Help with Starcraft restoration

[ddmcnair]

Folks,

I really need some serious help with restoring a 1990, 16', aluminum
Starcraft Mariner.

I asked the same set of questions on the Starcraft Boat Restoration Group site and got a few good responses (thanks Striper Fanatic and Honker1). Also posted pictures (http://ph.groups.yahoo.com/group/StarcraftBoatRestorationGroup/photos/browse/be02)

She's a very sound hull (some questions on the transom) and has a
wonderful (like new) 1996, 75 hp Mercury engine.

I have gutted her and am now ready to begin the restoration. Got
lots of questions.

My questions run the entire spectrum. Any an all answers will be a big help and greatly appreciated.

FLOTATION
Foam flotation under the floor - Is it probably still good or should it be replaced?
Use of expanding foam in spaces under the flooring? What type?
How to avoid over filling? How to introduce it ? holes in the floor?

Styrofoam flotation
How important is the Styrofoam flotation?
Under the gunwale?
In cavities behind transom plate?
In bow cavities?
Replace Styrofoam with expanding foam?

FLOORING
Half inch or three quarters plywood - original is 1/2"?
Marine plywood or treated exterior?
How do you seal it when preparing for installation?
Do I want to replace/reinforce the chines and stringers?
How to fasten it down ? pop rivets or stainless/brass screws?
Do you seal the edges of the floor ? where the floor meets the
side?
How do you create drainage?
Has anyone done the floor in panels that can be removed? How did they keep them from moving/rattling?

TRANSOM REPLACEMENT
I will be replacing the wood with marine plywood. How should
this be sealed?
There is some corrosion/corrosion on the aluminum in the transom
and one hole about the size of a dime.
How would you seal the hole?
Can I just ignore the pitting or do I need to fill it with
something like HTS 2000. Has anyone had any luck with HTS 2000?
Thinking of adding a second sheet of aluminum. Inside the
transom or outside? Bolted through the wooden transom and the
existing transom or welded? Full transom or just the engine mounting
area? Full height or just the top? Any suggestions on type of
aluminum, thickness, fastening, etc.

GAS TANK
Seems to be very good but there was old gas in it? Any
suggestions re: cleaning or remounting?

RIVETS
What type of rivets should be used? Are there tools/brands that
will make this process as simple as possible?

ENGINE ? 75hp Mercury
Engine is a 1996 and is in beautiful shape ? runs perfectly.
Am I overpowered?
Will I be able to troll (2-3 mph range) without dragging a drift
sock or something?
Will she sit too low in the stern?

Again, any help will be greatly appreciated. If you would like to
take the exchange off line I would be more than happy to provide any
pictures, etc. that might be helpful.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Aches n Pains (Doug)

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Help with Starcraft restoration

Welcome to iboats.
Let me get this down to the boat restoration and building forum for you to get answers to your questions.

 

[stripernut]

Re: Help with Starcraft restoration

Ok to start with I am in the same restoration process you are. I bought an old 71 Startcraft. As for the foam if its dry and not all waterlogged it should be fine. I added a bunch of packing foam a buddy had to compleatly fill the floor. I do have a built in 55 gal gas tank and the rest of the floor has foam packed in every space that was open. The way I look at it the more foam the better chance I have of surviving. I thought about using the spray in foam but its a major mess if you add too much or need to move it. As for the transom I had to have a buddy cut out the whole section where they had wood as a back up plate for the motor. Salt water had got in between the 2 and rotted the aluminum. I used marine plywood for the transom boards and glued with gorilla glue. Put silicone in any of the small holes then painted the whole thing and let it dry before installing. I am in the process of compleatly stripping the paint now. I went with 3/4'' treated plywood on the floor as I have several buddies that are kinda on the big side. I went with standard treated plywood and before I add the carpet I will put about a gallon of thompsons water seal down then let dry for a few days. As for your motor you should be fine. I have a 1980 18ft starcraft cc that came with an 85 evinrude. Does your boat have a rating plate? That would help decide on the motor. Mine has 1 that is very unreadble now but did say 125 max hp. It is alot of work trust me and you will really appreciate it more when your done. If you would like to see some pictures of mine e-mail me and I'll send you some.

 

[tylerr83]

Re: Help with Starcraft restoration

I'm restoring a '71 starcraft 16' aluminum also...i'm working on the new deck now...i was going to use 3/4 marine ply, but some folks on here advised me to go with 1/2. Its lighter than 3/4 and should be sturdy enough. seal it on both sides, edges w/ epoxy resin, and be sure to seal the screw holes after installation as well. i'm using 1/2 birch cabinet grade (its a little cheaper than marine but it has no voids, which is important, and sealed w/ resin will be fine). The stringers in your boat that run fore to aft need to be re-installed w/ rivets. solid aluminum pop rivets will work. I also used laminated 2x4 as studs between stringers 2 foot on center. This is what i screwed the deck into w/ ss wood screws. If in any place you use stainless, make sure there is a barrier between it and bare aluminum (3m 5200 is good for this) stainless steel can cause corrision against the aluminum (especially in salt water). as for the transom...mine was 1 1/2'' inches thick...two sheets of marine ply glued gross grain. This is what i used, laminated w/ west systems epoxy. make sure whatever you use to glue it together is a waterproof glue, a lot of people use gorilla glue...If you havn't taken the old transom out yet....that is somewhat of a project. I was able to take mine out without removing the splashwell, but it took a lot of time and some patience. I managed to get it out in two full pieces that i used as a template to make the new one. Also, when you reinstall the transom, make sure all the bolts that you put through get sealed to keep water out...4200 is good, and its semi-permanent unlike 5200 so you can remove those bolts if you absolutely had too. as far as sealing the seams or rivets, gluvit was recommneded to me, its supposed to be great for sealing aluminum boats...i didn't have any leaks, but i put it on around all the seams and rivets as insurance. As far as flotation, closed cell foam will work, i've read on here a lot of guys using pourable flotation, that might be worth looking into....do a search on it, theres quite a few posts where its discussed in terms of displacement and installation. Ya got plenty of work to do, but it goes fast if you have the time...i bought my boat just three weeks ago and in that time have sanded/primed/painted, replaced transom, stringers, and am working on the decking...working on an aluminum boat isn't quite the project that you'd have replacing transom/stringers/deck in a fiberglass. Good luck and welcome to iboats, theres a lot of good info on here from some really experienced people, i wouldn've been really stuck if i haadn't had some of my questions answered on here so quickly...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Help with Starcraft restoration

I've got a 1963 Starcraft which I plan to start on this spring. I've already had the floor up and it's only got a few strips of foam under the floor, but its not the typical yellow or pour in foam, it's more like those float tubes you buy for kids in the toy stores. The stuff don't rot and don't seem to ever absorb water.
Foam is up to you, but I will stuff as much of this type of flotation as I can get under the new floor for both flotation and some added support.

Mine is rated at 85 hp, so I would guess that your's in at least that?
I will be running a mid 80's Evinrude 70hp.

I will fasten my floor with stainless screws, and I'll be using 1/2" outdoor plywood that I plan to epoxy coat prior to final installation. The stringers and supports in mine are all aluminum with only a few short sections of wood at the rear of the floor for support near the raw edge of the wood near the bilge.
Be sure what ever you do that you don't hinder proper drainage and bilge flow to the rear of the boat.

I will also be coating the inner hull with epoxy and checking closely for loose rivets. New rivets can be had online or at any good marina. I am lucky to have a good local source here.

The transom on mine is a two panel sandwich of double 3/4" plywood sat down from the top once all the bolts and top caps are removed. It's a fairly simple repair on my year. Use only a good grade of exterior plywood and coat it with resin for reinforcement. I did mine with a layer of glass mat resined in between the two sheets for added strength and to prevent rot. Seal all holes with epoxy resin as well after drilling. I did one a few years ago for a buddy of mine and it came out far stronger than the original, and will most likely outlast all of us.
There's no need for marine plywood, it uses the same glue and the only real difference is a guaranteed lack of any voids. It's more for exterior boat hulls than for decking or support applications. (Such as older marine plywood hulls).

I am also considering adding some sort of air filled flotation to the underside of my gunwales, I have another glass hull that has air filled tubes along each side for flotation. Keep in mind that flotation serves a few purposes, it for one should prevent the craft from sinking if it floods, but it also can help the rigidity of the hull and floor by adding some support. It also prevents an ugly and expensive recovery if something should happen. If you boat sinks and there's no flotation to keep it afloat to be towed in, how would you recover the boat? There are EPA issues in play there as well.
If anything was to happen to my boat, I'd strongly prefer to be able to tow it ashore and recover it myself, and not have to haul in an expensive marine recovery agent and clean up crew. On mine, I will also probably cut and install a one piece rigid piece of foam in the bow cavity, it will be just above my tank and set inside the upper wood bow plate structure which is wood on my boat.

I have seen a few boats with the floor panels that were just laid in place, but I never really liked the idea. Securing the floor helps add to its strength. On one boat, we used two thinner layers of plywood and formed a gutter down each side by making the second layer an inch shorter, but weight was not an issue and the entire floor was glassed in and over which formed two outer wash down channels which led to the scuppers.

I don't seal the edges of the floor to the hull, but I do epoxy coat the edges of the wood to seal the wood itself from rot. We found that epoxying the floor to the hull can cause cracks in the aluminum over time, you could caulk the edges with a soft sealer, but I'd be afraid of corrosion concerns there as well.

I normally leave the area open to breath, and it let the deck quickly drain to the bilge where it can be pumped out fast by the bilge pump (or pumps).

My gas tank was a steel bow mount, I tossed mine due to rust and the fact that I have a perfect aluminum tank to use there. A good flushing out and visual inspection should be all thats needed so long as it's not rusty or badly varnished. If its in bad shape, just toss it in favor of a new tank. If I had to buy one today, I'd opt for a new poly tank with a a proper gauge sender. Space, fit and weight are all things to consider when choosing a new tank as well. On longer trips, I plan to carry a pair of addition portable tanks as well under th rear deck, but that only means I will leave room back there to do so, not that I'll run with them at all times. I just like the idea of having the added capacity if needed.