Re: Got me a Starchief
That marine vinyl does give you the look of carpet without all the downfalls.
That said, I was going to use commercial flooring made from vinyl. It comes on a roll and looks a lot like carpet runner but in wider rolls and with a coin shaped pattern on the surface. I was worried about it getting slippery when wet but it does great. I've even seen it in a few new boats.
It was under $50 to do the whole boat.
In the end, I cheaped out and I used some epoxy floor coating on mine that I already had with grit added.
Those mid 80's Shoreline trailers like the one that was under that boat are tough as nails, they use an all steel swivel set up that pretty much self adjusts to any boat. The only permanent adjustment you have to make is roller arm width and axle location. I had one under another boat and regret ever letting it go with the boat. It was overkill for that Starchief though. Those Starchief hulls are light, well under 1000 lbs, maybe even under 1000lbs with the motor. I weighed mine with it's outboard and a full tank of fuel, on a single axle bunk trailer and it only weighed in at 1443 lbs at the truck scales down the road. I've owned aluminum bass boats that weighed as much or even less.
A 50hp should do fine on that boat, your worst enemy will be wind.
I never figured that boat would end up being scrapped, but I think RF is thinking about a move south. I can't blame anyone for wanted to move out of NJ.
When I first looked at that boat he had a dozen or more boats. I got the impression he was trying to lighten the load and prepare for a move.
He's also a big man, I'm not sure I could picture him in that cabin very well.
When I redid my deck, I removed the foam with a shovel and pair of rubber gloves. My foam was all wet, soaked throughout and chewed to bits by mice. It stunk and weighed a ton. My hull was missing rivets, several which corroded away and fell out, only to have been glued back in with silicone. I had two dents up front which I had filled by a body shop that had aluminum experience, and my transom wood was all but gone with severe pitting under the wood. I figured that it sat in saltwater for a long time without any annodes to protect the hull. I got lucky and there was no sheet metal corrosion, just the rivets were bad. I bought a bag of rivets and went to town. I had to remove the entire interior, cabin wall included and get it down to the bare aluminum. I replaced any suspect rivets and then coated the entire inside of the hull with Gluvit and then with epoxy paint. It will outlast me.
While you have that floor out, I'd give it a coat of Gluvit for insurance, I doubt if that hull has any leaks but why not since your already there. My thought is that it also adds a layer of protection from the elements and any water that may ever lay down below deck.
I won't run any aluminum boat without it.
