1963 Starcraft Jet restoration

[Coach Dave]

My marine mechanic is a self described "Mercury Guy" - he says the same thing about Merc parts. I'm in the car business - 30+ years. It's kinda like tires on a new car, they're like ice cream flavors - they're all pretty good but everyone has their favorite. I just don't want to make a mistake out of my ignorance on outboard motors. Again, like the car business, when appraising used cars, there are some motors from some years you just don't want any part of. But if you don't know, you might get stuck with a bad one.

 

[Watermann]

That would be the early 70's electric shift Johnson/Evinrude OBs. The early VRO motors also baked a bunch of power heads by starving them of 2 stroke oil.

Chrysler has a following but yeah :der:

Force same as above, they're Chrysler.

Mercury I don't know of any OB issues but having worked on both Merc and Johnnyrudes, the Merc is way more mechanic friendly, especially when it comes to the common impeller change maintenance. :thumb:

I know nothing about Japanese motors and plan on keeping it that way. :becky:

 

[Coach Dave]

I got off work at 6:00 last night and had 2 choices: Clean house, do dishes and laundry; or go paint the trailer.

The trailer is painted!

I have no clean clothes or dishes, but The trailer is painted!

The house is a bit of a mess, but The trailer is painted!

All joking aside, I've been spending every spare hour on this thing, and my other chores have been neglected. And my lawn needs mowed also. It was dark when I left last night, so pics coming soon.

 

[Coach Dave]

Got off work just after noon today. Got the dishes done, lawn mowed, and laundry started. But not before I stopped by the boat and trailer. I wanted to pull the tape off the trailer ASAP. Trailer looks 1000 times better. It's not the most streamlined trailer to begin with, more of that industrial look. I've got about 20 hours in the trailer that I keep thinking some of those hours coulda been spent on the boat. But, I was able to inspect every square inch of this trailer during the prep, and I can feel good about pulling my boat on her now. She is solid. There is just a bit of the yellow paint bleeding through in a few spots if you look close. If it starts bothering me, I'll hit it with Kilz and re-topcoat it. Before and after pics:

<---------------Before

<------After

Ignore the wheels and tires. It needs new tires - one won't hold air, both are worn badly, and they are bias tires. Gonna get me some radials and maybe new wheels, as I have no spare and would have to buy one wheel any way. May as well get two nicer ones and use one of these as my spare. Or just dress these up. Stay tuned.

 

[Watermann]

Ah yeah trailer work and the desire to work on the boat instead, I know it well. That's why I started on the trailer first and knocked it out but I have a spare trailer for the boat so that worked out.

Looking real good so far, the new wheels and tires will spiff it up nicely. :thumb:

 

[Coach Dave]

Thanks - I still have to strip, paint (red), and install the original metal fenders, install the new swing-away wheeled jack, & put the bow guard and rollers back on. Then rewire it & install my new LED lights. I got some leftover red pinstripe from work too that I can add. So I'm not quite done yet, but the grunt work is. The coupler cleaned up pretty good with the wire wheel - left that bare. Then a few touch-ups I'm sure. But come hell or high water the boat will be flipped back over and sitting on the trailer this weekend! I can switch out tires and/or wheels anytime.

 

[Coach Dave]

I still hope to be on the water by May 1st. The first half of March was not kind to me - sick one week, snow and cold another. But, I did get a lot of my toys and gear delivered that I had ordered. It's ALL sitting in my living room at home for me to see EVERY day. I've mentioned I've had to draaaaaaag my arse out to boat a few days/evenings to work on it, and all that pretty new gear has served as some inspiration, or kick in the rear:

Garmin 7" GPS EchoMap Side View with Inland Lakes maps preloaded:

Minn Kota 25R Power Anchor with remote:

4 new premium high back contoured seats:

13 - 16" adjustable pedestals (the 11 yr old boy aint as tall as me - yet!)

Taper Lock aluminum seat bases (not shown are the swivel and tilt seat mounts) :

12 position fuse panel with cover and negative common busbar - takes automotive ATC type tinned fuses:



What's nice is that once I get 'er flipped back over, I can just keep rolling along. Other than running to Menards for plywood, 4X8 sheets of foam for flotation, carpet, adhesives, assorted fasteners, etc. They're 1 mile up the road from my work, and I can run out during the day to pick that stuff up.

 

[Coach Dave]

My plan and goal this weekend was to get the boat flipped back over to work on the inside. Circumstances didn't allow that, but............

I did get a lot of small stuff done, that when added up was quite a bit of work. I got most of the hardware and attachments installed on the trailer. Stripped, sanded, and primed the trailer fenders. I'll paint them red when I do the graphics for the sides of the boat.


Holy Transom Batman! Stripped the transom to bare aluminum so as to better inspect, patch holes, and otherwise repair. I think I'm gonna end up covering it with a piece of aluminum sheet. In the long run it'll save me a lot of time patching the multiple holes and make for a stronger transom.


I then decided to go ahead and paint the gunwales while she's flipped. I got 2 primer coats on, and the white bottom/grey sides 2-tone looks sweet. Thinking of staying with grey sides instead of white? Or silver grey? Or I'm just thinking that after looking at the splotchy discolored, multi-colored, dusty, nasty sides for so long would make anything I covered them with look good. I'll ponder on that a little bit.


My apologies to ZZ Top, but while exploring graphics/striping designs for the sides of the boat (which I originally, and still probably will) paint gloss white, I think I'm gonna use their double Z logo as inspiration. Going with bright red and where the "TOP" is in the logo, I'll put a red "Starcraft" decal. Remember my seats have red secondary color. I found these shark mouth decals like on the old military aircraft and thought (well.....I know he would) my 11 yr old boy will think are bad *** to go on the front of the boat. I am doing this for him (and me, but mostly him), and that keeps me motivated not to take any days off working on the boat. Some days it's tough to make myself go out to her. My arthritic back is screaming at me and I can't feel my right hand from the pinched nerves most days. I am losing a few pounds though.

 

[Coach Dave]

Hey.........I gotta question. When I ordered my 2 part epoxy to seal all my wood, I ordered some Cabosil with it to mix up and glue up my 3/4" plywood for the transom. Can I mix up some of that and use to patch/fill/smooth some gouges and holes in the aluminum? Or am I an idiot? Or is there something else I should/could use? I aint gonna sand some of these gouges out without leaving a tin foil depth area.

 

[jbcurt00]

Use MarineTex or JB Weld.

IMO, the Starcraft in your SS mockup looks blocky and underized. Scrub the net and you should be able to find a 'real' Starcraft logo to pull for your graphic. The little swoosh at the bottom right of the C, and the slant of the lettering all 'look' right when done well, and dont when done otherwise. But thats just my opinion.

Are you doing the actual vinyl work too or just the design/layout yourself?

 

[Coach Dave]

I'm with you on the Starcraft logo. I just googled something red quickly to throw up on my last post. Originally, and I think I still might, I was gonna paint the graphic - in this case the double Z - and then get a Starcraft decal. But I'm also looking at getting some 3M or other brand vinyl vehicle wrap sheets in red to cut out my double Z graphic. They have some red carbon fiber and snake skin vinyl wrap that looks really cool .I can do it any way I want - I'm pretty good at artwork and graphics - I could even paint the shark mouth. In the end I think going vinyl with everything just for consistency and time savings. If I mix vinyl and paint in such close proximity to each other, I may have issues with it matching - there's all kinds of shades of red.

 

[Coach Dave]

I have a question. I have a line on an '85 Evinrude 40 HP Longshaft with controls to replace my '79 9.9 HP Johnson short shaft carbed up to 15 HP with controls now. I haven't replaced the transom yet, so putting in a 20" transom is not an issue. Here's my situation:

• One of the lakes I REALLY want to fish is 20 HP limit (Pymatuning Lake - the OH & PA border runs North/South through the middle of the lake)
• My 1963 Starcraft Jet/Jetstar boat is rated to 50 HP - it originally had the short transom
• I REALLY want more than 15 HP pushing my boat - not necessary - but I REALLY want more HP - but I REALLY want to fish Pymatuning
• I don't think I can sticker the 40 HP with 20 HP decals and get away with it - not that any one has ever done such a thing
• Through my research (I googled for weights and found this chart a guy made - http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/458401-4-stroke-vs-2-stroke-weight-bar-charts.html#b
  • an '85 Evinrude 2 stroke 40 HP long shaft weighs about 185 lbs (about the same as a 50 HP 2 stroke)
  • a 9.9 HP 2 stroke short shaft weighs about 70-75 lbs
  • That's about 255-260 lbs for both together
  • A modern 4 stroke 50 HP can weigh 245 - over 250 lbs

I guess my question is multi-faceted:

• If my 1963 boat was rated to 50 HP when 50 HP motors weighed roughly 185 lbs, is it safely rated to handle a modern 4 stroke 50 HP that weighs about 250 lbs?
• Is the max HP rating on my boat (or any boat) have more to do with the weight of the outboard, only the horsepower regardless of weight, or some combination of both?

But to my main question: Can I safely mount the '85 Evinrude 40 HP as my main engine, then mount my carbed up 9.9 as a "kicker" to use when I fish Pymatuning (or any HP restricted lake I may come across)
40 HP + 9.9 HP = 49.9 HP - right? :noidea:

I have done a little more work on the boat, but no pics - too dark when I finished - coming soon. She can be flipped back over onto the trailer now. Just gotta get a few guys together to do it. Meanwhile, in NE OH, the weather has halted any painting due to low temps/high humidity (it was in the mid 80's Sunday):

 

[Dabbler_E]

Having worked out Coast Guard specs for a homemade boat, I can tell you that the HP rating is not really about weight, it's about thrust and how the boat handles at speed. Otherwise, boat builders could always simply make stronger transoms to up their hp ratings on small boats! With a new high quality transom, you should be fine with your 49.9 combo. The fact that your weight will be distributed between two points greatly reduces the overall hanging stress on the transom compared with a single 250# motor, especially with 75# off closer to the gunwale.

 

[Dabbler_E]

Here's the CG's resource for boat builders. http://newboatbuilders.com/docs/backyardboatbuilders.pdf
Hull width, length, and shape and transom height are the primary determinants -- nothing about transom thickness!

 

[Coach Dave]

Thanks Dabbler. Interesting link. I have saved and read the USCG Boat Builders Flotation rules. Lots of math , but not too complicated. It did give me some good insight into placement of the foam. I had almost zero foam flotation when I started this rebuild.

According to the link you provided, my boat with a 20" transom would rate to 70 HP , but with the original 15" - 16" transom only 35 HP. Huh. After seeing this link, I believe if I get the 40 HP, mount my 15 HP as a kicker, and build a good strong, reinforced, solidly tied into the gunwales 20" transom, I should be alright. I'm only on inland lakes, it aint going on Lake Erie, and it'll never sniff salt water.

 

[Watermann]

That's not very good boating weather there...

Some of the restricted lakes around here do not allow internal combustion engines at all. Some places you can't even have the motor on your boat while others you can just not use it only the electric. Rules and regs are getting ridiculous.

I can add you to the club of guys I've never heard say they want less power. :lol:

 

[Coach Dave]

So.......if I do go with the bigger motor with long shaft, I've made a crude illustration of my proposed raised transom, smaller splash well, and a raised deck in back (not a HUGE one, you wouldn't be able to dance on it) My question would be is: how would I drain water out of the splash well? drain hole to the bilge? Some kind or scupper setup? drain it via a drain hose to a through hull fitting out the side of boat? Suggestions?

And yeah, not very good boating weather out here, but this is NE Ohio - shorts and T-shirts one day, winter jackets the next. BUT.......I can get some good hours in on the boat without lamenting that I'm not on the water yet!

 

[Watermann]

I'm thinking it would be a moot point to have a splashwell with that design. If in the event that enough of a swell comes over the transom it wouldn't just be in the small area you've outlined for a SW, it would likely be over the entire stern and you know what that means. Personally I wouldn't worry about it, if you use the boat knowing it's limitations then chances are no problems like that would happen. I've been in smaller boats than your jet with no splashwell pr bilge pump and never had a problem but try not to weight down the stern area too much.

 

[Patfromny]

The boat rating doesn't really apply to both engines. You won't be using them both at the same time so I see no problem. Room on the transom might be the only problem I see you running across. That and getting both to work with one control. I'd assume that one engine will be up at all times. That might add to your madness. Make sure you add more bracing if you are extending your transom. The weight will now be at a higher center of gravity and will put more stress on a higher transom. Good luck

 

[Coach Dave]

That was kind of the answer I was fishing for - pun intended. Through my reading, there are those that would NEVER do away with the splash well, and your boat is unsafe without one. Then those that are meh - not a big deal. I was hoping I could do away with the splash well, real estate on the Jet is valuable. The small rear deck structure will beef up my transom to free board/gunwale connection lost by removing the full width original splash well. I do need to leave some of the center part of the transom exposed for clamping the engine to boat and access to all the hook-ups. Something like this:


I did get the trailer to the point that I can now flip the boat over on it today. Gonna grab some guys from work at lunch time to help out - I hope. I have not put the bow guard or winch on yet, or installed the new lights. I want to have the boat on the trailer to set those accurately to how boat sits on trailer. For the wiring, I used that blue corrugated home wiring conduit that fits into electrical work boxes. It was actually cheaper than the flexible split black stuff, and much more solid. I do have to finish securing it to trailer framing. New wheels and radial tires coming this paycheck also.