rheagler
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2007
- Messages
- 662
So I've been happily enjoying my Starchief for just over a year now since it's restoration. I thought I would put together an update on some changes and how things have held up.
A week after Labor Day 2012, the 70 hp Yamaha had a catastrophic failure. At first it appeared that #2 cylinder was lean and burned up the piston, what really happened was a wrist pin bearing retaining washer came apart and made it's way to the combustion chamber, chewing up the #2 piston. Over the winter I rebuilt the motor with 3 new pistons, rings, wrist pin bearings, seals, gaskets etc. Now it runs like a champ, however once I get the cash together I'll be buying a brand new 4 stroke outboard, either a 75 or 90 Mercury, or the lightweight Yamaha 70.
Last summers short season was long enough for me to realize crawling through the little hatch in front to deal with the anchor just wasn't going to work. So before 1st splash this year I installed a Minn Kota Deckhand 40 anchor winch. I'm mostly happy with it, but I wish I had done some more research before choosing it. The way it's made the anchor goes down by power and stops deploying when it hits bottom. This makes it very difficult to get enough scope on the line for the anchor to hold in a strong current. To overcome this I have to get the boat oriented and drop the anchor while reversing. This works most of the time, sometimes I have to reach through the hatch and pull on the line to get the winch to drop more. Next time I will get one that free falls. Also the included davit is too small to accommodate anything but a very small, short chain. Not the 3 or so feet of decent size chain I would like to use. This could be overcome by separating the winch and the davit, but I admit I just don't want to do a project like that at this time.
The paint I used, Muralo Super-tred oil based industrial enamel has held up pretty well. It has faded a bit on parts I don't keep covered, but waxing brings back the shine. The floor paint scrubs clean very nicely and has even held up to the occasional fuel spill.
I used Nautalex on the cabin roof. I love it, but I should have used the proper glue for it. I used 3m spray adhesive. It did not work so well.
The Sharkhide protectant has protected the aluminum well. River scum washes right off, there is no sign of corrosion.
I finally painted the benches in the cabin. I decided to leave the original paint on the inside of the hull in the cabin. It doesn't look too bad.
I have also added some fancy red led lighting to the cockpit. I also added a simple manual windshield wiper.
Here are some pics of the cabin, new anchor setup, wiper and fancy led lighting.....
I am having a blast with this boat, and plan to have it a long time!
A week after Labor Day 2012, the 70 hp Yamaha had a catastrophic failure. At first it appeared that #2 cylinder was lean and burned up the piston, what really happened was a wrist pin bearing retaining washer came apart and made it's way to the combustion chamber, chewing up the #2 piston. Over the winter I rebuilt the motor with 3 new pistons, rings, wrist pin bearings, seals, gaskets etc. Now it runs like a champ, however once I get the cash together I'll be buying a brand new 4 stroke outboard, either a 75 or 90 Mercury, or the lightweight Yamaha 70.
Last summers short season was long enough for me to realize crawling through the little hatch in front to deal with the anchor just wasn't going to work. So before 1st splash this year I installed a Minn Kota Deckhand 40 anchor winch. I'm mostly happy with it, but I wish I had done some more research before choosing it. The way it's made the anchor goes down by power and stops deploying when it hits bottom. This makes it very difficult to get enough scope on the line for the anchor to hold in a strong current. To overcome this I have to get the boat oriented and drop the anchor while reversing. This works most of the time, sometimes I have to reach through the hatch and pull on the line to get the winch to drop more. Next time I will get one that free falls. Also the included davit is too small to accommodate anything but a very small, short chain. Not the 3 or so feet of decent size chain I would like to use. This could be overcome by separating the winch and the davit, but I admit I just don't want to do a project like that at this time.
The paint I used, Muralo Super-tred oil based industrial enamel has held up pretty well. It has faded a bit on parts I don't keep covered, but waxing brings back the shine. The floor paint scrubs clean very nicely and has even held up to the occasional fuel spill.
I used Nautalex on the cabin roof. I love it, but I should have used the proper glue for it. I used 3m spray adhesive. It did not work so well.
The Sharkhide protectant has protected the aluminum well. River scum washes right off, there is no sign of corrosion.
I finally painted the benches in the cabin. I decided to leave the original paint on the inside of the hull in the cabin. It doesn't look too bad.
I have also added some fancy red led lighting to the cockpit. I also added a simple manual windshield wiper.
Here are some pics of the cabin, new anchor setup, wiper and fancy led lighting.....
I am having a blast with this boat, and plan to have it a long time!
