14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

[sgebbie]

Hey all! I'm pretty new around here and just recently purchased a 14' Starcraft Falcon to restore. I got the boat, trailer, and a 7.5 hp Evinrude Fleetwin motor for $500. Seemed like a good deal and should give me something to do and learn over the winter.

I'm very new to boats and everything boat related. I'm very excited about the restore, but may take quite awhile compared to some others I've seen around here! I'm hoping for next summer but realistically could be a bit longer depending how far money, knowledge and time goes. I definitely want to make sure I do this the right way and have a nicely restored classic when it's all finished.

Any help or suggestions anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated. I've been scouring the forums and found quite a bit of helpful information already, including a restore thread of CBGale2's 14' Falcon.

Here are some pictures of the boat! I will update the thread with more pictures regularly as I work on it!

 

[oops!]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

hi.....welcome to iboats.

the rig actually looks pretty solid....how is the deck?

there are tons of starcraft projects on the forum....so there is lots to learn from.
check out the completed projects forum.......dj's and lunds are good threads.

i cant see that project taking too long....you should be on the water by the time the ice comes off next year.

one thing......that windsheild is gonna be a pain.......some here have moulded there own plexi glass....it takes some doing....but it can be done

 

[djpeters]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome! Nice project. Looks to be in decent shape. Keep you posting and pics up to date and you'll get lots of help if you need it. What do you plan on doing to it?

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

hi.....welcome to iboats.

the rig actually looks pretty solid....how is the deck?

there are tons of starcraft projects on the forum....so there is lots to learn from.
check out the completed projects forum.......dj's and lunds are good threads.

i cant see that project taking too long....you should be on the water by the time the ice comes off next year.

one thing......that windsheild is gonna be a pain.......some here have moulded there own plexi glass....it takes some doing....but it can be done

The deck doesn't look too bad. The guy I bought it from "replaced" the deck with new but I'm skeptical. It's plywood, but I have no idea if it's marine grade or not. It's got slop paint on it that looks like it may have been on the board already when he decided to use it for the new floor. I'm really interested in what's underneath and if any of the foam needs replaced and whatnot. Plus I think I could do a little better with the floor. He somewhat left out the piece in the front with the angle and left the old wood in there.

As far as the windshield, I kind of wondered about that. I was even considering leaving it off all together if I can't come up with something and building a livewell with a door into the front area. Make it still look normal but like a hideaway door for the well. Still kind of kicking around ideas as far as that goes. I'd love to keep it stock and have the windshield though.

I really hope it goes as fast as you think it can! I'd love to have it on the water next spring / summer.

Here are some additional pictures of the interior. It's fairly rough but I haven't cleaned it out or anything yet. Lots of controls and other junk layin aorund the inside.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome! Nice project. Looks to be in decent shape. Keep you posting and pics up to date and you'll get lots of help if you need it. What do you plan on doing to it?

Thanks! I'm not sure how often I'll have time to work on it, probably mostly weekends but I'll definitely keep the thread going and updated with my progress. I hope you are right because I'll likely need a lot of help since I'm such a newb to boats lol

As far as what I plan to do to it, I'd like to keep it as close to original as I can but possibly different colors and maybe some modifications to the interior since some of the parts may be really difficult to come by. Specifically right now the windshield seems like it may be a bit of a hangup.

Maybe if I do enough searching I can find some pictures of what one of these looked like brand new. Mostly all I've found is what others have done to theirs when they restored it. I'll be using it mostly as a fishing boat but not always. Not sure I'd have the finances for a bigger motor for other activities. I hear big motors are big money and I aparently got a pretty decent deal on this motor.

 

[oops!]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

its really important to know if he just threw another piece of plywood on top of an old rotted deck....check the thread in this forum under that title.

a lot of guys will do that and think the boat is good,......and its not.....it just adds weight......for a tinny it isnt as bad as a glass boat....but your boat will be very heavy.

....but....first things first......get her all cleaned up, then you can at least see better.......then take core samples of the transom.....im not sure im liking the chunk of wood on the back. see if there is some way you can get under the ply that the PO put in....and see if there is old deck below it.

a 7.5 hp motor......are you going to go to a bigger motor?....or stay with the kicker?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome to iboats dry dock and the Starcraft brohood!

Looks like a great project there. If you want some inspiration for going classic/original check out warfalpacas Ski Champ, excellent work...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=352569

Gotta agree with the guys, that windshield is very tough to find. You can buy new but man are they $$$. Some guys go with 2 or 3 piece windshields off craigslist or whatever.

Cheers!

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

its really important to know if he just threw another piece of plywood on top of an old rotted deck....check the thread in this forum under that title.

a lot of guys will do that and think the boat is good,......and its not.....it just adds weight......for a tinny it isnt as bad as a glass boat....but your boat will be very heavy.

....but....first things first......get her all cleaned up, then you can at least see better.......then take core samples of the transom.....im not sure im liking the chunk of wood on the back. see if there is some way you can get under the ply that the PO put in....and see if there is old deck below it.

a 7.5 hp motor......are you going to go to a bigger motor?....or stay with the kicker?

I'm not sure what if anything has been done to the transom. It doesn't look too bad but I don't know enough to be sure either so I might redo that too. The splashwell looks completely redone and in real good condition. No idea what he used though or if the PO knew enough about boats to use marine grade anything or paint or any of the other stuff I've read you should do and use. That part at least looks solid.

The place I live close to is Clearfork Reservoir in Ohio. That would be the main place I would have the boat on and it has an unlimited HP but 5MPH speed limit. The other lake I would visit frequently is Hoover Reservoir which is under 10 HP only so the 7.5 makes sense for now. Couple other nearby places though I could put a 40 on it and go nuts so haha maybe eventually if I could afford it.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome to iboats dry dock and the Starcraft brohood!

Looks like a great project there. If you want some inspiration for going classic/original check out warfalpacas Ski Champ, excellent work...

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=352569

Gotta agree with the guys, that windshield is very tough to find. You can buy new but man are they $$$. Some guys go with 2 or 3 piece windshields off craigslist or whatever.

Cheers!

Thanks for checking in! Glad to see so many replies already! I have a feeling this will turn out somewhat stock but not completely. The windshield seems to be the tough part as far as a true restoration goes. I highly doubt it will be real glass when I'm done but I could perhaps manufacture something from plexiglass.

 

[djpeters]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

In case you haven't seen these, these are all the original brochures that we have:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=349830

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

In case you haven't seen these, these are all the original brochures that we have:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=349830

Nope hadn't seen those yet! Thanks for that! Do you by chance know where I might find the hull ID on the boat? I've heard it should be on a plate on the transom but I've also read that some boats depending on how early the year is don't have one. I've gathered that perhaps some Starcraft aluminum boats only have the SN# on the metal plate on the inside of the boat near the controls.

Is this accurate? Do you or anyone else have any info about this? I didn't see anything on the transom and I've read that's where it would be if there was one.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Alright so according to how the title looks on this thing, it appears to not have had a hull ID originally, or it was removed at some point. If it didn't have one, that would make a bit of sense if hull IDs were not issued before 1970 that I read somewhere.

So it has one now, but it's not stamped on the boat and it's not an original with a year in the ID so i'm stuck guessing what year it is. Maybe I'll give Starcraft a call and see what can be found using the serial number on the plate on the inside of the boat.

Here's a shot of the plate on the inside if anyone has sources to find out what year the boat might be by the SN on the plate. The PO said he thought it was a 68 or 69.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Lots of progress for my first weekend to work on the boat. Also lots of pictures!

I managed to get all of the old deck out and cleaned it all out with a shop vac fairly well. Pretty dry everywhere except a small pocket in the front of the boat with a little sitting water. No leaking on the outside where the puddle is on the inside so I'm optimistic that everything is good as far as the boat floating without leaks.

Is it ok to fill the boat with water once I get the electrical stuff out while it's on the trailer? Will it hurt anything? I want to be sure there are not any leaks at all to worry about but I don't want to illegally take it down to the lake and I'm not sure about getting anything registered just yet. They are sticklers in this area about all that kind of stuff. Prefer to wait until next spring for registering and all that if possible.

Can anyone tell by the pictures what kind of foam is in this thing? It doesn't go even half way back in the boat and it looks glued down or something? Is this pour foam or spray foam or something like that? Should I take it out and replace it with the sheets and calculate how much I would need? Is this stock or something someone just put in there? Was it a good idea or bad one? LOL It does at least seem dry save the part by the puddle.

Also, the two boards running from front to back are not secured by anything except the old deck I took out. Should they be there? Should I just replace them with some marine grade stuff or take them out all together? The metal piece running from front to back appears slightly off center but secured with rivets. That part looks stock to me but again not really sure. It's also being somewhat held down by the foam in a few places.

Next up is a good scrubbing and removing other odds and ends. Any suggestions anyone has are welcome and greatly appreciated! Thanks to everyone following the thread and offering input!

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

More pictures.. Nothing too special.

 

[Yamikaze]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome to iboats. That's a nice looking boat. It should be a fun project, and a great boat when it's done. Just to throw something out there, I was on the water the other day and met a guy with a Feather Craft Barrel back ( I think that's what they call them) He did something real cool for a windshield. He made up a frame that allowed him to use flat pieces of plexiglass for the wind shield. It looked really good, at least on that particular boat. Yes it was flat, but the way he framed the openings with some nice looking curves made it look real good. It was not until he started pulling away that I thought of taking a picture with my phone so I did not get a good shot of it. When the time comes I plan to mock one up for my boat and see what I can come up with.
View attachment 111901View attachment 111902

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Welcome to iboats. That's a nice looking boat. It should be a fun project, and a great boat when it's done. Just to throw something out there, I was on the water the other day and met a guy with a Feather Craft Barrel back ( I think that's what they call them) He did something real cool for a windshield. He made up a frame that allowed him to use flat pieces of plexiglass for the wind shield. It looked really good, at least on that particular boat. Yes it was flat, but the way he framed the openings with some nice looking curves made it look real good. It was not until he started pulling away that I thought of taking a picture with my phone so I did not get a good shot of it. When the time comes I plan to mock one up for my boat and see what I can come up with.
View attachment 111901View attachment 111902

Thanks! It's been fun so far but I've only done all the easy crap that anyone can do lol. What lies ahead after a cleaning will be the more interesting and challenging parts!

I've been kicking around a lot of crazy ideas for the windshield. I don't think your pictures came through? I was talking to my dad about it a bit and he seemed to think I could get the plexiglass to bend quite a bit after heating it up.

I'd also love to be able to make use of the front of the boat. Something like a livewell with a door that opens in the front on top. Still looks like the normal front part of the boat but opens into a livewell. Put the windshield on like a hinge or something crazy. Could make it 2 piece that comes together with a latch in the middle. Open it and swing it open to access the livewell, close when done.

Who knows if that would all be possible but it sounded neat in my head haha. I need to learn more about pumps and all that stuff too first though. I don't know too much about anything boating but I'm learning fast!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

That foam is Great Stuff from a can that some moron squirted in there in those little spots for some reason. You'll want to remove that. Best to replace it with the pink or blue construction sheet foam from Lowes/Home Depot or pool noodles.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

That foam is Great Stuff from a can that some moron squirted in there in those little spots for some reason. You'll want to remove that. Best to replace it with the pink or blue construction sheet foam from Lowes/Home Depot or pool noodles.

Nice. I'll be heading to Lowes or the Depot to get some of that hopefully soon. When putting it in, does it get secured by anything at all or does it just sit there? I've read a lot of restoration threads and it never mentions using anything to secure the foam aside from the deck above it holding it in place. Looks like it just sits in there.

Also, the two boards running lengthwise, should those stay and just get replaced or come out and not go back in at all? I wasn't sure if they should be there or not. I was reading another thread where rivets were used to put the floor in after adding the right foam underneath. What's better to use rivets or SS screws? Rivets looked good, but was thinking if there was ever a problem and the floor needed brought up again that screws would be much easier to remove.

 

[Yamikaze]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Several people say to stay away from SS Mixing different metals promote corrosion. I just replaced the SS bolts I bought for my transom with Aluminum bolts. I agree with not riveting the floor. If I had a floor, I would want access for future modifications or fixes.
Let me see if I can repost those pictures. They are not much, and do not really show what I was talking about. It might workout well for your hinge idea though.

 

[sgebbie]

Re: 14' Starcraft Falcon restore project

Several people say to stay away from SS Mixing different metals promote corrosion. I just replaced the SS bolts I bought for my transom with Aluminum bolts. I agree with not riveting the floor. If I had a floor, I would want access for future modifications or fixes.
Let me see if I can repost those pictures. They are not much, and do not really show what I was talking about. It might workout well for your hinge idea though.

View attachment 111938View attachment 111939

Thanks for reposting the pics. I can go with aluminum hardware instead of the SS if that's the case with corrision. Want to avoid that as much as possible.

Do you have any ideas on the foam? Does it need to be secured in any way or just lay it in there and put the floor on top? This is my biggest sticking point right now since I can't seem to find anything on this part aside from putting foam in the boat.

Also, is it alright to just put the screws right into the ribs (as long as they are not too long lol) or should I stick with the metal piece running down the center and replacing the two boards with marine grade stuff?