My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Very productive 2-days with my good friend Dennis in town!

He was a 60 gunner in the 101st Infantry...so naturally he gravitated to the riveting hammer!

We warmed-up yesterday on the Starboard (easy side) and tackled the port side today.

5200 everywhere!!!


I'm VERY PLEASED with the Rib-end patches:


Port-side bracing:


several HUGE hurdles (500+ rivets) put behind us!

 

[astor]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

500+ rivets! Looks great, significantly better than factory.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Ooops - I think you missed one up about #328. :lol:

Hey the flooring will fit just like factory and there can't be any flex. Nice reevets, Blue. Ears ringing?

 

[Watermann]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Huge milestone in the restore is now only a memory for you. This thread should be a required reading for all new vintage SC owners on what can happen to the hull and how to repair it. A job well done!

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

500+ rivets! Looks great, significantly better than factory.

500 and still counting

Another ~ 50 needed in the bow, ~ 40 Starboard rib-end rivets (upsizing to 3/16), ~ 10 in the rear seam, 20 in the kneebrace.

There are also a handful of rivets that the PO ground-down to nothing with a sander...they'll be replaced as well.

Ooops - I think you missed one up about #328. :lol:

Hey the flooring will fit just like factory and there can't be any flex. Nice reevets, Blue. Ears ringing?

Ears are fine...everything else is ringing though :lol:

Huge milestone in the restore is now only a memory for you. This thread should be a required reading for all new vintage SC owners on what can happen to the hull and how to repair it. A job well done!

Thanks Watermann! I'm guessin' this thread will get referenced whenever someone shows-up at our door with a "floppy", cracked-up tinny :lol:

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Wow, that is a buttload or rivets. Great looking and no doubt very strong.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Wow, that is a buttload or rivets. Great looking and no doubt very strong.

Thanks WnW!!! that is a ton of rivets...riveting hammer, a good bucking bar and a buddy willing to help make that pile manageable!

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

3 guesses at what this might be (...besides a cool, stealth, paper airplane )

 

[astor]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I only have two guesses

1. starcraft mulch and waterlogged foam shovel:laugh:
or
2. a reinforcement 'sleeve' for a cracked transom knee brace

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Knee brace reinforcement, to carry the triangulation up higher on the transom. The notch on the right of pix is to fit over transom 'shelf'.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I only have two guesses

1. starcraft mulch and waterlogged foam shovel:laugh:
or
2. a reinforcement 'sleeve' for a cracked transom knee brace

Knee brace reinforcement, to carry the triangulation up higher on the transom. The notch on the right of pix is to fit over transom 'shelf'.

Man you guys are soooo close!!!! I was actually inspired by the knee-brace since I've been also thinking about fabricating one...very easy to do in the bending brake...but doubt I'll go that route since my 3/16 aluminum angle already arrived

I have stress cracks...to a lesser degree than mid-ship...but it's an area of concern for me. You can see the 5200 that squirted-up through the crack (exterior patch already riveted):






I want to maintain the classic walk-through (for the most part) so a full above-deck bulkhead just forward of the consoles isn't in my plan. I believe that this provides good support of the weak-points without relying on what's above-deck.

 

[astor]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Those cracks are fatigue cracks, from cyclical tensile stresses caused by a poorly designed structure or excessive loads for the structure, and most likley originating from stress risers caused by a lack of deburring of the drilled or punched holes for the rivets.

You are taking the correct approach in stiffening up the area, which will reduce the cyclical stresses. Hopefully your stiffening of that region of the hull, will slow the crack growth to a point that you will not notice it over many years of use. Another additional fix is to apply a patch over the cracked areas, similar to the patches you've already applied some of the rib ends in the hull. This could also include stop drilling at the crack ends.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Those cracks are fatigue cracks, from cyclical tensile stresses caused by a poorly designed structure or excessive loads for the structure, and most likley originating from stress risers caused by a lack of deburring of the drilled or punched holes for the rivets.

You are taking the correct approach in stiffening up the area, which will reduce the cyclical stresses. Hopefully your stiffening of that region of the hull, will slow the crack growth to a point that you will not notice it over many years of use. Another additional fix is to apply a patch over the cracked areas, similar to the patches you've already applied some of the rib ends in the hull. This could also include stop drilling at the crack ends.

Great description of the issue Astor!

Done & Done!

 

[Watermann]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Good lord how many wire wheels have you gone though BF? :noidea: You even whisked off the entire inside of the hull!

More super structure to rib ends or just the one? Man as if your SS isn't stout enough after the last rivet fest go around!

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Good lord how many wire wheels have you gone though BF? :noidea: You even whisked off the entire inside of the hull!

More super structure to rib ends or just the one? Man as if your SS isn't stout enough after the last rivet fest go around!

That was the PO that wire-wheeled (or belt-sanded) the outside before coating the entire bottom with epoxy ... followed by 2-part epoxy paint :facepalm: I did the inside using 1 Nyalox cupped brush...that's it!

The rib with the "paper knee-brace" & the one forward will be outfitted with these supports (port & starboard).

I'm envisioning a superstructure (sub-deck bulkhead) over the last rib...I have a few sketches. Above deck, it's going to look similar to the Naked lady (only not nearly as pretty as the NL!). The main difference is that cross brace will attach to the hull sides.

I need a large anchor locker (to hold my 25# richter & 8' chain) & when we fish for the big cats, there's often ~ 500# on that deck (gillnet retrieval) so I need it to be big & mean! :madgrin:

I'll be bouncin' ideas off of the mob when I reach that point in the project. layball:

Glen's masterpiece in-progress:

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Thanks BF, your SS will be around forever when your done with it. About 10 times stronger than anything that came out of the Starcraft Factory. Great job.

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I am now soooo grateful for the chine bracing on mine from the factory. great work as usual keep going and she will be a boat again in no time

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Thanks BF, your SS will be around forever when your done with it. About 10 times stronger than anything that came out of the Starcraft Factory. Great job.

I am now soooo grateful for the chine bracing on mine from the factory. great work as usual keep going and she will be a boat again in no time

Thanks a bunch for stoppin' by and commenting guys!!

For that, I leave you with something almost as manly as an Eastwood marathon (Crank the volume knob up on this one!):

P.S.Those top-side rivets are only there to keep the brace positioned. In retrospect, a better solution would be a few drillbits with tape on the ends to prevent them from falling through.

P.S.S. If this doesn't inspire you to run out and get a rivetting hammer, I don't know what will!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

(Crank the volume knob up on this one!):

You're bad, Blue. :lol:

 

[Grandad]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

P.S.S. If this doesn't inspire you to run out and get a rivetting hammer, I don't know what will! [/I]

These air riveters with the right chisel tip would make fast work of the I/O transom of a donor glasser. - Grandad