The well traveled 1979 Starcraft 18' V5 SS

[Watermann]

I think these boats were so mass produced back in the day that there was bound to be some issues in the quality control realm. From what I understand these boats came fully assembled from the factory with sometimes the exception being installed power be it either IO or OB and the dealers then added the power requested by the buyer.

None the less any and every small imperfection is easily repaired, it's just the shock of finding something that could've been so easily done right the first time.

 

[GA_Boater]

Outboards were setup by the dealer. I/O's came with either Mercruiser, OMC or in I/O blank(some model years) configurations.

Quality shows in things like rivets set on top of one another and spacing is iffy some times.

 

[skyfisher]

Wow it is great that you spent the time to insert your pictures back in. It was such a shame what photobucket did causing issues for so many users paying or not it was a bad move, **** off of any type of customers is the best way to kill a business do it to thousands it guarantees the end. Thanks again for doing this so many users pickup great ideas from those that came before, the best way of showing flattery is using knowledge that some one shared first.

 

[Dabbler_E]

I just want to second the appreciation for all the work you put in to restore the pics on your thread. This is a huge trove of knowledge and inspiration.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks fellas, it's time consuming but well worth the effort. :yo:

I'm well along in my main Chief thread too, doing a little every day adds up in resto pic restoration.

 

[MD28]

Thanks also for the rivets sticky! Good info.

 

[Watermann]

Went to do some walleye fishing on 35 mile long Banks lake this morning. Fishing this trip was worse than slow but it was nice out, water was like a mill pond smooth with hardly a breath of wind. Then my buddy says hey look down lake there's some wind moving this way. You could see the line across the lake of differnet colored water heading towards us. Then he says to me "oh man I can see white caps coming with it". When it hit it was instant white caps and rapidly worsened to 3 - 4 foot rollers with the wind blowing the tops of the caps. The SS got us back in to the dock not only safe and sound but dry.

Pics never seem to do it justice like when you're out on the waves living it. Here's when it started and went from a mill pond to 2' caps in 10 seconds. The only way to get back in was across over a mile of open water sideways to the wind no less but I was able to do some quartering with the bow into the big ones.

On the way in to the dock. Yeah she got her rough water sea trial in today and passed with flying colors. I was putting on my popper life vest and hooking up the motor kill lanyard to the D ring when my buddy said "jeez dude don't scare me" I said hey there's your vest on the back of your seat but he still didn't put it on...

 

[jbcurt00]

Nice rough water trail.

You can lead them, but they dont always follow.

Safety 1st

 

[PikeHunter431]

Putting the vest on in rough water is smart. Having one and not putting it on would scare me. Pics never seem to convey these types of situations. There is nothing like getting caught on the water when it turns rough fast and a long lake can do that quickly. Glad the SS and captain both both perform so well.

 

[nrf414]

Wow man. Glad u guys are ok! You're right pics never give you the same feeling as living it. Better luck fishing next time!

 

[Watermann]

Just so guys who go out with me would be more apt to wear flotation I sprung for those expensive self inflating popper vests that are NEVER stored, they are attached to the backs of the helm chairs so they're never out of sight and out of mind. See the orange on the vests, that's a flat lightweight plastic whistle secured with it's lanyard to the vest. You can't yell very long or loudly in the water with just your head above but you sure can make a lot of noise with a whistle.

These Onyx vests are great and well worth the money, how much is your life worth? I see guys buy 12 dollar garbage PFDs and then stuff them in a hold without ever wearing or rotating them out for new after years of neglect.

You should always have some extra refills on hand too just in case you use them. The pic below is a link to these vests.

 

[PikeHunter431]

When discussing phase 3, the admiral and I were just talking about the need to have flotation out and accessible, not in storage under the bow. Attaching to the seat like that is a great idea, as well as the whistle attached. Thanks for the link. I can see an iboats order shortly.

 

[Watermann]

Man what a scorcher it was today, not even a breeze after being blown off the lake 2 days ago. We got another livewell full of fine eating eyes in the SS. Everything worked as it should once again ever the old Merc purred like a kitten.

 

[Pusher]

Thought I might be oe of the only wierdos carrying onboard.

Nice walleye! It's always good to get back on the water after a nasty weather day.

 

[Watermann]

Thought I might be oe of the only wierdos carrying onboard.

Nice walleye! It's always good to get back on the water after a nasty weather day.

I don't see many if any guys at the launch who carry. To keep my P320 45 carry model where it should be when on a boat, I use one of these lanyards. A very good idea for boaters who carry.

https://www.amazon.com/BLACKHAWK-Sty...khawk+lanyards

 

[Pusher]

I like that. And the Velcro wraps around the grip?

 

[Watermann]

I like that. And the Velcro wraps around the grip?

The velcro wraps around your belt, the pistol end has a loop that goes through the lanyard hole in the grip. I don't like the models with the metal clip on the end that attaches to the grip.

 

[Pusher]

That's a nice feature on the Sig. My little Colt Mustang is short in that department. I might have to look for some of those plates you referenced.

The Remora sticky hoster just isn't quite right on a boat.

 

[Tnstratofam]

I like that setup Watermann, but my Kahr doesn't have a lanyard loop either. I use a sticky holster for my EDC and it works fine when I'm boating. However I also have a backpack on board that I keep my Kahr in when the need arises.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah the 320's lanyard hole is a nice addition that my P220 doesn't have.