My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

[ezmobee]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

He didn't compound trouble by using pressure treated, did he? It's hard to tell after a while.

Wouldn't matter if he did. PT wasn't corrosive back when that deck was installed. I used PT on my Jupiter because I didn't know any better and I THINK I may have just squeaked by with the old stuff. The stuff I used was pretty dark green compared to the stuff you see now. That was like 7-8 years ago.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

My floors were ancient PT. It still caused problems. Not all PT makers used the same formula. I can't say for sure that copper based wasn't used by some. :noidea:

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Weekly Update

I was in Pennsylvania this weekend visiting family so little work was done to the SS...

During our travels, an extremely generous donation was made by a member of our very own fleet (Thanks again Chad! Cheers! ) Its going to change the lines a bit...and I believe in a few positive ways.


I ordered poly keel rollers / shafts for the trailer.

Some overly-anxious bidders were inched-out for a barely-used CMC TnT unit.

Lastly, the 'Rude has strong/steady spark and its LU is finally buttoned-up, water tight (passed press/vac tests), and reattached to the motor. Shift functions as expected; I was somewhat concerned as I've never worked on a hydraulic-assisted shift before.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

That was the good, now for the ugly.

You may recall that I found alot of corrosion under a blanket layer of epoxy.

I'm about 90% finished scraping the larger areas and It's not as bad as I had anticipated. This would be the worst of it in the body aluminum:


the 1st stringer just below the bow decking had the most damage; you can see that it's corroded right-through on the starboard side.


On the port-side, you can see the paste under the old epoxy and what it looks like when I scraped the epoxy away:




Your guess is as good as mine as to what caused this. I thought PT PLY however the stringers under the decking are in good shape. I'm wondering if the hull was corroded from the original owner and the PO that I purchased it from just slapped epoxy on without removing the source of corrosion...or...the PO prepped the hull with a corrosive agent and didn't rinse/dry before applying epoxy.

Regardless, I'll try to physically remove as much as possible (SS wire brush) and neutralize whatever else remains. I'm guessing that I'll be working on this inner hull for a few weeks. :cold:

 

[barato2]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

man, this Starmada stuff is great. we all get to play amateur CSI, trying to determine from the autopsy what sort of idiocy the prev owner engaged in....

6" wire brush in angle grinder will make short work of that. i think if you just clean it off and neutralize, it won't affect overall hull strength. my best guess is that some prev owner put one of the many sealant compounds that contain copper on that area, and this is electrolytic in origin. Permatex among others make stuff with copper in it.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

man, this Starmada stuff is great. we all get to play amateur CSI, trying to determine from the autopsy what sort of idiocy the prev owner engaged in....

6" wire brush in angle grinder will make short work of that. i think if you just clean it off and neutralize, it won't affect overall hull strength. my best guess is that some prev owner put one of the many sealant compounds that contain copper on that area, and this is electrolytic in origin. Permatex among others make stuff with copper in it.

I'm a clipboard and labcoat away from pulling the boat into the garage, installing dim-blue lights and figuring this out once-and-for-all! :lol:

Grissom would suspect that a copper antifouling epoxy was the PO's weapon of choice ...and pursue a conviction for attempted murder on an old, defenseless tinny!!!

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Does the following sequence make sense for correcting the mistakes and moving forward?

• Stainless wire wheel to remove the remaining epoxy and corrosion (aluminum chloride?)
• wash with dish soap + green scotch bright pads
• wash with dilute muriatic acid to neutralize any remaining corrosive elements (test in a small section of hull 1st).
• wash with baking soda to neutralize the muriatic acid
• replace the PO's bandaid fixes (missed the stringers by 6" when pre-drilling :facepalm with something permanent
• leak test
• have the keel and side strake welded
• gluv-it the rivets and seams

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

With spring in full swing, guilt-free resto time must be earned...labor is currency around here (my denominations this weekend were weeding, mowing, painting, pool setup, pool liner repair, etc.). I did manage to burn the midnight oil and chip-away at the project.

Hull:

• Still Scraping; waiting on an adapter for my Makita grinder which has a 10mm shaft instead of the 5/8" required for cupped wire brushes.
• I've discovered 4 holes from overdrilling so far. 3 are out-in-the-open and the 4th is under a rib. They're patched w/ blind rivets and a gob of JB.
• Glen's "new" V5 hull gave me an idea for the console + Chad's old SFM windshield.

Trailer

• Poly Keel rollers and greasable shafts have arrived...seem sort-of gimmicky to me but for the abuse that this hull has been subjected to over the last 4 decades, it's time she has something nice to rest her keel on

Outboard:

• I was degreasing the exhaust housing / LU (prepping for paint) when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. At first, I didn't want to acknowledge it...it was late and my eyes are playing tricks. Man-up dude! Looked closer, yes...water intake screen looked like something chewed its way out. Off comes the leg..again (with the carbs off, it literally takes 5min to drop). It's hard to tell if I've recovered all of the missing pieces. If anything was sucked-up by the water pump, hopefully the brittle plastic was pulverized enough to make it through the powerhead.
  
  
• I decided to add a new trim tab which was also busted off.
• ...and it was at this point I realized that the Port-side of the Cav plate had a hook to it...probably the same prop-eater that knawed the prop and ripped-off the trim tab. debating whether or not it's worth the risk of straightening.
  
• The CMC TnT unit arrived and fully operational!!!!
• I did a full tear-down of the carbs...including core plugs. With the exception of a little crud in an intermediate jet they were nearly spotless even before a 24hr soak in carb cleaner. I was pleasantly surprised b/c the PO didn't use a fuel filter. Tested, cleaned/lubed the linkage, new fuel supply lines.
• I'm an air silencer, fuel pump and an ignition switch away from running this bad boy in a barrel!!!!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

IMHO - I wouldn't try to straighten the plate. You run the risk cracking or worse, breaking it off. You're getting close to sniffin' two-stroke and skeeter smoggin'.

 

[AJGeorge]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

The carbs look good, how about a video when you fire it up. I went back and looked at your first posts on this I never would have guessed that hull was this rough but man your movin along on it.

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Your making good progress BF,. You would think they could make those water pick up screens out of UV resistant plastic LOL, I've seen a lot of them that look like that one.
Do tell about the idea gleaned from the 18V5 consuls?

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

IMHO - I wouldn't try to straighten the plate. You run the risk cracking or worse, breaking it off. You're getting close to sniffin' two-stroke and skeeter smoggin'.

That's the way I'm leaning GaB...don't give Murphy more to work with than he already has!

The biggest job left is the ignition which not only includes the switch but extracting some broken fasteners on the remote control, painting and reassembling...hopefully bang that out this week and share my 2-stroke exhaust with the neighborhood next w/e!

The carbs look good, how about a video when you fire it up. I went back and looked at your first posts on this I never would have guessed that hull was this rough but man your movin along on it.

Thanks AJ! I didn't plan on it but heck, why not! Funny stuff there in the 1st post; as you can tell, i was a bit skeptical of the epoxy from the very beginning. :facepalm:

Your making good progress BF,. You would think they could make those water pick up screens out of UV resistant plastic LOL, I've seen a lot of them that look like that one.
Do tell about the idea gleaned from the 18V5 consuls?

Thanks Glen! I like how the V5 console's top sheet metal is continuous with the gunwale. Since the donor windshield must extend onto the gunwale caps, I like the continuity.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

After seeing how clean the carbs were...and now after seeing the entomology lesson that was hidden behind the fuel filter screen, I have a new-found faith in the fuel filter screens :lol:





No worries folks, a fuel/water separator will still be installed.

Oh, a paint scheme has been selected...and Admiral approved! eace:

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Was the old gal powered by methane generated from cow poop? Are those straw or grass clippings? Fuel/water sep is needed, for sure.

:cheer2: for the Admiral approved paint scheme.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Was the old gal powered by methane generated from cow poop? Are those straw or grass clippings? Fuel/water sep is needed, for sure.

:cheer2: for the Admiral approved paint scheme.

:lol:

It appeared to be mostly insect exoskeletons, wings and legs...perhaps they crawled in through the vent? I wonder if the screens are gone on that too! I also recall seeing a shiny metal shaving (Al or SS) and something that resembled blue aquarium sand.

Sidenote: The prior owners are entomologists!

 

[dozerII]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

:lol:

It appeared to be mostly insect exoskeletons, wings and legs...perhaps they crawled in through the vent? I wonder if the screens are gone on that too! I also recall seeing a shiny metal shaving (Al or SS) and something that resembled blue aquarium sand.

Sidenote: The prior owners are entomologists!

I guess all that crud is better there than in the jets in the carbs.

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Another BCSI case closed! :lol:

 

[ShowMeGuy]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

Nice... I like you plan of attack and progress.... Looks like you know your way around OBs... As well as a good dose of common sense for troubleshooting! Hope you get it fired up soon! always a good feeling.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

When you say the motor has a bug, you mean it. Looked inside the tank yet?

 

[classiccat]

Re: My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

I guess all that crud is better there than in the jets in the carbs.

No doubt glenn! that chinzy pump mesh saved the day

Nice... I like you plan of attack and progress.... Looks like you know your way around OBs... As well as a good dose of common sense for troubleshooting! Hope you get it fired up soon! always a good feeling.

Thanks SMG! These older Johnnyrude 2 strokes are great to work on and parts are usually a click away! I have a feeling once I fill my driveway with smoke and thunder, I'll have more incentive to attack this hull!

When you say the motor has a bug, you mean it. Looked inside the tank yet?

Haha! I thought of checking on the way in to work this am. If stink-bugs can fit through that vent hole, I'm in for a real treat!

I'm going to pump the fuel out through a used F/W separator and cut it with fresh gas for the yard equipment.