Old 1971 Tri-Hull TR150

[p38fln]

Just got an ancient 1971 StarCraft TR150 with 50 HP Mercury off Craigslist. The hull looks solid, no cracks, like a giant bathtub. I'd post some pictures but I didn't think to take any before putting it into the storage unit.

I did get a video of the engine running before purchase.

​It's definitely going to need some work, the control lever assembly was in pieces all over the floor, and I have no idea where the controls are to turn the lights on.

If anyone is familiar with this boat, is the thing in the bow of the boat a livewell? It's got a round black cover on it. It's really small for a livewell, but there appear to be inlets on the each side of the boat that go into it.

 

[p38fln]

Found a picture of it, sorry it's so grainy

 

[FrankenCub]

Welcome to the crazy house Smart move posting a picture right off the bat, I've seen pitch forks in these parts. I don't know anything about those trihulls but don't be shy with a drill, drill into the transom in a few spots and see what the drillings look like. You might find them to be waterlogged. And if you can gain access to any of the stringers, do the same to them. You might be in for a surprise if it hasn't had a garaged life.

 

[Tnstratofam]

To add to Frankencub's post drill from the inside with a small drill bit. Look for dry golden yellow wood shavings. If the shavings come out dark and wet then there is a good chance the wood is rotten and will need replacing.

 

[Chinewalker]

Likely not a live well up front, rather a self-draining storage area. Most of them have holes in the bottoms of the wells under the seats so they don't fill up with rain water.

As noted above, check the floor, transom, etc. for moisture. If the floor is soft anywhere, you've got rot. Rot starts bottom up, so any in the floor means more elsewhere... Very few 1970s Starcraft glassers escaped without rot unless they were stored indoors and kept dry.

 

[p38fln]

Floor feels remarkably solid from one end to the other, but there's no way in the world this thing was ever stored indoors. It's in a storage unit across town, I'm going to get some better pictures of it tomorrow hopefully.

I searched for other TR-150's, it looks like it's missing a LOT of parts. Basically it's got an outboard mercury 50 engine, the forward/reverse control, a high idle control, and a steering wheel. Nothing else. Can't even find the switches for the navigation lights.

 

[p38fln]

No Title

Finally got back out there. No rot that I could find anywhere, everything feels rock solid, including the deck and transom.
Found the light switch too, it was on the floor.

The weird thing in the front of the boat was just a front bilge access, no idea why it has that.

Previous owner took the control lever apart for some reason, I'll be putting that back together tomorrow.

​

 

[p38fln]

So its complete junk, the transmission is jammed in forward, and it has a leak somewhere. Transom was basically rotted out as Frankencub thought. Glad I didn't waste too much money on it, but still pretty annoyed.

 

[FrankenCub]

Those are problems that can be fixed though, so don't give up hope quite yet. If you search the glass boat rebuilds there are some outstanding threads of guys fixing some really horrific boats and the finished product being better than new. Transmission on the OB being the easiest to fix. Take a look at some of those threads first and reevaluate your boat. Check the stringers really good, they may be ok past a certain point. Seems you already paid for the boat you could take the floor up for easy stringer access. On my Renken the floor felt great forward of the engine bay about a foot or so. Some previous owner replaced it and glassed the crap out of it, 1/4" thick in spots. It was then that I found the stringers bad. If they were good, or at least only a couple feet in length that was bad, I would have fixed it.
It really all depends on what you find with further inspection and how much work you are willing to do.

 

[jbcurt00]

Lets move this over to the Restoration and Boat work forum. Lots more fiberglass guys over in that area.

Most of the guys hanging out in the SC forum are working on tin boats.

I'd bet the deck is solid because its new plywood laid over old. If the boat was stored outside and has a rotten transom, the odds are not in your favor to have a good deck.

 

[Woodonglass]

It all depends on how much Time, Money, and effort you want to put into her. A good estimate is 200 man hours, $2,000 bucks and a lot of Hot, Itchy Yukky work and you'll have a Like New Boat. Not sure how much you paid for her but...If you try to buy any other used boat you'll have the same issues. If you like the boat and the motor is a good runner, and you have the inclination to rebuild this one then it's worth it. If not, then put her back on Craigslist and move on.

 

[p38fln]

Restoring it would probably make a lot of sense. I only paid $450 for it.

 

[Woodonglass]

I agree!! Where else are you going to get a "Like New" boat for $2,500 bucks??? (not counting your labor)

 

[p38fln]

When it finally warms up, I'm going to try putting it in the water (With a good charged battery and a new bilge pump just in case) and see if the engine runs. It's definitely jammed in gear, I bumped the starter and the propeller spun with the engine. I put what was left of the MerControl back together and reattached it. I think that whole control needs replaced, but it looks like the throttle cables still work. Something in the engine rotates when I push the lever forward or backwards, or if I lift up an extra black lever.

What is the extra black lever for?

 

[Woodonglass]

Probably the Choke/Idle speed lever.

 

[Chinewalker]

Not uncommon for a previous owner to have misaligned the shift shaft on the lower unit with the upper shaft when reassembling after a water pump change. Don't give up yet!

 

[p38fln]

Can someone tell me what the gas to oil ratio is for this 1971 Mercury 500?

 

[Chinewalker]

50:1. One pint of TCW3 rated oil to 6 gallons of your gasoline of choice. High test not necessary. Ethanol free if possible.

 

[p38fln]

Where can I get a new/used (working) MerControl? Even if I get the forward/reverse issue fixed, the MerControl is broken internally so the throttle lever no longer connects to the transmission control. There's two disks inside, it looks like the pin that connects the throttle disk to the transmission disk is broken.

 

[Woodonglass]

Ebay or Craigslist will be your best bet. OR...You could post a pic of the Broken unit and We MIGHT be able to help you figure out how to fix yours!!!:noidea: