My First StarCraft; 1975 18' SuperSport

[classiccat]

Oh! Swung by the gas station 5 miles away from the house and discovered this gem!

 

[Watermann]

That's the ticket right there! I only use non E in my boats and small engines. :thumb:

Be careful with that driveline if like mine, it's made of your favorite metal and one dent will turn it into a licorice whip.

 

[GA_Boater]

Good to see the new hangar put to use working on tin, CC Wrong tin, but still................... :thumb:

And E0 gas. How much more a gallon? Around here it's 75 cents more than Regular and 45 cents higher than premium.

 

[classiccat]

That's the ticket right there! I only use non E in my boats and small engines. :thumb:

Be careful with that driveline if like mine, it's made of your favorite metal and one dent will turn it into a licorice whip.

On my '01, the front D/S (xfer case to front axle) is steel while the rear is aluminum. I was chasing a wheel-speed proportional clicking & found a little slack in the front d/s...clicking went away when I hit it with penetrating oil (I was thanking God that it wasn't the Xfer case!). After seeing the condition of the front ujoints (1/2 were dry as a bone...no zerks), I may be tackling the big aluminum mamba jamba next! Thanks for the warning...I'll be handling it with kid gloves. :thumb:

 

[classiccat]

Good to see the new hangar put to use working on tin, CC Wrong tin, but still................... :thumb:

And E0 gas. How much more a gallon? Around here it's 75 cents more than Regular and 45 cents higher than premium.

Thanks GaB! It's funny because I already have hanger two-foot-itus :lol:

To be honest, I can't remember what I paid for regular because I was so excited about the E0! That difference sounds about right though.

 

[dozerII]

Great to see you settled in and getting caught up so you can get back to tin work:thumb:

 

[GA_Boater]

Thanks GaB! It's funny because I already have hanger two-foot-itus :lol:

Ya just can't satisfy some people! LOL

 

[classiccat]

I guess now is as good of a time as any to knock the rust off of this thread eh?

We relocated last summer...during which the StarCraft served as a travel trailer / storage shed basically holding most of my sheet & wood stock until we got settled-in to the new place. I actually riveted the splashwell & old floor in place...to maximize storage capacity.

It then spent 2 months tarped at a friends-house until I got the boat tent setup in late-fall.

The tarp of course leaked ruining alot of my stock...silver lining is that I already have an appreciation for the epoxy/fiberglass clad transom. :thumb:

fast forward to this morning...where the boat saw daylight for the 1st time in several months!



Super-handy tilt-trailer:


Ready for tear-down...again!


If you've read the prior pages of this thread, I had some lofty plans for modifying the layout. Ditch those. This is going to be a period-correct restoration (minus the back-to-back seating)...Unmodified SuperSports have become rare as hens teeth in these parts.

And now that I no longer have the BlueFin, I need a functional boat ASAP!

Glad to be back in the saddle again! Thanks for stoppin' by! :yo:

 

[jbcurt00]

:welcome: back to your resto

Whats the plan instead of back to back seats?

Happy boat work

 

[classiccat]

:welcome: back to your resto

Whats the plan instead of back to back seats?

Happy boat work

Thanks John!

Helm chairs at each of the side consoles. Removable seat posts aft of those.

Simple & keep the weight to a minimum.

 

[g0nef1sshn]

Neked boat! wheres the admins!! :laugh:

 

[laurentide]

Thanks John!

Helm chairs at each of the side consoles. Removable seat posts aft of those.

Simple & keep the weight to a minimum.

I think that's a great setup for that boat. Good luck getting everything back together!

 

[GA_Boater]

Good to see her in the new drydock, CC.

Spring is almost here, get the lead out. LOL

 

[Watermann]

Hey the old gal looks like she's still willing and now that you're able let the fun begin!

 

[classiccat]

Neked boat! wheres the admins!! :laugh:

she doesn't leave alot for the imagination does she :lol:

I think that's a great setup for that boat. Good luck getting everything back together!

Thanks for the reassurance chem! Plenty of room for a beach chair if the Admiral needs to get her rays! :thumb:

Good to see her in the new drydock, CC.

Spring is almost here, get the lead out. LOL

Thanks GaB! It certainly feels like spring has sprung here in the N/E!

It's a bit unfortunate because I really wanted to try my 1970 Allis Chalmers Tracker-7 & her Briggs Flatty :madgrin:

Probably tough to relate to vintage snowblower obsession when you're from Georgia! :lol:

Hey the old gal looks like she's still willing and now that you're able let the fun begin!

It just feels right seeing her parked in the hanger...ready to get flipped for some keel & seal work

 

[classiccat]

ummm...I wonder what my new neighbors think of their new neighbor

engine hoists! swing-set gantries! block-n-tackles! levitating tinnies!



1-man (plus admiral) flip:


^^^ the little dude there on his bike seemed to appreciate the coolness of flyin' tin!!

 

[Watermann]

:lol: too funny, yeah just wait until the solid rivets start getting set and then ask that question.

 

[GA_Boater]

I'm a transplanted Yankee, so I know old snow blowers.

The kid is thinkin' "So that's where my swing set went" LOL

 

[classiccat]

I'm a transplanted Yankee, so I know old snow blowers.

The kid is thinkin' "So that's where my swing set went" LOL

hey man...snooze you lose...and he if he wants to keep eye-ballin' me, I could use that bike chain and sprocket in my '72 Sears Single-stage machine :lol:

:lol: too funny, yeah just wait until the solid rivets start getting set and then ask that question.

No doubt! Most of my neighbors already know what I'm about...& have been warned... 4, 3, 2, 1....

 

[classiccat]

Man...we're closin' in on the 3-year anniversary of this project! I better get a move-on!!

You may recall waaay back (almost 3 years ago!), I made mention of how the P.O. enjoyed pulling the keel over the steel roller shafts.


...resulting in a good chunk of my keel ground away


so we finally got around to remedying this situation.

I only had 4' of .090" 5052 aluminum laying around...and I needed almost 7' of reinforcement therefore I did it in 2 sections.

After cutting & drilling the aluminum strips (3" on the nose in my case), I coated 1 side with soap & heated the opposite side until the soap burnt. This is to make the aluminum more malleable.


If I didn't do this, it would be impossible to form the aluminum to the keel using a dead blow hammer.

The next step, drill & tap a carp load of 8/32 holes...one-at-a-time working from 1-end to the other...driving the screws in as I went.