Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

[ezmobee]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

I hit 33 MPH at 5400 RPM at WOT.

That is doing real well with that motor on that boat. It must be dialed in perfectly. No need to mess with motor height or prop pitch, you've got it nailed from the get go. Boat looks great, congrats.

 

[ctswf]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

dude...looks F-ing amazing! You did an excellent job on her!
great performance too, what prop you running?

 

[dozerII]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Congrats on the splash, boat looks real good, great job.

 

[GWPSR]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

What a wonderful development! Stellar job and congratulations!

And there is still plenty of season left to enjoy her. Does she have a name yet?

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Congrats!!! Boat looks outstanding and, equally important, sounds like she's running beautifully. You are getting every ounce of power out of that 70. Good stuff.

I love the shot of the boat sitting by the dock (avatar worthy).

Don't worry about the listing - you will figure that out. At least you know its not "water-logged foam." You may want to look adjusting the trim tab on your o/b.

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

dude...looks F-ing amazing! You did an excellent job on her!
great performance too, what prop you running?

You know, I have no idea...just the one that came with the engine :facepalm:

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Thanks for the kind words, everybody. I'm off to northern Maine for a river canoe trip, but I'll be back on the Chief next week, and hopefully for many, many summers to come (maybe even late falls and early springs if I spring for full canvas down the road).

I'll post up some pics when I get the riggers and dipsey rod holders mounted. Oh, and seats...those'll be good too.

Cheers!

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

What a wonderful development! Stellar job and congratulations!

And there is still plenty of season left to enjoy her. Does she have a name yet?

Well, it was "Sassy" when I brought her home, and I haven't given it a different one, though there's no name actually on the boat right now.

So, yeah, I guess it's still "Sassy" for now. I kind of hate it, but, whatever.

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

I'm back from an amazing paddling/camping trip on the lower West Branch of the Penobscot River in far northern Maine. One of the most beautiful places I've had the pleasure to spend some time. No cell service, electricity, or internal combustion engines for hundreds of square miles.

I've got some really bad quality phone video that I finally uploaded from my splash date, so be forewarned about the shaky, grainy, wind in the mic stuff going on here.

Idle speed:

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Hole shot:

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

WOT, complete with bad wind noise and my finger on the lens:

I was actually almost as psyched about the low idle speed as I was about the top speed. 2.5 should be pretty good for Lakers and Salmon. I'll need the kicker if I want to troll for Walleye, but that may have to wait for next season.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Looks like its runnin smooth as silk and flat out scoots...
Awesome!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

You have her really set up good. Chem. :thumb: Nice vids!

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Thanks for taking us for a ride man!:joyous:

 

[GWPSR]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

It's a boat! A real boat! Sounds great.

 

[Watermann]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Doesn't get any better than that! I need to be on the water now, work sucks...

 

[rheagler]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Nice videos, but I'm with Watermann, makes me want to take mine out NOW! Great job Chem!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Videos were great CW, thanks for the 'cruise' today while I was at work.

 

[laurentide]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Thanks everyone...someday I'll get a decent video camera.

I've been keeping up with a certain 200 page long Starcraft thread, and the latest development over there now has me convinced that I'd really like to add a narrow, tall bow rail to this boat. Kinda like you see on some of the v-shaped whalers. As I'm messing with lines and the anchor on the bow, there's just nothing to grab on to other than the grab rails on the cuddy top. I know I'm gonna go into the drink at some point on a choppy day. Trying to get my 6'1" frame out of that hatch is next to impossible, and a long rail would interfere with my big feet walking on the gunwales around the cabin. So, if one were to start looking for something like this, would you just cruise CL and make an offer to someone selling a junker with rails? Ebay? Anybody here have one they'd be willing to part with or have a line on one?

Could I make my own with fittings and tubing?

Thanks. Hope you're all having a totally awesome weekend.

 

[rheagler]

Re: Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

Hey Chem I know exactly what you mean about getting through that hatch. I'm only 5'6" and have a hard time. For that reason, I treated myself to an anchor winch. Press a button from the helm, anchor goes down. For the bow line, I leave the hatch open a few inches and let the line fall through the hatch still attached to the bow cleat. I reach from the dock to retrieve it to tie up. I hope that makes sense

For railings, you could buy fittings and tubing. The good stuff is pretty expensive. Your best bet though is CL, Ebay or look for junkers in your travels.

Hope your weekend is going well!