Noobie with cool old boat.

[robbie42301]

I'm new here and Just picked up an old boat that I plan to restore. I'm not new to boating, just never had one this old or done much of the work that it is going to require. I love working on pretty much anything with an engine and have built an assortment of older vehicles through the years. I found this boat a while ago and liked it but couldn't agree on a price. I made an offer and left only to return a year later with the same offer. This time I bought it. It's a fiberglass 1969 Starcraft 16 footer that looks to have been kept indoor all of it's life. The hull is in great shape with only a few dings and scratches. The bad: the floor is very soft in spots, and the transom is a little weak. The '71 60 hp. Johnson motor that it came with has major issues and I don't believe it will be going back on it. I'm planning on a complete rebuild of this boat; split the hull, replace stringers, floor, paint, carper, interior, etc. I'll probably have alot of questions along the way and would like any feedback (pos. or neg.) that I can get. I've read good things about this site and the people on it and look forward to learning alot about old boats. Here are a couple of pics of what I'm starting with. Wish me luck...
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[jonesg]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Looks like a good project, nice that you have a gantry crane with chain hoist.
If you get busy with the demo you could be done before mid summer.
You have a bunk trailer, another good point, you can rebuild right on the bunks.
WHats up with the outboard? is it blown?

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

It has the hydro-electric shift lower unit that is not engaging forward when not running, so that would need attention. It has good compression but no spark, and upon further inspection I found where it had aparently thrown a rod in the past and the block was patched with some kind of epoxy. It's been sitting for about 15 years so I figured it would be easier to find a better motor to start with. And yes, the hoist is very handy when working alone.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Very nice hull. Cosmetically it looks great for it's age!

Yes the older Starcrafts did have some wood issues and rebuilding is a great idea.

Okay.... electric shift motor... not a real big thing but parts can be tough for the lower unit. Yup those hulls were rated at at around 85-90 hp (my memory is so-so) but in that condition I imagine it has the original rating plate.

Yup document your progress here in this thread and you will have fun! As a suggested "primer" to doing restoration work I will point you to this list and tell you to grab a beverage and start reading. It will help you out http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288451

 

[Psiclown]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Nice man looks like an easy fix cosmetically speaking.

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Thanks for the info. The origional rating plate is there and looks like new. 105 in the max rating. I may need to adjust that beings a buddy of mine has a '70 Johnson 115 that I can get pretty cheap It's been sitting for about three years but was running when if was parked. Psiclown, I just finished reading your build thread. Looks great, thats the plan for mine.

 

[Psiclown]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Thanks for the info. The origional rating plate is there and looks like new. 105 in the max rating. I may need to adjust that beings a buddy of mine has a '70 Johnson 115 that I can get pretty cheap It's been sitting for about three years but was running when if was parked. Psiclown, I just finished reading your build thread. Looks great, thats the plan for mine.

Thanks Robbie, it's a fun project. Check out Mick's 62 Traveler restoration as well...he documented the crap out of everything.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=365820&highlight=mick's

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

That boat is in great condition for it's age...nice score

Take a look at the Starcraft brochures link in my signature, you will most likely be able to get some more info as far as hp rating, original details and the model name.

Good luck with the project.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Smart move on the outboard, theres big demand for electro$hift parts on ebay.
Let the gutting begin, release the hounds!

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

I'm curious about a couple of things. I've been reading over a few build threads trying to get a grasp on what I will be doing and have a couple of questions; has anyone thought about or attempted to use a conposite decking (TREX) material for the stringers? I know it would last forever, but would the resin bond to it? Also, when I cut out my ply for the floor, do I need to layer it with glass and resin, or can I just coat the whole thing with resin only to seal it up? I'm about 18 pages into Micks110 build on his Arkansas Traveler and all I can say is wow, great job. I need to clean up my shop before I "release the hounds", but I'm hoping to get started asap. When I built my shop last year I thought it would be plenty big, didn't take long to fill it up though. Great site guys, love the advice and encouragement.

 

[jplscrapie]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

nice cool boat,is that a 79 0r a 80 ford in the garage?

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

nice cool boat,is that a 79 0r a 80 ford in the garage?

It's a '78 Bronco. They only made that body-style Bronco for two years, 78&79. Since they never made a two-wheel-drive Bronco and I don't need or want four-wheel-drive, I stripped it and a 2wd F-150 to bare frames and grafted the 2wd front clip onto the Bronco. I've been working on it for about five months. Now it sits about ten inches lower than it did and has a 351w and C6. It's one of my tow vehicles, along with a '46 Ford pickup. Thinking of maybe painting one of them to match the boat eventully. I'd like to tow the boat to some shows.

 

[jplscrapie]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

my wrong ,i thought 78 had round sealed beams,my 79 had square ones. i know this has nothing to do with our boats.....i had 1979 f-150,302 three on the tree. brought back memeries,all ive ever owned wre fords,a 79,64 and 68 f-350 dualllys,a 96,98 and now an 05 okay lets get back to the boats!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Trex decking?
too weak, can't be glued or resin'd, too heavy.

vs

Plywood,
cheap, easy to work with, easy to glass and wil outlast you when done right.

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Good news, I checked out the 115 hp Johnson that a friend of mine has and everything looks good. Nearly 120# compression on every cylinder, and it fired right up with only some fresh gas after sitting for three years. It has the same controls as my current motor and both are in good working order, so now I have a spare set. I'll still probably rebuild the carbs and service the lower unit and water pump before I attempt to run it anymore. Got a great deal too. I've almost found enough of my shop to start tearing into this thing. I guess I'll treat it like rebuilding a car, remove everything, bag and tag untill nothing remains then start fresh. I plan on building a couple of the motor stands found on this site. Once I get done with them everything will be a go.

 

[robbie42301]

Re: Noobie with cool old boat.

Well I couldn't wait any longer so I started tearing into this thing today just to see what I have to work with. things looked good in the beginning, but after removing the seats, carpet, and trim panels, the truth about how bad the floor was was apparent. I had planned on replacing the stringers, but had hoped that I would be able to use at least some of them as a pattern. After pulling up most of the floor, mostly in hand-fulls, I realized that the only part of the stringers that remained was the fiberglass. I was surprised to see so many stringers though. I'll bet the floor in this boat was very solid originally. Here are some shots of what I have, and the progress (if you can call it that). Next thing will be removing the motor and figuring out how to split the hull.