1979 18' Starcraft SuperSport Restoration

[mbroughton02]

Some of you may have seen my earlier thread where I was asking if this '79 SuperSport was worth fixing given the damage to the keel: http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owner...l-worth-fixing

I took the forum's advice and had the seller show me the engine running today. It started right up on the muffs. I didn't want to rev it because I've heard that the muffs may not deliver enough water, but the motor sounded good at idle and lower RPMs. So I offered $750 and the seller accepted. I'm happy.

So here's how she sits right now:

And here's the aforementioned keel damage:

I'll get better pics of the keel from the inside and outside as soon as I get the boat stripped down to the hull. Seller first said the floor was PT but now says it's marine ply. Either way it was not protected from the elements at all and it needs to come out.

I'm actually working on a camper, too, and I'd like to finish it before really diving into the boat. So this project will get a slow start but I hope to be working on it extensively in the spring and summer.

 

[jbcurt00]

Congrats on dragging it home

Welcome to the Tin-sanity

Camper? Feel free to post it here

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owne...garage-b-s-boat-and-other-stuff-to-talk-about

Good luck w both projects

 

[Tnstratofam]

Nice score!:thumb: Looking forward to seeing another Starcraft saved from the scrap pile.

 

[Decker83]

Glad to see you made such a good deal on her..
Get the PT wood out asap..
:welcome: to the dry dock..

 

[GA_Boater]

What the heck - If you're happy, we're happy for ya, :thumb:

Half the battle is getting a good motor., the rest can be fixed and she looks good except for the wood. When you get a chance, more pics of the keel.

Don't see any snow, so you can work on the camper and the SS.

Welcome to the TinNautHouse.

 

[Watermann]

Welcome to the Starmada!

The SS looks to be pretty straight to me in the pics. That worn spot on the center keel isn't a big deal, strip the stuff the PO put on there to get a better look at what's underneath.

 

[Old Irving]

Welcome to the club. I'm in the middle of restoring my 1977 SS. Good luck.

 

[mbroughton02]

I'm back. I finished my camper project, so on to the Starcraft!

Over the past few days I got the interior gutted and today I got the motor off:

I've read through all the SuperSport restorations, and a good chunk of the others. Unlike some of you, I do not have a Kubota with a bucket, crane truck, or forklift at my house :lol:. I do have a big maple tree, chain hoist, and a 5400 lb rated sling from work. Worked out fine. Also, I got lucky in that my motor still had the lifting eye intact.

So I have good news and... not as good... news. The good news is that the keel damage seems to not be affecting the inside of the hull. I pulled up that section of floor (the rest will come out next week) and I couldn't even tell where the damage was without hopping out of the boat and looking underneath. So unless there is a penetration directly underneath one of the ribs, I believe only the keel itself will need repair. Honestly I was expecting a hole. This is directly above the damaged area:

The not so good news is that not just the transom, but all of the aluminum around the transom, is in very rough shape.

If you look closely you can see a crack in the aluminum cap right where the motor was sitting on the port side. Other than that, it's just a mess of rotton wood, sillycone, and what might even be spray can truck bed liner .

Can someone tell me if the 2 aluminum plates on the inside are an original item? I suspect they were added by someone trying to shore up the area, although it's very apparent that the whole transom needs to come out. I was expecting to replace the transom, but not expecting to do a bunch of aluminum work as well. Oy.

Now that I've actually started working on the boat, I will update this more often.

 

[Watermann]

Nice forward progress, the tear down, the ensuing clean up and the repairs take the bulk of the time on one of these.

Why would you expect a hole in the hull that keel strip just looks worn down is all.

That super thin transom cap it's a common problem on lots of tin boats to have them ruined, cracked, mangled or just missing. I saw in a thread the other day a guy had bent his transom cap straight up to get a look at the wood underneath, yeah the motor was still on it and yeah he ruined the cover.

Looking at the bottom of your hull in the one pic all I see is happiness that there's no corrosion issues, at least there anyway. Pull the splashwell, lots of guys don't but it's a must in my book. Keep plodding on, it gets to be even more fun!

 

[mbroughton02]

Why would you expect a hole in the hull that keel strip just looks worn down is all.

I was expecting a hole because the PO said the repair was leaking. But without the floor coming out, if the bilge pump was running a lot, he would have no way of knowing the leak was from the keel. There is a lot of what appears to be spray on truck bedliner on the inside of the transom. I'm guessing it leaks there and who knows where else. Once I get the rest of the floor out I will put water inside and see where it comes out.

Yes, splashwell is definitely coming out. It's encouraging to hear that I'm not the only one with a crappy transom cap. I guess crappy is better than MIA!

More hull pics coming soon. No corrosion that I have found yet.

 

[PikeHunter431]

I doubt there is much the folks in the forum haven't seen or experienced. It is one of the great things about it.
I am working on my first project, same boat as yours, but a 73.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owner...-goes-aluminum

I am also in the same greater area as you. I teach in Newark and Canadiagua. I'll be checking your thread to see how things are going (and what else I can learn/steal).

Like you, I am short on some of the equipment these guys had. I pulled my motor with the rope deer pulley in the garage. Since then I purchased a 1 ton hoist from HD on sale for $137. ( I think they are running it again this weekend.)

 

[dozerII]

Great SS project you picked up. You are correct those aluminum pieces in front of the transom were P/O added. On the Naked Lady the transom trim cap was broke in three pieces. We had a metal shop break us a new one then with about four sets of hands and a couple rubber mallets we massaged it to fit the curve of the transom top.

 

[classiccat]

Most of what you're seeing is par for the course...your transom was definitely in advanced stages of decline (non-existent structurally).

Since you've read enough threads, you're familiar with leak-testing. I'd be surprised if those keel rivets aren't seeping.

If there's enough keel material left, here's the approach that I used for my own damage.

 

[mbroughton02]

I am also in the same greater area as you. I teach in Newark and Canadiagua. I'll be checking your thread to see how things are going (and what else I can learn/steal).

Hey neighbor! We go to Canandaigua for concerts occasionally.

If there's enough keel material left, here's the approach that I used for my own damage.

Yes, I've bookmarked your method as a possible solution . I'm going to strip all the bedliner and putty from the keel so that I can really see what's going on.

 

[Decker83]

Making good progress.. In my younger days, I pulled many of car motors with the tree and come-along.. :lol:
Have a great week..

 

[mbroughton02]

More progress this evening.

Spashwell is out. That wasn't fun at all.

Dishrag for extra flotation?

Whaddaya guys say about my transom? A little gluvit and it's good to go?

Knee brace. This makes me sad:

Floor is out!

Tomorrow I'll remove the foam, vac out all the leaves, and pressure wash the inside of the hull.

 

[Decker83]

I would just use some latex water based paint on the transom and be done with it..:laugh:
The knee brace looks like a lot of them I've seen here.. Some aluminum angles and ss bolts will take care of that..

 

[Watermann]

Hey I'm seeing nothing so far that hasn't been overcome by the Starmada, you got this!

I am a bit concerned about the screw sticking up in the center at the bottom of the knee brace. I hope that was just laying there and isn't driven up through the hull.

 

[FrankenCub]

Hey I'm seeing nothing so far that hasn't been overcome by the Starmada, you got this!

I am a bit concerned about the screw sticking up in the center at the bottom of the knee brace. I hope that was just laying there and isn't driven up through the hull.

That would be one looong screw lol, looks like it's right floor level....at least it looks like the floor to the right
Then again, the Sprayliner I took my tank from had 3" of nail INSIDE the tank, after passing through 2" of wood :facepalm:

 

[Watermann]

Oh man, some people... I swear!