Starmageddon...

[Jeff.S]

Ahoy!

First time boat owner here. Picked up this 1970-ish (registration paperwork says '74, actual registration card says '72) StarCraft Jetstream awhile back on Craigslist. Boat appears to have been cobbled together by the previous owner and his buddy 'Weiser and maybe Cheech or Chong (not that there's anything wrong with that). Guess I'll give it whirl and try to straighten a few things out.



My first question is pertaining to the steering. Gone is the 'cable and pulley' and in it's place is a 'rack and pinion'. Two problems with this: the rack is too wide and awkward to fit under the dash well and secondly the cable is too short to be properly routed. So, is the cable end that goes through the pivot tube an industry standard thing? I'm looking to buy a second hand rotary unit with tilt wheel but I want to be sure that I won't have any issues with connecting it to the motor.






thanks for any and all help

-Jeff

 

[64osby]

The motor side is an industry standard outboard fit.

Cool hull, Mini Nova.

Un-doing wieser and/or cheech

Welcome to iboats.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to iboats Jeff, that's a little sweetie ya got there and she's in need of some love it looks.

The thing with those steering cables is they have to be almost the perfect length so make sure you double check measurements before popping for a new one. Os is right on too, the steering rod that goes into the tilt tube is a standardized size rod and nut. Be sure you clean the inside of that tube out really well before assembly.

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome, Jeff.

The rack and pinion is a perfect fit. I can tell by how it's angled for the cable to rub against the hull.

Do you have a steering link to tie the cable end to the motor?

 

[Jeff.S]

thanks for the welcomes and fast responses!

Do you have a steering link to tie the cable end to the motor?

Indeed it does GA Boater. It has a Johnson 50 powershift II along with the command center, I would wager a guess everything came from the same donor boat but have no idea what that was. It was all connected and semi-functional although I would never have trusted the set up.

 

[GA_Boater]

I would dump the rack and pinion steering for a couple of reasons. First it doesn't fit and second, you can pickup a rotary set up that fits for not too much plastic spendage.

http://www.iboats.com/Complete-Boat...5223419--session_id.588845218--view_id.246975

 

[Jeff.S]

I was actually considering this set up:

http://www.greenbayprop.com/content...boat_rotary_steering_cable_and_tilt_helm.html


Surprisingly, they couldn't tell me anything useful (aside from check out iboats) about how it pertains to my application. I like the idea of tilt wheel as I have seen others cut the dash tray on these boats to fit later steering. I wish to keep the original integrity of the tray and feel that tilt will ensure proper clearance.

 

[GA_Boater]

All you need is the angled bezel. 15 or 20 bucks to angle the wheel above the dash tray. No need for a more expensive tilt set-up. For about what he's asking for an unknown used unit, you can buy new with the angled bezel. Is the length of the cable right? You might still end up buying a cable.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

Based on the windshield I say it's a '72.

 

[Jeff.S]

All you need is the angled bezel. 15 or 20 bucks to angle the wheel above the dash tray. No need for a more expensive tilt set-up. For about what he's asking for an unknown used unit, you can buy new with the angled bezel. Is the length of the cable right? You might still end up buying a cable.

I actually have not measured for the cable. Now that you mention it, my whole boat is 15' so maybe that's too much cable...oops.

Based on the windshield I say it's a '72.

Good to know! I will try and correct everything when I register her this year.

Thanks!