1973 Starcraft Chieftain 18ft/OB

[Madison IV]

Here's another Chieftain. I've read though several of the restos done here, and will appreciate the help and feedback. Once completed she will be trailered around California, wont spend more than 7 days at a time in the water, and stored exposed outside. Use will be 60% fishing/40% cruising in some lakes, but mostly rivers and the delta, with the goal of someday making it to the bay and near shore on a good day. Picked her up in Palmdale Ca for cheap, in a sad sad state as expected. I'd like to say I "ripped" out the interior, but it was more like I "swept" everything that was made out of wood overboard. It was all rotten. A funky raised "custom" floor with 2x4s as support stringers instead of the aluminum did not conceal the belly tank I was hoping for. Hardware consists of the usual assortment of original solid rivits, cheap pop rivets, handful of steel screws, and even some brass. no kidding, that was an actual piece of the floor. I've started removing the exterior paint, and decided to go with 4" 3M Bristle Discs in 120 grit. I've been able to strip both sides in about 6 hours over the course of two days using 4 discs. They strip paint off quickly like a wire wheel, but does not damage or remove metal. Helpful getting around the rivets. I'd really like to have a bare aluminum hull (partly for aesthetics) but I'm a bit concerned with corrosion that's all over the hull. Nothing deep, no pin holes. First picture is a representative sample, the second is the worse it got. Pictures make it look worse, there's almost no texture to it after going over it with the bristle disc. I'm going to go over it again with sand paper, and am planning on a brushed finish. The corrosion is gone, but if the marks remain, is it more susceptible to further corrosion than if I massage it a blemish free finish?

 

[ezmobee]

Great hull! Following along with your project.

 

[laurentide]

The finish is all about your personal preference. I wanted zero maintenance so I stripped the paint and let it oxidize. I love the bare metal look, though. It's a great boat that you found:

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: aboard Madison,

Looking forward to seeing another old Chief hit the waves once again! Lots of potential right there even though when you found her she was a rotten heap. That's not corrosion your working on, that's dock rash and it's no biggie at all. Your on the right track sanding it out. You have the transom out yet?

 

[BajaRon]

No Title

Excellent! Where is this boat? My neighborhood? I am just about done with mine, I have the same boat, a 1970 Starchief...just a few more steps. No paint on the outside hull for me also.

Read all the info and past restorations on this site...

How to check for leaks

How to build a new transom

New floor

On and on and on...go slow on the rebuild, ask questions, lots of answers, great way to save money.

 

[Madison IV]

Dockrash, that'd explain it. She looked like she was tied to the whipping post, and beaten with an anchor chain. Thanks waterman. Transom is next, I'm looking to go fully non wood. This boat will be exposed to the weather, ridden hard, and put away wet. Besides cost, is there any reason not to go with coosa? Im looking at about $325 (vs $150 for good wood and resin) from a local source. I don't mind the extra cost for a permanent worry free fix. I've read through a lot of conflicting recommendations on how to use the stuff, and not a lot of it pertained to aluminum boats. Some layer it and encapsulate it with fiberglass, while the website recommends to use it exactly how the wood was used. My transom was bare wood, so technically I would just cut it to fit and install it bare. I'm thinking I might bond a sheet of aluminum on the forward facing side to help with fastener grip. Any other ideas or links to threads of people that have done it on a starcraft?

 

[laurentide]

oldhaven used coosa for all of his replacement pieces. Check out his thread, it's the same boat and he did a bang up job.

 

[Madison IV]

BajaRon: I'm just up the river, South of Sac.
Chemicalwire: thanks, ill read that thread. Googled coosa + transom, lost my mind.

 

[BWR1953]

All right! Another Chieftain thread! I'll be tagging along too. :eagerness: :joyous:

 

[oldhaven]

Just checked in. Nice price on the Coosa. I did not do as well, but I really like the end result. The bonus besides no rot is that it adds a lot more flotation than plywood. I did my pieces with epoxy resin sealer then painted. I used Epiphanes beads for non skid. It's all there in the thread. Link at the bottom of this post. Welcome to Chieftain tribe. They are great boats.

Ron

 

[Madison IV]

Oldhaven: I'm half way through your thread. Any issues with the coosa gripping the screw threads, particularly the lower inside series of screws attaching the splash well to the transom?

 

[Madison IV]

Got the cabin support structure out, no problem. Removed all that was attached to the out side of the transom, then worked my way around removing the huge splash well. The transom cap was bonded with silicone, so that got wrecked upon removal. Finesse is not my strong suit.Not a single aluminum or stainless piece of hardware either, shame. The transom had already been replaced before, and obviously did not do a very good job. With the splashwell and all other hardware removed, I gave the wood a tug and....... Nothing. PO bonded it to the aluminum skin with 5200. It gives slightly when I drive a chisel between the two, but it ain't gonna happen today. Need a bigger chiesel, or something else. Any one have a better idea before I persuade it out with more power? boat came with original American trailer, it's pretty rusty, but might be ok after a grinding session and some POR15. The rollers were falling apart, so the hull was sitting on the steel shafts, need to replace with new ones judging by the trailer, I doubt this boat ever saw fresh water.

 

[Watermann]

Why on earth would someone bond the transom wood to the skin with 5200 The only thing I can think of is that the inner skin was pitted up pretty bad so the goof did that 5200 bonding of the wood.

If there are no screws in the wood too then I would start prying the plywood apart at the layer in from the transom skin rather than prying against the AL skin. If that went sideways then I would start where the 2 sheets were bonded by the PO and get half of it out of the way at least.

 

[laurentide]

I'd put one of these on an angle grinder and go at it. Just be very careful to not cut into the aluminum transom skin. When you get most of it removed a much less aggressive SS wire wheel might work?

 

[oldhaven]

Oldhaven: I'm half way through your thread. Any issues with the coosa gripping the screw threads, particularly the lower inside series of screws attaching the splash well to the transom?

I used the highest density Coosa board (26) for the transom. This will hold those #10 fasteners very well, though I am not sure it would be in the same league as oak or dense marine plywood for pull out. I had put a couple of coats of West Epoxy on the outside surfaces, and this provided some extra strength. I debated coating the screws with epoxy before I put them in, but in the end decided that I was needlessly causing removal problems for myself or someone else in the future. There are about million of them anyway. When I think of how rotten the transom was and still the screws were holding, I think the no rot transom will be a better deal.

Speaking of removal problems, I wonder about guys who use 5200 for everything when there is no need for an adhesive and a sealant will do. I was one of them about 25 years ago when I rebuilt the Fleetcraft I have. I am redoing it now and during the teardown I was cursing the current owner (CO), for using 5200 when I was trying to get some of the valuable mahogany parts to separate from the hull. Anyway, I ground the tip of an old 12" long thin bladed bread knife to a rounded surface and put a cutting edge on it. It had a tang that went all the way through the handle. I then used a mallet to drive it into the joints, and that cut the (very) tough 5200. It was then a matter of applying wedges to cut areas and continuing the attack on the 5200 an inch at a time as it pried free, all the while trying not to split the mahogany.

You should have an easier time since you are not trying to save the plywood and you can probably use a heavier chisel to cut the bond. Chem has a good plan with the chainsaw wheel, but be careful! if it grabs it's either you or the transom skin that might be in the way. I might use a small skillsaw with the blade set to about 1/4" less than the transom thickness and cut it from the inside into manageable sections and work on them one at a time with a chisel.

Ron

 

[Madison IV]

I want that tool! Luckily I didn't have to resort to such measures, and got the transom out this morning with pretty much the same process oldhaven explained. When I drove a cold chisel in between the aluminum and wood, you can hear the eerie continuous snapping as the bond is giving up. So I ended up using a flat stock piece of aluminum ground down to a chisel point and long enough to drive the whole depth of the transom. Driving chisels, prybars and my custom made "Bonded Transom Release Tool" down around between the aluminum and wood with my BFH, I successfully got it out with surprising no damage in just a few hours. to physically remove it by myself, I used a wrecking bar to lift it out of the lower tray, high enough to get my hands around it to lift it out as far as screws holding in the coosa, i agree. There are ALOT of them holding the splashwell in, and they were still there in a rotten transom. Ill just go slow, and do my best to not strip them as I install them. Boat is going back to storage, ill be working on the cabin structure, splashwell and ordering up some coosa to do the transom. What's everyone's opinon on the most durable (scratch/impact/bomb proof) paint? I usually cheap out with rustoleum, as i have no issues with it. This boat will be abused, and there won't be much paint on it, so cost is not as much a concern. I was thinking wetlander for the bottom, and POR 15 for the top and deck.

 

[laurentide]

Sweet, nice job getting that out of there.

The only advice I can offer on POR 15 is that it's not UV resistant, so you'd need a top coat of something else on there. So it may not be the most economical choice for paint? I dunno, I've only used it on underbody parts here in the salt belt.

 

[laurentide]

PS: have you acquainted yourself with the "hull stiffener" option? It's a hotly debated topic here on the SC forum :lol:. I didn't do it to mine, but many people here have.

 

[ezmobee]

I've heard POR15 isn't nearly as good as it used to be. I'd just got with Rusto with the hardener Woodonglass recommends.

 

[laurentide]

I've heard POR15 isn't nearly as good as it used to be. I'd just got with Rusto with the hardener Woodonglass recommends.

x2. It holds up really well.