Tin addiction 18' Starcraft Chieftain

[jvanhees]

:clap2::clap2::clap2: Wow buddy, you do great work. Looks amazing, and she is gonna rip!

 

[Watermann]

Great work on the short list, it's almost not a list now. If you keep going at this pace you will be able to take Friday and Saturday off, before the splash on Sunday, Oh ya what was I thinking, :facepalm: is a boat ever really finished

Thanks for checking in on my work Glen, I hope it meets with your standards although my detail work is going to be ongoing after the splash with some trim and things I find needing changed or modified after the splash/shakedown cruise.

:clap2: Wow buddy, you do great work. Looks amazing, and she is gonna rip!

​Thanks, I hope she rips and doesn't just wallow about like a garbage scow :heh:

 

[classiccat]

Thanks for buzzing mt dry dock guys, sometimes I wonder about the wisdom in moving this thread, I see way more activity in the boat resto forum, guys with 14' $100 glass tubs get 20+ replies a day when talking about ripping out their rotten floors. :lol:

I guess the quality of the SC/tin boat owners beats the quantity... or maybe it's my glasser destruction vid. :heh:

Yee-haw! Sounds great Agua!

Sorry for not droppin' by the hanger more often...but life has us on the ropes at the moment

Best of luck down the final stretch!!! :thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Thanks for stopping in BF, long time no see. Come back when you can stay longer

Well today was hot again, 105 degrees so I wasn't very ambitious. I did manage to knock a couple things off the list, did some viny work on the motor cover, got the side window installed although I'm not too happy with how tough the slider is to open and close. I also constructed the bimini and got some little odds and ends done.

Weather for Saturday shows mid 80's, a 20 degree drop will be more normal for here and feel like fall compared to the past few blistering days.

 

[jbcurt00]

^^^ Come on Sat......

 

[GA_Boater]

The way WM is crossing off the list, it sounds like it could happen almost any minute. He's flying!

 

[Watermann]

Ugg upholstery isn't my forte' at all, It's dragging me down to a slow low crawl. Waiting on my trusty side kick resto buddy to get back in town tomorrow to get this thing over the finish line. No way I'm going to even try to get that upper windshield on by myself. Although I did come up with a new way to fastening down the windshield without needing those pesky hard to find or fabricate windshield T-bolts.

 

[MNhunter1]

Ugg upholstery isn't my forte' at all, It's dragging me down to a slow low crawl. Waiting on my trusty side kick resto buddy to get back in town tomorrow to get this thing over the finish line. No way I'm going to even try to get that upper windshield on by myself. Although I did come up with a new way to fastening down the windshield without needing those pesky hard to find or fabricate windshield T-bolts.

Interested in your windshield fastening method. Still trying to figure out how to get my rubber seal and t-bolts out without destroying them.

 

[Gibbles]

Toilet hold down bolts need very little grinding to become a t bolt

 

[Watermann]

Just the mention of the word windshield right now has me wanting to take a hammer to it... :mad-new: Nothing wants to go back together the right way even with 20 pics of the thing being taken down start to finish. grrrrr 3 hours now and it's still 4 panes.

 

[GA_Boater]

I will not say **********,

It's transparent aperture closure. :smile: Give Murph a couple of beers, the cheap stuff so he gets a good hangover.

 

[laurentide]

That front lower windshield is a huge PITA. I know you're not going to go this route, but I gave up after several hours and just screwed the lower frame piece through to the wood support in a couple of spots, then made a silicone gasket all around. It's a total hack job and it shows, but it serves its function. I'd already cracked the plexi (and drilled the crack) at the top when bending it but wasn't going to spend another $100 to replace.

Like I said, your attention to detail will dictate a far more professional install than mine, but I feel your pain on this part.

EDIT: I just realized you're talking about the top WS. Strangely enough I had no problems with that. No idea how that happened. Good luck!

 

[jasoutside]

Just caught up on your video n' such....

Everything is looking and sounding awesome man, keep at it!! Almost there!!!:thumb:

 

[Watermann]

OK, our internet is back up after many hours since the wild fires here burned down the fiber optic lines. I'm ready for tomorrow's splash, check her out...

 

[MNhunter1]

Best of luck tomorrow. She's a beauty. Nice work WM!

 

[GA_Boater]

You better chain her down until tomorrow. She is rarin' to go and leap off the trailer. And looking great - A job well done, WM. :thumb:

 

[jbcurt00]

Excellent work! Enjoy the maiden voyage!

 

[jasoutside]

We going for a boat ride today????

SAAAAWWWWWEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!

Have fun man!!:becky:

 

[laurentide]

:clap2: Everything looks awesome! Hope the splash is 100% trouble free.

EDIT: Let me know how you like it without the side rails.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks for all the help and great advice over the past year guys, you're the best!

All I can say is WOW! This Chief is a pleasure to cruise in. So much power and I can't say enough about the Smart Tabs I got here from iboats. With the smart tabs, she's on a plane in a just few seconds at only 20 MPH, oh so stable and turns almost flat with no listing even in a hard turn. After remembering to trim the outdrive, I gained 5 MPH to cruise at 35 MPH while running 3200 RPMs, just over half throttle. At WOT, well it gets to full speed very quickly, pasting you back in the seat but only running around 47 MPH, it seems the prop is a bit too low in pitch for this light boat. Looks like I need to shop around for a nice 4 blade prop and research them a bit.

Here's a few on the water pics, I have some video to post up on YT. I really can't believe how quiet she is with the exhaust and the engine noise isn't noise but rather the sweet sound of raw power. I couldn't be happier with her.

The Columbia River reservoir behind Chief Joseph Dam (Rufus Woods Lake) was my choice for the splash. The next dam up is around 40 miles (Grand Coulee Dam). We cruised up about 12 miles to a camp ground that you can only get to by boat and then back.

It would have been a beautiful day if not for all the smoke in the air from our wild fires.

Chem with the 1" tube bimini acting as side rails I didn't feel exposed or that I could get dumped out of the boat. I will work on getting the vid up on YT for you guys.