Looking at a 1989 Starcraft and have a few questions

[bansil]

It is a 22 ft Islander and the main question is about the engine and drive, it has a ford (OMC) 2.3lt cobra engine, is that really enough engine for this boat? I have seen other Starcraft with 150 out boards etc.

Found several reman. long blocks for a lot less $$ than an OB, and the rebuild is well w/i my hands

Looking to cruise lake/ICW and a little fishing, possibly tow a tube behind her also

Any opinions? and what to look out for?

I assume treat as any gas engine, check oil for condition and compression check and check plugs for condition hope to look at this weekend

Thanks
DOug

 

[mr 88]

The bad,its a OMC outdrive which hasn't been made in decades and parts may be hard to find unless you get a donor/parts boat dirt cheap. Boat is light so after taking it for a sea trial you will have a good idea if it will do what you want it to, Keep in mind that going out in a empty boat like that vs a loaded boat will take a lot of the hole shot and top end speed away. The good is its aluminum and throwing a Mercruiser set up on her will be a lot easier than if it was fiberglass. Again a donor boat with that outdrive is the cheaper way to go. Probably look for a 3.0 four banger ,I think a 350 might be too much weight but I could be wrong. Might want to check the restoration forum to see if its been done with a V8.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the bad..... OMC
the worse Ford 2.3 pinto motor

the good, a 4.3 / Mercruiser Alpha can be swapped in with minimal work. so bid with the plan of buying a $1500 donor boat for the 4.3 and alpha 1, gen 2 drive.

dont even consider trying to revive a Ford 2.3 OMC. not worth the effort or cost

 

[mr 88]

Forgot about the 4.3 for some reason, was thinking the old 6 inline 250 and lack of them out there now. Yes with the 4.3 if you can find a cheap one. This is all based on the boat with trailer selling for less than a grand IMHO.

 

[82rude]

A 4.3 dropped in there would be my first choice also.Good reliable motor that puts out decent power and is readily and she moved out.available.My brother had a ss190 with the 4.3

 

[GA_Boater]

The final years of the 22' Islanders came with 4.3 Mercruisers. From all reports, the 4.3 gave pretty good performance in a fairly light boat.

 

[jbcurt00]

An 18ft Chief swapped in a 4.3 V6
Watermann

BUT it was already a Mercruiser thru hole.

Going to have to pull the OMC, pull the stern drive, pull the ply transom and then have new aluminum welded onto the original transom to cover the big ole OMC thru hole. Then cut the Mercruiser keyhole and make/install new transom wood....

Plus make/install new motor mount stringers

 

[Scott Danforth]

JB, the ford 2.3 was only in front of the cobra drive. So the transom hole is the mercruiser key hole.

No transom work needed

 

[jbcurt00]

......No transom work needed

Well thats a huge plus then...

 

[bansil]

Great info thanks!!

I will check it out in next week or so

Again thank you

 

[Blind Date]

That's the beauty of an OMC Cobra is that the transom key hole is identical to a Mercruiser making swaps a piece of cake.

Not sure where you live but in MN you wouldn't touch a donor boat that had a 4.3 w/Gen II drive worth buying for $1500. Plan on spending at least twice that.

 

[bansil]

Well that fell through, due to my father couldn't get in it easy, so we will look at a pontoon boat for us to use, and I told the wife or admiral that I will get a boat this spring to work on the next few years, we are all happy

Still looking at the starcraft boats, I like them

Thanks everyone

 

[Old Ironmaker]

We built a nifty little stairway to get our 74 year old fishing pal onto and off of our different sized boats. Light weight, adjustable and collapses for easy storage. I need to learn how to post pics here. I think it's my laptop that won't let me post photos.

I have to add the most important thing we did was mount a removable pole in the gunnels for him to hold onto while getting on and off. For my StarCraft 190 and buddy's 21' SC Heritage all he needs is the pole. That's all it may take. Don't give up on finding a good size StarCraft rather than just limiting your shopping to a Pontoon. They have advantages and disadvantages as well.

 

[bansil]

Oh it will be get both, a good runner and a project for me I want a Tinny that I can make mine