, well back at it.:laser: Then I can get the rivets in and begin to seal the leaks up so she is water tight.

 

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

Almost there, doing the mock up so I don't have to start over.

 

[oldrem]

Looks great

 

[Decker83]

Nice fabrication you did.. Looks great..

 

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

Thanks guys, it would have been too complicated to try to replicate the original mount so I just added to it to get the angle correct. I think the 1/8 inch steel in that configuration should hold up for a while. Now I just need some new bolts to mount it and primer to keep it from rusting every time I breathe. Aluminum is so much more forgiving if you touch it when it is bare. I think the 20 foot flat webbing should be enough to be able to get me out of trouble, especially since the trailer (Tee Nee) is one that folds to shallow launch and retrieve.

 

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

So for the OTF, will helmsman spar work for the "varnish" or do I need something else?

 

[Watermann]

Yes Helmsman is perfect, get the gloss stuff.

 

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

Thank you Watermann, I was looking all over for "marine varnish" in the stores around here and didn't find anything with that exactly on the label. I looked for zinc chromate primer also and didn't find that either, I guess I will have to order some. What stripper is the best at a reasonable price? I am planning to go further into the resto side now with more time to do it right and no deadline to make me rush it. I have been reading a lot of resto threads but most of the details on the right way or best products are now running together in my noodle. I apologize if I am making you all repeat yourself and really appreciate all the help and guidance. Iboats has a lot of great people on here as much as I have read I feel like I already know many of you all.

Ok a little bit of story time, I hate to admit this to you all but it is a bit funny and if Jasoutside can post the pictures of how many times he tipped his islander getting it off the trailer and into his garage I should fess up too. Sorry for bringing that up Jas. Well here it goes, this was before any of the current posts I have made so keep that in mind. When I was researching where to find a wiring harness for the Merc 650 I wasn't getting very far, so I added the serial number in the search. Wouldn't you know it, iboats popped up with someone asking the exact same question. I mean exact same as in the serial number and everything. I didn't notice that part at first but when I did I thought this guy must have a stolen motor and made up a number and it happens to match mine. So now I am thinking in my own way about someone stealing a motor, how I needed to make the authority's aware all that stuff. This goes on for about 15 minutes. Now I'm mad, really mad, I have to find this guy and set him straight. I'm getting madder by the minute, some poor dude wanted to go fishing and came out to leave in the morning and his motor is gone. Now I am irate, so I start reading the rest of the post thinking maybe I can locate this hardened criminal and lock him up for his wrong doing,
and maybe even return the motor to the rightful owner for no reward of course. Yes that's it that's what I'm going to do! So I start reading the post.
Yea..... ok.......hmmmmm....this guy isn't going to get away with it. Strange..... he has the same problem.....ok it's just a bad wiring issue for this year motor.........I think I have read this somewhere before.........oh wait I have. It was my post from 2009 :facepalm:. I was trying at the time to get the motor in top shape to go to Canada and I had joined the forum until that moment.

Sheepish Big Dummy signing off

 

[oldrem]

For first prime coat on bare aluminum I use Rustoleum SE Primer, followed by an oil based primer. I tried 3 different strippers on mine, and by FAR Rustoleum Aircraft Remover was the winner.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah all I've used is SE primer and the stripper I used was the 5 Min Jasco.

 

[DLNorth]

In general you have to go to a marine supply store to get marine varnish.
The Helmsman you get at the box stores is bottom of the barrel as far as varnish goes.
But if you're just sealing and it doesn't see the sun, it won't matter.
Dan

"I was looking all over for "marine varnish" in the stores around here"

 

[Watermann]

The Helmsman is not varnish, it's Spar Urethane and it has UV blocking and there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[DLNorth]

Helmsman makes a bunch of coatings, they used to make Spar Varnish, apparently they bowed to their own sales pitch and dropped the varnish.

Again, Helmsman is bottom of the barrel, when it comes to UV protection, you get what you pay for. But maybe it's not needed here. BTW, you should never use urethane on a bright finished (wood) boat.

Urethane fails by cracking through the whole layer, and then the water spreads under the finish, damaging the wood.
When it needs refinishing, the whole urethane layer must/should come off.

Varnish on the other hand fails by oxidizing on the exterior surface, and to refinish, it just needs a light sanding and then can be recoated with multiple layers.

Dan

 

[oldrem]

Over 15 years ago I made a 12"x30" wood step going from my upper to lower patio out of ash. I stained it, soaked in some tongue oil and coated it with 2 coats of Helmsman Urethane (original oil based). That step is exposed to rain, snow, ice (have had to use an ice chopper on it numerous times). It's heavily used year round and is just now seeing signs of the Helmsman starting to break down. That step had seen more use than most boats would see over 50 years.

 

[Watermann]

Candutch had posted about the durability of this spar in his thread.
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/own...0-gonna-try-a-restore?p=10387388#post10387388

You can decide for yourself if it's garbage by looking through resto threads of those who use the spar.

 

[DLNorth]

Or you could go over to the Wooden Boats web site and see what wooden boat folks think, or better yet, search for actual studies of how coatings performed in the sun.

I did a quick check of prices of marine varnish, there is a reason that wood boat people use the higher price products on their boats.

Helmsman Urethane $17/qt at box stores

Epifanes Varnish $48/L
Pettit Captain’s $35/qt
Pettit Flagship Varnish $37/qt
Interlux Schooner $34/qt
Interlux Schooner Gold $42/qt
System 3 Urethane Varnish $35/qt

 

[Crossfire75 Ohio]

Thanks for all the information guys, I'm sealing a transom with the OTF and will be using Helmsman Spar over it. I already have the Helmsman Spar gloss but I wasn't sure I could use it in the OTF. I'm going with it because if it lasted, let's see 2018-1968= 50 Ok 50 years and the OB didn't fall off yet, and Starcraft didn't do anything but paint above the splash well, I think the route I am following will see my Grandchildren's skiing days easily.
I plan on 2-4 coats of OTF, double that on the edges, 2-3 coats Helmsman Spar over that also double on the edges, depending on the look I may paint the top exposed area above the splash well, any penetrating bolts and screws will get a helping of 4200 carefully applied to the exposed wood with a toothpick before final tightening. The top edge of the transom will get something before the aluminum trim goes back on just not sure what yet.
Anyhoo, not much progress today but it is a great back saver! Way over due, I needed it when I was a kid but we never had one.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah SC only white washed their transoms with a single coat without treating them at all. Personally I use only 5200 for everything as 4200 is tough to come by and about double the price for some reason? I paint all my transoms after sealing them as an added layer of protection even if they are not exposed to the sun. I also clean/prime/paint the inside of the transom skin to protect it from any further corrosion damage.

Old...

New...

I buy the 5200 by the construction tube and keep it sealed in my garage fridge which allows it to last for years after being opened. Also cold 5200 is much easier to work with than warm, it's not so darn runny.

 

[BWR1953]

Stored in the garage fridge! What a great idea! Gonna do that right now.

 

[DLNorth]

Ok guys, educate me, what is OTF?
The wood boat guys swear by CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) and I've seen/heard of other competing brands to CPES,
but what's OTF???