My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

[baldtire]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Recently I found myself gravitating to the Starcraft restoration threads. Specifically the SuperSport open bow is a configuration that really suits big river fishing; anchored-up and fishing as many rods as possible off of stern.

GOOD LUCK ! You will enjoy it.
I've owned my 18' Super Sport 1974 since 1976. Running a '87 force 125. Had 'er out a few days ago and running fine after replacing all fuel lines due to bad ethanol corrosion. I love my boat. Fishes very well out of open bow. I also had those cracks in the gunwales re-welded a few years go. Now rock solid. I built a deck over the back for salt water fishing. I've had to rebuild it over the years as I used basic wood.
Added a section for a pedestal and seat up front. I also pulled out seats and use 2 marine coolers for seats then push them up under the consoles for mega floor space while fishing.. Spent some time with my 3 year old grandson in the boat yesterday ...getting ready for the next (3rd) generation. Mark - San Antonio

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Your making some great forward progress Bluefin. Some nice deals as well.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

GOOD LUCK ! You will enjoy it.
I've owned my 18' Super Sport 1974 since 1976. Running a '87 force 125. Had 'er out a few days ago and running fine after replacing all fuel lines due to bad ethanol corrosion. I love my boat. Fishes very well out of open bow. I also had those cracks in the gunwales re-welded a few years go. Now rock solid. I built a deck over the back for salt water fishing. I've had to rebuild it over the years as I used basic wood. View attachment 189378View attachment 189379
Added a section for a pedestal and seat up front. I also pulled out seats and use 2 marine coolers for seats then push them up under the consoles for mega floor space while fishing.View attachment 189380. Spent some time with my 3 year old grandson in the boat yesterday ...getting ready for the next (3rd) generation. Mark - San Antonio

That's a sweet rig right there Mark...and its neat that you've had it almost since "birth"! I hope that some day they spread my ashes with mine :lol:

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Nice find on the cherry picker. looks like your having fun with the outboards. Its all progress though.

Thanks AJ! I had to come-up with a list of things that the cherry picker would be useful for...besides the boat...to gain acceptance from the Admiral! :lol:

Your making some great forward progress Bluefin. Some nice deals as well.

Thanks Glen! Its funny because I feel like I'm spinning tires a bit. A busted outboard LU crashed the shakedown party of my 1st resto...I'm doing everything within my power to make sure this motor doesn't ruin the SS's splash party. In other words, give Murphy as little to work with as possible! :lol:

 

[InMotion]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

It really is coming there Bluefin... sometimes it really does feel like you're turning a 40 foot diameter 2 foot think flywheel and other times one little flick of the wheel and it things rock and roll! No worries... we all have to remember we learn the most from our mistakes and challenges.

I like what you are doing and your thoroughness.

Keep up the great work.

J.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Weekly Update:

Motor:

• It's been a waiting game for parts/tools.
• Disassembled the remote control to replace the ignition switch, splice-in to the accessory circuit & wire-out the tach.
• I've decided to keep the 115Hp ('69 and '70 only) test prop. Dimensions are identical to those of my 70Hp and the prop that the sellers were going to send was actually for a 50Hp. As long as I can turn more than 4500RPM, I'll be happy.

Hull:

• The search for a windshield continues. The guy in Michigan did send me a Starcraft windshield however I believe it's either for a holiday or a glasser. Hopefully I can recoup some of the cash by reselling.
• Productivity got a kick-start by getting the boat off of the trailer and onto some casters near my garage

Splashwell and consoles removed:


Transom Removal:




Demo close to completion:


To be continued...

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

And now for some dirty laundry...

Is a cracked knee-brace common? It's cracked on both sides (look closely in the shadow):


Improper trailer adjustments and maintenance did more damage to this boat than 4 decades of use :grumpy:

As you can imagine, this keel roller did a number on the keel (I'll supply pictures once i get it flipped).


Battle of the aluminum hull versus a steel carriage bolt...talk about a mismatch!


You can see daylight from the inside...


Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the knee brace can be reinforced with angle.

I'll show a picture of the worn-down keel but I don't know another way around it other than welding...so while they're at it, I'll have the spray rail repaired.

Next: I plan to finish pulling the floor / foam then perform a leak check. I'll wait to apply gluv-it until after the welding is completed.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Cracked knee brace is pretty common. Some angle is the repair. Dozer might chime in with specifics. That boat will be great when you're done but man she sure is beat

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Hard believe the PO didn't see all the abraded spots from the improper carriage bolt install and worn carpet. Did you buy this from Helen Keller or Stevie Wonder? I always sink the heads below the any surface with bunk carpet OVER it if there is a chance of rubbing.

The angle works for knee brace fixes. Is the transom ply soft? The motor bolts look sunken. Soft transoms lead to knee brace and splashwell cracks.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Cracked knee brace is pretty common. Some angle is the repair. Dozer might chime in with specifics. That boat will be great when you're done but man she sure is beat

I hear ya EZ, she's gonna make me earn that Splash!

Hard believe the PO didn't see all the abraded spots from the improper carriage bolt install and worn carpet. Did you buy this from Helen Keller or Stevie Wonder? I always sink the heads below the any surface with bunk carpet OVER it if there is a chance of rubbing.

The angle works for knee brace fixes. Is the transom ply soft? The motor bolts look sunken. Soft transoms lead to knee brace and splashwell cracks.

PO is hard of hearing...so I would think his other senses would compensate :lol:

Good eye; those motor mounts were in-deep..so much so that they pulled-in the transom support channel.

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Gotta hate it when some P/O's rides em hard and puts em away wet. Damage from a badly set up and maintained trailer is such a waste. I use 3/16 X 2"aluminum angle to fix the cracked ears on the knee brace. Trim off the old ears flush to the sides of the knee brace. Make the aluminum angle pieces as long as possible (don't forget the splashwell has to go back in) grind it where it hits the shelf aluminum the transom sits in, so it is snug against the transom. I then clamp and drill them for rivets to the knee brace, then install with Jasons favorite PL and 3/16 rivets.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Gotta hate it when some P/O's rides em hard and puts em away wet. Damage from a badly set up and maintained trailer is such a waste. I use 3/16 X 2"aluminum angle to fix the cracked ears on the knee brace. Trim off the old ears flush to the sides of the knee brace. Make the aluminum angle pieces as long as possible (don't forget the splashwell has to go back in) grind it where it hits the shelf aluminum the transom sits in, so it is snug against the transom. I then clamp and drill them for rivets to the knee brace, then install with Jasons favorite PL and 3/16 rivets.

Thanks a bunch Glen!

...and this is precisely why we do full resto's...correct for years of neglect & make these boats better/stronger than they were when they rolled off of the assembly line!

 

[boatnut74]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Looks like she was pretty neglected over the years. The good news is it can all be repaired.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I love watching the sunset over the horizon...not through the hull of my boat:


I wonder if the PO ever found his missing net:


Besides the mess created by this Tinny's prior inhabitants, the foam "was" intact: (now it's in garbage bags)

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Now i'm scraping what appears to be some sort of epoxy that's coating the entire hull.

Not only is it a mess to clean-up, I'm greeted by a nice cloud of alumina after every scrape of the knife..


Has anyone else encountered this? Despite good intentions, this is a recipe for corrosion. I am seeing some pitting...how bad is TBD:


Hull clean-up was cut short when I took some mickey-poop/epoxy/polystyrene/river mud slurry to-the-eyeball

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

That sucks, hope it's okay. I would say some ones been in there before as I have never seen than on one of my restores.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I have a feeling a PO R/R'ed the floor. The foam doesn't look like the "normal" stuff SC used either. His choice of sealing gunk didn't work well at all if you can peel it off. He didn't compound trouble by using pressure treated, did he? It's hard to tell after a while.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I have a feeling a PO R/R'ed the floor. The foam doesn't look like the "normal" stuff SC used either. His choice of sealing gunk didn't work well at all if you can peel it off. He didn't compound trouble by using pressure treated, did he? It's hard to tell after a while.

The PO did put in a new deck...marine PLY and it's in really good shape for being 20 years old. He didn't make any mention of coating the inner hull. there aren't any signs of corrosion at the ends of the stringers so I'm thinking that it isn't PT.

I suppose the good news is that there aren't many more places for skeletons to hide on this thing! :lol:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

At least the hull wasn't well prepped or that carp would be harder to get off everywhere.

My personal challenging PO's poor choice in hull sealer was also very difficult to remove on @50% of the hull. Some came right up, other areas were much much tougher to remove... So on 50% I was happy the PO wasn't diligent. The other 50%, not so much :hopelessness: & taxing.....

Hope the eye debris removal is swift & painless.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

At least the hull wasn't well prepped or that carp would be harder to get off everywhere.

My personal challenging PO's poor choice in hull sealer was also very difficult to remove on @50% of the hull. Some came right up, other areas were much much tougher to remove... So on 50% I was happy the PO wasn't diligent. The other 50%, not so much :hopelessness: & taxing.....

Hope the eye debris removal is swift & painless.

The eye is fine JB! On the brightside, at least it wasn't fiberglass

Hopefully my outboard parts arrive tomorrow...I need a change of scenery :lol: