15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

[fire7882]

This is my first boat. I just picked it up last week for $350 and hope to have the entire project stay under $1500. The floor was in very bad shape and had to be removed. It didn't come with any interior so all that will me made from scratch. I plan to do all the work myself. I have a lot of experience working on cars and in the construction field but this is my first boat project.

It came with a 1964-1965 Evinrude Starflight 90-s outboard and I'm still trying to decide if it is worth fixing. It has very good compression but the few threads I have found on this motor sudgest that is was poorly designed and parts are hard to find.

So far I have removed the floor and all controls. The foam was waterlogged and was removed as well (over 150 lbs worth). I hope to have this project done in a couple months but if I decide to replace the outboard, It might take a little longer.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Where are you from? I have a few johnson 50's that look almost identical to your motor... you can have them for $50, just come to upstate NY to get them!


Not a bad lookin boat for $350!

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

I'm in Georgia. Thanks for the offer though. This motor is the only thing that worries me. I might just go ahead and look for a 70-90 hp motor from the early 90's that I know is in running condition but that would blow my budget.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

70 gives you economy, and the best hp per pound of weight of the motor. 90 is good also, you will be better off parting out that motor in my estimation, it has an electric shift lower unit. and the the distributor. both parts are hard to get.

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

70 gives you economy, and the best hp per pound of weight of the motor. 90 is good also, you will be better off parting out that motor in my estimation, it has an electric shift lower unit. and the the distributor. both parts are hard to get.

I'm leaning towards a replacement as well. Even if I can get this one running, I will most likely sell it and get a 70 hp if it will still pull a 200lb skier or wakeboarder. I do want something reliable and making this motor reliable will likely cost a fortune.

 

[Regal202]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

350$$ Wow , I'd have made that deal too.

Nice looking boat. Let me know how the floor goes.

 

[redfury]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

looks like your stringers are in good shape, just having to replace the floor and foam makes the project sooo much faster and so much less itchy!

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

looks like your stringers are in good shape, just having to replace the floor and foam makes the project sooo much faster and so much less itchy!

They are in good condition which surprises me because the foam was very wet. I'm debating on replacing the foam with something else or using nothing at all.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Cool little boat. Definitely a worthy project. You'd get much better fuel economy from a newer motor. The 3 cyl Johnson/Evinrudes 70HPs are bulletproof and would move your boat nicely. With a 90 it would probably be a rocket. (I'd get a 90 )

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

I think I'm going to pick up a 88-90 evinrude 90 hp motor on sunday. It looks a little rough but is said to run good. The price is right and I know parts can be found for it so I won't complain.

 

[vwfoolwhy]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

I'm going with every one else on this one. That year Starflight 90 wasn't the greatest for reliability. Mainly in the electronics of the motor. I bet your looking at 500 -700 in eBaying the parts.

A 90HP 3 cylinder would make that one great ski - tube set up.

Mike
Methuen, MA

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Quick Update:

I have removed all the stickers/pin stripes and will be giving it a good buffing soon. I also picked up a 88 evinrude 90hp motor for $400. It looks rough but runs great. I will be pulling the thing apart and repainting everything before installing it on the boat. I also plan on replacing some wiring and hoses. I think the compression is 100-105-105-110 because these numbers are written on the heads. I will be retesting it soon to determind if I want to go ahead an rebuild.

Anyone know if a 23 pitch prop will work with my boat? That is what it came with but I think I need a 19.

 

[redfury]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Looking at the motor, the first thing I think I'd look at is pulling the heads off and replacing the headgaskets....that may be part of the lower compression readings....lots of crusty stuff there.

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

i dont think id pull the heads there are not any dramaticly lower than the others yes they are a little on the low side but should still run fine, i prefer to see numbers between 120-150 but 100-110 is still ok. with 10lbs difference between the highest and lowest it should be a good running motor. the numbers on my evenrude were 96-99-98-105 and i don't doubt it will run well might be a little cold blooded with them numbers but we will see

 

[reelfishin]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

I'd make real sure the compression gauge being used is accurate as well. I've seen some cheaper gauges read way low. I keep several for comparison purposes just in case. Even among good gauges there's often variations.

Make sure their all even, then run it a while and recheck it. I've had motors that were stored for a long time show poor readings yet once they got running a while, they cleaned right up and rechecked just fine. A good decarbonizing may also be an option. I've seen lots of larger motors get run with way too much oil, mostly on boats with built in tanks, where an owner isn't clear on how much oil to add and adds too much. This makes for a lot of carbon build up and often stuck rings.
Always winterize or 'pickle' a motor to be stored any length of time.

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Quick update:

I havn't had much time to work on the boat but I did spend a little time working on it this week. The previous owner must have removed the carbs at one time and didn't replace the gaskets. There is oil everywhere. There is also an abundance of grease on the tilt and trim unit that needs to be cleaned up.

I decided to tear the engine down and remove each individual piece to be cleaned and repainted. In the process, I broken at least 10 bolts due to corrosion but fortunatily, I have been able to remove all the threads. This motor mush have seen salt water sometime in its life.

I hope to have the floor in this weekend and finish up the motor sometime in the next 2-3 weeks.

 

[oops!]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

are you going to foam the boat?

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

are you going to foam the boat?

I don't think so. After pulling out more than 150lbs of wet foam, I'm real reluctant to put the foam back.

 

[fire7882]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

Well i tried to put the new floor in this weekend. I got all the pieces cut properly and grabbed the grinder to do a little grinding so the new fiberglass would have a good surface to bond to. When I was grineding around the transom area I noticed a 4 to 5 inch area where the transome was exposed and wet. I stuck a screw driver in this area and found some rot so I will be replacing the transome as well.

After discovering this problem, I rechecked all the stringers and they are very dry and only rotten about 1 in where they touched the transome.

 

[mnessman]

Re: 15' Sport-Craft Sprint project

I had the same thing happen on the boat that I am redoing, it came with a 85hp rude. I was able to get it started but it was used alot in salt water and i was going to rebuild it. almost every bolt that I tried to get loose broke off on me. I was lucky enough to find another boat with a good 115hp for only 250. I salvaged all of the good pieces before scrapping the boat.