Re: 1958 STARCRAFT SUPER CONSTELLATION? identification?
Cool new toy. You're in the right place for fixing her up. Lost of Starcraft restoration folks here in the forums. Cool old motor too. Looks like Darth Vader's baby. If it still has good compression, it may be worth fixing, but old Mercs tend to be harder and more expensive to work on than their OMC (Johnson/Evinrude) counterparts, which are cheap as chips, super reliable, still have tons of replacement parts available and are generally much easier to work on (some old Mercs had screws that would tighten by turning them counterclockwise and all kinds of other weird stuff?!?, so consider yourself warned).
As far as the boat goes, there are really only a few rules when it comes to aluminum boats; 1.) Never use Pressure Treated lumber as it will cause pitting in your hull. Use non-PT, exterior grade plywood instead (most folks go with 3/4") 2.) The wood will need to be sealed in one of a variety of methods. You can either use 2-part Epoxy, fiberglass mat & resin, or several coats (3-4) of Spar Urethane. 3.) Once the wood is sealed, you'll need to mount it to the hull using Stainless Steel hardware dipped in 3M 5200 marine sealant/caulk. Some folks also use aluminum pop-rivets to attach the floor. 4.) To paint, simply sand off and loose or flaking material with 220 grit paper, then wipe down with some acetone, let dry and apply a light coat of Zinc Chromate Self-Etching primer, then paint.
That's really about it. The rest is only limited by time money and imagination.
