Rough and ready '74 Starcraft Chieftan 18' rebuild

[GA_Boater]

Hey Chem - What's wrong with the trailer, it made it home didn't it? Kinda like any landing you can walk away from is a good one! :facepalm:

Weld it up if you don't need or use the tilt. Is the rest of the tube in good shape?

An idea for the bow light. Instead of putting a bi-color light on a stick and still be in the way, how about two separate red and green side lights mounted closer to the cabin or even on top of the cabin at the front corners if the TM blocks them when deck mounted. The light doesn't have to be right at the bow. http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Ac..._category.f--searched.1--session_id.737224756

One of several types to chose from if you go that way;

 

[laurentide]

Hey Chem - What's wrong with the trailer, it made it home didn't it? Kinda like any landing you can walk away from is a good one! :facepalm:

Weld it up if you don't need or use the tilt. Is the rest of the tube in good shape?

An idea for the bow light. Instead of putting a bi-color light on a stick and still be in the way, how about two separate red and green side lights mounted closer to the cabin or even on top of the cabin at the front corners if the TM blocks them when deck mounted. The light doesn't have to be right at the bow. http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Ac..._category.f--searched.1--**********.737224756

One of several types to chose from if you go that way;

GA, the trailer did get me home, so no biggie. A little luck and a little metal wedged in the right spot, I guess. The rest of the tube and trailer are in remarkably good shape. Funny how metal doesn't rot when you don't subject it to road/sea salt. That hinge actually just broke from stress upon closer inspection, it didn't rust out.

I deliberated long and hard about the bow light, but now I can't remember my thought process or why I went with the pole . I can remember a TV theme song from 1981, but not what was on my mind two weeks ago. But anyway, I have a Perko pole LED. I think the side mounts look way better, but the pole is unobstructed over the motor, and my cabin has rails where the lights would go. Or something. I believe that in doing some research I saw that all the new SC boats had the removable pole setup to accommodate trolling motors. It'll go in front of the hatch that I can't crawl out of anyway .

My to do list (more for me than anyone reading...it's a good motivator to publicly state my intentions): install hatch floor inserts, all ready to go in. Clean up some wiring from when I was in a hurry to get the boat launched, including battery tie downs and a negative bus bar. Trolling batteries up front and a 3 bank charger. It'll charge the two deep cycles up front and one aft deep cycle. The cranking battery will just get charged off the stator. 8 AWG wiring for the electric motor, up through a cable clam, then to quick disco's. Unfortunately, there will be a bunch of new holes in the bow skin. Wire in some red LED strips under cabin gunwale and cockpit gunwales. Install rigger board. Cooler and straight-gas tank tie downs under the seats. Bolt the kicker to its new poly mounting pad. Go fishing! <<I need to grab a license, too. I think that'll cover it for now.

Ooo, and I have a date with the canvas lady at the end of July. She has a lot of dates it turns out! I'm just getting the front solid connector and clear side curtains.

OK, back to work! Cheers fellas.

 

[GA_Boater]

I didn't know you had the pole LED. I thought you were working on the next parts order.

Take some nice posies to the Canvas Lady. She might throw in some extra canvas. :smile:

 

[laurentide]

Good evening, guys. Slow progress over here on my improvement projects. Work is killing me right now. But I've managed to make a little headway toward my goals.

The first issue was what I thought was a short somewhere in the electronics circuits. They were acting very strange...things that aren't supposed to make noise were making feedback sounds, power would cut out randomly, the starter wouldn't get power after turning the switch on, etc. So I went to work with a multimeter and couldn't find any continuity issues, and no fuses were blowing. That left the switch itself. Yep, the old (very old) Perko 1-2-both switch gave up the ghost. So I got a new blue seas switch and rewired some stuff, included a long overdue bus bar for grounds.

Problem solved.

I also got the downrigger bar assembled. I took the track pedestals apart to use them as supports, then used the pedestal top piece as a permanent mount for the quick releases. It's totally bomber strong, and adds a bunch of rigidity to the hull itself. I've got to say that after thinking through all my options for rigger mounts, this is absolutely the way to go. The whole bar can slide out, but it'll be easier to just use the quick releases and leave the bar in place. It's not in the way being right over the splashwell shelf.

There's tools and dirt and metal shavings everywhere, but I wanted to snap a couple of pics before it got dark. I love this setup:

That's pretty much it. I've got a bunch more to do this week...I'm really itching to get on the lake but I want to get everything right this time. Cheers.

 

[Watermann]

Wow Chem that mount really looks nice and a super strong!

I hate electrical problems that are intermittent, they can get tough. Glad you tracked it right down since that starter not working when a guy needs it, that could get scary on a river or some big water

 

[hayko1971]

That mount looks beefy! You can hook some monsters now!,

 

[Grandad]

Hi chem, just catching up. If you've not yet acquired your clip for the trolling motor shaft, you might consider adding one of these instead. Very rugged.
http://www.iboats.com/Quick-Fist-Cl...423026--session_id.964036097--view_id.1183005
Also, I can appreciate your trailer tongue issue. This is what I found after getting home from a 500 mile trip. - Grandad

 

[laurentide]

Thanks for checking in, guys.

Grandad, that is SCARY. I'm taking mine to be welded into a non-tilt tomorrow. From there it's just bolting rollers on and replacing tires and bearings.

I broke down and bought a ram mount for the TM. I need to get this thing wet and cut that corner.

Cheers fellas!

 

[dozerII]

Down rigger mount looks awesome, nice job. We don't need that fancy stuff in this part of the country, out lakes are only 30 feet deep or so.

 

[laurentide]

Down rigger mount looks awesome, nice job. We don't need that fancy stuff in this part of the country, out lakes are only 30 feet deep or so.

Thanks!

I'd be embarrassed to tell you how much $$ I throw around and into this boat chasing salmon :der:

 

[BWR1953]

No Title

I'm considering something like these for bow nav lights. Might work for your installation as well? (Not my boat, just a pic I found.)

 

[laurentide]

I'm considering something like these for bow nav lights. Might work for your installation as well? (Not my boat, just a pic I found.)

Ya, I like those, but I already purchased a pole led for the bow.

One other baffling discovery that I made last week. I knew that my overheat alarm didn't work, and I figured it was one of the electrical components had just gone bad. I also needed to replace the kill switch, so I opened up the remote to check it out.

A PO had completely removed the horn...not disabled, but removed. The only possible logic here is that the engine was overheating a lot, so, instead of fixing the issue, they just removed the "annoying" buzzer. I put a new horn and kill switch in, and have had it up to temp with no false alarm.

That probably explains why my exhaust manifold was warped. Somebody really wanted to kill my engine before I got it. But it's all good now...running like a shaky, smoky, loud sewing machine. After the first cold start procedure you can just bump the key and it fires. It kind of makes you feel good after putting a whole lot of time into something to have it back close to factory specs and running condition.

I rebuilt the carbs (again), too, and used some fuel resistant gasket sealer on the airbox cork gasket. I had been getting a little bit of premix dripping out of the bowls when I tilted the engine up, which is normal, but it wasn't staying in the airbox like it was supposed to. The gasket sealer has done the trick so far. That little oil puddle in the splashwell was driving me kind of crazy, so hopefully that's fixed. It really makes a mess of the whole block to have oil leaking into the cowling bottom...but it's all clean now. Looks and smells much better!

 

[Watermann]

Thanks!

I'd be embarrassed to tell you how much $$ I throw around and into this boat chasing salmon :der:

Around here the Pacific run kings and sockeye running in the Columbia cause scores of thick wallet guys to spend 40-50k just on a boat for 2 months of fishing. When I want to go out in the crowds of boats I just call a buddy who has a little 14' Duro Boat with elec downriggers, 4 stroke Honda and a fish finder worth twice as much as the hull.

You salmon guys are a crazy lot alright! :lol:

 

[laurentide]

Around here the Pacific run kings and sockeye running in the Columbia cause scores of thick wallet guys to spend 40-50k just on a boat for 2 months of fishing. When I want to go out in the crowds of boats I just call a buddy who has a little 14' Duro Boat with elec downriggers, 4 stroke Honda and a fish finder worth twice as much as the hull.

You salmon guys are a crazy lot alright! :lol:

Ha! Yup, you're talking about most of the standard rigs around here. When you add up riggers, GPS, fish finders, speed and temp probes, autopilot, kicker throttle control, and all the different rod setups, you easily have more invested in gear than the hull. When you throw in new big 4s outboards and kickers you're way out of my league. I almost get it when you're chasing Kings, but we just have Atlantics that top out at 15#s, and a few 20# lake trout.

 

[GA_Boater]

I've said this before - Never figure out how much those fish cost per pound and never tell the Admiral!

Glad you got the electricals working, including the warning horn. I bet the PO even put a piece of tape over the check engine light in his tow rig. The down rigger mount is superb.

 

[laurentide]

Thanks, GAB! I hope to have a functioning electric motor on the bow by this evening. Fair warning: I am not a metalsmith...but ugly cuts don't affect structural integrity, right?

 

[GA_Boater]

Cover the ugly cuts with duct tape. It comes in such pretty colors and patterns today. :doh:

 

[laurentide]

I hope to have a functioning electric motor on the bow by this evening.

Did I say functioning? Well, it ain't happenin' today...I'm whooped. But, I did get some things in place, and all of the heavy lifting is done (literally, the thing weighs 70#s).

Here's the mount that I ended up with:

I used 3/8" PVC board as backer material:

Three bank 15 amp charger and battery boxes ready for the group 29's. I got the batteries at walmart for $86 each(!), which seems like a screaming deal. Hopefully they're not junk.

I took dozer's advice on the cockeyed mount, and it gave me plenty of clearance:

It's still inside the rubrail, too:

continued...

 

[laurentide]

Forgot to mention that I sandwiched another piece of PVC under the plate to get the required clearance for the rubrail:

...and I got a couple of footrests, too. Not that there's anything wrong with milk crates and toolboxes, but I figured I'd class up the joint. Please note the highly scientific method of height guestimation:

This one's at "wife height:"

It was pretty hot here today (I'm not complaining!), so this girl found a nice cool spot:

Man, the forum server is a pig tonight. Cheers guys.

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't know what happened up there, but it looks like the posts had a mind of their own. :noidea:

The TM looks at home. After the head rest is in place, traveling should be solid. I can see the bow mount is a rock!

Ya couldn't get away from the milk crate. Used it one last time. :joyous: Nice tootsie rests! :thumb: