Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

[shikard]

After gaining so much info from these forums I figured I'd start my own resto thread for a 1978 21' starcraft mariner CC I picked up just over a week ago. I'm just finishing up replacing the stringers in my 1980 Mastercraft so I have tried to keep myself from getting to involved in this boat until I finish the ski boat this week. But with that said I couldn't help doing a little while waiting for the epoxy to cure. Here's a few pics to start out with...

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...)

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...)

So the first pics were what the boat looked like when I got it. From a distance it didn't look that bad, but when you got closer to it you started to realize that the paint job was really poor, the strips were painted by hand with no masking. there were several areas on the hull sides and bottom where there was silicone that had been painted over. We did a good job of trying to figure out if there were any major cracks or weaknesses in the hull before buying it. It didn't appear to us that there were any major concerns. But considering I like to go several miles off shore in Lake Michigan I wanted to make sure and find out why were all of those areas of silicone there.

I had a very tight budget and was looking for a boat that came with a lot of the necessities (down riggers, kicker motor) but didn't require a major overhaul to be usable...I want to enjoy the summer fishing, not working. I want it to be usable right away and I'll restore it this winter.

The paint job had to go though...I was pretty sure there were at least 5 coats of paint on it, and I can't show up to the dock with a boat that has a hull with several non-matching patch areas of paint...So I decided I'd strip it and decide what to do next once I saw the condition of the hull...

So first I used paint stripper around the areas that had silicone just to see why it was there...

You can see in the middle of the hull where I did this...turns out that there were cracks in the multiple layers of paint and the PO thought that it was a good idea to seal the cracks in the paint with silicone and then spray a slightly different shade of paint over it...

I decided to brush paint stripper over the whole hull and head down to the car wash to remove it...Well $25 bucks later I got the first three layers of paint removed and it looked like this...
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-30-10224.jpg
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-30-10226.jpg
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-30-10231.jpg
You can see what some of the areas of silicone look like in the above pic...

Well I figured that I would go broke doing this at the car wash for the rest, so I borrowed my dads power washer and repeated the process...the next coat was really thick and hard, almost brittle, and didn't soften up as quickly as the other paint did. It took two more cycles of applying stripper and power washing to get the heavy white coat off and then the original factory coat off. What was left was a slightly green hazy coat which I'm assuming was primer...

My son wanted to help / play...
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard
/5-30-10370.jpg
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-30-10371.jpg

I noticed that when I was pressure washing there were some small areas of primer that were washing away but most of it would resist the spray of the pressure washer but would come off if rubbed with the tip of the pressure washer. The paint stripper seemed to soften it some but not enough to spray off.

So I tried rubbing it off with a scotch brite pad after putting stripper on it and it can off quite easily...
http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-30-10368.jpg
I would have my son was it off as I went to keep it from drying on the boat again...I was really happy with what I uncovered under all that paint...

You can see how good of shape the hull was even where all those silicone patches in the paint were...

The whole thing took about 8 hours...I learned that you don't have to do much work at all if you let the stripper do the work for you. I could probably do it again in 5.

I liked the look so much that I decided I would do the top as well, so I started that process. I'll finish after getting the floor laid in the Mastercraft...

http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a480/shikard/5-20-10154.jpg

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...)

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...)

anyone know why some of my pics showed up as links and some showed up as pics in the thread as I expected??? It's my first day with photobucket!

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Welcome to the club...repeat 'club' lol
Sweet looking fishing machine for sure, nice work on the strip job, kudos to your helper as well!

I don't use photobucket myself, but there is a way to size them all to the preferred forum size of 640 x 480...sure those more familiar will help soon.

What are your plans with this beaut? As to fixing/painting etc.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Hey man, sweet project you have there! And, another MI guy, cool!!!

Looking forward to your progress and big ol welcome!!

Where abouts are ya from anyway?

Cheers!

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I grew up in an aluminum tool and die shop so I have a love affair with aluminum. I really want to see this baby shine! I will polish the sides this year and see how well they hold up...I plan on trying the Rolite products and seeing how well they work, I might also try the shark hide sealer if need be. I'm thinking of a deep blue for the bottom paint...

I have to address the interior this coming week. The PO states the floor was new...what he didn't state was that is was a new piece of 1/2 inch placed over the soft deteriorated old floor. Part of me wants to wait until winter and tear it all out and do in right, but part of me just wants to fish this summer...I think I might water test it at my parents cottage on an inland lake and see how bad she leaks...I'll let her sit overnight in the water and see what accumulates.

I boat has three bilge pumps in it and I'm wondering why...It's one thing to swim home from a 1/2 mile out...7 miles out is a whole new story...

I'd like to get rid of the carpet and put in a clean no-slip floor that's easy to clean. Salmon fishing can get bloody at times and it's so hard to get that smell out of carpet...You got any ideas?

Other than the floor I'd like to rip out that ugly huge rear facing sofa, add a t-top, and put in wrap around seating in the bow that has a slide in insert so it can be used as a casting deck as well. Then there's electronics, ect...The real question is how much will my wife let me spend?

Pete

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I'm in Michigan's Great Southwest...St. Joe area...

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Here's what the floor looks like now....

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

IMO...If it's safe, go ahead and fix her enough to use now, plenty of time later...but, don't chance anything, endangering you, your riders/family or other boats is not worth a few fishing trips...just saying

As to your flooring, can't help much, I like the fishy carpet smell and stains...keeps all those who want to ski,wake-board etc from interrupting my worm drowning excursions, lol

Those deck boards do need some help, but I wouldn't throw them away until new ones are in, they'll help{somewhat} in measuring which can be a pain in the you know where without them.

Maybe us Michigan guys should meet up at your parents cottage in case you need help...we'll bring boats booze etc just in case

 

[bananaboater]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Welcome. You're making great progress.

Regarding the decking you face, it looks to me like even the older stuff is not original by the rough saw cuts around the ribs but I could be wrong. When you get to that point you still want to keep the older stuff for patterns (as mentioned) and use them as a start and fine tune as you re fit.

The PBO did you a favor by not gluing the carpet down. Some glue is really hard to deal with.

Keep us up to date.

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Thanks guys...one of the concerns that I had was if the old floor was also a replacement and was it pressure treat. If so, how long does it take pressure treat to start to corrode the aluminum? This is one more reason why I think I might take a peak underneath a small section in the back...It would also allow me to check out the bilge pump situation...

 

[sprintst]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Make sure you post the brand of that paint stripper as you did a great job there.

You have a great boat.. In the end you may end up ripping out the decking to undo what some others have done. I'd take a peak under there if you're thing of keeping it for the duration. You've got a great hull there so you may want to protect it from any corrosion.

Keep it covered and dry and you can probably get away with a summers worth of fishing but I like the peace of mind of tearing it out and redoing it.

If you've got three bilge pumps then you probably have some leaking rivets. The only way to get at them and rebuck them or coat the rivets and seams in Gluvit from the interior is to rip it all out. It's not that bad really. Just hoping you don't have pour in foam as that takes a bit of time to pry out. If you have regular styrofoam under there redo it in the pink or blue sheets and you'll be back out there in no time.

You're little guy is going to have a blast on that boat.

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I actually tried three different types of paint stripper and I did not notice any difference between them. I used zip strip (the water cleanup version), ace brand contractor grade water clean up, and pint off. Our marine supplier here had cans of pint off for $.99 since they were old. I ended up using more of that than the others since they performed equally and the price was right...

I am really hoping that I don't have to remove pour in foam...that's the other reason I want to take a peak and see if there is waterlogged foam under there...

 

[sprintst]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

The decking is really not that that bad a job but it means that you won't get much fishing done this summer.

Take the little guy out a couple times after you test it first then dig into it if you get the hankering. It looks dry from the top but that is can be deceiving.

If it went this long with that deck and has been covered you might be able to fish the rest of this season with it and leave all the craziness till the fall.

Just took another look and it might not be pressure treated unless it's weathered. Usually that stuff has a different color to it.

 

[BaDucK]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I am really hoping that I don't have to remove pour in foam...that's the other reason I want to take a peak and see if there is waterlogged foam under there...

thats what i ran into on my 16 footer.....im still only 2/3 of the way done....that crap really took the steam out of my sails with the project...

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I'm in Michigan's Great Southwest...St. Joe area...

Another one lost to the "cult". Thanks for this important info. The intervention team are presently closing in on your location.
BTW, nice job on the clean-up.

 

[Broadcast]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Clean up looking schweet! I love a nice CC. Looking forward to following your progress!

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Another one lost to the "cult". Thanks for this important info. The intervention team are presently closing in on your location.
BTW, nice job on the clean-up.

LOL, Can't intervene with-out knowledge of the secret handshake pass-word combination...last member to reveal the code was banished to the 'fiberglass grinding dust skivvies only environmental clean-up team'

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

I'm hoping that once my resto passes inspection by the club members I will be given the secret password and shown the secret handshake I couldn't help myself yesterday and had to put a little polish on it so see how well it shines up. I've decided that polishing the whole boat might be a little overkill since it shows every little imperfection in the hull. So I think I'll do a combination of paint and polished aluminum. I'll be on vacation this week starting wednesday so probably won't get started on that til next week.

 

[shikard]

Re: Time to join the starcraft resto club (cult...) 1978 21' cc restore

Quick question: My outboard leaks water at the seam where the lower unit bolts up just above the cavitation plate...It actually squirts water out or there and doesn't have anything comming out the pee hole...Is this a major concern or do I just need to replace the hose and seal on the inside. I've never had the lover unit off of an outboard, but I have on an IO...any thoughts??