FishNmemories
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2012
- Messages
- 272
A big hello to all Starcraft Owners,
During the last year, I have enjoyed reading the many rebuild forums that you have all posted and I thank you all for sharing your pics and stories.
My old 14 ft tincan has served me well since I bought it used in the early 90's. But electrolysis has continued to eat holes in her hull, the many miles of logging roads have beaten and cracked her hull, and the 15hp Mariner finally succumbed to saltwater damage. There have been literally hundreds of fish caught with my ol' tincan and many camping trips too (I miss her already).
But it was time to find a new boat and after researching all the options, I decided a Starcraft would suit our needs the best. I love the aluminum hulls for their durability and low maintenance.
We were able to locate several Starcraft vessels locally, that included a beauty 18' Holiday with an I/O, but I had my mind set on an the 16 ft bowrider with an outboard. I wanted the extra room upfront to pack our crab and prawn traps, while leaving some deck space behind the seats for fishing.
After a year of looking, we almost bought a 16 ft enclosed bow (don't know the model type) Starcraft with a 40 hp Johnson, but decided to keep looking for a bowrider.
Just before last x-mas, we received a return call to check out a SS 16' Starcraft (late 70's or early 80's still not sure). It was puzzling, because I had not called anyone with that number that had a boat for sale or responded to an ad for a month. Well, we let it slide for a week or so, then decided to call about the boat. Turns out, it was the owner's Dad that called us back and they had dropped a grand off the price!!
We made a quick trip over to the Dad's place and the hull was in pretty decent shape and it had a 96 Yamaha 60hp 2 stroke hanging off the back that looked brand new. Asked the fella to fire up the outboard but he was hesitant as it had not been running since summer. Well, the battery was dead, so we jumped it from his car, hooked up a water hose, connected the gas tank, and that yammie came to life after a few cranks. I was impressed that the yammie idled right down, the water pump indicator squirted some H20 out, and after taking off the cowling that 60 hp looked sparkling new.
The package included a 80's EZ Loader trailer that needed some help and tires real badly. We negotiated another hundred dollars off and settled at $2300.00 bucks.
I have repaired a number of things like wheel bearing, tires, and most bolts on the trailer that I will post about another time. Oh yeah, after the owner delivered the boat to us, I did a compression test on all 3 cylinders that came out great ( yup should of done that before buying it). Hopefully, once I figure out the photobucket pictures I will post pics of our new boat.
We have already gone out several times either just cruising, fishing, or crabbing/prawning. There is more work to do, but as camping and fishing season is here already it will have to wait until the fall/winter to get done.
Thanks again guys for sharing your stories, it definitely helped me decide on the Starcraft SS 16 ft, which is perfect for our needs.
FishNmemories
During the last year, I have enjoyed reading the many rebuild forums that you have all posted and I thank you all for sharing your pics and stories.
My old 14 ft tincan has served me well since I bought it used in the early 90's. But electrolysis has continued to eat holes in her hull, the many miles of logging roads have beaten and cracked her hull, and the 15hp Mariner finally succumbed to saltwater damage. There have been literally hundreds of fish caught with my ol' tincan and many camping trips too (I miss her already).
But it was time to find a new boat and after researching all the options, I decided a Starcraft would suit our needs the best. I love the aluminum hulls for their durability and low maintenance.
We were able to locate several Starcraft vessels locally, that included a beauty 18' Holiday with an I/O, but I had my mind set on an the 16 ft bowrider with an outboard. I wanted the extra room upfront to pack our crab and prawn traps, while leaving some deck space behind the seats for fishing.
After a year of looking, we almost bought a 16 ft enclosed bow (don't know the model type) Starcraft with a 40 hp Johnson, but decided to keep looking for a bowrider.
Just before last x-mas, we received a return call to check out a SS 16' Starcraft (late 70's or early 80's still not sure). It was puzzling, because I had not called anyone with that number that had a boat for sale or responded to an ad for a month. Well, we let it slide for a week or so, then decided to call about the boat. Turns out, it was the owner's Dad that called us back and they had dropped a grand off the price!!
We made a quick trip over to the Dad's place and the hull was in pretty decent shape and it had a 96 Yamaha 60hp 2 stroke hanging off the back that looked brand new. Asked the fella to fire up the outboard but he was hesitant as it had not been running since summer. Well, the battery was dead, so we jumped it from his car, hooked up a water hose, connected the gas tank, and that yammie came to life after a few cranks. I was impressed that the yammie idled right down, the water pump indicator squirted some H20 out, and after taking off the cowling that 60 hp looked sparkling new.
The package included a 80's EZ Loader trailer that needed some help and tires real badly. We negotiated another hundred dollars off and settled at $2300.00 bucks.
I have repaired a number of things like wheel bearing, tires, and most bolts on the trailer that I will post about another time. Oh yeah, after the owner delivered the boat to us, I did a compression test on all 3 cylinders that came out great ( yup should of done that before buying it). Hopefully, once I figure out the photobucket pictures I will post pics of our new boat.
We have already gone out several times either just cruising, fishing, or crabbing/prawning. There is more work to do, but as camping and fishing season is here already it will have to wait until the fall/winter to get done.
Thanks again guys for sharing your stories, it definitely helped me decide on the Starcraft SS 16 ft, which is perfect for our needs.
FishNmemories
