I have returned... with a Starcraft this time!

[Watermann]

Thanks for the update, some nice looking work you got done. :thumb:

The motor bolting on the transom, I don't know exactly why but 2 on top and 2 on bottom are reversed ie: top bolts have nuts on inside and bottom has nuts on outside on all my boats. Maybe it doesn't even matter but thought I'd mention it.

 

[BWR1953]

Thanks for the update, some nice looking work you got done. :thumb:

The motor bolting on the transom, I don't know exactly why but 2 on top and 2 on bottom are reversed ie: top bolts have nuts on inside and bottom has nuts on outside on all my boats. Maybe it doesn't even matter but thought I'd mention it.

Hmmm... interesting. I'd not considered bolt direction. I just did a quick look online and the results were mixed. Some all in, others all out and others in combination. :noidea:

The bolts I've already installed are gonna stay there since they're sealed in nice and tight with 3M 5200!

One caveat though. The motor isn't fully mounted yet. I still have two more bolts which will need to be installed. And I'll have to create custom mounting brackets for those. I haven't decided whether I'll use plywood (ugh) or get an aluminum bracket fabricated (expensive - ugh :lol: ).


The red circle shows the hole for the missing bolt. The bracket at that location bumps up against nothing but the hull sheet metal. It'll need bracing inside.



The yellow circle shows the area where the missing bolt will come through. Whether I use plywood or aluminum, I'll tie the bracket to the knee brace as well. That will provide strength to the bracket and keep it from flexing inward under load.

 

[Pcolafisher]

Just requesting permission to come aboard! I just finished reading your journey. I bought a 22’ Islander as a project boat before I retired. With health issues and other projects I still haven’t started. I still have a she shed, new front porch and railing (wiped out the old one breaking my back in Sept 18), and finish the master bath renovation. I look forward to seeing your splash this spring.
Cheers!

 

[BWR1953]

Hi all!

Just wanted to give a quick update. The KF is very nearly ready to re-splash. :joyous:

The motor is installed and working, the trolling motor is mounted and wired. Technically, I could float the boat now but I want to get everything done as much as possible before the splash so that I don't have to work on it again afterwards. I just wanna go fishing and not hassle with the KF anymore. :fish2:

I got as much done as I could but kept running into electrical issues. I can troubleshoot and repair but I absolutely hate that stuff.

So I called for backup! My friend of 40 years (USAF buddy) came down from the Seattle area and stayed with us for two weeks! He got the trim pump issue fixed and the Mercury tilts and trims like it's supposed to. Finally. :lol:

Unfortunately, we'd not seen each other in 13 years and spent a ton of time just sitting around yakking and getting caught up on our lives. As a result, we didn't get the splash done before he had to return to Washington. Got the motor working the evening before he departed. But not early enough to splash in daylight and the lights weren't wired up yet. :blue:

 

[Watermann]

Alright we'll be looking forward to some splash again vid/pics on the shakedown cruise! :thumb:

 

[BWR1953]

Alright we'll be looking forward to some splash again vid/pics on the shakedown cruise! :thumb:

Yup, I'll be getting those when the time comes.

Even though I didn't take a lot of pix while my buddy was here, I did get a few. Hopefully, they'll "tide" y'all over. :lol:

January 2020

We had to overcome a lot of "crud" in the pump/switch/wiring. What looks like sand in the works is actually salt. One tech told me that a lot of my stuff looked like it had "gone swimming" in saltwater somewhere.

I actually ended up scavenging a different pump (from the Chieftain) to use on the KF.



This is the original throttle handle from the donor boat. It too, is full of salt. Explains why the entire donor motor has that "sand" everywhere. I'm glad that I cleaned it up.

 

[BWR1953]

February 2020


My friend in his element. Chasing wires! :joyous:

 

[BWR1953]

February 2020 - part 2.

My neighbor bud got the hitch mounted on my Sportage, so it's ready to go when the KF is finished.

 

[BWR1953]

March 2020


The old trolling motor battery sides were swollen, indicating big problems.



So I bought a new one a couple days ago!

 

[Watermann]

Ahh yeah the ups and downs and work arounds of boat work :lol:

One thing to remember when working with those T nuts is always put the screws for them back in the hole just in case. :facepalm:

 

[classiccat]

That's alot of progress! :thumb:

It's really cool seeing your buddies pitchin' in!

do you think those t-nuts are laying on top of the foam blocks? You may be able to orient them enough, push down into the foam a bit and get a few threads going.

 

[Monmouth00]

Woohooo!!

Glad that #1 you're feeling better and #2 that you're back and almost ready to splash.

Funny enough, I came to look over my Kingfisher build after being away from the forum for a while. I came to reminisce, as I'll be selling my build soon. It was a great project, but the 16' boat with a 5' beam is getting really tight for our 4 person family with rapidly growing children!

Good luck with you splash!! Thanks so much for all your help and encouragement while I rebuilt my own Kingfisher. It's appreciated more than you know!!

Be well!

 

[BWR1953]

Ahh yeah the ups and downs and work arounds of boat work :lol:

One thing to remember when working with those T nuts is always put the screws for them back in the hole just in case. :facepalm:

Yeah... good ol' 20/20 hindsight. layful: At the time of installation, I was moving along quickly, was too preoccupied and didn't take enough precautions. Paying for that now.

Looking back, I should have gone with my original idea, which was to "sandwich" the seat mounting T-nuts between the bottom of the deck and the top of the below-deck brace.

Here's a pic of one set of the below-deck braces (after OTF but before paint and epoxy) as installed. It would have been easy enough to use a Forstner bit to counterbore an offset for T-nuts and THEN epoxy them into place! Ah, well. :blue:

 

[BWR1953]

That's alot of progress! :thumb:

It's really cool seeing your buddies pitchin' in!

do you think those t-nuts are laying on top of the foam blocks? You may be able to orient them enough, push down into the foam a bit and get a few threads going.

Thanks! It's been a looooooong time, but we're getting very close now.

I'll grab a bore light and see if I can see anything down through the seat mounting holes that I might be able to line up. Thanks for the tip! :eagerness:

 

[BWR1953]

Woohooo!!

Glad that #1 you're feeling better and #2 that you're back and almost ready to splash.

Funny enough, I came to look over my Kingfisher build after being away from the forum for a while. I came to reminisce, as I'll be selling my build soon. It was a great project, but the 16' boat with a 5' beam is getting really tight for our 4 person family with rapidly growing children!

Good luck with you splash!! Thanks so much for all your help and encouragement while I rebuilt my own Kingfisher. It's appreciated more than you know!!

Be well!

Thank you so very much for the kind words! I'm just glad that I could help, even if only a little.

I understand completely about the pressure to sell. I was (and still am) under a TON of pressure from my wife and the boy to "just sell it already!" (Gotta say that very quickly out loud in a Filipino accent. :lol: ) What happens to our KF in the future, I just don't know. The one thing that I DO know is that I don't want to be without a boat for a long time ever again!

 

[BWR1953]

Some more pix.

I had to hog out part of the throttle handle to allow the new switch to fit. But it's in there! And I'd misplaced those mounting screws but lucked out and found them a couple days ago.



I really don't like the TM battery in front of the console due to its 62 pound weight on the same side of the boat as my big carcass! After the shakedown cruise I'll have a better idea on if I want to move it or not. We're really limited on space in this little boat.


Shot the second coat onto the cowling parts this afternoon. If they dry "good enough" then they'l be good enough! :glee:


Received the new engine decals today. :joyous:


And the Capacity Plate decal as well!

 

[BWR1953]

Maybe I don't suck at painting as much as I thought. Third coat of Phantom Black dried nicely.

 

[jbcurt00]

Looking great BWR

 

[classiccat]

Third time's a charm there BWR! Those decals area really going to pop off of that sliiiiick black paint! :thumb:

 

[Watermann]

Maybe I don't suck at painting as much as I thought. Third coat of Phantom Black dried nicely.

]

I dunno man, paint looks a bit 'cloudy' to me. :lol: