1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

You can also ask or PM Jas w your JB Weld @cold weather & climate changes. I'm fairly sure he's used it on all his tin builds. Theres been a few @his joint.....

Find a good spot & dig in. Lots of great stuff to be found @the forums. And as a tin build, you'll get a bunch from the SC rebuilds posted in the Starcraft forum Rh linked.

You can't post too many pix or ask to many questions. So keep them coming. The mob will help ya get it all done. At your pace.

Have a good end to the week!

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

View attachment 204851View attachment 204852

These pics were taken from a kite on a small camera mounted to a platform hanging off the string and flown from the boat. The camera can turn 360, look slightly up and look straight down and click a picture all controlled from remote control airplane servo's. Kite Aerial Photography.

Those are some great pics or your boat justin, love that water color too!

Looks like your well on your way to the transom replacement.

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I am working on a pattern today. Moving along great. Those pics were Hammond Bay and Cheboygan. The water is so clear. When rebuild is done I hope to get aerials of everyone's boat. It's cheap, no aircraft could afford to hang around and take pictures all day. Back to Work. BTW. I don't charge for aerials. Just for fun.

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I am puzzled by the use of epoxy.
""2-3 coats of epoxy on each side of the transom ply (do the edges w/ each coat, so they get 4-6coats, same for the keyhole too), lightly scuffed between coats.

As an I/O it won't be exposed to UV, so you can stop w/ the epoxy. Or paint it to match the rest of the interior/bilge..""

It's an I/O. So no epoxy? Also you said 2 - 2 1/4 inches minimum. If I use two sheets of 3/4 I'd have to add 1/2 around the keyhole to reach 2in. . It looks like they had 3/8 around the hole with two 3/4. I'm puzzled by that. I just picked up three sheets of 3/4. That would get me 2 1/4. But it looks like more than they had.
NOTE: When cutting the transom board remember to make a cut out for the steering arm to move back and forth without hitting. I didn't , now I am chiseling it out the hard way.

 

[laurentide]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

View attachment 204851View attachment 204852

This is so cool!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

you said 2 - 2 1/4 inches minimum. If I use two sheets of 3/4 I'd have to add 1/2 around the keyhole to reach 2in. . It looks like they had 3/8 around the hole with two 3/4. I'm puzzled by that. I just picked up three sheets of 3/4. That would get me 2 1/4. But it looks like more than they had.

The keyhole total dimension to work w/ a Mercruiser I/O drive MUST be between 2" & 2.25" from the exterior side of the aluminum skin of the transom to the inside finished dimension of your plywood transom (after epoxy or the waterproofing sealer of your choice). 3pcs of 3/4" may be too thick, depending on how tight your laminations are, the thickness of: any sealer, the aluminum transom skin & the actual thickness of the 3/4" ply.

3/4" ply is 'usually' 23/32" so if your sealer, glue laminations & aluminum transom skin total more then 3/32", you'll be too thick thru the keyhole.


What are you sealing the plywood transom with? If you use epoxy, it isn't UV stable, BUT since it's an I/O, the transom plywood won't be exposed to UV. Unlike an OB Starcraft where some of the wood is exposed to UV, so it MUST be covered w/ paint or spar varnish.

Since yours won't be exposed, you don't have to cover the epoxy w/ spar varnish or paint, you can stop at the epoxy sealing step. Or paint it if you want it to match the rest of the bilge area, assuming that you paint the bilge...

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Marine Aerials - a set on Flickr I set the flash so I can be sure the camera is taking pics while up there. After this transom repair I hope to post a ton of pics to Flickr.

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Thanks Admiral, your tips are making my project much easier. I am going to go with the smaller ply for around the keyhole and bring me up to 2. Finished my cardboard pattern . Where do you SC guys order your gaskets from? Do you order your Epoxy sealer online or from the local boat shop?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Do you order your Epoxy sealer online or from the local boat shop?

I like US Composites for epoxy, fair prices and quick ship:thumb:

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I am waiting to hear from anyone and searching the threads looking for a way to install the transom board. I can see no way to put it in from the inside. It goes all the way to the top. It has to slide into the channels on each side. I am wanting to cut some access but I don't want to mess with the boats structure. While I'm waiting I guess I'll go look for other parts I'll need. New gas lines, adhesive, I have messaged a couple guys and waiting. Most transoms I see are easier to get at.

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Justin I can't see how you would be able to slide in your new transom without removing the top cap. Yours is way different than my Chief so I can't say exactly how to go about it. I do know that your transom cap has structural elements as did mine but it all has to come apart. I had a bunch of rivets to drill out, mahogany wood pieces with aluminum braces with bolts to take apart and I even had to do some aluminum cutting where the transom was covered underneath the cap. You just have to put it all back together after the new transom is installed.

Just start tearing into it and things will become clear how the cap is removed.

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I am having trouble up loading photos to this thread. I am doing it the exact way I did in the beginning but now it say's I have exceeded my quota. ???

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

That's a PB message. Something to do w/ how large the pix are & how much they're opened, I think it's a combination of the 2 based on a 30 day cycle. Small chance it's an error, PB doing maintenance or something.

In the your acct settings, select auto-size pix. That will make them smaller in KB or MB, but in 2.5yrs, I've NEVER gotten an error over quota message. EDIT: I am using the free service.

Look for the auto-size option & try again later..

Since you're attaching the pix, instead of embedding them, every time someone opens 1, perhaps it's using your bandwidth allowance.

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Where do I find account settings? I went to the top of the page and tried a couple different links that say settings. None had an option to auto size pics. Where am I going wrong?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Well, I guess I mis-spoke. The 'new & improved' PB, which I don't think is better BTW, apparently no longer has auto-size as a choice.

Under your user name drop down menu, select User settings

Under the albums tab, select Customize Upload options

I've chosen 1024 X 768 as a size & DID NOT check display linked photos in original size

When I joined PB, auto-size was a choice, and I chose it then. It's nearly the end of July, & I am using 27% of my 10GB of bandwidth.

Previously, I saved most of the pix I wanted to post here, to my PB acct 1st, then posted them from there. Even w/ the PB addon for my browser, it is tedious & time consuming to do that. For any pix relative to MY project, I save them so I'll have an online record. But generally, I cut & paste pix from other websites, which keeps my PB bandwidth lower then it otherwise might be. At 10+posts per day, I now only post 3 or 4 pix from my PB acct a week. Perhaps less then that.

I can't imagine you exceded your bandwidth this quick unless you are using your PB VERY heavily elsewhere online or @iboats. Unless PB was doing some sort of maintenance, you won't be able to post pix until your bandwidth resets, which is a 30day cycle.

If you've exceeded your quota, the images above shouldn't show up. They do, it may not be a PB problem.

How are you posting the pix as attachments? Using the insert image button on the post tool bar? From your computer, or from a URL? Did you check the Retrieve file & reference locally box?

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

It's probably an attachment quota problem @ iboats:
iboats Boating Forums FAQ

How many attachments have you posted?

I checked my list of iboats attachments and have @12MB in 197 attached files.

So mine average @60KB each, which is pretty small. If you're posting a lot of pix as attachments & their very large MB files, that may also be a problem in combination w/ the # you've posted.

Use Photobucket & paste the IMG code here, that puts the pix IN your post, not as attachments that need to be opened.

The IMG code looks like this:
IMG]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c28/boat.jpg[/IMG

And show up IN your post like this:

 

[Watermann]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

It's an I/O. So no epoxy? Also you said 2 - 2 1/4 inches minimum. If I use two sheets of 3/4 I'd have to add 1/2 around the keyhole to reach 2in. . It looks like they had 3/8 around the hole with two 3/4. I'm puzzled by that. I just picked up three sheets of 3/4. That would get me 2 1/4. But it looks like more than they had.

Justin when I removed my Chief's transom, the wood was 2" thick with 2 pieces of 3/4" with 1 piece of 1/2" sandwiched between them and it had a 3/8" piece just around the keyhole on the inside. (Mercruiser 120 with MC 1) It looked to be the original 40+ year old factory piece of wood too with nothing I could see sealing it up. If you use 3 - 3/4" pieces be sure to measure your inside transom bracket before cutting and laminating because it's going to be over 2" and may not fit.

 

[Grandad]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I am waiting to hear from anyone and searching the threads looking for a way to install the transom board. I can see no way to put it in from the inside. It goes all the way to the top. It has to slide into the channels on each side. I am wanting to cut some access but I don't want to mess with the boats structure. While I'm waiting I guess I'll go look for other parts I'll need. New gas lines, adhesive, I have messaged a couple guys and waiting. Most transoms I see are easier to get at.

Hi Justin, You gotta mess with the structure if you're replacing the transom. You can't get more structural than a transom. So, you gotta remove the stern deck. To get it off, you need to remove the rub rail from the transom and for a couple of feet forward on each side. To get the rub rail off, you hafta remove at least some of the rubber insert from within the rail's extrusion. Note that the rubber will have shrunk substantially, so when you release the ends of the side pieces by removing screws holding it, it will likely creep forward as it shortens after being released. I sacrificed the transom rub rail rubber to extend the shrunken side rubber as it shrinks surprisingly. Once the rails are loose from the gunnels, they can be pried apart just enough to get clearance for removing/inserting the transom. You may have to cut some of the top of the gunnels directly above the transom. Don't sweat it; the stern deck when re-installed will cover the hatchet job.

Also, when determining the thickness of your transom, don't go any thicker overall than what will fit inside the aluminum Z pockets that are riveted in place. You don't want to have to trim the edges to fit after sealing the wood. Once that's settled, then decide what thickness material to shim the transom to your I/O's required thickness. I used a layer of 3/4" and a layer of 5/8" and sealed the sandwich using Formica laminate. The thickness worked good for me and you can't get a more durable seal than plastic laminate (but it's expensive). Then I used a piece of 1/2" thick sign board plastic for the I/O's horse collar. - Grandad

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

I could not find an answer to installing the transom board so I took off the nose cone , drilled the rivets holding it, pulled about 7 feet of the rubber bumper forward on both sides. Then took out the screws and nuts half way up the boat. Then drilled out the rivets the same distance. Now it is hanging on a lift and with internal supports it is high enough to allow the board to go in. I'll post pics when the pic problem is solved. I still can't locate the auto size pics page. Supposed to be in settings somewhere. Can I find the settings on this page?

 

[justinkaley2]

Re: 1976 Starcraft Chieftain 22ft. Cuddy Cabin Transom replace.

Thanks Grandad, I was out doing just that , lifting the deck. Makes me nervous to get into the structure but it's the only way. What do you think of two 3/4 and 3/8 around the key hole. ???