The well traveled 1979 Starcraft 18' V5 SS

[dozerII]

The TOP looks brand new, really great job.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Yeah the old Merc looks sharp! The swoosh with the V5 look sweet too.:encouragement:

 

[budski]

Boat and motor decals look great, very nice Rob

 

[BWR1953]

Very nice indeed! :thumb:

 

[classiccat]

Top notch Agua! Good luck on the hunt!

 

[Patfromny]

Great job, love the v5 decals. You're on your way. Just in time for elk season...lol

 

[Decker83]

Hope the hunt goes as great as the decals look..eace:

 

[Watermann]

Thanks for taking a look and the words of encouragement fellas.

I'm really struggling for time to do what I want on the SS, needing to get the bottom decking down but I'm still trying to decide on whether or not to lay the vinyl in one run or wrap individual boards. One run and I have to countersink the rivet heads and then fill in over the top with something that won't let go down the road sometime at least the ones in the center that will get tromped on. I don't think the rivet heads at the rib ends will matter so much.

 

[BMerr509]

Rob i was contemplating the same thing when i thought i was going to go the vinyl route. There's guys here who have laid the vinyl first then riveted without issue i guess. The vinyl on the underside would give the sides/underside of the wood more water protection. Tough choice.

 

[Watermann]

The deck is 68" wide and vinyl on the roll is 72" so one run and done with some side trimming up the V. You have to rivet the deck down first and counter sink rivet heads so they aren't lumps and then use something to fill up level over the rivet head. Wrapping requires lots of stapling, cutting and way more material but if you have to go below deck all you do is drill out rivets. One run not so much you're going to have a huge problem on your hands but there's no seams and it's easier to lay one run. I've put in deck plates over the fittings on the tank and it's brand new so I can't see a reason to need all the way under there.

 

[hayko1971]

Everything is looking absolutely fantastic Rob!

 

[jbcurt00]

Great looking progress

Have a fun, safe and successful hunting trip.

 

[Watermann]

Back from the woods, had fun but not very productive this year for the Elk. It was nice to get away and enjoy nature and the views.

I have a acquired a used PT130 complete with the clamp on adapter which the old 1979 Merc 140 TOP needs, thanks to another forum member it was a heck of a deal.

The 140 TOP weighs in at 290 Lbs and at that year I understand was rated for HP at the flywheel. Not sure what that HP loss would translate to in a newer prop rated motor and of course the age factor also lower the HP some. I would have to guess at that, maybe the same HP at the prop at a new 115 HP motor? The new 4 and 2 stroke 115 HP motors are 70 Lbs heavier at 360 Lbs so I know that won't be an issue. According to CMC the PT130 hydraulic actuator is rated for 7853 Lbs of thrust.

The reason for the PT130 is that I would have to rebuild the rams on the old system and the kits are $68. for each ram. The next issue is the lines that are deteriorating and they are 50 to 60 bucks each and there's 4 of them. I got the PT130 for about the cost of the 2 rebuild kits... Another plus is I have NO holes in the transom right now and can drill BIA standard hole pattern for the CMC unit whereas the old TOP is not a BIA standard.

Do you guys think like I do and believe the PT130 will be up to the job of hanging onto the TOP?

I did send CMC an email and they responded like any company would when asking about using a motor that is 10 HP rated more than they're product calls for. "we recommend you not use the PT130".

Here's a pic of the scenery from my week long hunt. No animals were harmed during this time. :grumpy:

 

[StarTed]

I don't know anything about your boat concerns but that view is worth the week.

My turn is coming up. Hunting the Blues.

By the way, good job on your boat and motor.

 

[Patfromny]

It'll work at least once WM. Lol. That was the line my buddy used when customers would ask if the race engine they just had built would rev to whatever...let's say 6500. My buddy would say it will definitely go to 6500 once.

I think it's worth a shot. It would stink if it didn't work though because you would have to drill new holes in the transom and buy all the rebuild kits to boot. Good luck. I think a 10 horse difference is ok. Especially with the flywheel rated motor. I would think you'd lose 5 percent at the prop but I'm really just guessing. I doubt that thing is putting out 115 at the prop, unless your down a cylinder.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah I'm guessing when I say the motor is probably running around the 130 HP mark at the prop, I was using a new 115 comparison more for the weight. The CMC units are seriously over built too, 1/2" extruded AL and 9/16" dia SS hinge bolts that's way stronger than the cast mounts on the motor.

 

[GA_Boater]

You have to remember that CMC uses horsepower, not motor weight for the max limit. Not all 135 HP motors have the same weight, so it has to be overbuilt for the heavier ones.

 

[DLNorth]

If you are really interested in the power/history of your Merc, do a google for TOP history or similar. I was looking at one recently and found several places (mainly Merc racing sites) that had very good responses/history of the development of the TOP Mercs. They had numerous changes over the years, some not obvious. IIRC the ranking of the models was the mid high HP 1st and the late 115 second with the others following up. (again IIRC the 135/140 was derated to the 115 BUT there were also some changes so it's not a "pure" numbers game derate.)

Dan

 

[Watermann]

Decking is in along with nearly 100 LF rivets

I'm doing the one run of vinyl so the heads of the LF rivets were countersunk and every one of them sealed with 5200. I feel sorry for the young buck in 40 years that decides to pull up the deck on some forum. :lol: Once the 5200 cures, I'll need to have a plan for filling in the countersunk holes to make them level.

Covered the deck access holes with their plates so I could lay out the vinyl to walk around cutting to fit without stepping in a hole. The end and back corners as you might notice are painted. Reason being is that's where batteries are going to be located so each piece has spar, primer and 2 coats of tractor paint protecting them just in case something goes wrong. Here's a shot of where I'm at at the moment. I always see the decking going in as a milestone where things progress more rapidly afterward.

 

[GA_Boater]

Looks good, WM. Can't even tell the fuel tank caused you grief.

Only 40 years? LOL