1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

[Chad8074]

Hi I'm a new to the boating world. I just picked up this Jewel and plan on getting it in shape for this season.

My plan is-
Remover nasty carpet from the top side. Fill holes & Paint. New topside hardware.

Replace rear floor that is soaked with oil

Re Wire, New electronics. (Anyone have a wiring schematic? My Trim/Tilt area is a mess)

New side interior panels (relocate shifter)

I already have the boat torn down, I have had it for exactly one week. I will add some more pictures.

Well... Thank you for looking.

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

 

[barato2]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

hi Chad---welcome on board. looks like you're well on your way to bliss there, and that you know the membership requirements for the Starmada. looks like you're starting with a fairly decent hull, but still inspect chine area closely for cracks or crappy prev owner fixes of same.

if your rear deck section was toast, take a very hard look at transom wood to see if you need to do it too....relatively easy with everything out. you should also plan on doing or at least checking very carefully the various bellows and seals on the I/O "gimbal housing" area (what lets the lower unit pivot from side to side ands go up & down).....if one of these fails, it can sink your boat. water pump and lower unit fluid change are also a basic you should plan on.

doubt you'll find a wiring schematic, or if there is one, it's probably no longer accurate....much of what makes for those rat nests is previous owner modifications. the good news is it's pretty simple.....usually there will be 2 wiring systems, one for the hull electrics (starcraft put certain wires in all versions of the hull, whether they were to be an I/O, an outboard, or a blank hull) and another for the engine wires....latter usually end in one big multi-pin plug. i think there are ABYC conventions for color coding of wires but don't see many boats where that appears to have been followed for the hull wiring; the Mercruiser wires do have a uniform color coding but i don't have it handy. just do the process of elimination.......start with a good cleaning of all wires so you can follow the color coding, then make up a chart of what color goes to what at front and ditto at motor end. use an ohmmeter to trace any you can't trace with wire colors.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Welcome to the Tin Drydock. You are in luck, Chad. All the motor/TNT wiring answers are right here - Mercruiser I/O & Inboard Engines & Outdrives A bunch of knowledgeable guys in the MC forum. You won't find Starcraft wiring diagrams unless you get luckier. But the boat wiring in generic.

The outside look pretty good,. Except for that topside carpet. Has the floor been replaced in the past to your knowledge? It may be the pic, but the wood looks like it might be pressure treated. Is the foam wet?

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

+1 on what GA said if that floor is pressure treated get it all out ASAP.

 

[classiccat]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Welcome to Starmada drydock Chad! :welcome:

Thanks for sharing the pics of your super-awesome boat! :thumb:

 

[barato2]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

OK, am i blind? why do you guys think it might be PT?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Just asking questions, B. On my screen seems to have the greenish tinge. So I'm saying to make sure.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Just asking questions, B. On my screen seems to have the greenish tinge. So I'm saying to make sure.

If it's green it's probably OK. It's the less green newer stuff that's bad. Unlikely that deck is from the newer copper treated period.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Welcome to the Starmada Chad, there is something real familiar about that Holiday, I wonder how far apart the HIN #'s are. In the Mercruiser section stickies you can down load the proper manual for you motor and drive, all the wiring diagrams are there.

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Thanks for the response guys!
The floor is not factory judging by the rivet job. It is also not PT so that is a good thing. Foam is dry and in pretty good shape. I replaced the rear section last night and soaked it all with 10% acetone /polyester resin. It sucked it right in.
I plan on doing a few more coats.

The outside is in great shape, no dents, cracks, or deformed rivet on it. Top side under the carpet is a pin cushion. I started filling holes using a masking tape backer with JB weld. I would be interested in any suggestions and opinions on paint selection? I was thinking 2 part polyurethane. I'm not bringing it down to bare aluminum so I will spot prime with self etching, then a few coats of a high build sandable.

The bellows look ok from what I can see. I will pull the outdrive and check them out.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

For the most part everyone is Rustoleum Pro with hardener for paint, inexpensive as far as paint goes, easy to get and match, and works very well.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Polyester resin is worthless without glass. It will crack and peel in short order. Epoxy resin is what you need if you're going resin alone. Poly must be used with fiberglass.

For paint, on the low end go with Rustoleum. Tried and true. Otherwise step up to a true two part marine paint. Skip all the mid-range single part paints. They aren't enough better than Rusto to be worth it (trust me, I painted my boat with Easypoxy and it's friggin' garbage).

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

For the most part everyone is Rustoleum Pro with hardener for paint, inexpensive as far as paint goes, easy to get and match, and works very well.

Thanks Glen, I will check out the Rustoleum Pro. Its not 80$ a quart like the paint I was considering.

Thanks again for the nice work you did on your arm rest removal. It was a painless improvement for me. I plan on mounting the shifter just above the pleated panel on a mahogany panel.

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Polyester resin is worthless without glass. It will crack and peel in short order. Epoxy resin is what you need if you're going resin alone. Poly must be used with fiberglass.

For paint, on the low end go with Rustoleum. Tried and true. Otherwise step up to a true two part marine paint. Skip all the mid-range single part paints. They aren't enough better than Rusto to be worth it (trust me, I painted my boat with Easypoxy and it's friggin' garbage).

The floor is in pretty good shape other than the one piece near the motor that I replaced. I spar varnished the panel I replaced it with on all sides but the original floor had no protective coatings. I thinned the Polyester so the wood would absorb it, I'm not looking for a hard smooth surface of resin. Just enough to waterproof the plywood. It sucked it up really well, no skin on the top too peel. Should I stick to one application to avoid peeling?

Thank you

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Thinned polyester resin isn't as good a waterproofer as you'd think, I'd consider using a different sealer that will go over the polyester. Not sure many will, other then epoxy. Hm, I'll have to give that some thought....... My squirrel isn't spinning his wheel very well this am, perhaps I just need more caffeine........

Quick edit: paint will go over the polyester, but I really meant a sealer: spar, epoxy, BLO. Not sure any of the typical 'sealers' will go over the poly very well except epoxy.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Chad - Good to see no PT. I was just doing a heads-up before. I had the stuff in mine and :facepalm:. Nuff said.

BTW - I'm a spar and Rusto user with good results so far. I don't plan on changing since it's wallet friendly and does the job.

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

Chad - Good to see no PT. I was just doing a heads-up before. I had the stuff in mine and :facepalm:. Nuff said.

BTW - I'm a spar and Rusto user with good results so far. I don't plan on changing since it's wallet friendly and does the job.

Thank you! Yes I was happy too see it was not PT, I'm not a big fan of galvanic corrosion. With all of the good reviews for the Rustoleum I will probably go that way. I was a little concerned about fading, but I know Rustoleum has come a long way over the last few yrs. I have used it recently with hardener for a truck frame and I was happy with the results, but its a different story when its hidden from the sun.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

The floor is in pretty good shape other than the one piece near the motor that I replaced. I spar varnished the panel I replaced it with on all sides but the original floor had no protective coatings. I thinned the Polyester so the wood would absorb it, I'm not looking for a hard smooth surface of resin. Just enough to waterproof the plywood. It sucked it up really well, no skin on the top too peel. Should I stick to one application to avoid peeling?

Thank you

I don't know what to tell ya. Poly just doesn't adhere well or for long without glass. Used it myself once before I knew any better on a transom pad and it was peeling after one season.

 

[Chad8074]

Re: 1976 Holiday 18 Mercruiser 120

I used up a lot of JB Weld this weekend. I cut out backer plates for every hole and stuck them to the underside, filled the holes from the top. The large cutout in the center needs some more work, I may leave it and cove the center of the bow with a wood panel. I was able to patch and sand the gunnels flat. I primed them with Rustolem Pro Aluminum primer. I have been trying to find the Rustolem pro paint with not much luck. It seems the great state of RI, along with 15 other have outlawed it because of high VOC's. I have ordered the Low VOC replacement. Unfortunately the weather has gone to crap and I wont be able to paint anytime soon. Plenty of other stuff to do...