refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

[daveydoodle]

I thought since I forced myself to learn how to post pics(I have another thread on a weight distribution adjustment) thought someone might enjoy these. I see most guys like the old Starcrafts , had several over the yrs. myself. I was actually looking for an 18 Supersport but found this one last month. She is an 87 with 150 Johnson and a 97 15 kicker(little big on weight I think). Came with a Lowrance color graph-gps chartplotter. But everything else needs replaced. So far I repaired the VRO horn,fixed a lower unit leak on 115, replaced wheel bearings,seals & added bearing buddies and gutted the interior. This was done mostly with the help of you guys on iboats. Now I am planning the replacement & material to use and like I said had found a problem with a stringer tear that I can beef up,think it was caused by all the weight being in the rollers. See the pic. of this. Thanks for all help will post more as i progress. Dave

 

[jasoutside]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

You have yourself a nice big hull to work with there Dave, cool!

Pour in foam, not so cool.

Cheers!

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

jasoutside, Not familiar with flotation options, what is drawback of pourin?? We are almost neighbors, im up near TC. Dave

 

[jasoutside]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Well, two major drawbacks with pour in.

First, we have seen that it traps and holds water in rather than draining to the bilge then over the side via pump. Over time it ends up soaked and heavy. Some boats have even seen some pretty major corrosion too.

Second, it's kind of a pain digging it all out.

Most of the metal boat guys will use the pink/blue foam board from the lumber yard. Many guys will use pool noodles. There are other alternatives but those are used the most.

Click on the Starcraft rebuilds and restos link in my signature there and you'll see a whole variety of ways to make it happen.

Have a good one neighbor!

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Thanks,I will check them out.

 

[Teamster]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

I would check to see if the foam in the boat is wet before I tore it out,.......Might just save you a ton of work,....

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

I know the boat has never had any standing water in it. the po had it in water in a slip & never leaked , I had in water 2 days after I got it--dry as bone. It did take water thru an extra 2 holes when he moved the bow eye & never sealed holes. That was recent but sure did a job on the bow area wood. Sure it was shootin in good when underway. Since it seems to be a dry boat now I would prefer not to tear all the foam out. Is that what you mean saving work. If its dry now---leave it in place???? Comments please.. Dave

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Thanks for the education on foam,just finished pulling up several chunks , on the money a pain!! It shows no signs of holding water just a little damp from my cleaning. Guess Im lucky. Gonna leave it as is but if had drothers Id go the other route A question for all the starcrafters what flotation system do they use? Still plan on a 18 SS when one shows up. Had a new one in 76 (orange trim)? Know they had colors changed yearly. After having 8-10 boats since up to F30 Trojan I find the 16-18 open bow the most verstile for Michigan. Dave

 

[jasoutside]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Yah, an 18 would be a great do all rig for nearly all the waters around our neck of the wood. But just one boat? What fun would that be?

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Right on with that, still got a pwc & pontoon in S. Mi. See how it goes with my Alumacraft , always room for another, without boats ---not good. Wife thinks Ima nut anyway.

 

[Decker83]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

I would check that foam out really well. My boat is fiberglass and it had a ton of foam in it. In some place's it was wet from top to bottom and in other place's it would be dry as a bone on top and wet on the bottom and vice a versa. The foam can hold a lot of water and weigh a ton.

 

[daveydoodle]

Re: refurbish 18-5 Alumacraft Trophy open bow

Looks like you did alot of digging to get all that out, learn any tricks to make easier? Was yours outside in weather and neglected before you took it on?