1977 Starcraft Restoration project

[pntbtrjllytme]

Anyone have any advice on where to get material to replace the channel over my transom? When we first got the boat my wife lifted the motor too high and it just wrecked the channel. Needs to be replaced (or maybe filled/welded in where its damaged??) and I didnt know if anyone knew where I could get such a thing? Dont have a pic on hand at the moment but its pretty beat up.

I did get the furring strips as you suggested Watermann but I just couldnt do it. I ended up going out to get some aluminum square pipe and Im going to rivet that to my ribs and stringers to life the floor up. Costs a bit more but itll just give me a bit of piece of mind knowing I had something a bit sturdier under the floors to hold them down. Im hoping to have that done tonight and this weekend Ill get my vinyl.

Speaking of... I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Merideck Vinyl? I just looked around quickly but seemed like it was a wee bit cheaper than the nautolex. Wasnt sure if it was worth the extra cost. Thanks again in advance!

 

[MNhunter1]

Anyone have any advice on where to get material to replace the channel over my transom? When we first got the boat my wife lifted the motor too high and it just wrecked the channel. Needs to be replaced (or maybe filled/welded in where its damaged??) and I didnt know if anyone knew where I could get such a thing? Dont have a pic on hand at the moment but its pretty beat up.

Speaking of... I was wondering if anyone has any experience with Merideck Vinyl? I just looked around quickly but seemed like it was a wee bit cheaper than the nautolex. Wasnt sure if it was worth the extra cost. Thanks again in advance!

I used this: http://www.orangealuminum.com/index....nel-2900a.html

Took a little effort to bend it into shape and it's not perfect, but much better than the cut up original one that I was dealing with.

Careful on the Marideck cost estimate, I believe it is normally sold and priced by the running foot rather than the running yard that Nautolex is. I have samples of both and the Marideck is a bit thicker if I recall (samples are at home), but I ultimately went with the Nautolex due to cost and color preference. Either will work just as well, personal preference.

 

[Watermann]

I did get the furring strips as you suggested Watermann but I just couldnt do it. I ended up going out to get some aluminum square pipe and Im going to rivet that to my ribs and stringers to life the floor up. Costs a bit more but itll just give me a bit of piece of mind knowing I had something a bit sturdier under the floors to hold them down. Im hoping to have that done tonight and this weekend Ill get my vinyl.

I used 2 layers of marine grade 1/2" ply cut to 1.5" wide for the furring strips, it's more solid than if just the deck was attached to the ribs. I didn't use the flimsy stuff called furring strips that's found in box stores.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

I used these bars and drilled holes so I could place the rivets in. Also I figured this would be good to use to run my wiring down. the end of the bars end right in front of the console so I could drill a small hole for the wiring and pull it up from the floor to the console.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

And also thank you MN for the insight on the channel and the vinyl. I will be sure to check into that appreciate the info!

 

[oldhaven]

I did something similar using aluminum rectangular tube. Here is a link to the part of my build thread that descrribes it. Good idea about the wires, but best to run them or at least a pull wire before you nail things down.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owne...other-maine-starchief?p=10164668#post10164668

Ron

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

I did something similar using aluminum rectangular tube. Here is a link to the part of my build thread that descrribes it. Good idea about the wires, but best to run them or at least a pull wire before you nail things down.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owne...other-maine-starchief?p=10164668#post10164668

Ron

Yes thats what Im worried about actually. I just know as soon as I bolt everything down Ill remember I forgot something. Ill be sure to triple check everything beforehand. And thanks for the link ilIll be sure to check it out!

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Anyone have any luck with Peel Away paint remover??? Looks quite promising may give it a try.. I could apply it and let it sit for a couple of days, per the instructions, while Im working on the rest of the boat.

http://www.peelaway.co.nz/peel-away-8.html

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Not a ton of progress with me being so busy at work lately and going all over hell and back for supplies.. But really hoping I can get some serious work done this weekend. Weather is supposed to be very nice for a change. Wanted to get SOMETHING done today so I got one of my aluminum tubes mounted to one side to lift the floor up. Seems very secure. I lifted up quite hard on it and it didnt budge so Im very happy with the outcome. I drilled the holes because I wanted to use rivets with some larger heads on them and also felt the closer I could get the head of the rivet to the ribs/stringers the more support Id get rather than using a long rivet to go all the way through the material. Also, the holes will lighten the boat, easily giving me an extra 10hp to the motor and increasing my top speeds...

 

[No-AH]

Looks solid to me.:thumb: Great raceway for wiring and tubing too imo. Slight adjustment of consoles height and side panels and you'll be good to go!

 

[BWR1953]

...Also, the holes will lighten the boat, easily giving me an extra 10hp to the motor and increasing my top speeds...

ound: :rofl:

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Got quite a bit done over the weekend. Got all of the floor down, livewell in place and supported, (not 100% done with supporting it yet) put another coat of epoxy on the transom, and... thats it lol. Took me all weekend to do that... but now that Im typing it, it just doesnt seem like I did much of anything :blue:

If you can see in one of the pics the livewell originally had a large top section on it that I had to cut and sand down. I left this section on at first just to help me trace a nice hole in the front deck wood. Once I got everything lined up I cut the top part of the livewell off and sanded it down with fine grain sand paper and a belt sander. You can see how nice it came out in one of the pics. I really like how its coming out so far everything is lining up beautifully. I never got around to lifting the board under the console. I wanted to make sure everything lined up with the livewell section before I did that just to be safe.

I did as much as my body could handle this weekend.. Im completely beat. I plan on coating the floors in epoxy tomorrow to get that going. While thats all sealing I will be running all the wiring and plumbing. Once thats done Ill put the floors down, then vinyl and then start the custom splashwell build. Hoping I can still finish everything some time in May. As much as Id love to paint her thats just going to have to wait. I have my priorities and fishing greatly outweighs the color of my boat lol. It could be neon pink at this point for all I care! :lol:

 

[ezmobee]

Looking good!

 

[JimmySmackdown]

I've been working on my re-fit of what I believe to be a 1965 Sunchief. Your posts have been very helpful in figuring out how to proceed into uncharted territory. It looks like you're putting a lot of time, effort and money into it. It looks great and I'm sure it will bring a smile to your face every time you take it out on the water.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Thanks a lot EZ and also thank you for the kind words Wally! Im glad my build is helping you with yours. Theres a TON of info on here that Ive used for help with mine. Couldnt have done it without help from these guys. And I am definitely eager to get her back out on the water I can hardly stand the excitement!

On that note..

I decided I will try to at least paint the inside of the boat just to have a nice interior.. and the vinyl Im putting in is grey (should have that any day now) so I dont want that old blue in there with all my nice new interior. I dont want to spend a ton of time on it however until after fishing season is done so I guess I dont mind redoing a bit of work later to make the interior look nice now temporarily. That being said I went out and got some grey rustoleum spray paint last night. Wondering, can I just spray that directly on the sides of my gunnels and the metal on my consoles and it hold up for one season? Or do I need to scuff the paint up, go to bare metal, or prime it and seal it or what? Basically want something that just matches my interior. Not looking for a 100% finished paint job but also dont want it to peel off in 3 weeks of fishing. Is there a happy medium? Would appreciate any advice I am very new to the paint game. I have a decent background in flipping houses so I can paint the inside our outside of a house but thats the extent of my paint knowledge. Thanks again guys!

 

[ezmobee]

I taped off my bare aluminum trim and rolled/brushed white Rustoleum in my interior and gunnel tops. Been holding up great.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Got quite a bit done in the last few days. Pardon the mess you see in my pics.. I don't have the luxury of having a big fancy garage like some of you guys lol. I'm working out of a one stall, with stuff from a 6 year old and a border line hoarder wife..

​Got a few goodies, vinyl is down and glue is curing as I type this. Gunnel sides painted also. The part where the 2 pieces of vinyl meet, I'm going to cover it with the tie downs.

 

[ezmobee]

That looks great!

 

[MD28]

Mmmm, Oberon! Boat looks good too.

 

[pntbtrjllytme]

Thanks guys! And yes, I love oberon =D Not a lot of pics today since nothing really looks any different.. but the vinyl is completely done on the gunnels. I took off both trim pieces off the gunnels and had to redo half of the right side there was a sliver of vinyl not tucked under the outside trim piece.. Also, got one of the consoles painted up. Nothing too fancy there and not quite done with that I dont want the entire thing to be grey. Dont have a pic, but got the console dash boards cut also. Tomorrow will finally start applying CC epoxy to the floors and will also be working on a lid for the livewell as well as the new aerator system I got the other day.

If you look at one of my previous pics youll see that the livewell hole in the front deck in rather large. I plan on using the piece of wood I cut out and use that as a very large hatch that will be locked down. In the center of that large hatch will be either 1 or 2 smaller hatches.. The reason being is 1. Ill be able to have more support to walk on. And 2. The livewell is a bit larger and Id like to have the large hatch to open to clean the
livewell out if needed