1974 Starcraft Chieftain

[skyfisher]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

My wife want's me to find another boat, on the West Coast the pickings are slim to none. I passed up looking at the 25' boat that was a 5hr drive away. I almost made the trip but the price was $4750 and it had a v-8 ford. Mid 70's vintage. Boat looked good from the pictures, no galvanized trailer and use the boat in salt water. The wife was willing to let me look as long as I took her dad with me.
I am still looking, must be a 24-26' with a cabin of some sort. I have a 1986 21' Cheif at this time.

A while back saw a 25 chief listed on CL in Port Orchard WA was 6 hours away from me so did not look believe it was mid 3 g's maybe its still there. Closer to you

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

I know, I know, I'll tell her about the boat eventually. You guys out there with Starcrafts, know how hard it to kick MBS........and for 250.00, I couldn't stop myself????

It was an all day event but we got the Chieftain moved on Friday. Drove from Columbus to Cleveland to pick up a truck(this one she knows about). Then drove to Ann Arbor met up with my Uncle who agreed to help spot during the move. Then to Leslie, Michigan, got her greased, lights fixed, tires inflated and hooked up. Took her 62 miles south to Marshall, Michigan, longest 2 1/2 hour drive, ever. Covered her up, put her on jack stands and pull the wheels. As you can see from the picture the rubber is severely dry-rotted.

Looking through the documentation, I found the last registration November of 1990....

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

OK, yah, no doubt, no matter how severe the beating, at 250 bones, it'll be worth it. Just be sure to cover the "critical" areas when it goes down:fear::fear::fear::fear:



Smokes, I can't believe you made any distance on those tires, yikes!

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Aw - Those tires have another 1/4 mile left in them. Good thing you didn't have 63 miles from Leslie to Marshall. They look like a dried up river bed. Yikes!!

So you picked up a new truck and made a little detour? Did you hit any of the nasty weather up there during the "truck test drive"?

 

[64osby]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Avg speed of 25mph is hauling butt on those tires.

Congrats on a successful grab and go.

Looks like it's tucked in a nice dry storage area.

 

[classiccat]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Holy Smokes bgc! dodged 2 bullets on that one man! 1.) blowing out a tire & 2.) calling the Admiral for help! :faint:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Holy Smokes bgc! dodged 2 bullets on that one man! 1.) blowing out a tire & 2.) calling the Admiral for help! :faint:

Um, yeah, there is a third option:

Trailer, trailer tie downs & tires ARE important, even on the initial rescue mission

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

OK, yah, no doubt, no matter how severe the beating, at 250 bones, it'll be worth it. Just be sure to cover the "critical" areas when it goes down.





Smokes, I can't believe you made any distance on those tires, yikes!

My plan is to out run her…..
I was quite thankful the tires held for me. I think Grandpa was watching over the move….

Aw - Those tires have another 1/4 mile left in them. Good thing you didn't have 63 miles from Leslie to Marshall. They look like a dried up river bed. Yikes!!

So you picked up a new truck and made a little detour? Did you hit any of the nasty weather up there during the "truck test drive"?

We drove in freezing rain for the first hour and a half of the journey. Just west of Sandusky the clouds opened and the sun was shining for the rest of my travels.

Avg speed of 25mph is hauling butt on those tires.

Congrats on a successful grab and go.

Looks like it's tucked in a nice dry storage area.

One of the small culverts I want over on a gravel road had a nasty dip on the far side. Even at my snails pace, it was a heck of a jolt, I thought OH CARP, one of them is going to give. Thankfully we made it without incident.

Holy Smokes bgc! dodged 2 bullets on that one man! 1.) blowing out a tire & 2.) calling the Admiral for help!

Blowing a tire was my biggest worry and there is NO way in Hades I would have called the Admiral….. I could only imaging the call…Honey I'm in Michigan picking up another boat and the tire blew, Ill be back Monday after the tire store opens…..

Um, yeah, there is a third option:

Trailer, trailer tie downs & tires ARE important, even on the initial rescue mission

This was the funniest thing I have read on this site! The guys and I were talking about this when I told them what my plans were. The last thing my assistant said when I left work was. "If it looks like you're gonna lose her, aim for a cow pasture and hope for a good launch"!!!!:laugh:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Blowing a tire was my biggest worry and there is NO way in Hades I would have called the Admiral….. I could only imaging the call…Honey I'm in Michigan picking up another boat and the tire blew, Ill be back Monday after the tire store opens…..

Yep, that'd give her PLENTY of time to move all your stuff outside, INTO the other boat.

CBK shall live on in infamy until iboats servers loose the 1's & 0's that make up that pix of a field find Holiday....

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Won't happen, JB. Those pics are saved for posterity. And for a laugh on occasion. No good for blackmail cuz Kev wasn't shy about sharing. Still a good reminder about the things that go wrong.

 

[barato2]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

i hear this discussion about a tire and i'm confused. all i saw was a pic of the floor of Gale Crater on Mars......

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Okay, I made my first SNAFU. I spent more time looking at the price of the tires and less time looking for the ST markings......So a nice set of 4, 175/70R/13 passenger tires showed up. It'll cost more to send back than what they're worth.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Okay, I made my first SNAFU. I spent more time looking at the price of the tires and less time looking for the ST markings......So a nice set of 4, 175/70R/13 passenger tires showed up. It'll cost more to send back than what they're worth.

See what the load rating is, you may be okay. I had to go with low profile passenger tires on the tandem trailer under the 201. The tires were rated for more than I needed.

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

The tires have enough load rating but soft sidewalls....

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Link to "The Starmada" facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Starmada/131600063554097

 

[barato2]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

suspect the soft sidewalls would mostly show up as slightly reduced tracking stability, and i'll bet with the tandem-wheel trailer, you'll never notice the difference.

i'm actually considering putting big offroad tires under the holiner trailer instead of trailer tires when i get that far because i suspect they'll stand up to Mexican dirt roads and goat trails better, and be less likely to bog during beach launches.

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Swaying is a bigger issue with soft sidewalls and a top heavy load. I'll try it out for the final run home but if it gets sketchy, they'll come off.

 

[bgc]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

The guys and I made a road trip yesterday to pick up a "Parts Boat". A 1981 21' Galaxy with a 120 Mercruiser for a hundred bucks. Another 9 hours on the road to get this Chieftain back in the water.

 

[64osby]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

You're a glutton an opportunist and an inspiration.

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1974 Starcraft Chieftain

Nice and super cheap Chief project you have there bgc. I'm going to hop on board for the ride if you don't mind.

Impressive find on the donor boat too. I can think of a super bottom feeder that lurks around here who'll be proud of your thrifty accomplishments.