Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think :)

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

First picture is of the crack in the side of the old engine block. Guess it wasn't winterized right previously!
Here's a shot of the engine as I've got it today...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Not a knock against any of the posters here but......I haven't seen much engine advice given out in the resto section. Best to start a new thread in the I/O section with your engine questions.

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

So for an update,
The engine rebuild is done! Engine is all back in the boat and all hooked up. Broke the engine in over the weekend, and took er' down to the marina and put it in the water!! Good news is, it didn't sink! Bad news, I couldn't go anywhere because the prop started spinning on the hub.
It was a great moment followed by slight dissapointment...
I'm in the process now of creating a "to do" list for the boat, and things learned.
Need to figure out the prop though.
So for all you in the Starmada with 165's; my prop is a Aluminum three blade with part #48-16440, and the hub kit was a Mercury #835257A1. Is this the right stuff?
My drive serial number is 3647773, and I'm pretty sure our drives are pre-Alpha models? So, it would be considered a model 165??
I'll add a few more pictures of our "mostly" triumphant launching!

Dave Sexton

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Also, if anyone needs any info., I took a lot of pictures of my engine as I built it up, and I have all the part numbers and sources for all the parts I used for the rebuild.
Just fyi.

Dave

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Your engine looks great man! You can check paparoofs thread, he had the same issue. Or swing over to the IO forum and they can give ya a hand.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Your old prop just couldn't handle the new POWER! At least that's an easy problem to deal with. I had one spin once but it only did it if I floored it. I replaced it before it got worse.

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

That's it! I knew I shouldn't have added those two turbos...
Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm missing a piece of my Flo Torq II Kit that came with the boat, she squarish black delrin piece that goes inside the prop. I think it takes the place of the rubber inside the old one piece props. My brothers Aristocraft has the one piece prop. I wasn't familiar with the newer two-piece Flo Torq jobbies...
At any rate, ordered a new kit yesterday and should be here maybe by Friday, so I can try again.
This time I'll dial down the boost

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Welcome aboard and what a great chunk of tin ya have there!
Thanks for your service too, btw

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Ya know, sexton - That counts as a splash. Not a great one, but wet none the less. Your next splash will be a cruise. Aren't you running out of soft water up there?

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

We are indeed! Water temp is, oh, cold. Think upper thirties to low forties. Our bays are starting to freeze. Makes it hard to boat, or hard to want to boat! Wind kicked up when we were trying to get the boat back on the trailer and of course it started raining as well.
Thanks cheapboatkev for the kind words It's my pleasure!
We were there in Florida before Alaska. Used to go out in the Banana and Indian rivers on the east coast in my brothers Aristocraft 19'. Same engine and drive as my Starcraft.
And hopefully the next splash will last longer!
Thanks guys...

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Hey guys;
It's been a long winter up here already. We've had over 86" of snow, and record low temps. brrrr......
But, despite all that, I managed to get the boat in the water the other day! We actually went for a cruise, with about three whole hours in the water I think. Boat ran flawlessly! Couldn't be happier with the way the engine rebuild turned out. I ended up spending around $1200 instead of more than $2000 to buy a long block. And I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it Except the machine work...
Our water temps in the high thirties. I actually had to do some "ice breaking" when we got to the dock!
She really planes out well, and quick with the 16p prop it has on it. I think mechanically I'm pretty squared away. Still have weird shifter issues, like it has three detents... and WAY too much travel. But, it does shift, albeit sloppily.
Now it's time to start working on some new electronics. I picked up a Garmin 546S GPS/Chartplotter w/transducer on Amazon. I'm going to work on installing that hopefully this week. After that, I'm going to pull the old instrument panel out as the wood is so bad it's soft and falling apart. I picked up a 60's vintage horn and switch/fuse panel off of ebay that looks pretty cool and is very clean and I think will be right at home on the boat. I'm planning on replacing the fuse panel under the dash, keep the old instrumentation as I think they all work, and I like the idea of trying to keep the boat as original as possible. I'm going to completely rewire everything in there, while I've got it apart. Right now it's a nightmare under there!
But, she's coming along, and my family loves it and so do I. Not bad I think for our first ever boat!
I'm going to attach some newer pictures of the boat, and horn/switches I got. I also put one on of the current/old instrument panel. What are everyones thoughts as to what to use to build a new one? I was planning on wood, but wasn't sure of what to cover the wood with??
Splash number three!!

 

[rheagler]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Nice Chief!Congrats on getting the boat in the water. I think these boats look best with a wood dash, but I am admittedly biased on that. You can seal it with exterior polyurethane, spar varnish or epoxy with some kind of UV blocker. Have fun with the project. Looking forward to seeing more of it!

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

OK, boating in February, in Alaska = Hardcore!

Well done!

 

[sextondm]

Re: Proud new owners! '74 Starcraft Chieftain (I think

Well, it's now May and we got about six inches of snow this morning!!
The boat is coming along. I got the new instrument panel assembled and in. Re-wired everything under the dash, LOTS of work! Still working out a few bugs with old bulb sockets etc., but otherwise it looks a ton better and isn't falling off the boat anymore! I just ordered a new/refurbished carb. Mine continues to run poorly after cleaning/rebuilding it twice, and it's hard to boat with confidence when it doesn't run well. Should be here by the end of the week I'm hoping!
I pulled out the very old VHF radio and installed a newer Icom IC-M502 under the dash. I also am going to pull out an old cb radio that was installed along with an old fm stereo.
I found a Poly Planar MRD 70 for $63 (on a well known website with free shipping) that I'm going to install for tunes!
The Garmin 546S Chartplotter I got is working great as well and I would recommend it so far. Of course I have a LOT to learn about how to use that.
We also got new seats, and built new seat boxes that cover the two gas tanks. With the new dash, carpet, radios and gps it's starting to look a bit nicer
Still have a lot of wood work to do in the future, after we move from Alaska. Marine grade plywood is not cheap here! And, the sunny months are short
At any rate, looking forward to getting the boat in the water after we get the carb in.
I'll attach some pictures of the recent work.
Also, I would love to see some pictures of other Starcraft Chieftains or Islanders out there! Looking to see how you guys are setting up your boats, and what some of the original stuff was like. Mine was pretty gone through before I bought it, so not a lot original.
Happy boating!