My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

[dozerII]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Coming a long real nice, looking forward to seeing the splash, it will help to make me believe soft water will return to us up here.

 

[barato2]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

:violin:The weather is getting a little warmer

i know how cold it can get in the desert, but i doubt we'll get much sympathy from them Canucks......

 

[dozerII]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

:violin:The weather is getting a little warmer

i know how cold it can get in the desert, but i doubt we'll get much sympathy from them Canucks......

:tongue:

 

[anderso8623]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Nice work! That is almost an exact match to the factory paint. That is the color of my 16ss and I was debating on keeping it or changing it. Thanks for the tip on how to create it if I choose to keep it. What primer did you use? Did you thin the paint before you applied it?

Jason

 

[anderso8623]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Also, What is the reasoning behind the cut out on the front side of the consoles leading into the bow seats?

Jason

 

[anderso8623]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

The weather is getting a little warmer

i know how cold it can get in the desert, but i doubt we'll get much sympathy from them Canucks......

Although I am from the US, Detroit was 11 degrees F today! No sympathy!

 

[Gammtka]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

I used etching primer on bare spots (I created most of them when I sanded off JB Weld that I used for filling holes I wouldnt be using) and regular primer over that. Honestly, I wish I would have sanded the second coat and applied a final third coat, but it turned out pretty well anyway. The navy blue was very thick and the white wasnt. The can said you could thin up to 5% with thinner, which I did.

I did the cutouts because I thought it would allow more storage options for longer things like fishing poles, paddle, and room to store my collapsible cooler out of the way, and a place for our little dog Charlie to go.


I am from Minnesota and know cold weather all to well. We spend winters in Arizona to escape that cold (as do many canadians in our town down here!)

 

[barato2]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

one thing i keep finding is that you can usually thin (paint, varnish, epoxy) LOTS more than the manufacturer says, and it usually comes out better when you do. i think their stated maximum thinning %age is based far more on their desire to sell more paint than on their desire for your results to flow out the best.

that is one ill tempered lookin bosun, unlit seegar and all. definitely want to keep him happy..... sucker looks like he'd have you keelhauled in a heartbeat.....

 

[anderso8623]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Yeah, you know it all too well then! I look forward to seeing the finished product!

 

[InMotion]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

I saw a guy riding a bicycle today and it was snowing and 11F... not sure which was worse... the fact that he was riding a bike in the snow or the fact that the dude was wearing shorts.... I'm pretty sure though that he was heading was the chief moron of the knucklehead club! Hey I cycle 30+ miles a day from April to end of October --- but when it's this cold, and it's dark.... ya, it sure ain't the desert here!

Gam --- coming along nicely man!! Looking really sharp!

J.

 

[Gammtka]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

I finished carpeting the front bow pieces. The very front one has a hatc to store the trolling motor battoery. The double offset hinge worked great. It is barely visible and the bow aluminum piece works as a ledge for supporting the front of the hatch. I am so pleased. The last picture shows one of the upholstered bow pieces that came with the boat. While the cover matches my new interior, I dont know if I like them all that well. The admiral says we are going to use them for people to sit on so I guess that answers that.

 

[anderso8623]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Seats look good!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

The Admiral is ALWAYS right. Maybe later you can reupholster if you want and the Admiral agrees.

Nice, good looking work.

 

[Gammtka]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

I got a lot accomplished over the last couple of days. At this point I should meet my goal of having the boat ready to go by Christmas.

I put the main battery back in to test all of the wiring I did and everything works - the new blower, fishfinder, VHF radio, gas gauge, bilge pump, navigation lights and tilt trim. You may recall the tilt would not work going up, only down. I cleaned all of the connections, replaced the top button on the tilt, and disconnected the corroded trim limit wires. Thanksfully it now works going up when I use the top two buttons, as expected.

I finished building and installing the doghouse. Nothing fancy, just a box really with carpeting on the lower part and vinyl on the top.

It is all down hill from here I hope. Over the next few days I will be installing the trolling motor and wiring it, recarpeting the bunks, installing some cup holders, checking the trailer wires and cleaning them up (I don't know if they work or not). I will fire up the engine again in the driveway with muffs and let it run to determine whether there are any issues with the motor.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I will soon be able to take the admiral and Charlie out for a ride.

Here are some pictures.

 

[InMotion]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Lookin' real sharp G! What a difference compared to the condition you got it in!!!

And ya, got agree with GA there... the Admiral is always right --- even when we know there is absolutely no chance she is!

J.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

It's all coming together really nice, G. I do believe the Admiral is very happy she convinced you get the SS. It was her idea, wasn't it?

 

[barato2]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

i'm just blown away at both how good it's looking and how fast you're blowing through it. PLEASE tell me you're not also going to a full time job while redoing the boat that fast?

 

[Gammtka]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Well, I got the boat at the end of October and I would say I have averaged maybe three hours a day on it. I havent run into any major problems, so that certainly makes a difference. I am retired and dont work in the winter so I have been able to work on it a little everyday.

Got the bow mount trolling motor put on today. It needed quite a bit of shimming, but it fits very well. I am glad I got the 50" though. I have to get a 50 amp circuit breaker and maybe a couple of feet of wire and make a quite connect plug. The admiral wants to go to the matinee movies today and I want to see the new Hobbit movie, which I think is nearly 3 hours long, so not much more will get done on the boat today.

 

[Gammtka]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Well, the interior of the boat is now complete. The VHF antenna was delivered today and I installed it. Just for giggles I decided to fire up the engine. The gas tank was dry so I had to pour a little gas in the carb tube. After a little coaxingit it fired right up. Muffs were working correctly. After less than 10 minutes, but probably more than 5 minutes I noticed the temp gauge was going up. The gauge doesnt show degrees. It stayed in green the entire time and I shut it down before it may have climbed to the red zone. The water on the driveway was pretty dirty. See picture. Tomorrow I will check the thermostat. Any ideas on the dirty water? Maybe fried impeller?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project

Mud daubers made a home inside the motor? Or was the water oily?