1963 Starcraft Jet restoration

[EddyMoney]

Gimme Some Water EddieMoney! Gradiated High Skool in '82 over here - seen Eddie Money in concert several/many times!:rockon: Thanks for the kind words! Reading and studying tips and methods on these forums has been a HUGE help. That and fighting off the temptation to take shortcuts. I'm also trying to fit a lot of stuff into a 15' boat. It's taking a lot longer than I envisioned, but that's always the case with any project I take on. And probably most importantly, I keep going back.

Haha, nice. I can't say I am much of a true Eddie Money fan, he is a little before my time. Mostly just a nickname that some friends gave me years ago. But I respect that!

Also, l like the Plano storage idea. Definitely not one I've thought of!

How difficult has it been for you to work with the aluminum framing? I'm debating doing it or not, but am wondering if it is too tall a task for someone with no experience.

 

[Watermann]

Looking good and yeah the smalls all add up big time.

On the seat base backers, I predrill the holes for my pedestals and install T nuts on the underside of the backer so all I have to do is add some locktite on the machine screws and drive them home to secure the pedestals after the decking is in. Plywood is horrible at holding onto screws that are under constant pressure and vibration, they always work loose over time and then can't be tightened back up properly sooner or later. The use of SS T nuts and machine screws completely eliminate that very important issue, especially when it comes to the helm.

 

[Coach Dave]

WM - I struggled with that T-Nut installation. It was my original plan, and I may come to regret not doing it. I couldn't find them locally in stainless, and honestly, didn't want to wait for them to be shipped. Oh hell, now you got me thinking to pull up the front floor section and putting them in :doh:. Wouldn't be that huge of a deal, and per my own words - "Fighting off the temptation not to take short cuts". For the rear seat location, I'm not installing a seat now, as I like the open plan when trolling for walleye. The boy and I will just swivel our helm seats around to watch the poles. But if I want to add one in the future, at least I have the block installed. There will be fishing seats on the front and rear casting decks.

Eddie - I had really never worked with metal like this since Middle School Metal Shop. But I've done a TON of wood working, framing, etc. The skills do transfer well, just different tools, fasteners, etc. Don't be intimidated, it ain't rocket science. I'm lucky I have a wholesale surplus store that carries a lot of aluminum stock saving me shipping costs. Most use 1/8" aluminum angle and there are 2 types - architectural and structural. You'll want the structural type, it has a rounded inside corner vs. the sharp right angle inside corner on the architectural. Visit this site for more info: https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchan...p=2&top_cat=60 Then study some of Waterman's and other's builds - I mostly followed their lead. And don't be shy to ask questions - I wasn't to a fault - there's a wealth of knowledge on here. I used 1/4" pop rivets (I wouldn't use the smaller 3/8" rivets for structure, but I have some 3/8s I used for other stuff) as I wasn't gonna attempt blind rivets. I don't have a helper, and sometimes blind rivets would require 2 sets of hands. A good carbide fine tooth saw will cut aluminum like butter whether you use it on a chop saw, circular saw, or table saw. No need to buy a special saw. WEAR EYE PROTECTION! WEAR EYE PROTECTION! WEAR EYE PROTECTION! Did I mention wear eye protection?

My body needs a rest, so I'm not heading back out to the boat 'til the weekend. That and I need a cash infusion. I get paid once a month. Next few posts will most likely show me pulling up the front floor and installing T-Nuts underneath. Thanks WM! (insert sarcasm emoji here)

 

[Watermann]

I knew you would appreciate my seat base comment. :lol: About the only shortcut in that area is to add an aluminum plate underneath the backer for the screw teeth to hang onto but still the T nuts are best.

That's what we do when trolling for walleye is spin the seat around so you have to take some other things into account, steering wheel and controls. On my helm chair I also have a seat slide so I can adjust to make each position more comfortable and allow for that distance.

 

[Coach Dave]

Yep. I bought 2 seat bases and adjustable pedestals already. But that was before I learned you needed the "ABYCD" rated bases and pedestals for the helm. I'm gonna use the ones I have for the front and rear casting decks. Gonna pick up a couple of the Wise ABYCD rated adjustable & sliding seat base/pedestal packages for the helm. They're about $100 each. I'm gonna wait 'til I get them for my exact placement so I can ensure I can swivel 360 degrees without impediment. Also, I probably won't need to take the floor up since you have to drill like a 3-4" hole for the base (I think). I can just reach under and place the T-Nuts in the pre-drilled holes. I hope.

 

[Watermann]

I have this one for helm. No slide for nav side. They don't need a big hole in the center to weaken the deck. Wise Adjustable Height Locking Boat Seat Pedestal with Fore & Aft Slide

 

[Coach Dave]

WM - That's the EXACT same seat base/pedestal set I was looking at. So there is no center hole at all to cut? They just surface mount? I went to Wise's website and it didn't have any info.

 

[Watermann]

No center hole they surface mount.

 

[Coach Dave]

Yeah, WM I see now after shopping them that vast majority of class D bases are flush mount. I guess the floor is coming up - Thanks again! (I really need a sarcasm emoji). Not that big of a deal, as I only screwed in the edges. Whilst I was resting my back, shoulders, hands, and legs - my arthritis and back flared up BIG TIME :flame::yield:- I was reading some posts and doing other research for future work. It seems that riveting your floor down is the way to go anyway. Screws work loose, snap, and the heads strip out if you ever wish to remove them down the road. As previously stated in this thread - I am now a professional rivet remover after my tear down. Rivets don't work loose, and drilling them out for removal is easy. Shopping 3/4" grip rivets now.

My semi-final plan for my front casting deck and framing - please don't be shy with opinions, I have thick skin:

The HUGE benefit and need of the 1/8" aluminum framing in the rear casting deck was replacing the structure I lost by removing the splash well. All the wood I took out of the bow was in great shape, and most of it had no sealer of any kind on it, the wood that did was only painted. I'm SERIOUSLY considering framing my bow casting deck with wood. Easier (for me), cheaper (I'm WAAAAAAY beyond the budget I thought I would be), and faster. All the wood would be above the **** pit floor line, and I would treat it. Stringers in fiberglass boats are wood - sealed up of course - and the bow doesn't see near as much water as the cockpit and stern. If it lasts 10 years I'll be 64, 20 years I'll be 74. The wood I took out lasted 54 years - untreated or only painted. Damn.........I think I just convinced myself..........unless I get talked out of it:noidea:

 

[Watermann]

Hey Dave since you're studying up some do you venture over to the Starcraft forum where a bunch of boats are being worked on? Also I have a rivets sticky there that might help.

 

[FIGMO]

Hey Dave,

I was just going through your post as I am interested in doing aluminum framing in the front of my SS16 for a casting deck as well. I will be very interested in following your work. Some very good advice on this post thus far.

BTW, also 54 with arthritis in the knees, and compressed disk in the back. So I have to be careful about how I work as well.

Cheers

 

[Coach Dave]

Thanks FIGMO - I was putting in full 8-10 hour days earlier in my build on Sundays when I'm off work. But it was CRUSHING me for several days after at my real job. I'm in sales, and sales 101 says you gotta be energetic, upbeat, with a smile on your face. It was costing me potential sales. I had a total right knee replacement 2 1/2 years ago - best thing I ever did - shouldn't of waited so long to do it. If they tell you you need one, get 'er done! Those that tell you to wait 'til you can't take the pain anymore are full of . Now I quit after 3,4, maybe 5 hours - my body tells me. Plus I'm in the finishing stages now, and when your tired or hurting is when you start making mistakes. You can end up doing something twice and/or ruining material. But all that also means it's gonna take me a bit longer to finish. I'd rather it's right than quick.

WM - I have ventured over to the Starcraft forum. I actually added myself on the Starmada map :thumb: Didn't realize the Starcraft forum existed 'til I was several posts in on my build. I considered moving my thread over there, but I figured I was too far in and just left it here. The Starcraft thread is where I picked up the riveting my deks down vs. screwing them down as I've done. Another excuse to pull up the floors and also do my T-nuts for the pedestal bases :facepalm:.
[SUP][SUB]HOW AND WHERE DO I GET ONE OF THOSE STARMADA DECALS?! I WANT ONE......... BAD.[/SUB][/SUP]

 

[Watermann]

I have decals on both my boats and coffee mugs too!

http://www.cafepress.com/profile/111779065

 

[Coach Dave]

Cool stuff! I may put the Starmada Mob sticker on the side of my boat instead of a Starcraft one. Does the full rectangle stick to the surface, or do you peel off the backing leaving just the graphic? Got my eyes on a T-shirt also. Thanks!

 

[Watermann]

The mob/starmada decals are the full size vinyl not the peel away type.

 

[Coach Dave]

Thanks WM. Whilst I wait for my stainless T-nuts, 3/4" rivets, and livewell plumbing fittings, I built what I'm gonna call my bulkheads to support my front casting deck and frame in my livewell. I was gonna buy 2X2s to frame it, but they were all twisted warped junk. I ended up buying premium 2X4s and ripped my own 2X2s on the table saw. I know some may argue my use of wood, but once I started building them, all the complex angles and joinery woulda been extremely difficult using aluminum. At least for me - I ain't got no fab shop! I used Gorilla Glue and 2 3/4" stainless deck screws to assemble it all. I really needed a 2nd set of hands while I dry fitted everything and measured the angles, but I got 'er done. I mixed up some old timers formula to seal them with, as my epoxy supply is running low - that, and I wanted to try it out.
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I cut the vertical "legs" 1/8" short, as I am gonna bend up some "U" brackets of 1/8" aluminum, 5200 and screw them to the bottom of each "leg", then use the "legs" of the "U" brackets to rivet them to the ribs. Actually, my "U" brackets will look more like lower case n's - or pi signs if you will. I'm also gonna fabricate some "L" brackets from 1/8" aluminum to attach the top stringers to the hull. They're not a perfect 90 degree angle, so some trial and error will be employed.

On a side note, I did get the stainless steel hose clamps installed in the bilge, and JB Waterwelded some more rivet holes in the hull.
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[Coach Dave]

I've been working on it. Slooooowwwwwly. Into the tedious detail work now. Also had to rest my back a bit again.

If there's one thing I've figured out in this boat building gig, it's that you can't build to level or plumb - both are meaningless. But you can and better build square and symmetrical. I got what I'm calling my bulkheads installed:
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I measured diagonals from the very tip of the bow to points on the tops of both bulkheads at the inside of the hull. Once equal with placement over top of the ribs below, I fastened the top cross member of each bulkhead to the hull. I used aluminum "L" brackets I fabricated myself out of some salvaged aluminum. I didn't attach the bottoms of the bulkheads to the hull just yet.This was a very tricky proposition to do with only one set of hands!:juggle: The cross members you see attached near the bottom of each bulkhead are to support the livewell box. The livewell is 14" tall. I measured down 15 1/2": 1/2" for plywood floor + 1" for foam insulation + 14" Livewell box height = 15 1/2". I then measured the distance between both bulkhead tops and cut my 1/2" plywood floor to that same dimension and attached it - that squared up my bulkheads:
View attachment I4y_3sHjjZUflraL1HyDGGO0LiSmov0uMbIOGuozV2P4TMcEAPZvLcLd_mDfk1CR1UxyZo8Cc8b5hCpQkp1ZkYuF7kBw4ZLbjZ-2 View attachment itbUJVJsLzQeAJe0tm7jn4z1vFIIqlwLq1E1FwRTOo8iHlklVWsJkItsd3Gk6j33jTYtbY1FVZYt2TxPsnTNO9MZzczJFhfR0G0Q

You can also see that I have installed deck supports to the hull between the 2 bulkheads. I used salvaged 1X4s ripped in half for those. I used some aluminum angle to support them in the middle:
View attachment daG58WRau63fd8icn6qnJKvk1iL2NGvAlEIBlFEVzBNkjAq7VdKyZVzmHkOM1pUFzmvaBPHC3OjYs7I3eQnK0H58B1lsGUPYAaaI

Next I placed my livewell box in place to find dead center placement. Once found, in the interest of leaving no space unused, I started to fabricate boxes to fill in the spaces between the livewell box and the hull. My first dry fit:
View attachment 3aNmt-JQBHZR1ozKgF9i2LJ_6FhCkFbGoRxqmaxHtjfG2gU0amf8kt_riY-yuq0Q7WJIEfOdurQkyVzuGZOMOrjgvEBCWcReAU93

Remember my symmetrical and square comment earlier? I took this dry fit over to the other side, flipped the pieces around, and I'll be damned if they didn't fit the space on the other side perfectly! I love it when a plan comes together! :whoo:Sometimes life is good. So I traced and cut a 2nd set of pieces for dry fit #2:
View attachment dzOgcgVRUksJ7Uj9FW63CbpVsd_LwHfQMxks5Ct3EYhgxvxQQDj7qjgZyNu1jFES7jjk3bF_1iSdLR6R5eW2zs4zNRj-oMp2pY3n View attachment h-W5WYSPKz-mwjr5IboFtl-7HSgDbYJO0KUjopA6sOU-zzUR_YnG_1a3DZPQdjY5ZqnPh4YHaAOe-YL4WFqf-4umofwm-6obm1Ae View attachment KXJRUvBiEgz6OkBCAV9TDpo0ZFMYt-MaBCc8TO1_QOjn_azJ9fRKCwrBHroZSFCeIWrDL1ifbp8o6vR8fofa5hgVXS1-rTPRSZUT
You can see a piece of 1" foam under the livewell temporarily. I have enough room to get 1" foam on all sides of the livewell for insulation. Should be able to fit some foam between the hull and the storage boxes also.

On to the box assembly. Using Gorilla Glue and screws, I assembled each box. Note I haven't cut a bottom yet. I asked my 11 yr old boy what shape these were. I thought they were parallelograms or maybe rhombus's. He says they're quadrilaterals. Who am I to argue? :noidea: I didn't really care, but wanted to show him that you can actually use geometry in real life. Once I got them glued and screwed, I took some more salvage aluminum and cut bottoms (Yes, I sanded the side that will be inside the box). I left them slightly long so I could form them over the funky intersections at the bottom of each box. You can see I used 5200 to glue and seal the bottoms up and used aluminum nails to mechanically attach them:
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After cleaning up the 5200 mess, here's the finished product:
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You can see the Gorilla Glue foam out in the corners and the 5200 squeeze out at the bottom. Gonna clean 'em up a bit, probably caulk each corner with 5200 then epoxy them inside and out. I may shoot bed liner spray on the inside. Rustoleum makes a light tan color bedliner spray.

Should I add vents and/or drain holes to these and any other boxes I install?
The port side box is gonna be for storage and the starboard side will house all the livewell plumbing, pump, filters, connections, etc. for future access.
My Wise driver's AD rated height adjustable pedestal with swivel & slide has arrived as well as the same pedestal without slide for the passenger.


I also got my stainless T-nuts and bolts to install the pedestals. I'll probably be pulling my cockpit floor back up soon to install them - Thanks Waterman! :doh:

More to come after this weekend. I have a TV out there for football. Stay tuned and thanks for following along, the words of encouragement, constructive criticism, and the valuable answers to my many questions!

 

[Watermann]

On the compartment drains/vents, if you're putting anything wet in them or if the hatch isn't sealed water tight then you'll want to add drains and or vent holes.

You're adding lots of weight up in the bow section, if you plan on using a bow mount motor and batteries then you may have an issue with that.

 

[Coach Dave]

I get the weight concerns. And I know I'm trying to fit a lot of stuff in a small boat. I ain't got much to go by weight wise. I was able to find that the passenger capacity is 4 - 5 people depending on if it's a Jet or Jetstar. That's roughly 600 - 750 lbs of people. I also found it has an 1100 lb capacity. And that's based on how it was equipped at factory with 50 HP motor. I gutted this thing, and removed that large front aluminum cap that ain't exactly light. I know I'm NEVER gonna have 5 people on this boat, and I highly doubt I'd ever have 4 - maybe my kid and I plus another parent and their kid - maybe.

Yes, I already have the bow mount motor and there will be a battery. I guess I won't know until I splash her for the first time. If I gotta redistribute some weight, I can get over that. If I gotta lose some weight, I can work that out also. It ain't gonna sink. Unless I forget to put my plug in at 1st launch :lol: I figure I'll be tweaking this thing for the 1st season anyway.

I figured a drain hole and vent would be best just in case. If for no other reason than to try and control some musty odors to at least some extent.

 

[Watermann]

Yeah I wasn't concerned with it being over capacity, guess I should've been more specific. My concern is the handling of the boat and performance, weight in the bow is easy to over do.