The well traveled 1979 Starcraft 18' V5 SS

[Candutch]

Nice walleye Rob. I really gotta get myself further south or east so I can start fishing for them again.

 

[Watermann]

Nice walleye Rob. I really gotta get myself further south or east so I can start fishing for them again.

I sure would think the upper Columbia would have a good amount of walleye. I know Lake Roosevelt is one of the best bodies of water for them we have in the WA.

 

[BWR1953]

I sure would think the upper Columbia would have a good amount of walleye. I know Lake Roosevelt is one of the best bodies of water for them we have in the WA.

Agreed! I caught a bunch of them from Lake Roosevelt when I lived up that way.

 

[Candutch]

I sure would think the upper Columbia would have a good amount of walleye. I know Lake Roosevelt is one of the best bodies of water for them we have in the WA.

Not as far up as I am. Castlegar area is the farthest north to find good walleye numbers. Unfortunately that is still 4 hours from my trailer.
A tidbit of ufi for ya, walleye were accidentally introduced into the columbia river after some nets from the stocking program came loose in lake Roosevelt allowing them to escape into the river.

 

[Watermann]

I'm good with that! The lake I fish for the walleye is Banks Lake and it's a reservoir about 35 miles long that is filled from Lake Roosevelt at Grand Coulee Dam with massive pumps to irrigate the basin cropland.

 

[Dignified09@gmail.com]

Hey Watermann, Glad to see youve gotten out and about on the water! I just got done reading through what I hadnt after months of not being active. GOOD WORK. VERY NICE BOAT!.

 

[Watermann]

Thanks Dig, welcome back.

 

[BWR1953]

Decking is in along with nearly 100 LF rivets

I'm doing the one run of vinyl so the heads of the LF rivets were countersunk and every one of them sealed with 5200. I feel sorry for the young buck in 40 years that decides to pull up the deck on some forum. :lol: Once the 5200 cures, I'll need to have a plan for filling in the countersunk holes to make them level.

Covered the deck access holes with their plates so I could lay out the vinyl to walk around cutting to fit without stepping in a hole. The end and back corners as you might notice are painted. Reason being is that's where batteries are going to be located so each piece has spar, primer and 2 coats of tractor paint protecting them just in case something goes wrong. Here's a shot of where I'm at at the moment. I always see the decking going in as a milestone where things progress more rapidly afterward.

Hey WM, how deeply did you countersink the rivets into the deck? I'm still figuring out which rivets to order.

 

[Watermann]

I used a 5/8" spade bit in my drill guide and set it so the large flange rivet head was just under the level of the deck. I don't know a measurement for it, I used a scrap piece of ply to get it set right.

 

[BWR1953]

I used a 5/8" spade bit in my drill guide and set it so the large flange rivet head was just under the level of the deck. I don't know a measurement for it, I used a scrap piece of ply to get it set right.

So by using the spade bit, you did get more of a true counterbore rather than just a countersink. Good stuff! I'll look for one.

Thanks!

 

[Watermann]

A word of advice here on speedo pitot connections. So last weekend we went out walleye fishing again and got 14 fish in the well. On the way back in I was running around 40 MPH across the boat chop and wakes with nothing but just a little rumble (this V5 really eats chop like candy) when the pitot tube came off the back of the speedo. I went through this with my Chief twice... These Faria gauges really have an issue with hanging onto the tube at the speedo end.

I fixed the issue with my Chief using bellows adhesive and a zip tie as the tie alone didn't work. I did the same with the SS this time and I hope I don't ever get that wet feeling again if you know what I mean. :heh:

 

[budski]

We just had the same thing happen a couple of weeks ago and I know that wet feeling, lol

 

[Brackett221]

:rain: Hey Watermann if you get a chance could you post a pic of the repair?( if you can see it or if it shows anything other than a zip tie around a tube):rain: Just wondering if a clamp or SS saftey wire may work better than a zip tie.I'm the guy that uses to much adhesive on everything and was wondering if the adhesive can get into the speedo gauge?

 

[Watermann]

No pics, it's tight to work under a dash, not much room to do anything but a zip tie. Yeah if you smeared the adhesive in the tube it could get inside, I just put some around the fitting so the tube would push it down away from the hole.

 

[GA_Boater]

So you had so much fun fishin' and catchin' wallys you peed your pants. Is that what you're sayin', WM. :lol:

 

[Watermann]

So you had so much fun fishin' and catchin' wallys you peed your pants. Is that what you're sayin', WM. :lol:

:lol: Yeah that combined with the joy of cruising was just too much for me I guess. nthego:

 

[Watermann]

It's been a great summer of cruising the Chief and fishing in the SS, but now it's time to winterize and the lucky SS has found a place in the hangar with plenty of room to spare for the Buick.

 

[Decker83]

That's so sad to have to put her up, but she still looks awesome all put to rest..

 

[Pusher]

It looks very happy to be inside! I only wish I could do the same with mine

I like how you've got your main wheels on casters. Does it move easily enough? How do you like the setup the way you have it?

 

[M2HB]

Watermann, what an awesome job you did on that boat. I just got done spending a couple hours reading your entire thread.

I bought a 1976 18' SS with the Mercruiser 140 a couple of months ago, and I need to go through all of it. I completely rebuilt the trailer and had it hot dipped galvanized. Now for the long part, the boat itself.

Your thread has given me the inspiration that I think I will need.