Re: No Need to Restore. 1974 DUO Tri-Hull
Of all of the boats out of the Starcraft family, the Duo models were probably by far the best built boats, they were billed at the time as a higher end model, and face value only half proved that. It wasn't till I cut one up that I realized what they were made of.
The sandwich hull, glass/foam/glass, set up is the best I've seen, super light and naturally buoyant. The decks were wood but rot is rare even in the rougher examples. They were heavy for their size but not extreme. The lack of poly foam in these did wonders for longevity as the hull was able to drain and stay dry. I've not yet found one with water intrusion between the hull layers yet but I do think it's possible if a ding or chip were to go unrepaired. The same for the transom, which as in the Starcraft, it wood.
That motor you have is far newer than the boat, probably mid to late 80's. They were good motors, I own two of them myself, one may be headed for a similar Starcraft trihull I own.
The addition of those strakes to the lower hull made those very good handling boats. The 17' I had would corner like it was on rails, and once up fully on plane, it road nicer than any of my aluminum V hulls in all but the roughest chop. If the water got real rough, it wasn't the boat to be in, but only due to the ride, it never felt unsafe.
Since your in IL, you should be fine no matter where you run that boat, here I have the Delaware bay and Ocean to contend with, neither of which are trihull territory in my opinion.
Freshwater rivers and lakes are prime trihull boating areas, smooth water and lots of areas to explore make the trihull the right answer there. I keep my Starcraft around for river fishing, it's the most stable platform with he most interior space I can get and it don't need a huge motor to power it.
I'd have to say the boat you have there is a super rare find, not many of us find something that clean and that old, most boats get stored outside under leak tarps at best. Mold, water, and neglect take their toll pretty fast.
Keep that thing in a garage, keep it clean and well serviced and it'll outlast you.
O yeah and suma u guyz...just chill. The guy just wanted to show you his boat. Its in excellent shape for its age! I wouldn't want to say that rot is not a possibility even if he dont see any but...I wouldnt make a big arguement out of it when you haven't seen the boat in person.
