1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

[tcampbell011]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

1988starcraft- I like your suggestions I think I will do both! Switch the gas tanks/battery and the downrigger

Ply-wood seems like it would be good enough to me. I would like to use a non-slip epoxy on everything but the bow deck. I saw on another forum where someone used non-slip garage paint. I really liked the way it looked (dark grey with black and white spots) but apparently its not UV resistant.

So I started gluvit on thursday, I did one half of the can at a time so I could see how it worked. It really did a good job of sealing everything. It reminds me of the stuff I put on my waders if I get a hole. I started priming on saturday and sunday, I used self etching primer and then bare metal primer. Me and my roommates decided to clean the garage on sunday and we rolled the boat in there. That night it rained hard, I'm lucky we moved the boat in the garage. The forecast said nothing about rain.

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Essentially I agree with 1988 Starcraft, but as a minumum I would apply a couple coats of spar urethane to the plywood all around. That will give you some insurance and probably increase the life of your plywood quite a bit for a small investment of time/money.

 

[tcampbell011]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

I've been really busy lately, starting a new job and moving to Helena for the summer. I haven't had too much time to work on my boat but I've got a little work done. There are some sweet lakes up here and it really sucks not having my boat ready!

My eyes have been glued to the weather forecast, as I paint the inside of my boat. Here is the process I did, it seems to be working very well.

- Strip old paint with paint stripper
- Clean and sand
- Dusting of Rustoleum SE Primer (rattle can from walmart)
- Rustoleum Metal Primer (2 Coats)
- Rustoleum Topside paint (2 Coats)

I still have another coat of paint to do, but I'm waiting until I get the aluminum frame built because its scratching the paint.

I am going to paint the outside of the hull, but I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. Some forums say NOT to remove the existing paint and others say to strip it all the way off. (Maybe this site had TOO much info!) Heres some pics of the existing paint job, its pretty ****ty to say the least.

I was thinking of ether:
1. Using the same stripper and strip the paint off, then use ZC primer then paint with tractor paint. Or..
2. Sanding the old paint until all the lose chips are gone, then prime bare Alum and paint with tractor paint.
Any suggestions?

Also here is what I've done so far with the aluminum stringer, there is going to be a rear casting deck and here is the beginning of it.

Thanks for all your input!!!!!

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

I wouldn't want that crappy peeling paint under my new paint job, I'd strip it all the way off with the stripper then zinc it and paint it like I wanted.

Some people aren't that concerned with quality, or just don't want to put forth the effort to completely strip a boat with a really crappy paint job.

If your old paint job was mainly sound with just a couple/few little peely/blister spots I'd say just sand it, but the paint job you're dealing with is complete junk and should be treated as such.

 

[tcampbell011]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Is there a good way to turn over a boat by yourself? I could get it off the trailer obviously, but Im pretty sure using the ground as an axis to flip it over is a badd idea. I might be able to get 1 maybe 2 guys. I've only lived here a week. I seem to remember reading a technique somewhere on here but I couldn't find it.

Also I found a picture of a boat design that I think I want to copy. What do you guys think?

 

[lakelover]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Is there a good way to turn over a boat by yourself?

I think you can do it by yourself if you need to. I did it by getting it off the trailer and just lifted up one side until it sort of balanced on the other side. Then I walked around the stern, keeping it steady as I went, got to the center, and just let the high side down. I was putting it on a trailer that I had added a frame to so I could move it around the yard.

Check out this post on my resto thread: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=309879&p=3026093&viewfull=1#post3026093

 

[1988Starcraft]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

As far as turning it over goes, be careful if you the boat is still empty. My 1988 Starcraft was pretty floppy when everything was out of it and I was a little concerned even walking in it. I used ratchet straps around the whole boat to keep the sides a little stiffer and maybe you could do the same if you turn it over empty.

As far as the boat layout goes, In concept the boat in the picture and what you want to do look pretty close. Just be careful putting too much weight into the boat up high. When I stand up on the casting deck I put in, there's noticeably more rocking when you encounter waves. I've never fallen overboard, but I get down when I see anything of any size approaching. If you put two big decks into your boat, and have two people standing up on them fishing with your hull design (which is like my 1988 Starcraft) it might be tippy. It's hard to tell what hull shape the boat in the picture has, but it looks like a lot of relatively flat bass boats (not as prone to rolling side to side) that don't sit nearly as high out of the water as ours do. If you mount your decks lower relative to the gunnels (or only take out short fat fishing partners), that will help.

Good luck. 1988 Starcraft.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Those cut down gunwales are going to make your sides pretty floppy (you'll see why they were wide when you flip it), take it slow and easy. If you can have someone help you it would be a lot better, but you can probably do it yourself.

 

[tcampbell011]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Haha I could put up a sign: "must be under 72 inches to board". problem solved.

I'm fishing in mountain lakes that can get pretty windy so I think I'll make my decks about 10" shorter than the picture.

Would it be okay (or better?) to build the deck first then paint? Most of the builds I've seen were painted first, is there a reason for that?

I know, the gunwales are too narrow. Just wait till its completed, I've got some aluminum sheet that'll make them look alot better.

One issue I ran into was: the top of the center stringer isn't level with the indentation on the sides of the boat. (where the edges of the plywood go) The stringer is about 1/4" too short, I was thinking I would use some aluminum flat bar as "shims" to make it level. Is there anything wrong with that?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1973 Starcraft 15.5ft unknown model AMBITIOUS restoration

Haha I could put up a sign: "must be under 72 inches to board". problem solved.

I'm fishing in mountain lakes that can get pretty windy so I think I'll make my decks about 10" shorter than the picture.

Would it be okay (or better?) to build the deck first then paint? Most of the builds I've seen were painted first, is there a reason for that?

I know, the gunwales are too narrow. Just wait till its completed, I've got some aluminum sheet that'll make them look alot better.

One issue I ran into was: the top of the center stringer isn't level with the indentation on the sides of the boat. (where the edges of the plywood go) The stringer is about 1/4" too short, I was thinking I would use some aluminum flat bar as "shims" to make it level. Is there anything wrong with that?

Boats are painted when they're stripped of everything because they're much lighter and easier to flip over. With the weight of the plywood, framing material, and foam your boat will weigh twice as much or more than it does now.

Just be careful and take it easy when you flip your boat now and it'll be ok, you could screw 2 or 3 2x4's braces across the top under the gunwales (from port to starboard and cut to size) and that would stiffen it up a lot for flipping.

The center stringer isn't that big of a deal and you can shim up with aluminum bar stock like you mentioned.

The deck heights (factory) on my boat are 8" down from the tops of the gunwales for the front deck and 4" down for the rear deck. My front deck is pretty big, but the rear deck is small.