I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

[rupert330]

Hi new member here first post. Been doing a lot of reading on my 1979 Mongomery Wards 14ft Sea King. I've seen a lot of post saying it may have been made by starcraft. I searched the first three letters of the HIN (DEM) on the Coast Guards Manufacturers ID site http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/mic1.aspx?mic=dem&sort=mic and it comes back Starcraft Marine. Just wondering if you think this may proof they were made by StarCraft.

 

[barato2]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

sounds at least plausible. i'd say the USCG is a reasonably reliable source. in the 60s and 70s, seems like virtually every catalog store sold its "own" brand of tinnie and outboard, all of which were made by an established manufacturer (ie, Monkey Wards never set up its own plant). for example, OMC used to make OBs for Speigel and i think Western Auto, among others. so i'd say that in absence of any contra info, it's pretty likely it Is a Starcraft.

if you post some pics of the boat, some of the real experts here can likely look at it for common Starcraft design/styling features. better yet, that will avert a midnight visit from the mob.....

congrats on the tinnie and welcome to the tinsanity.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

Yup Sea King = Starcraft

Welcome!!!

 

[rupert330]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

Looking through the brochures it looks close to the 64 sea scamp, I have not been able to pics of any 79 starcrafts to match up. I will try to get pics up soon.

 

[barato2]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

take measurements of transom height and width, overall beam, and centerline length if you want to determine which model it's closest to

 

[rupert330]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

Lots of cleaning to do and new paint coming soon.

 

[barato2]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

looks like the transom may be a bit iffy too....i always suspect transom issues when i see a huge board stuck over the outside of the transom skin. and who were they thinking would fit in the bow seat.....3 year olds?

one thing about it....no matter what sort of job you do, it can't help but look a lot better than it does now! even a 1-afternoon rattle-can job would be a vast improvement.

keep us posted.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

I was just looking at the CG site today also and saw DEM is tied to Starcraft. I wonder if SC bought who ever DEM is?

That is a honkin' big chunk of wood on the transom. I think some investigation is in order. Anything you do has to be better than that. I little paint will help a lot.

From Barato2

who were they thinking would fit in the bow seat.....3 year olds?

That's the "Wizard of Oz" special edition. A raised casting deck for Munchkins.

 

[rupert330]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

Took off the huge piece of wood on the transom. this is what I found. the only damage I see is the crack at the top edge other than the extra holes that were drilled. the crack between where the wood will be bolted together even with a normal size piece. Is there anything else i should look for? what would be the best way to repair the drilled holes? Also there are no supports on the inside doesn't look like there ever were. does there need to be some

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

You can make a knee brace for it if you want it can't hurt. For the holes just use either Marine-Tex or JB Weld and finish it off flush. If you really want to clean it up nice, get yourself a piece of 1/8" 5052 H-32 Aluminum, lay it over the top and have it welded on all around. You can have a shop with a press brake bend the channel into it at the top and no one would ever see that crack again. I did it on a 14' Western and it came out very nice.

 

[barato2]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

that first pic is some serious abstract art.....might be a shame to paint over it.

your interior transom board does look OK. have you probed down low for any soft spots? looks like it would be super easy to replace if you just wanted to do it as insurance, though.

your boat is small enough and probably not rated for enough power that it even needs a knee brace between floor and transom. never hurts to add one but prolly not needed IMHO unless you go over 8-10hp.

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: I may have found Proof my Sea King was made by StarCraft, What do you think?

For small holes I like brazing. I brazed the Sea Scamp and it turned out ok.