1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Erik - GA was being sarcastic on ya there.

Great Lakes Skipper usually has a good selection of hatches

Well, he should know better, the internet is serious business, no place for sarcasm...

I'll check Great Lakes, thanks!

-Erik

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Sorry about my lame humor attempt. Everything was straight dope up to that point. I missed that the deck is down. Don't tear that up. The round access you mentioned is what I had in mind, too. Remember - watch out for me, Erik.

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Hey,

Does anyone know how to remove the steering wheel from the helm?

I need to replace the wood, I have already removed the Mercruiser gauge panel and the tilt/trim buttons, the steering wheel is all that remains.

I tried to lightly pry the front trim off the steering wheel but it doesn't seem to be moving. Is there a trick or is this steering system assembled differently?

Here's a few pictures:

-Erik

 

[Grandad]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Hey, Does anyone know how to remove the steering wheel from the helm?
I tried to lightly pry the front trim off the steering wheel but it doesn't seem to be moving. Is there a trick or is this steering system assembled differently?
-Erik

I suspect that yours is not the original equipment wheel. My original from '72 has a Starcraft emblem on the centre plastic trim piece that easily snaps out just with your fingers. I think my steering assembly is otherwise identical. Unless you can see some way that your chrome trim releases from the spokes such as screws from behind, I think you'll have to simply pry it off as close to the hub as you can work. You must get the wheel off from the spindle nut before you can access the bolts that pass through the dash to hold the assembly in place. - Grandad

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

As Grandad was saying - I think a small (I used a jewelers screwdriver) can be used to pry the chrome hub cover off. Should be a large nut under it. Loosen the nut and use your knees to put pressure on the wheel and tap on the nut. It should (hopefully) pop off. Some PB blaster or penetrating oil of some sort might be needed. No missing pics this time. :redface:

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Hey Guys,

That's what I was expecting to hear. I did try to pry lightly and it didn't seem to be moving so I thought I would ask before I broke anything. I'll bring some picks and mini prybars next time I go to work on the boat, hopefully I'll be able to get it off.

Grandad,

I believe it is the OEM wheel. There is a Starcraft "S" in the middle of the wheel, it just didn't photograph well.

-Erik

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Time for another update.

I've been ordering parts for the boat and much has arrived over the past 2-3 days.

First for the electrical systems I've picked up a Blue Sea Systems fuse panel:

And the ******** switch panel with LED indicator lights and 15A resettable circuit breakers:

For instrumentation I picked up two Stewart Warner fuel guages that should nicely compliment the rest of my gauges which are original to the boat.

For entertainment (I need my music!) I grabbed a Poly-Planer MRD-70:

I also have a set of four JBL MS-9200 marine 6X9 speakers that should be showing up later this morning.

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

I also luckily found a pretty good deal on the local Craigslist and was able to pickup two helm seats with pedestals for $100. The seats need a thorough cleaning but the upholstery looks to be pretty nice beneath the grime and I'm hoping will cleanup nicely.

Here's a picture of one of the chairs on a pedestal (excuse the double cushions, I was trying to cleanup!)

The pedestals were in pretty rough condition from years of use and people moving the footrests/seats after the (plastic?) bearings had worn down or been lost. The pedestals were also 12" taller than I need for my application.

So, to the shop they went:

I won't be needing the footrests in my boat so the major diameter of the pedestals is only important on the top 3" where the seat attaches. To clean up appearences I took roughly .015" (depth of the scratches) off the diameter and then polished the pedestals. I then cut them down to the correct height and did a final polish.

My little brother took care of the second piece for me, thanks Joe!

Done!

Now I need to replace the (plastic bearing?) surfaces that go between the pedestal and the base of the seat, here's a picture:

Anyone know where I can find replacements? The pedestal is 3" diameter and the bearing surface is 3" tall.

That's all for now, I should be going to work on the boat this afternoon, I've been experimenting with a mixture of epoxy and sawdust as a filler, I'll report back on how that's working. I also have a mixture of epoxy and Black Beauty sandblasting media to use as a non-skid surface that's looking promising. I'll report back on both once I have a chance to get back to the boat.

-Erik

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Nice score on those seats. I've heard Magic Erasure works great on grimy vinyl.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Morning. Erik. The pedestals really cleaned up - look brand new now. Do you have a brand name on the pedestals? The plastic bushing should be wear items and the mfg. might have replacements.

Nice electrical items, too Did you find the hatches?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Excellent work on the pedistles!

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Nice score on those seats. I've heard Magic Erasure works great on grimy vinyl.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll be sure to pick some up and give it a try. The grime seems to be really well set in.

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Morning. Erik. The pedestals really cleaned up - look brand new now. Do you have a brand name on the pedestals? The plastic bushing should be wear items and the mfg. might have replacements.

Nice electrical items, too Did you find the hatches?

I don't have a brand name unfortunately. I'll just look around a little, hopefully they'll be pretty easy to find, if not it should be easy enough to make replacements.

I found some access hatches that I'll be using. They've not been ordered yet but I should have them coming in the next week or two.

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Hey Everyone,

I'm back working on the boat and have made some pretty good progress.

First the helm.

Old:

New (in progress):

New (in shop again):

I've also been working to get the new seats cleaned up, they're coming along nicely but still need more work. Hopefully they'll be finished by the time I do another project update!

I'm going out to work on the gas tank cover boxes/seat bases now. If I make progress worthy of pictures I'll have another update tonight.

-Erik

 

[rheagler]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Hi Erik.. I just skimmed your whole thread. Nice job on your Chief so far. Nice scores on the goodys to put in too. I'll be looking forward to more progress.

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

I'll post a few pictures and then be back later with a fill in update/explanation of the progress, the iBoats forum has been slow and finicky on my computer and I don't want to risk losing a lengthy written reply!

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Now to explain what has been happening since the last update...

I've been working on getting the electrical put back together, I decided that I wanted a clean but more importantly easy to maintain/modify system, this necessitated running conduit inside the sides of the boat rather than having all the wiring tied together and hung under the gunnels.

The main conduit is 1-1/4" PVC and runs from a 6x6 handy box on the transom to a 8x8 handy box that is bolted under the helm, the 8x8 handy box will also double as the fuse box with the fuse panel mounted on standoffs so all the thru wiring snakes through behind it. So far I've pulled the main engine harness, the tilt trim harness, the trim tab harness, and a pull cable for the final pull, I still have to pull two runs of 8AWG.

There will also be a loop of 1/2" flexible conduit that will run from the helm to the bow and then back towards the stern on the port side. This conduit will be used for horn wiring, cuddy courtesy lights, the bow light, anchor light and the speakers on the port side.

In other progress the seat boxes are also coming together, they will each have two LED courtesy lights mounted for safety after dark. Hopefully I will be putting the epoxy on the boxes next time I'm out to work on the boat.

The bennett trim tabs have also been mounted though the installation is not finalized yet.

-Erik

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Are you an electrician Erik? Nice work. Are the fuel tanks under the seat boxes?

 

[ErikF]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Are you an electrician Erik? Nice work. Are the fuel tanks under the seat boxes?

No, I'm not an electrician, just a farmer who's done more than his share of wiring in conduit.

The fuel tanks are under the seat boxes, the tops of the boxes will be bolted on with machine screws and sealed around the perimeter with weatherstripping to allow access.

-Thanks for the comments

 

[ShowMeGuy]

Re: 1971 21' Starcraft Chieftain (eventual restoration)

Lookin good! Keep up the status reports!

I'm trying to find a deal like yours on a chieftain in withing a 7-8hr radius of St. Louis! Not sure it's gonna happen by the time I'll be ready to go out on the river....