Seafarer Corner Brackets Broken?

[freeisforme]

I picked up a 16' mid 70's Starcraft Seafarer (SF16) Friday for cheap, the hull looks great but both rear corner brackets, (castings with handles), are busted up. It looks like they had something bolted to the top of them and both are missing a good portion out of the middle.
I suppose I could bend something up out of aluminum or even stainless but what are the chances of finding a pair of good brackets to just bolt on?

Each bracket has a cast in star on top and an attached handle. It appears that at least the 14 and 16' V hulls all used the same brackets in this type of boat.

 

[jbcurt00]

Might get lucky on eBay , but be prepared to pay handsomely for them, and likely 1 at a time, not a set. There were probably docking or tie down cleats bolted to the corner brackets

 

[crb478]

I would see it they could be welded, and it not see if a machine shop could duplicate them out of billet. If you want replacements you will probably have to search ebay daily until they appear.

 

[freeisforme]

I was thinking of just getting some thick Stainless Steel and having a local shop bend me up a pair of matching corners? They're pretty simple looking, about 8 1/2" down each side with a 1 1/4" folded edge. That way they'll be stronger than the originals and they will never get broken again.

I suppose I could even bend up some heavy aluminum in a vise to the correct size and shape?

 

[starcraftkid]

Those later Seafarer hulls were the last of the old school style hulls, those corner brackets were common to most all of that style hull. They pop up from time to time on eBay but personally I think a plain bent aluminum corner is stronger and longer lasting. Besides, with that being a 16ft hull, its not likely you'll be carrying it very far with those handles anyhow. I can't count how many of those with the molded handle I've replaced over the years, its usually a busted or sawed off handle or a case of someone either ripped out an attached cleat or they mounted a light pole on the cast corner and low bridged the thing going under a bridge or into the garage.
On both of mine, I took 3/16" aluminum and bent up new corners in a vise. Making them out of heavy aluminum sheet means they will never get broken again. They do very little as far as hull strength, if they were there for strength, they would have attached them with something heavier than light screws.
Just about all of the open models without a splash tray use the same corner casting. I also seem to remember one of the aftermarket marine hardware suppliers selling these in a blister pack type of set.