Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Tomorrow a hurricane is coming so I have te boat all prepared for that! Anyway, I plan on removing th engine and hopefully painting soon!

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

So I finished the engine stand today! once the weather clears, I'l run the engine and prep for painting.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Engines off!

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Im starting to plan out the dasgboard. Im gonna take the transom out this weekend to replace it and I may try to get the dashboard out this weekend as well. Depends on time. What Instruments/Gauges do you think I should Have. I currently onlyhave the Steering wheel and the Switch Panel. Im not sure if I'm wanting afuel gauge or speedometer

 

[lakelover]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Those dashboards are pretty difficult to remove, you really have to remove the front deck to do it easily as they were installed before the deck during construction. A few have gotten them out, but it was a major project. I ended up leaving mine in and just gluing a 1/4" oak plywood laminate over it.

I kept my dash pretty simple, just a tach/system check gauge and a 12v outlet for accessories or hand held spot light etc; light switch & bilge pump switch. I considered a speedometer, but decided against it for a couple reasons: I'd have to put more holes in my transom for the pitot, and the speedos are notoriously inaccurate anyway. Between a fuel gauge and speedo, I'd go with the fuel gauge. Something else nice to have might be a water temp gauge.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Alright. I guess I will keep the dashboard in and I will cover it!. How did you keep the oak in place? If I were to move the position of the steering wheel, would that create a problem with the previously drilled holes?

For the switch Panel, I know I would like the Nav Lights, bilge Pump, and couresty Lights. I also think I owuld like to mount the Switch Panel in the dash which may create another problem. Is there a way to fill these holes?

 

[lakelover]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

After sealing the oak with epoxy and 7 coats of spar urethane (but not the gluing surface of the back), I glued it with Titebond III glue, it's waterproof. Then clamped following directions on the bottle. I cut a dummy piece out of left over 3/4" plywood that was a little smaller than the oak so the clamps wouldn't mark up the finish, and to spread the clamping pressure more evenly. http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/1964-15-starcraft-aluminum-runabout-project-309879-28.html#post3334302

Wondering why you want to move the steering wheel? Can you post a picture of your dash with everything removed from it?

You can probably mount a new switch panel where the old one is, with a little fiddling. You do need to be careful about keeping the dash integrity intact for strength, especially for the steering wheel. You can fill the holes by inserting pieces of 3/4" wood into them and gluing/screwing to a thinner backing plate to support it on the back of the dash. But then you sometimes run into problems with the added thickness if you want to mount new things on the dash, some of them have a maximum thickness that they will fasten to, like gauges and switches etc, depending on their mounting method. That's why I mounted mine below on a thin aluminum plate, the shafts on the switches I had already bought were too short to mount in the 3/4" wood. You can surely mount stuff in the dash, but it takes some planning and forethought about the mechanics of it for your particular things you want to mount.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Alright. I will buy some oak and epoxy and spar urethane. Where did you purchase all these?

The steering wheel I would like to change out not move. I will post a picture when I get home later today.

Alright! Thats good. Not as much cutting needed than. The current Switcher panel is just screwed in with wires connected in the back, no problem about depth.


For Painting, what supplies are needed. Im trying to paint monday/tuesday. Do I need paint remover or can I just send?

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Do you think I need a VHF Radio? I plan on staying close to shore, no ocean trips for me.

 

[lakelover]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Alright. I will buy some oak and epoxy and spar urethane. Where did you purchase all these?..........
For Painting, what supplies are needed. Im trying to paint monday/tuesday. Do I need paint remover or can I just send?

I got the oak 1/4" ply & spar urethane at Lowe's. I bought my epoxy online at U.S. Composites.

If you want your paint job to look good and last, I suggest you spend some time reading up on the subject here http://forums.iboats.com/search.php?searchid=4740384.

In order for the paint to adhere properly, the surface needs to be correctly and carefully prepared, depending on what you have and its condition. If you're not careful about the prep, your paint job could literally fall off in short order. Most folks who are successful at their paint jobs spend days or weeks (or more) on prep, depending on the condition of the surface.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Alright. Il look at tht. Thanks! What about the VHF?

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

The link didn't work what did you search?

How long did it take to prep and paint?

 

[lakelover]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

The link didn't work what did you search?

How long did it take to prep and paint?

I guess you can't link search results. I did an advanced search for "painting aluminum",thread titles only.

As far as how long it took me to prep mine, you can't go by that! My time spent was very sporadic, but I'd say if you lumped it all together into an every day sort of thing, it would have taken at least a few weeks, unless you worked all day on it every day. I only stripped my hull bottom and transom, everything else, I left the existing paint on, prepped that, and repainted.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Il look when I get a chance. I was trying to make a tough timeline. Do you need to remove the paint or can I sand it and paint over it? I want it to look nice.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Update:

Still working on getting the Engine fixed. The painting will have to wait until I can figure out how to prep it. Also, still looking for parts

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Do you need to remove the paint or can I sand it and paint over it? I want it to look nice.

The painting will have to wait until I can figure out how to prep it.

If the existing paint is well stuck, no you don't need to remove it. If you have loose paint, remove it, and then prep the bare aluminum. Do a search for prepping bare aluminum. Several threads cover it quite well. Then spray it w/ either:

Zinc Chromate (ZC) aluminum primer or Self-Etching primer

Then you can paint it w/ the primer that goes w/ whatever final paint/topcoat you've chosen. Aluminum boats are also covered in WOG's paint your boat for $100 signature link.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

The Paint is on and stuck. Will I need to prep the holes I will be filling with JB Weld?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

It's always best to leave sound paint in place and just do a light sanding with a good cleaning for paint prep.

JB needs a good clean surface to stick properly.

Have fun!

 

[lakelover]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

If you're going to paint over the existing paint, do all your sanding and smoothing, spot prime any bare aluminum area with zinc chromate primer, then prime everything with the recommended primer for whatever brand of paint you're going to use.

 

[boatbeginner1]

Re: Starcraft Jet Star 15 Restore

Ok. Thank you! On the side (i think its called the gunwale, its where I cyrrently have rod holders), It is not a flat surface. It seems to have been bent. How can I make this lat again?