Got me a Starchief

[jasoutside]

Re: Got me a Starchief

That watercraft is all disposable, so no biggie

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Got me a Starchief

I see your making excellent progress on that boat!
I'm glad to see it being put back in service again.
My original plans for that boat were to hang a 1995 115hp Mercury on it which I removed from a storm damaged boat. (One side of the hull was roughed up against two pilings and the boat was totaled). I bought the motor back when I first got that boat. Being more of an Evinrude fan, and the fact that it came to me with an Evinrude, I was going to run the 110hp you saw on it.
After finding that 110hp I put the 115hp Merc away for safe keeping. I saved it since it was so clean, it had good compression and showed little signs of being used. Its been sitting on a motor stand since I flushed and stored it.

That boat came to me with an older 135hp Evinrude on it, which by modern standards put out about 115hp at the prop. It ran good with that combo, I wouldn't want any less if I were running around the shipping channel in the river or trying to maneuver in close quarters.

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Thanks for checking in guys.
I finally had a couple hours yesterday to work on the boat. I stayed on the opposite side of the glass boats since I forgot the hazmat suit. So far I don't itch, so maybe I got away with it. All I did to the boat though was some staring at the beam/ceiling configuration to lift and flip to strip the bottom. I'm going to need to pick up a chain hoist. Anyone have experience with Harbor Freights hoists? They seem cheap enough for my budget but I'd hate to have it self destruct with the boat hanging from it.
I did manage to do some more polishing of the sides of the hull. It's not perfect, but I'm declaring polishing done. If I don't hoist and flip this weekend, I'll Sharkhide whats been polished.
Reelfishin - I'll keep in mind you've got that Merc when I've got some motor money in the budget.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Yah, that chain hoist that has been picking up my stuff is from HF. I'm NOT a fan of their tools but this has worked really great and the price was right

 

[barato2]

Re: Got me a Starchief

for crude stuff like that, da Fright does OK. but i agree with Jas, i usually wince whenever i touch one of their tools

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Ok, so I finally got a chance to do a couple little things to the Chief. I made an 'enough is enough' decision on the polishing of the sides of the hull and went ahead and Sharkhided the boat. I should have spent some more time cleaning after polishing, as the Sharkhide pulled up some black residue that I apparently missed. If it looks hideous out in real daylight, I'll remove the Sharkhide and redo it. But for now I really need to pick up the pace and get the bottom stripped and painted.
I also replaced one of my splashwell drain tubes. It was a plastic one that had been put in by a PO and was cracked. I caught it pretty much just in time as the transom wasn't too damaged from water leaking past it.
The next step is going to be the bottom. I picked up a used vintage chain hoist I found on craigslist, it will be just the ticket for picking up the boat. Hopefully things will fall into place this week and I can take a day off for boat work... Here's the latest pics....
First splashwell drain....

Polishing/Sharkhide

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Got me a Starchief

How do you remove Sharkhyde?

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

How do you remove Sharkhyde?

According to the makers, all you need is lacquer thinner, a spray bottle, paper towels and a stiff plastic scrub brush. I'm thinking also a few hours and elbow grease.

 

[dozerII]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Looking good rh, ya a little lacquer thinner and a lot of elbow grease takes it off. I'm thinking that is the mistake we made on the 87 was not cleaning enough before putting the protectant on.
Glen

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Got me a Starchief

What are your plans for the bottom? I can tell by looking at what you've got so far, that a red bottom would look awesome with that shined up aluminum.

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Thanks for checking in guys.
EZ, my plan for the bottom is to paint it dark green. Actually, the whole color scheme in my head is dark green bottom (where the red was), dark green cabin roof, silver/gray bow deck, gunnels and splashwell. This is of course subject to change, as I do tend to overthink and change my mind a lot. I did seriously consider red for the bottom & cabin roof, but green happens to be my favorite color. I even thought for a while about a light avocado type green like in the 1966 brochure. Enough about color choice though, today I managed to finish work before noon, thanks to indecisiveness on the part of my best customer. This gave me enough time to hoist up the boat and start stripping the bottom. The vintage chain hoist worked just fine for the rear half of the boat. I used a big honkin ratchet strap to suspend the bow. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the first side...
Here are the pics of the day...

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

One more pic....

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Thats some kind of shop you have there.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Agreed, that work space you have there is so awesome

I think your color scheme will look sweet! I really like the combo of dark green and alum, very classy and utilitarian at the same time, very cool!

If I may suggest...

I'd go green on all the topsides though (bow deck, gunwales too) along with the green on the hull bottom.

Nice work man, keep on it!

 

[barato2]

Re: Got me a Starchief

yeah, great color choice. lookin fwd to seeing your progress

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Thanks for checking in....
No progress today, work got too much in the way. I really lucked out with the shop space. Plenty of room, decent light and the owner lets me hang the boat from the ceiling. Whats kinda of crazy about it though is that it's 3-1/2 miles from my house, but a 20 minute drive of about 10 miles complete with tolls. But it's worth it.
Jason I hear ya that it would look great with the green on all the topsides, but I fear it getting too hot in the tropical New Jersey sunshine. Although, do you think it would look goofy to have the bow deck green and the gunnels, say from the cabin sides back gray?
Kind of like this.

I'll try to do a better paint job in real life

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Got me a Starchief

I can see that the architect that works for me must also freelance out in NJ

Actually, if I had your boat, and were where you are at, I'd go all bare alum from the rubrail down, bottom hull too. Then dark green on all the topsides, gunwales too. Clean, simple, utilitarian, cool

That's just one fellas opinion though. Keep on keeping on

 

[dozerII]

Re: Got me a Starchief

I can see that the architect that works for me must also freelance out in NJ

Actually, if I had your boat, and were where you are at, I'd go all bare alum from the rubrail down, bottom hull too. Then dark green on all the topsides, gunwales too. Clean, simple, utilitarian, cool

That's just one fellas opinion though. Keep on keeping on

I kinda agree, I think that would look real good. What shade of green are you going with?
Glen

 

[rheagler]

Re: Got me a Starchief

Let the opinions flow freely! I'm a hardhead, so I may or may not use them, but it's all good.
Yes Jason, I managed to get the same experienced architect, good thing he works cheap!
The all bare hull has crossed my mind as well. As much as I change my mind, it may happen. It all depends on how clean the rest of the paint comes off.
I'm using a dark green, I guess you would call it Hunter Green. The maker calls it "Spruce Green".

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Got me a Starchief

I kind like grey on the topsides and a cool unexpected spash of color on the bottom. That's assuming you have to paint the bottom. I know if I had a way to strip mine and leave it bare, I would.