Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

[classiccat]

Welcome Chem! :welcome: The new cap couldn't come at a better time! Now you can enjoy that great boat even more! :thumb:

 

[GA_Boater]

What a peaceful picture, Chem. No toxic dust clouds or irritating grinders. Welcome to the coolest place on iboats.

 

[Watermann]

Looks awesome Chem, can't wait to get my Chief in the water. The bimini is perfect, when you get a chance send me the info on it and dimensions.

 

[laurentide]

Watermann, it's 5' long, 67" wide, and 56" high off the gunwales. I cut the height down by 8" (so it's now 48") to where I can walk/stand under it but maximize shading.

 

[laurentide]

Nothin' but some self-indulgent on-the-water pics from the 4th. Believe it or not this turned into a lake wind advisory and I got blown off later in the day. As a side note, I guess the "small craft advisory" is now just a wind advisory. Huh.

Some guy's ugly mug. He really needs to shave:

 

[GA_Boater]

The water looked like glass in the first two shots. Not so glassy in the last one with the caveman and good headroom under the top. :lol: How did the Chief handle the building seas, Chem?

 

[laurentide]

GA, ha! As much as I love this boat--and I really do, it's just about perfect for my needs and this lake--I gotta say that they pound pretty darn hard in 2'+ seas. But it's all about trade-offs with boats, I guess. Shallow draft, light weight, basically maintenance-free if you cover it, easily powered by a 70 hp antique, those all make it OK for a pounding once in a while.

 

[cj8mule]

great pictures Chem! It certainly is a trade off with these Chiefs in a sloppy 2' + sea, but our 40+ year old boats are still out there!

I've got the 165 hp inboard on mine and still only burned 4.5 gallons for a 35 mile trip. It was a little rough with 1/2 to 1' chop and cruised at around 25 mph. I couldn't be more happy with my chief.

 

[laurentide]

great pictures Chem! It certainly is a trade off with these Chiefs in a sloppy 2' + sea, but our 40+ year old boats are still out there!

I've got the 165 hp inboard on mine and still only burned 4.5 gallons for a 35 mile trip. It was a little rough with 1/2 to 1' chop and cruised at around 25 mph. I couldn't be more happy with my chief.

Glad to hear you're out enjoying yours! Yeah, when I see the big glass cruisers at the marina pumps I have to smile a little. 99% of my use of the boat is with a 4 HP kicker while trolling. Yesterday was trip #8 on my 18 gallon tank, so probably about 50 hours on one tank :watermelon:. Fuel ain't gonna get cheaper, either. I'll likely upgrade to a four stroke kicker at some point and keep the old 2 stroke main engine as long as parts are available. Cheers!

 

[GA_Boater]

My little 16' tinny is harder riding than an equivalent glasser. Wait - There is no equivalent glasser to my tinny. I'm lighter, better fuel economy and I can fix her with ease compared a boat made out of sand & plastic. I'll take some harder bumping!

 

[Watermann]

Hey Chem, wow she sure looks great our there on the water! I can't wait to get my Chief in the waves although I have a bit more weight in the stern area of my 18'er

 

[jasoutside]

Nice man:thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Watermann, it's 5' long, 67" wide, and 56" high off the gunwales. I cut the height down by 8" (so it's now 48") to where I can walk/stand under it but maximize shading.

I wouldn't have thought there was a difference in our 18' Chiefs but 67" wide wont even touch my gunnels, the beam is 82" wide behind the cabin. Looks like I need one around 76".

 

[laurentide]

I wouldn't have thought there was a difference in our 18' Chiefs but 67" wide wont even touch my gunnels, the beam is 82" wide behind the cabin. Looks like I need one around 76".

Wow, so the inboards are a full 10" wider than the OB's? My beam at the cabin bulkheads is 72". Interesting that they're different hulls.

EDIT: Bad info there^. My beam is also 82", but inner rubrails where the cabin slope hits the gunwales is 64". I mounted the bimini frame inside the factory rails at 66" so I could eventually have an enclosure tied into the windshield

 

[Watermann]

Yah I didn't think they would be different beams, gunnels maybe. Hey thanks for taking the time to give me your measurements. The way your bimini is sitting looks perfect.

 

[laurentide]

Watermann, if you're not fishing out of your Chief get the 6' long bimini. It'll shade your whole dash and keep those rear seats under some cover. I got the 5' to leave some breathing space for long rigger rods.

 

[Watermann]

Roger that Chem, been looking at the 6 footers, 46" high since I like how yours looks and that should leave plenty of open space for air to move through when underway. . I don't care for the flying nun look.the way some of the biminis set up so high. :heh:

 

[laurentide]

BTW, I cut mine down to 48". I'm 6'0" and I have about 3" to spare. Just don't invite really tall friends.

 

[laurentide]

Have any of you industrious cheapskate pioneers ever cut your own engine gaskets? I had an exhaust manifold gasket blow out the other night on the main OB, and they're all obsolete (I need to replace all three).

I'm guessing that proper thickness and water/fuel proof will work using the old ones as templates?

I did post my part issue over in J/E, but now that I've got this idea I want to make it work. I.e. I don't want to wait for shipping when I could be fishing.

Thanks fellas.

 

[GA_Boater]

I have Chem, but not as big as you need. It can't hurt to try. You can get at least two types of gasket material at the auto parts store. A cork sheet with rubber looking bits and a gray heavy paper type. I think the papery looking one would be best and paint it with shellac after cutting it out. There may be other types you can cut and use. Look at some of the parts stores or hardware store sites for gasket material.

Some have used a brown paper bag for thin ones and cereal boxes for thicker gaskets. Good luck going old school! :smile: