New member and Starcraft owner

[MNhunter1]

Greetings from MN!

I just picked up a new project in a 1972 Starcraft Nova...as far as I can tell. The seller's add and title listed the boat as a 1972 Starcraft with a length of 16ft 2in. From all my research, it looks to be a rare Nova with the smoked low profile windshield. I measured an overall hull length of 15' and a beam of 70" at the gunnels, so I'm thinking this may be the 15' Nova. I could not locate a HIN anywhere on the boat, but I do have a hull ID# on the title. A few questions, with many more to come I'm sure:

Is there anywhere to accurately identify the hull through the hull ID number?
Is there a way to distinguish between the different years that the Nova was offered?

The boat is currently sitting on a Snowco bunk trailer and powered by a '68 33hp Johnson RXL-16 R short shaft. Transom has been cut to mount the motor. Transom will be replaced and this motor will be sold to help fund a 50-65hp electric start, power t/t, long shaft.

 

[classiccat]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

Welcome MN! :welcome:

Nova is one of my favorites! :madgrin:

Do you have pictures (I won't be the 1st to ask) to drool ov....err... I mean...help ID your craft? :lol: :hungry:

 

[MNhunter1]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

Yes, I've got pictures. Just need to get up to speed on how to post them here...new guy and all.

I'll probably be working on her over the next year or so. Two young kids at home doesn't really give me a lot of free time, but I'll find a way. Plan to gut her, strip or sand her down, replace transom, redo interior, repower her, and bring her back to life as a utility fishing/duck hunting boat. Thinking olive drab, gunmetal grey, or some sort of camo job. Not probably what everone might want to hear, but it's the direction I'm looking.

 

[MNhunter1]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner



See if this works...

 

[dozerII]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

First off welcome MN, the Starmada has a real fine group of guys. Second that is a very nice looking Nova!! I'm thinking your going to get lots of flack for turning that into a duck hunting boat!!

 

[1973Chieftain]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

Welcome aboard! Sweet looking ride!

 

[MNhunter1]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

She needs a little work, and maybe as I go along I might have a change of heart. We will see. Picked up the whole package for $300, so I've got plenty of options.

I was going to just keep the 33 Johnson on there for the time being, but the transom has been cut down in an attempt to get the short shaft to fit, which still is too tall for that motor. Luckily, they didn't compromise the spashwell at all by trying to cut it lower. I think it measures around 17-18" right now. When I replace it, I'll put it back to normal and look for a remote long shaft to repower with.

 

[MNhunter1]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

 

[crankbait cowboy]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

welcome aboard mn, nice looking project. where in mn you located, and if you need anyparts i may have what you need ( just pm me) as i am from northern mn. stuff like fuel tank, rails, cleats, fill cover, ect... good luck

 

[MNhunter1]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

I'm down in Rochester. The boat is pretty well complete with all the accessories, all in really nice shape too. I'll probably need a new transom cap (not the corners, just the top piece that runs the length of the transom) as they butchered the old one, but I was suprised at how much of the original hardware was present and the condition it was in. I'll keep your info handy however. Main thing I'll be looking for is a replacement motor, but I've got some time before I get to that point.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

A Nova turned duck boat???

:lalala::lalala::lalala::lalala::lalala:

Welcome to the Starcraft brotherhood:thumb:

 

[classiccat]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

Oh man, you stole it...don't let the clearance-rack price-tag fool you...Real gem right there!

Novas love black with a blood-red stripe in that recess above the numbers...others are beige with black in the recess.

^^^I'm willing to be that she's black based on the underside!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: New member and Starcraft owner

Welcome to the tin-sanity, yep, lots of reasons NOT to make it into a duck hunter. Not a whole lot of them floating around. A closed bow may not be as popular as open bows, but I sure do like it just the way it is.

 

[MNhunter1]

Alright...finally making some progress at finding the Nova a place to park at my house. We have another rental property for sale, my house before I was married, and I currently have it sitting in the garage over there. Just tore out a large raised garden bed behind the garage of my primary home and will be picking up some more rock on my way home from work to fill in the void and finish off the parking pad. I built the garden many years ago with the idea that my wife would eventually lose interest and I'd convert it to a parking pad for a boat or trailer. The time has come. I have a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old at home, so time is limited on when I can work on the Nova and much more difficult when I don't have it at the house. I foresee many late nights in my future after the little ones are off to bed. I've been pouring over the rebuild threads and exercising my googlefu trying to wrap my head around what direction I want to go with this. One the one hand, I'm thinking of keeping everything as original and classic as possible with a few modern amenities, and on the other I'm thinking more about function from a fishing and limited duck hunting perspective. I think once I get it all gutted, the hull stripped down, and transom rebuilt, I'll have a better idea of what I'm dealing with.

I've been trying to find a way to leverage the existing motor and controls with the ability to repower in the future, but I just don't see how it's going to work. The 33hp Johnson RXL-16 R should be a long shaft by description, but there is no way it’s going to work on a 20” transom and all measurement I’ve taken classifies the lower unit as a short shaft. I thought I could maybe get away with leveraging one of the aftermarket tilt/trim units mounted lower on the transom, but I think there will be too many issues with the controls and range of tilt. If I rebuilt the transom at 15”, it would compromise the splash well. Ideally, I’d like to max out the hull at 65hp anyhow and have the power tilt/trim and electric start, so I might as well just get it done. Just need to decide whether to sell the 33hp as is, tune it up and sell her, or find another donor hull to put her on…and another spot to park a second boat! Did someone say duck boat?

While quenching my thirst for information, a few questions have come up:

Transom – plan to double up on some ¾” ACX grade exterior ply with US Composites 635 epoxy, 3:1 medium. When the PO modified the transom to fit the short shaft motor, approximately 2” of the aluminum plate/hull was cut down along with the actual transom. Can I just rivet another 1/8” aluminum plate over this and seal with 3M 5200, or how would one suggest correcting this? Will it compromise the integrity of the transom if left alone?

Hull – plan to strip it down with Kleen Strip aircraft stripper and wash it down with a 50/50 ammonia/water to neutralize. Is there a better stripper to use? How long can I leave the hull stripped until I need to start worrying about oxidation/ZC priming before I get around to painting?

Gluvit – 2lb container sufficient for a 15’ hull?

Floor – 5/8” decking sufficient? ACX grade exterior again? Seal with the US Composites epoxy or use a Spar varnish?

Trailer – currently equipped with Nanco 5.30x12 trailer tires, 2 ply. Replace with the same or go with something different/bigger? Any recommendations on a new winch stand? Where’s the best source of information for properly fitting a bunk trailer to a hull?

Bilge – plan to add a bilge pump. Any recommendations on a specific pump and where the best place to plumb the discharge to would be? Out the transom, out the side?

I think that’s it, for now…lol This may be a long process, but I hope to have her completed by next season.

 

[classiccat]

I'm (we're) relieved that you're keeping it original! :thumb:

that PLY will work! I recommend 6oz cloth with the epoxy to prevent checking. I starting cutting that corner on my transom and fought issues with checking / tear-out with 3 coats of epoxy. I've never used spar on PLY so I can't say whether or not spar/PLY is less/more prone to checking.

For the deck, 5/8" is plenty! same comments above regarding epoxy. I'm going 1/2" with glass/epoxy on my build to cut-down on weight...it's not a dance floor

yes on the Gluvit.

Not sure about the tires; smaller diameter equates to more rotations for a fixed distance...more work by the bearings. larger diameter tires typically have higher load ratings. Most use 13 or 14" tires on their rebuilds however increasing tire diameter means that you may need new fenders.

search iboats adjusting your bunks/rollers. I've always set the 2 end keel rollers 1st using jacks...then bring the middle rollers up-to the keel. Once they're adjusted, bring the bunks up to even things out. The keel rollers should carry the majority of the load.

get a bilge pump with float switch.