New here. 1967 Starcraft 16’ Newport fiberglass V hull restoration project
My husband was given his grandpa’s 1967 Starcraft 16’ Newport fiberglass V hull. Restoring it is going to be our winter project. We are keeping it forever and planning to pass it down in the family. So we are going to try and do it right.
My husband just retired, and I am a United Methodist Pastor and I was just reappointed in July to a church and parsonage 2 blocks from the south end of Torch Lake in northern Michigan. So restoring this boat has become a priority.
I found this forum yesterday, and other than being a 16’ fiberglass Starcraft, we didn’t know what it was. Curiosity got the better of me when I couldn’t figure it out what exactly it was, so I just now went out in the garage and climbed up in it and clicked some photos with bad garage lighting. I apologize for the low light photos. I can take better ones in the daylight later.
So our plan is to
-replace the floor & carpet
-replace the vinyl on the sides
-take the motor in for the marina to give it a tune up. We are assuming it will need new belts, hoses, etc. It has been sitting 10 years.
-Replace or restore all of the wood. Including the missing plank for the downriggers. It looks like oak. Can that be right? I was thinking mahogany or teak.
-Re do all the upholstery and foam on the back to back seats. I restore vintage sewing machines, and have about 30, so I have the machines and the skill set to do this well.
-Build a fold up/down bench seat with upholstery for the back. We have 8 kids, with 5 still at home, so we’d like to have seats for everyone, but we still need to access underneath the back. I’d welcome any photos/plans for this.
-Repaint. We are thinking an aqua/turquoise/teal with cream. The long term plan/dream is to get a 67ish vintage truck to pull it. And we would repaint the truck to match. My hubby is campaigning for a Chevy pickup. I’m partial to International Scouts. Though we both drive newer Suburbans, so maybe a 67 ‘burb is the compromise... Is not repainting it the original color sacrilege? We both kinda hate the baby poo tan.
-polish up the windshield. Is that doable? Links to directions on how to? The little square window is crackled/crazed. Can that be replaced? How?
-polish all the chrome
-repaint the gas tanks and get new decals.
-Paint our vintage cooler to match
-Anything else?
My husband was given his grandpa’s 1967 Starcraft 16’ Newport fiberglass V hull. Restoring it is going to be our winter project. We are keeping it forever and planning to pass it down in the family. So we are going to try and do it right.
My husband just retired, and I am a United Methodist Pastor and I was just reappointed in July to a church and parsonage 2 blocks from the south end of Torch Lake in northern Michigan. So restoring this boat has become a priority.
I found this forum yesterday, and other than being a 16’ fiberglass Starcraft, we didn’t know what it was. Curiosity got the better of me when I couldn’t figure it out what exactly it was, so I just now went out in the garage and climbed up in it and clicked some photos with bad garage lighting. I apologize for the low light photos. I can take better ones in the daylight later.
So our plan is to
-replace the floor & carpet
-replace the vinyl on the sides
-take the motor in for the marina to give it a tune up. We are assuming it will need new belts, hoses, etc. It has been sitting 10 years.
-Replace or restore all of the wood. Including the missing plank for the downriggers. It looks like oak. Can that be right? I was thinking mahogany or teak.
-Re do all the upholstery and foam on the back to back seats. I restore vintage sewing machines, and have about 30, so I have the machines and the skill set to do this well.
-Build a fold up/down bench seat with upholstery for the back. We have 8 kids, with 5 still at home, so we’d like to have seats for everyone, but we still need to access underneath the back. I’d welcome any photos/plans for this.
-Repaint. We are thinking an aqua/turquoise/teal with cream. The long term plan/dream is to get a 67ish vintage truck to pull it. And we would repaint the truck to match. My hubby is campaigning for a Chevy pickup. I’m partial to International Scouts. Though we both drive newer Suburbans, so maybe a 67 ‘burb is the compromise... Is not repainting it the original color sacrilege? We both kinda hate the baby poo tan.
-polish up the windshield. Is that doable? Links to directions on how to? The little square window is crackled/crazed. Can that be replaced? How?
-polish all the chrome
-repaint the gas tanks and get new decals.
-Paint our vintage cooler to match
-Anything else?
) using the same materials and doing a quality job will outlast that. Unless you are a collector and extremely healthy living well past 100 who wants a boat that is 100 years old?