Re: My '72 Starcraft 18' SS 140 Mercruiser Project
I composed a couple of messages but by the time I hit send they didn't post as I had been logged out or something.
A little history. We have been thinking about getting a boat for our winter home but our car down here is a Chrysler Town and Country, with limited towing capacity. When we got down here this year I drove by a buddy's house to show him my new motor scooter. He showed me the project he had completed, an 18' Starcraft, a 1969 I believe. not an SS, it looked a little broader in the beam. When I lifted the tongue on his rig and mentioned how light it was, he told me how light the entire boat, motor and trailer was. A lightbulb went off in my mind, I could tow this with my T&C!
I found a '72 SS I/O on Craigslist for, $1,200. I drove about 1 1/2 hours to look at it. Having owned many boats over the years (I once restored a barn find 1957 Chris Craft 18' Sportsman from the ground up) I have a pretty good idea about the time and money involved in boat restoring. The boat hull was in very good condition, except for the front deck, which someone had replaced over the years with particle board that you could literally put your foot through. The motor ran with no strange sounds and shifted in and out of gear fine. The tilt went down but not up (I have since replaced the up button on the dash cluster as it appeared to be defective - haven't tested it yet as the battery is in the garage. Came with a nice fish finder and VHF radio. Anyway, we settled on $800. I put new tires on the trailer for the trip home as the existing ones looked suspect (the desert is particularly hard on tire sidewalls if they aren't covered during the summer). It towed like a dream. The picture of the boat and the admiral was taken after I backed the acquisition in the driveway just after I arrived home.
It had a nice Kodiak livewell which I sold on Craigslist as we would never use anyway. It has two nice Todd fishing seats and cushions which will also go on Craigslist, minus the seat mounts and pedestals, which will be going in the rebuild.
Boat is prepped for paint, consoles and bow piece have been seld etch primed. I will paint those in the garage over the next couple of days. I picked up two more cans of primer yesterday for the deck and inner lart of bow so that will soom go on.
I am currently putting the new gray vinyl on the bulkhead panels. I bought some very nice gray marine vinyl from Textile Specialist for $5.80 a square yard, including shipping. It is heavy grade with a nice backing. I bought a Bostitch electric staple gun - best $30 I ever spent! I picked up gray marine carpet at Lowes - the good stuff, for 50 cents a foot. The boat, as yet unnamed, will be a desert trailer queen and unless we hit a Lake Havasu sunami will see little water inside, so everything is not going to be epoxied like I would do for a boat kept in the water, subject to bleeding fish, waterskiers, etc.
The 3/4" particle board doghouse will be replaced with a lighter version, box style with carpet on bottom and gray vinyl top. I think I can get the weight cut by half at least. The one I built for my Chris Craft woodie was 1/4" mahagony plywood, with reinforcements inside, and it held up great.
I will try to take and post some more pictures. The forum has given me so many great ideas due to the pictures and I will be incorporating many of them in my rebuild. I particularly like the fellow who made cut outs for the boards between the console and the forward area to increase the storage accessibility under the bow - great idea!
Long narrative, sorry
-Gregg
