Starcraft aluminum boat specs

[starcraftkid]

I made the drive the other day to look at this boat, http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/boa/4603271061.html, its in good shape other than a few light dings here and there and a small patch in the bottom.
What model is this? What is the rated HP? I've got a later 40hp four stroke tiller motor that would go nicely on it but I just need to know it'll handle it first.
The boat is 16' 2" long, with a 64" beam width. The transom is 16". There is no wood other than the transom panel and that feels solid.

The guy selling the boat apparently bought it for its motor and trailer. Its got current registration numbers on it for NJ so someone was using this recently.
Before I head back to buy this thing I just want to know that it'll take a 40hp motor. My 40hp weighs roughly 210 lbs.

 

[Bob_VT]

No. It is too narrow and that model was rated for 20 HP If it the beam was 74" or more it would then hold a 40.

 

[turbocorrado]

ive got a similar starcraft. mine has a 15 hp on it. i think the highest i would go is 25-30, but im not sure what the beam is on mine also for what its worth, i paid $950 for boat, motor and trailer.... but i got a pretty good deal

only good pic i have of it

 

[NYBo]

Sounds pricey for a bare hull.

 

[Watermann]

850.00 yeah that's a pretty big price for a bare hull that obviously leaks since the guy has fashioned up a hand bilge pump. I think a 40 horse would be over the specs but it should have a capacity plate on the transom that gives the max HP.

 

[turbocorrado]

The capacity plate on mine doesn't give engine specs. Just says 7 persons or 900 lbs. That boat may not list hp either

 

[starcraftkid]

For comparison, I've got a similar 14' Seafarer hull here that's got a Capacity plate of 850lbs max weight, and 25hp. My thought was that the 16' version has got to be good for at least 10 more hp?
The 16' boat for sale has no capacity plate but if the plate was like the one on my 14', it was on the wood transom panel. If the transom wood was ever replaced chances are the decal went with it. When I tried to remove the decal on mine it would not separate from the wood, what I did was to cut out that part of the wood and then I planed it down to 1/8" and screwed it to the new transom. \

Price wise, I didn't think it was that far off since I've not seen anything even close to it price wise. I've got a trailer, several in fact that I can use, and chances are any used trailer would just mean another project. If I didn't have a trailer already I'd just spring for a new one, small bunk trailers are pretty cheap.

I also didn't realize that Starcraft made a larger model in this style hull? What was it called and what years were they built?
I thought the Seafarer was the largest of the bench seat models?

I had a 16' with the wide gunwales but it was too heavy to handle off the trailer when we had to carry the boat to the water.

 

[loose rivet]

The Seafarer in that ad is the deep model of that hull, but they made both a 15 and 20" transom over the years. The rating listed here at iBoats says 40hp, but I'd have to assume that's figuring on a 1979 era 40hp, maybe 175lbs or so, yours is about 25% heavier. If the boat was loaded correctly, its doable but I'd opt for something lighter on a 15" transom.

See:http://boatspecs.iboats.com/Starcraft_Marine__Seafarer_16__1979/bp/66b87574

In later years they came out with a 10" wider model called the HD16, but I don't think that came about till the early to mid 80's.
Figuring on location, that boat isn't too far off price wise considering nothing else is listed anywhere near that price there. There was one newer 16' hull listed a few days ago but the listing is gone now and that was listed at $1500, no motor, no trailer.

Turbo's boat shown above is older, most likely a different model, the boat in the ad is most likely a smooth bottom, later model with all metal seating. They got deeper in the mid 70's and the smaller 16' went away. I believe the smaller line was the Sea Scamp series. Those were rated at like 25hp or so max.
Back then, if you wanted bigger than a Seafarer, you moved away from the portable or utility line of boats and bought something along the lines of a Mariner, Sportsman, or Super Sport in a much heavier, deeper hull. The Seafarer was meant for big lake fishing, something with a bit more freeboard than the average 14 or 16' utility boat.

I wouldn't just assume that because its got a a hand pump that it leaks, I have one in every one of my boats and none a leak a drop. A hand pump is cheap insurance and eliminates the need to carry a 75# battery just to run a bilge pump.
Those manual pumps pump fast. Knock on wood, the only time I've used mine was to pump water out of the bilge after rain got under the tarp in a big storm.

If it were me, I'd make an offer and maybe get it for a better price, but again, if it were mine, I wouldn't sell it for much less either. With the price of new boats being what they are, $850 is a far cry from $3400 or so a new hull would cost in that size, maybe more depending on what brand.
For that kind of difference I'll gladly bang a few rivets here and there and deal with a patch or two. Besides, there's not much some new rivets and a pack of Alumaweld rods can't take care of on an old aluminum boat.

 

[airshot]

My 14 ft was rated for 35 hp so I would think the 16 ft should handle the 40 without question as long as the hull and transom I solid. Weight must be distributed correctly or you get get into trouble quickly.