Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

I could use a kicker like that too. Sweet deal.

I'm envious of your fishing/camping setup. Those bays and fishing spots look great. I might message you sometime as I may head your way. The fishing looks too good to pass up.

That was some heavy water man. Good to know that the boat could handle it if pushed with a good captain. I'm too chicken to brave that stuff.

Hey, Sprintst, lol no need to be envious of our camping equipment it is pretty minimalistic. We do have a older f150 and camper too, but our smaller rig does just fine too. Ya drop a line the fishing can be good, just have to plan trip out here around opening dates.

We didn't plan on the big wave adventures, but the weather can be... a little wrong upon occasion. It also depends on the location as winds can be stronger given geographical conditions like mountains and mouth of the inlets/fjords.

Rusty

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Nice score on the kicker. I went with a 8hp merc 2 stroke for a while on my boat.
I got tired of having two different fuels and found an old Honda 8hp.
The guy that owned it had problems with it so I got it real cheap ($150)
Gave it a good going over and so far it has been great.
Hope yours turns out great also.
I've had to troll home on the kicker more then once and it's something we need around here for backup.

Are you going to put down riggers on your boat?
Fishing has been good lately at Kitty, Point Holmes should be good also.

I like the idea of your fuse box, that should work well.
Yup I use dilectric grease on all my connections and so far it has worked well.
Some guy's swear by a product called "ship to shore"
You can get it at Strathcon and it is used by BC Ferries.

One of these days we will have to meetup and see that boat of yours.
GLG

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Hey GLG,
Wow, a buck fifty for a honda 8 hp 4 stroke good score. I'll look for that "ship to shore" product at Strathcon. Lol, back a couple pages I posted a response to one of your posting to drop me a PM so we could hook up...kinda like telephone tag. I'll send you a PM so we can get together ok?

We don't do a lot of salmon fishing, but I did mount 2 downriggers. One long arm manual DR came with the SS and the other long arm manual I just picked up after selling 3 short arm scottys. Lol, that's right you read it correctly, I have 2 manual Scotty downriggers.

I had to JB weld the bottom mount on one as it was broken and I bought a replacement bolt to attach it to the base. I wasn't paying close enough attention when I bought this DR and payed the price:redface:

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Well guys I was having problems centering the boat on the trailer and discovered that the rear rollers were offset from the middle of the strut. I measured the rollers and moved them to center. I also added 2 back guide poles that were free of financial cost (free). Hopefully these changes will help loading the boat on the trailer

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

We (my gal and I) also added some alum tubing to stiffen up the boat top and as the material had stretched my gal shortened the back straps to pull the tarp tight again. Sorry no pics. Hey the weather has been the pitts so I..we have been busy on the SS

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

As I added another 100 lbs to the back of the boat (9.9 hp Johnson and bracket) I felt it warranted removing all the inside screws from the splashwell and drilling new holes in it to re-screw the splashwell back into the transom. Edit: there is one screw hole not filled in plus 2 on the other side that need replacement screws put in them as I stripped out some of the screws.

I also dried the transom out and painted it twice. Oh yeah, I filled all the old screw holes with Sikaflex 291 chaulking to waterproof the transom as much as possible. And yes my back enjoyed this workout in the splashwell

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

The Spar Marine outboard bracket also got a working over. I took it all apart and lubricated the joints, knocked out the aluminum pin that the weight of the outboard sits on and installed a SS bolt. The handle was also made of alum and suffered from corrosion, so I replaced it also with a SS bolt.

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

The back straps that keep the boat attached to the trailer were also a concern, I noticed the straps were chaffing from rubbing on the overlap of alum folds on the stern lower edge. The fix involved hand sewing (yup I did it) a piece of my old dive weight belt onto the tie down strap. This canvass piece from the weight belt is hard and thick and I expect it to wear out, but I do not want the tie down strap cut for obvious reasons.

Some of you guys must be having this problem too!!

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

I also installed the fuel line grommet to reduce and hopefully eliminate downflooding from stern waves that brake over the transom. But before I did that I repaired the fuel that came with the 9.9 Johnson as it had a piece of tuck tape cover a road rash area on it.:facepalm:

Now there is 2 fuel lines going to the main and back up engine. this fact is reassuring as I have had fuel pumps fail before...back up on the back up....2 outboards and 2 fuel lines.

You'll also notice that my gal chaulked all the seams around the splashwell and it turned out great...

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

I realize that my repairs are not pretty or compare in quality to many others on the forum, but these repairs are more functional in nature. And keeping with this functional concept here is my fix to the broken corner on the splashwell

no it is not pretty, but it is what I could find in my shop. Oh, the middle of the splashwell top seems to lack vertical support, so I added an upright double painted 2x4....ummm nope no pic sorry. I installed the 2x4 right behind the sliding doors and in front of the fuel line grommet.

Edit: Here's a pic of the upright 2x4, it really stiffened this area of the splashwell and the doors slide much easier!!

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

We also were having problems with slipping off the top of the tire fender when entering or exiting the boat. I noticed that Huron Angler's trailer had anti-slip grips applied on his trailer fenders so we picked up some 3M tape. I used a wire brush mounted in the drill to buff off the stencil trim on the fenders and then wiped it down with Isopropyl Alcohol to remove any residues or contaminants.

Edit: Damn, I noticed that there is grease coming out the back of the wheel bearing seal on this wheel and I replaced the bearing and seals way back in Jan...another task:facepalm: I suspect that I over greased this bearing after being warned by another fishing buddy not to do this!!

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

We also picked up a spare tire u-bolt to trailer frame from downtown. Not much to it really it just gives the spare tire a home.

Edit: the bungee cord stops the handle from dropping down and getting ripped off

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

My Gal also got busy again and spray painted some rusty areas around the trailer lights...turned out great too

Edit: I re-wired the trailer lights way back in Jan or Feb and made certain to install a ground wire directly to each light fixture, as ground failure is the most common problem I find with these trailer set-ups.

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

While picking up the fuel line grommet, we inquired about aspare prop for the 60 hp yammie at the marine dealer. He had 3 of them and recommended bringing the boat back to make sure the spare prop fit properly. It did and my gal talked him down another $10 bucks for a decent $40 total price. So we have more back up on the back up, it is the same pitch 13" x 17P as the one on the yammie now.

Edit: I'm certain that I checked the old prop for grease, wear, and tear back in Jan or Feb, but at the marine dealership when I tried to get the old prop off it was stuck. Dang saltwater had built up and joined the thrust washer to the front of the prop housing. It did come off and I need to pay better attention to the prop. Yup, I already cleaned and re-greased the prop on the 9.9 Johnson.

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Well, we are almost caught up to what we have been doing to our sweet 16 SS. The outside transom needed some attention too. We sanded and painted the plywood piece that attaches to the transom. My Gal also chaulked the edges of it with the Sikaflex 291 to help waterproof it a bit more. Oh yeah, her work turned out great...

 

[BonairII]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

You'll also notice that my gal chaulked all the seams around the splashwell and it turned out great...

One thing I do when I seal something using 3M 4200(or whatever) is to run masking tape on either side of the joint to create a nice clean edge. I apply the 4200 with the tube....and then run my finger down the joint to spread the sealant. I wait a few minutes for the 4200 to cure a bit, then pull the tape.
Works well for me.

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Here is a pic showing the build up salt/mineral deposits on the prop and thrust washer. This residue was also built up on the front of the shaft and that was stopping the prop from sliding off
I always flush the outboard when we are done boating on the ocean, but deposits can apparently build up in this area.

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

As it is Father's Day my Gal got me a card and this present...Thank You Sweetheart

 

[FishNmemories]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Thanks for the suggestion BonairII, My gal utilizes the "get 'er done" approach in life, but I'll try the tape next time.

 

[GLG fishing]

Re: Our recent purchase of SS 16 ft Starcraft

Nice score FNM you got a keeper with that one.
PM sent