Starcraft Mariner 180 - 140hp pushing it?

[Captain StuStu]

Hi guys,

First post after reading this wonderful forum for a month or so. What a great place for a Starcraft-newb like myself! A bunch of great people sharing their knowledge, that's awesome!

I started looking for an aluminum boat for fishing and day trips earlier this spring. Ran across this gorgeous Starcraft Mariner 160 from 1991 that looked in mint condition, at least from the pictures. I missed out on that one but it triggered my hunt for a Starcraft Mariner. I had never heard about Starcraft as they are quite rare on this side of the Atlantic. Now after some digging and reading this forum I'm hell-bent on finding one even though I have never seen one in person let alone been in one. I know they have their flaws but they are sweet looking. I love the CC and they seem very spacey for the size.

Summer here is short and I'd like to find one I can safely drive around this summer and then maybe fix in the winter if need be. There are only a couple 180's for sale at the time being and I'm gonna check out one on tuesday equipped with a 1990 75hp Mercury. Today another one, more reasonably priced, popped up for sale. Not too far away but still not a trip I'd like to do in vain. It's got a massive Yamaha V4 140hp on it and of course that leads to my question.

Can the 180 take the weight/power of that beast? Its a late 80's model by the look of it and the engine is a '89 so it might have been on there since new. I believe it's only rated for 120hp. I hate to think about the damage it could have caused if the transom wood is soft. I'm gonna call the guy tomorrow in any case and hear him out.

Any input is welcome. Thanks!

 

[Watermann]

I think a 140 would be just fine on an 18'r... That is if the boat has good sturdy knee braces that aren't cracked or broken. Another problem running a larger upper end of the rating motor is having compromised rotten decks and transom. When I find the right 18' or 19' fishing boat a 150 will most likely be on it.

 

[Candutch]

My 81 SS180 is rated for 140 hp, it came with a 120 Evinrude on it. Like Watermann said the boat needs to have a good sturdy knee brace and transom. Mine didn't so the knee brace was broken and the transom flexed out so much it cracked and I got stress fractures in the corners of the splash well. Have a look at the link in my signature and you will see the damage it can create. Ask the seller for photos of the transom and splash well as this will be a good indicator if the boat has these issues.

 

[Captain StuStu]

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll definitely ask for more pictures, the ad only had one pretty lousy pic. Feels good to know what to watch out for when I go check the boats out, and that's all thanks to this forum!

 

[dozerII]

Welcome to the forum. As the others have said most 1st are rated for 140-150. Just check it out real good. If you plan on doing some rest work on her down the road don't say no to a weak transom it's bargaining power

 

[Captain StuStu]

Ok so a short update on my hunt. Went to look on the one with a 75hp Mercury ELTPO today. Looked pretty nice. All original as far as I could tell. Transom felt solid and the wood felt and looked pretty good, a little compressed around the engine fastening bolts. Is that normal? The floor was a bit soft at the console an under the splashwell. It's actually been in storage for 7 years at the boat dealer who's selling it. The owner wanted to sell me the whole store and retire (I declined) so it wasn't hard to get a big chunk off of the asking price and i'm sure I can get it for even less. It's still substantially more than the one with a 140hp Yamaha. I'm gonna check that one out on friday. And yes I'm prepared to do some resto but not this summer. Cheers!

 

[laurentide]

I'd be all over the cheaper one with the Yamaha. If it's a fresh water boat I bet that engine has tons of life left. Don't be scared of bad wood, it's a pretty easy fix...just time consuming.

I can't find a 140 on NADA, but the 130 weighs 340ish #s, and the 150 weighs about 400 #'s with prop and gear oil. If that's the only weight on your transom, you should be fine. I have a much lighter 3 cylinder on my 18, as well as a 4 stroke kicker, and my total weight on the transom is about 320-340 #'s oiled and propped. No issues whatsoever for me. Putting batteries or fuel forward on the boat will help the ride immensely with a heavy block on the stern.

PS: Where are you located? West coast of Europe?

 

[Alumarine]

I'd be all over the cheaper one with the Yamaha. If it's a fresh water boat I bet that engine has tons of life left. Don't be scared of bad wood, it's a pretty easy fix...just time consuming.

Me too. 75hp doesn't sound like enough for an 18 footer.

 

[Captain StuStu]

I live in northern Europe. The boat has been used here way up in the Baltic sea where the water is brackish and very low in salt. Now I was all over it until I saw that the transom has been cut down to fit a short shaft engine. The guy thats selling it never mentioned that, but its quite clear from this pic.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7tsq5dzhx...83657.jpg?dl=0

Now I dont know what to think about it? Or do about it if I were to do a resto...

 

[laurentide]

It doesn't look cut down to me. Are you certain that's a short shaft? It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like a 20". The transom definitely looks original.

 

[Captain StuStu]

No Title

No I'm not certain but looking at these pics it sure looks lower but maybe it's just an optical illusion.

 

[jbcurt00]

The 2 pix of a white Johnson were for reference? Doesnt look cut down to me. Lower then the gunwale? Yep, but thats factory and the splashwell is in place, w drains to dump a little water, that might wash over the transom, out.

The dropbox pix is the boat you're considering?

It doesnt look cut down either. All 3 look like 20in transoms w long shaft OBs.

 

[Captain StuStu]

Yes Jb thats correct, the 2 Johnssons were for reference. I guess I was fooled by the angles, looking at pics when I should just go check the boat out. Was supposed to today but the owner cancelled, resceduled for friday. I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! Thanks guys.

Stu

 

[Captain StuStu]

Short update. The 140hp didn't happen. It could have but didn't. He even came down in price and it would have been a great project but not for me at this time in life. Lots of dents and loose looking rivets and I have no space to work on it etc. Gonna try to get the 75hp for a bit lower and there's also a '93 MR170 for sale now. No engine though but there's plenty of engines, very few Starcrafts. Don't really like the shape of the the 170 compared to the older 160's and 180's but gonna check it out anyway next week. Have a great weekend!

Stu

 

[GA_Boater]

It sounds like there are more Starcrafts in your locale than most places in Europe. Half the fun is looking at boats, Capt. SS. There are plenty of stinkers out there. Then when you find "The One", your heart beats faster and you begin to drool, while trying to look and sound disinterested.

I never got a "Buy the whole store and I'll throw in the boat" offer when looking.

Good luck in your search and hope to see your application to join the Starmada soon. Have fun looking and welcome to iboats.

 

[Captain StuStu]

Thanks GA!
Funny story... Well not funny at all but hear me out. I wish I hadn't written that short update before jumping into the car, with my soon to be admiral, and heading to our cottage. What I should've done, was look through the local ads just one more time. 'Cause at that very moment I was posting here someone posted an ad... Well halfway to the cottage I just had to check... against the wish of my soon to be admiral'... fair enough I was driving after all.

There it was the ad I'd been waiting for. A mr180 in decent looking condition for next to nothing, including trailer, literally on the way to our cottage....we could just pick it up on the way! I slammed the breaks staring at the phone reading the ad again just to be sure... No SHE wasn't happy at all, but i couldn't hear her, I had already dialed the number...

I was the umpteenth caller... not my lucky number it seems. He said he'd call if none of the umpteen callers before me wanted it. Ain't gonna happen. It could've been a sweet boat for this summer or a great boat for stripping this summer and resto next summer. I could have a resto waiting and still be looking for another boat for the summer.

I'm now thinking the 170 could be the boat for the summer - looks to be in pretty good shape - and that i should just wait for the right 180 to surface and restore it at the cottage next summer..at a snails pace. Little by little. We'll see what happens. Exciting times.

There does seem to be quite a few late 80's to early 90's mariners here but I've only seen one other StarCraft here and it was a 90's 19 foot hardtop. None of the older beauties.

It's time for another conjak, take care!
Stu

 

[jbcurt00]

FYI: If over there is anything like over here, you need to go ahead and buy the next 'close enough to what I want' boat.

It won't take a week for THE ONE* you'd been hoping to find, to pop up for sale.

And the further you drive to buy the close enough boat, the sooner (and closer) THE ONE will become available.

Good luck w/ your continued search

*(boat, although I hear Admirals can be similar :watermelon

 

[Captain StuStu]

I'm finally a Starcraft owner! I took your advise JB and this is what I got.


It's a '93 Mariner 170 with a '98 100hp Merc Elpto. Got it on friday and of course I have work this weekend so only had time for short spin but it definitely was nice. I'll have more time with it next weekend. I'll probably have a few questions later but I'll start a new thread for that.

I'll still keep my eyes open for a 180 score or anything else Starcraft that's up for sale locally. But this will be great boat for now!

Cheers!

 

[classiccat]

Welcome to the Starmada Cpt SS!! :welcome:

Looks like a sweet package from here! :thumb:

 

[jbcurt00]

Congrats, and welcome to the Tin-sanity