Starcraft Enterprise
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2009
- Messages
- 246
Growing up, my parents had a Starcraft Starchief. After my younger sister left for college, they sold it. Best memories of my childhood was on that boat. From those memories I bought a few fiberglass boats, all bad experiences, never even got them on the water. So one night I made up my mind I was going to buy a Starchief like my parents had. I liked Islanders and Chieftains, but I wanted more speed and fuel economy. So I searched week after week on Craigslist and Ebay searching for that right one. One frustrating night of searching I went for broke and searched every single state circling the great lakes. This vague ad caught my attention. The ad basically explained that the boat was being sold to settle an estate, it was a 1969 Starcraft Starchief, gas tanks had been removed for preventive maintenance, owner had been meticulous about maintenance, had not been run for 8 years and was taking best offers.
So I studied the pictures and thought about what I was looking at. If you did not know what a Starcraft Starchief was you would not know what was under the cover. Those ugly things sitting in the middle of the floor blocking the view was the gas tanks.
The outdrive was stored in the down position. And that clean engines coolant hose was disconnected and turned upwards, to pour in antifreeze? I came to the conclusion the owner of this boat had done his thorough yearly winterization, passed on that winter and there the boat sat perfectly preserved, dry, indoors and under a canvas cover for 8 years.
The pics from the ad
I also figure out that this boat was all original, seats, flooring, etc. To be in that kind of condition, it had to have been taken care of.
So I sent an email explaining my situation about wanting a Starchief. I got a reply back from a gentleman that explained he was assisting the widow in selling her deceased husbands boat and the best offer was up to $850, but she was hoping for $1,500. So I immediately replied an offer $1000 considering the distance (550 miles one way),the gamble something being wrong with it mechanically from sitting and that I would come and get it immediately. He replied since I genuinely wanted it for myself and not to make a fast buck off of that he would do his best to talk the lady into it, but they would not be available to pick it until the next week. I waited, and the next week set a date and time to pick it up.
The whole 9 hour drive I worried that I had made a mistake dragging my wife and son up there to get it basically sight unseen. I knew if it turned out to be junk I would never live it down, especially after all of the fiberglass boats I jumped into.
I got there, took one look at the inside of the boat and could not give that lady the money fast enough. Jack pot!! Meticulous was not a strong enough word to describe the way her husband had taken care of this boat. This lady and her husband had bought this boat new at the Starcraft dealer in Syracuse New York. He replaced every routine maintenance part on the I/O way before they ever failed, tagged the part as used if it still looked good and stored it in a box in the cabin. She seen how happy I was with it and said she would be right back. I had no way to get the lower unit up so I unbolted the cylinders, put the transom saver under it and strapped it in place. She returned with the original 1969 Starcraft dealer sale brochures, Mercruiser manuals, everything down to the compass instructions.
So I studied the pictures and thought about what I was looking at. If you did not know what a Starcraft Starchief was you would not know what was under the cover. Those ugly things sitting in the middle of the floor blocking the view was the gas tanks.
The outdrive was stored in the down position. And that clean engines coolant hose was disconnected and turned upwards, to pour in antifreeze? I came to the conclusion the owner of this boat had done his thorough yearly winterization, passed on that winter and there the boat sat perfectly preserved, dry, indoors and under a canvas cover for 8 years.
The pics from the ad
I also figure out that this boat was all original, seats, flooring, etc. To be in that kind of condition, it had to have been taken care of.
So I sent an email explaining my situation about wanting a Starchief. I got a reply back from a gentleman that explained he was assisting the widow in selling her deceased husbands boat and the best offer was up to $850, but she was hoping for $1,500. So I immediately replied an offer $1000 considering the distance (550 miles one way),the gamble something being wrong with it mechanically from sitting and that I would come and get it immediately. He replied since I genuinely wanted it for myself and not to make a fast buck off of that he would do his best to talk the lady into it, but they would not be available to pick it until the next week. I waited, and the next week set a date and time to pick it up.
The whole 9 hour drive I worried that I had made a mistake dragging my wife and son up there to get it basically sight unseen. I knew if it turned out to be junk I would never live it down, especially after all of the fiberglass boats I jumped into.
I got there, took one look at the inside of the boat and could not give that lady the money fast enough. Jack pot!! Meticulous was not a strong enough word to describe the way her husband had taken care of this boat. This lady and her husband had bought this boat new at the Starcraft dealer in Syracuse New York. He replaced every routine maintenance part on the I/O way before they ever failed, tagged the part as used if it still looked good and stored it in a box in the cabin. She seen how happy I was with it and said she would be right back. I had no way to get the lower unit up so I unbolted the cylinders, put the transom saver under it and strapped it in place. She returned with the original 1969 Starcraft dealer sale brochures, Mercruiser manuals, everything down to the compass instructions.
Great story just the same and great buy. Now you can pass on those same kind of memories to your own family. Keep us informed.
