1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

[MrMarine]

Ok my fellow boaters here we go. I have just aquired a 1965 Starcraft Aluminum boat and trailer for under $300.00 Seriously dirt cheap. Now the bad news. All the wood transom, floor, benches, console rotten and needed to be ripped out and replaced. All electrical wiring in the boat is a birds nest. Someone tried to paint her but just painted over old chipping and some loose paint and now its a bloody mess. Even better news is that i have never done anything remotely close to restoring a boat so i could use some help here. If anyone has any resources as to what this boat should have looked like in its hayday please post a few pics. Also drop me some ideas of how to clean all the paint off the hull so i can repaint the boat.

When putting a new plywood floor down do i just put the carpet right on the wood or do i treat the wood first? O some kind of sealer? Let me know i will get a few pics on here in the next day or two and we shall get started. Whish me luck and may God help us all in our insanity with boats. Yeah i think i have caught the boat restorer flue

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Well I guessed he picked mee !!!! LOL

Welcome !!!!!


Well frist thing you need to do is read , read , and read somemore !!!!!!! The completed projects forum is a great place to start !!! I got a thread going !!! pic of work so far,

Were all here to help , before you even get thinking about tearing out any thing you need to get your plywood drying !! It can take up to 3 weeks just for that !!

Ok there MrMarine, Welcome aboard !!! Get some pic's posted of her !!! John

Ps it's really not all that hard , It just takes alot of time!!!

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Welcome Aboard!
And welcome to the Starcraft club!!!
First thing you need to do is use the "search forums" button and type in replacing decking...

You will get lots of reading material..

But to answer your question since I just came in from cutting some plywood for my 18 foot Starcraft Holiday...

3/8 exterior grade ply is fine...
Use resin & glass on top and bottom, makes waterproof and solid as heck..

Search the starcraft forum as well..read NorthBeach's thread and follow along, Its great info

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=286412&highlight=starcraft

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Read the restoration section. There are threads on every thing you plan to do and need to do. Look at the completed boat section too for what can be done.

Yippee another Starcraft owner There are many of us (Myself included) that are working on older Starcrafts. Mine is a 1966 16'.

Do a search for Startcraft in this section and hang on to your boots!!

 

[idrownworms]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Well I guessed he picked mee !!!! LOL

I didn't know God lived in Hell?

Ok Hell is a little south of what could be called mid MI
Hell MI look it up on google maps
Had a friend that used to live in Fowlerville, we went through hell to get there
I'll stop now
jamie

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

ezmobee has some great picture of what he accomplished here http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/Boat Project/

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Well I guessed he picked mee !!!! LOL

I didn't know God lived in Hell?

Ok Hell is a little south of what could be called mid MI
Hell MI look it up on google maps
Had a friend that used to live in Fowlerville, we went through hell to get there
I'll stop now
jamie

HAHAHAHA yea you did hear they changed the spelling of Hell to Flint !!!!!!!! LOL
I thought it was petty good !! LOL John

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Wow thanks for nod Bob. Anyway, MrMarine get some pics up so we can see what you're working with! Welcome to iBoats and the Starcraft club.

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

EZ,
Didnt mean to leave your fantastic boat out on my recomended reading..I have drooled over yours for awhile now too!

 

[MrMarine]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Ok folks here are some pictures of the boat as she sits. Hope i loaded them right.

 

[MrMarine]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Here are the last 2 i have at the moment.

 

[MrMarine]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Ok folks be gentle on me. I know she dont look like much at the moment but i promise she will imporess even the critical person on here.

Ok I have a few questions:

1. It says rated for 40hp engine... What would be the minimum i could use? Dont need speed just getting out there and back.

2. Can any outboard be used with the steering in the boat? What meen is can i take a tiller handle off and hook it to the steering?

3. How in the world does an outboard motor charge a battery? Is there a built in alternator?

4. Tha boat needs bilge pump, horn, lights, fish finder ect. How again do these get power from an outboard? Or do i put addtional battery and on seperate circuit from the outboard battery?

5. If the outboard does not charge the battery i guess i would need some type of charger????

Sorry if i am asking so many questions just wanna get it right the first time.
and yes i am reading everything on here. Finding a lot of good info. Thank you to every one for helping me out.

 

[Silver Heels]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Hello,

I would personally get a motor lined up before I put forth any time (or money) into the boat. Sometimes the best deals on motors happen to be when they come attached to a boat. You may like that boat better. Also, I find that only (for me anyway) after I have all the bits and pieces lined up am I able to envision the end result. The beauty of working on boats is you can modify the original layout to fit your needs. Get started too early, though and you'll probably be changing a lot of things as you go

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Well that's an interesting specimen. Pretty much a blank slate you could do whatever you want with. It could be a simple bench seat, center console, or even a dual console. Any idea what you plan to do with it?

Ok I have a few questions:

1. It says rated for 40hp engine... What would be the minimum i could use? Dont need speed just getting out there and back.

A 9.9 would certainly move it but you'd probably want at least a 20-30 to plane it nicely.

2. Can any outboard be used with the steering in the boat? What meen is can i take a tiller handle off and hook it to the steering?

I believe pretty much any outboard can be adapted to remote steering. Even little 9.9s.

3. How in the world does an outboard motor charge a battery? Is there a built in alternator?

Typically any motor with electric start has a stator to charge the battery.

4. Tha boat needs bilge pump, horn, lights, fish finder ect. How again do these get power from an outboard? Or do i put addtional battery and on seperate circuit from the outboard battery?

These things can all be wired to the starter battery (mine are). Or you can get a second accessory battery but then you have to install a battery switch so you can select between the two and have the motor charge both.

5. If the outboard does not charge the battery i guess i would need some type of charger????

The outboard charges the battery. Unless you add a deep cell battery for a trolling motor. Those are better plugged in to charge and yes you'd need a charger.

Sorry if i am asking so many questions just wanna get it right the first time.
and yes i am reading everything on here. Finding a lot of good info. Thank you to every one for helping me out.

You're asking logical, specific questions. That certainly won't put anybody out here. We like it Good luck with your project.

 

[redfury]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Hello,

I would personally get a motor lined up before I put forth any time (or money) into the boat. Sometimes the best deals on motors happen to be when they come attached to a boat. You may like that boat better. Also, I find that only (for me anyway) after I have all the bits and pieces lined up am I able to envision the end result. The beauty of working on boats is you can modify the original layout to fit your needs. Get started too early, though and you'll probably be changing a lot of things as you go

That's actually pretty good advice, but...

Ok folks be gentle on me. I know she dont look like much at the moment but i promise she will imporess even the critical person on here.

Ok I have a few questions:

1. It says rated for 40hp engine... What would be the minimum i could use? Dont need speed just getting out there and back. 15 hp would do the trick.

2. Can any outboard be used with the steering in the boat? What meen is can i take a tiller handle off and hook it to the steering? Yes and no. You can convert most tillers to steering. You need to have a steering wheel, the electricals and shifter/throttle cables to get the whole works running.

3. How in the world does an outboard motor charge a battery? Is there a built in alternator? It charges just like any small gas engine does, such as a garden tractor would. Tis all under that big metal thing...the flywheel.

4. Tha boat needs bilge pump, horn, lights, fish finder ect. How again do these get power from an outboard? Or do i put addtional battery and on seperate circuit from the outboard battery? If the motor has a charging circuit ( I know 25hp motors have charging systems ), then you can just use a starting battery for a marine environment to take care of that task. Otherwise, you would want to use a deep cycle marine battery. If you plan to run an electric trolling motor, then you would use a starting battery ( which would run the onboard electronics ) and a deep cycle marine to run the electric trolling motor.

5. If the outboard does not charge the battery i guess i would need some type of charger???? Yes, you can just hook up a standard trickle charger, or get fancy and put an onboard charger that you would plug into with an extension cord until it's charged.

Sorry if i am asking so many questions just wanna get it right the first time.
and yes i am reading everything on here. Finding a lot of good info. Thank you to every one for helping me out.

There are hours of reading here, lots can be learned just by going through the posts. The completed projects forum is the easiest to sift through for raw information as the unnecessary member spam is removed from it for the most part.

Remember, the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.

 

[redfury]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

ezmobee beat me to the punch! Well, that just goes to show you what kind of support you can expect from us!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

At least we agree red!

 

[MrMarine]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Ezmobee and Redfury. You guys are great. Thanks for all the advice.
Silver Heels.. I understand your concerns but i am undoughtidly set on finishing this boat. Even if i find another boat with a motor i would still gut it for the motor and controles because i realy like this boat. It will be a full custom to my specs and design not something someone dreamed up on a coputer or copied from another builders design. I know i cant change the design of the hull but the entire interior and controles and hull colors are completely up to me and of course all the guys on here. Heck i think i will put somekind of omage to the forums at iboats for all the help on the boats hull.. Like i said i am truly set on this one. Thanks for your input gents

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

No problem.

So what are your design ideas?

 

[MrMarine]

Re: 1965 Starcraft Project *****GOD HELP ME*****

Well my first thought was to make it into a small center console type and that leads to another question

If converting to a center console it would be necessary to eliminate the center bench seat. Doing so would that creat a structural flaw in reguards to flex of the gunnels? My thought was that because of the 5"wide top rail, and the nice reinforcement that is under it would that be enough to support the sides?

The front of the boat will be changed to a platform with a chair and storage compartment underneath.

The rear would be a bench type seat with storage under and space behind for controles and electrical compartment.

Just thinking outloud i am going to start with a sketch and i will scan it and post here as soon as finished.

I suppose my first step would be to gut the entire boat remove from trailer flip it over and start to strip the paint. Does anyone have any suggestions as to removing the paint withought damaging the aluminum hull? Sand paper or chemical stripper or wire wheel or something that someone has done?????

Common guys lets get this started.