SternCraft info?

[satx78247]

Folks,

i'm brand new to the forum AND i just today bought a 1970 SternCraft open utility/bowrider, HIN: 007015037, on a really nice heavy-duty trailer, for cheap.
the hull is 17ft down the centerline with a beam of 80 inches & has nearly 31 inches of freeboard from the waterline to the gunnel. = looks like a great boat for fishing the bays & big lakes of TX & LA.

it has a 4-cylinder Mercruiser I/O set-up, that was said to be running fine when parked 26 months ago. - i think that it's a 140HP, GM-marineized industrial engine.

BUT after spending several hours researching the boat & the company, on several search engines, i've found little about the company (SternCraft was founded in 1965 & they were still in business in 1986 with an address in Lewisville, TX) & essentially nothing about the boat, either.

does anyone reading this post have any other information on the company OR brocures/catalogs/manuals that have information on the 1970 runabout?
also, does anyone know of an owner's club for this maker?

THANK YOU for reading this.

yours sincerely, satx

 

[NYBo]

Re: SternCraft info?

Welcome to iboats!

I can't help you with your questions, but I'm sure we'd all like to see some pictures of the boat. It sounds interesting!

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

NYBo,

as soon as i have the boat/trailer at my place, clean the accumulated junk out of it & "give it a bath", i'll do just that. = this is the BIGGEST 17footer that i've ever seen.
(among other things that are coming with it are four "still in the factory plastic" PFDs, some fishing tackle & i don't know what else. = for the princely sum of 250 bucks, i couldn't resist it.)

fwiw, i've messed around with various boats for over 50 years & i've not seen one like this rig.
(my first boat was a 1957 molded plywood 15' Yellowjacket w/35horse Evinrude, on a homebrew trailer.)

NOTE: next winter, i'll get around to sanding & repainting the hull a nicer color (probably red/white) than the muddy brown/white that it is now & doing some other chores like cleaning or replacing the carpet.- first thing up, this spring, is getting it running right & "getting on the fish".

yours, satx

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

to all,

this forum has a formerly active member called "Hooty", who according to a 2008 post used to work for SternCraft.
"Hooty" seems not to have posted since 2008 but if anyone knows this person, please tell him that i would like to interview him about the company & his experiences as an employee.

i would also like to hear from members, who may own or have owned a SternCraft.

thanks for reading this post.

yours, satx

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: SternCraft info?

to all,

this forum has a formerly active member called "Hooty", who according to a 2008 post used to work for SternCraft.
"Hooty" seems not to have posted since 2008 but if anyone knows this person, please tell him that i would like to interview him about the company & his experiences as an employee.

i would also like to hear from members, who may own or have owned a SternCraft.

thanks for reading this post.

yours, satx

If you send him a PM and he has his options set up the right way.....he will get an email that there is a PM

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

Bob_VT,

thank you.

yours, satx

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

Bob_VT; all,

i just tried again to send "Hooty" a PM & received a response from the forum that he has either:
1. chosen NOT to receive PMs
or
2. that he is not allowed to receive such messages.

yours, satx

 

[Texasmark]

Re: SternCraft info?

Sterncraft was mfg'd in Lewisville, TX. I have been to their facility. They were very popular in their day around here on Texas lakes. Some Texas lakes are 90,000 acres large and it seems Texas always has the wind blowing where there is water. Result seemly always large waves. Most of the boats you'd see of that badge were the larger 19' and up, had plenty of free board and deep V, both what you want on these large lakes. Texoma, on the TX., OK. border was a haven for the Dallas big $$$ folks and Sterncraft was right there.

If you have a 4 cyl and it is black it is either a 120 or 140 Mercruiser with a Chevy II block but that's about it. Most of the moving parts were marine grade made to run at full throttle for extended periods of time, unlike an automobile.

Wood was the material of choice in those days for supporting the glass hull so there is always some concern about hull integrity, i.e. rot. in stringers, deck, seats, and transom.

HTH,
Mark

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

Texasmark,

first, thanks for responding.

the SternCraft looks like a cross between a bassboat & a deckboat. - for its overall length, it is a BIG/deep/roomy/seaworthy hull.

from what i can tell, it is sound in floors, stringers & transom.- the boat has been seldom used for the last 6 years, as the PO purchased it for his family & discovered that neither his wife nor children enjoyed boating, so he covered the rig with a tarp & let it just "sitting". = he has used the boat 4 times in the last 4 years, for a total of about 8 hours. he said that he just wanted it "out of the way & gone".

the engine is a black 4-cylinder Mercruiser & outdrive, which the PO said was running fine when it was "parked in the back 40" . - is there an easy way to tell if it's a 120 or 140hp, so that i can order the proper engine service manual?
(i'm singularly unfamiliar with the 4 cylinder Mercruisers.- my sole experience with inboard boats is the old wooden ChrisCrafts with the 6cylinder Hercules engines.)

btw, i'm in San Antonio.

yours, satx

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: SternCraft info?

No need to order a manual http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=329915

And read the sticky posts http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21

90% of what you need to read is either contained here on iboats or we have a link to it........ the other 10% (actually MUCH HIGHER) will be provided by other iboats people.

That motor is a piece of cake to work on......... since you are in San Antonio I doubt it ever has been frozen to death (Cracked block due to winter) and parts for that motor are available EVERYWHERE

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

THANKS, Bob for your help.

UNFORTUNATELY the block IS cracked on the port side, between the freeze plugs. - the PO finally told me that it was NEVER winterized & YES we had some freezing nights last year.

nonetheless, i'm pleased with the rig, as i don't think that a good-running Mercruiser 4-banger will be hard to find for cheap IF Oscar Hernandez-Viera cannot weld the crack closed.- darn shame though, as it's the original engine.

yours, satx

 

[Texasmark]

Re: SternCraft info?

THANKS, Bob for your help.

UNFORTUNATELY the block IS cracked on the port side, between the freeze plugs. - the PO finally told me that it was NEVER winterized & YES we had some freezing nights last year.

nonetheless, i'm pleased with the rig, as i don't think that a good-running Mercruiser 4-banger will be hard to find for cheap IF Oscar Hernandez-Viera cannot weld the crack closed.- darn shame though, as it's the original engine.

yours, satx

I bought a semi submerged Starcraft I/O with an earlier model of the same engine, a 110. It too had a cracked block on the side opposite the manifolds just about mid way up-down,fore-aft. It was about 2" long. I cleaned the "wound", roughed it up as best I could and put on a generous amount of JB Weld, a 2 part epoxy with steel powder very popular (auto parts stores). Anyway I never had a minutes problem with it. Been awhile, but as I recall the 20 hp difference was made up with the carburetion. You could probably get the s/n and email it to MercCruiser and get your answer.

HTH,
Mark

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

TexMark,

THANKS for the information.

yours, satx

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

to ALL,

fyi, a friend from another boating forum, that i frequent, posted a page from the SternCraft factory catalog of 1970, which has a clear color picture of the boat.

it is called a BALBOA 17 & came with a 120HP Mercruiser standard, with 140 & 165HP GM engines optional.

yours, satx

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: SternCraft info?

Well, depending on your wallet......... since you have a cracked block......... and it came with optional motors.....

Look for a replacement 4 cylinder that will bolt up to your "older" mercruiser outdrive or

Look for a donor boat with a V-6 mercruiser and outdrive. You could do it w/o overpowering the hull.

 

[satx78247]

Re: SternCraft info?

Bob,

i've come to the same conclusion = a 165 would be correct for the boat.

yours, satx

 

[Militant Marine]

Re: SternCraft info?

Welcome Satx, I have a Sterncraft boat actually I have two of them they were manufactured in Commerce Oklahoma. The build date is 1960 but the boat is a 1963. I have a straight six 292 upgrade from a GM 250. I also upgraded the outdrive to an alpha one gen 2. I almost had the boat manually. I should have it shortly.

 

[Militant Marine]

Re: SternCraft info?

I bought a new trailer becausse the old one was an accident waiting to happen.