my new old 1988 ss20v

[ab59]

Don't know about the starchef , claims related owner died a few years back and they are trying to sell it because of moving to another place and I got no further reply when I asked about titles !!! Will stay with it a little longer but don't look good right now.
Watermann---If your reading this i thought I'd tell you that I finally found some SS posts from budski and although he made some nice looking panels the are not the same as mine as the cluster panel fits inside the dash and has an eyebrow above the gauges so his type of installation doesn't help me much other than looking at some good craftsmanship.
will most likely be about a week before I am at the point where I need to make one so maybe by then something will come up. Thanks for the info anyway.

 

[ab59]

yep , should have guessed it, no titles for boat or trailer and the previous owner is supposed to be dead. Makes my head hurt just thinking about trying to get that mess sorted out . Probate law etc, etc . Must not be the one I need. Ca. DMV does not like boats and trailers without paperwork and makes it nearly impossible to get new titles in this situation .

 

[oscarvan]

I have heard people getting titles in other states, Maine comes to mind, and THEN getting the title in the difficult state. No first hand experience though.

 

[ab59]

I bought a boat from Oregon in 2013 that had incomplete paperwork that the Ca. DMV would not accept. I had to drive to Oregon ( luckily when I moved from Oregon that year I stayed in Northern Ca. ) and demand that the previous seller be forced to complete the title change and give me clear title . After several days I got them to communicate with Ca. DMV and I was able to register the boat and trailer in my name. I do not want to repeat that process again if I can help it. Once bitten twice shy now.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah I hear you on the title stuff, here in WA State we get a 3 year registration only for boats with "ownership in doubt" and after that period they will issue you a title.

Post a pic of your helm console when you get the chance.

 

[ab59]

here is a couple of shots of the cluster and dash before I tore them out------and one of the pieces that I have once I got everything unscrewed .

 

[ab59]

budski gave me a post and I am hoping maybe he may have a little insight on thi that will help. Above all else , I do not want this looking like Jefro Bodine dun been aworkin on it. You can just see in the pics where the cluster panel screws into the face of the dash , kinda hard to duplicate but I have a few ideas however would like to see what others may think before I start on it.

 

[Watermann]

Oh I remember now, the same gauges I had in a 1990 S10 Blazer, not the most reliable if I remember correctly. Are you wanting to go to a regular cluster of gauges or back with those?

 

[ab59]

Well , I'm eyeball deep for the budget on this one so I am hoping to use what I have . I guess I will go whatever way the mighty dollar bill leads me. Wish that this one would have been just a simple task of just cutting some gauge holes in a flat piece of plastic or wood but we both know what fills up first when your wishing or ***ting . lol.
I really thought that I would be able to find a metal fabricator to bend one up for me but no one would touch it around here. soooo that leaves me with either finding another used one or making one out of wood and aluminum . If I was better with fiberglass I would try that but for now that is a little out of my league .
I dunno

 

[ab59]

Once again it has become clear to me that I just don't quite understand all I know about what I'm doin.

 

[BWR1953]

Once again it has become clear to me that I just don't quite understand all I know about what I'm doin.

Hey, join the club! There are plenty of us in here! :lol:

 

[oscarvan]

Once again it has become clear to me that I just don't quite understand all I know about what I'm doin.

I read that three times slowly..... So you know what you're doing but you don't understand why? Just kidding, mostly. Life is whackamole. Every time you figure it out, something else pops up. Once you figure THAT out and just accept to sit back and enjoy the ride it gets better. Took me 60 years.

 

[ab59]

Oscarvan--- It is a saying that came about when I told a fellow crew boss that although I knew the way to do certain things that I was simply taught without knowing the hows and whys of the certain jobs . He laughed and said to me " so your telling me that you don't quite understand all you know about what you are doing , right ? " . As funny as it was , it was an odd truth and comes from just doing what your told or taught without questioning why .
A true story from many years ago as I am now 62 .

 

[oscarvan]

Got it. Only two years behind you.... ;-)

 

[ab59]

Sill pluggin away at the reconstruction of the driver console. No pictures because it doesn't look like I have done any more but I have been back at it for a couple of days and hopefully it will begin to show the progress soon , especially when I get the windshields back on and begin to install the side panels.
I have began to cook up some ideas to make the instrument cluster dash and if they work I may be able to finish this up in a couple of weeks , that is if no more unforeseen circumstances occur .

 

[ab59]

Hey Watermann , I was reading another post the other day and you told someone what you used to polish up your rub rails. I have been looking for that post and can't seem to be able to find it again. How about you tell me what you used ? Seems that I read way to many different posts to tell one from the other . I will soon be time to get mine back on the boat so now is the time to prep them up for installation .
thanks

 

[Watermann]

The issue with the SC rub rails is that they're anodized. I did polish the solid AL non anodized rub rails of my SeaNymph but after all the work they quickly tarnished again.

I left the rub rails alone on my SC boats and used them as is, otherwise you'd have to use stripper, sand or wire wheel them clean to remove the anodizing first.

 

[ab59]

Ok then , a wash job and put them on it is . Thanks , that's quicker anyway .

 

[ab59]

Inching along here , have the ub rail bases hung but need new screws and since it's another holiday none of the bolt places are open until tomorrow after being closed since Friday.
The drivers consol continues to plague me as to getting everything lined up right for the windshield and finding a way to make another dash shroud . If the wind will settle down here and I can get my fiberglass materials cut and ready I am going to attempt to reinforce the broken and cracked shroud that was on it. Gotta feeling that I'm going to be sanding away a lot of boo boos to even have a chance of it looking right when done . I did call a boat shop that does fiberglass repair and they said that all they would be able to do is reinforce the original and would not be able to make another one so guess I'll give it a go .
If I can just get over this hiccup with the consoles then it is just a matter of bolting down new seats and finishing the side panels and I will be done and time to get her wet . Seems a long ways away from now but I guess I could be surprised and get lucky with the shroud the first time.
Will see.
I see so much progress in the Starcraft Forums on others projects that I feel guilty not getting out there and getting more done myself but I 'm just beginning to feel strong enough to stick with the work a little longer.
tomorrow I will start the fiberglass work and set in the windshields and check alignment.

 

[BWR1953]

Hey, progress is progress! You're doing fine. We can't all scream along at warp speed. I'm a great example of that! :lol: