1978 18' Starcraft Offshore SS I/O

[opsimath]

Retirement project or foolish undertaking? Time will be the judge along with all of you on this forum.

This is my first boat restoration and first time posting here. A little background....I have only previously owned a couple boats, both aluminum. Sold the last boat in 2003. I have had the urge to purchase another but the price of new is not in the retirement budget. This Starcraft was purchased on a whim while perusing craigslist. The hull, motor and drive are good but the interior suffered from gross neglect. It most likely has never been covered. I gutted the boat, sold the non-fitting trailer and purchased another trailer on craigslist.

I had a local mechanic assess the mercruiser 140 and drive. The motor started and has good compression. The drive is functional but needs some work. It was the mechanic that suggested I visit the iboats site and forum.

I have taken some pictures and intend to keep a diary of the build.

ops

 

[dozerII]

:welcome: ops, we really need to see pictures or it really didn't happen. Great choice of Starcrafts, they are a fairly simple rebuild and a great boat for both fishing and cruising.

 

[classiccat]

Dude...you can come up in here claiming to own an Offshore I/O without pics!!! :lol:

 

[opsimath]

Appreciate the welcome. I would have posted photos but the tutorial said I needed 3 forum posts before I could submit photos? This being my second post I will attempt again when able.

ops

 

[jbcurt00]

If you use photobucket as a 3rd party pix site you can post pix anytime.

Its my preferred method of posting pix anyway.

 

[Watermann]

:welcome: to iboats and the Starmada (once application is accepted by way of photo evidence).

Here are the photo posting instructions for photobucket.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/othe...tep-by-step-with-a-free-hosting-site?t=530391

 

[Candutch]

Welcome ops! You will find lots of great information here, just read through as many resto threads as you can. If you have questions post them up and someone will most likely answer you before the end of the day. There are many very knowledgeable people here.That's been my experience so far anyway.
Looking forward to watching your progress. Wish I was retired it would make my restore go much quicker but darn work keeps getting in the way.

 

[opsimath]

I set up a photobucket account and will try getting a couple pictures posted. These pictures are some I took after backing into the driveway and just prior to one of my adult daughters observation of "does it float"? I have been bombarded with many similar responses from family and friends. Non believers!

 

[dozerII]

AHHHHH avacado green gotta love the 70's. the hull looks to be very straight on the port side. Don't worry about the naysayers, there is all kinds of proof that they float right here in the Starcraft forum

 

[classiccat]

She's a beauty and great candidate for restoration! The offshore is a beefy SS made for tackling bigger water. From what I see in the 2 pics, no corrosion on any of the trim...a little ding in the port-side rub rail. The port-side bow rivets look to be a little wonky...and one has a stain around it perhaps from an external sealant? :noidea: Since it's been gutted, have you done a leak-test? Also, the bow-eye has been reinforced.

 

[Watermann]

Nice looking green SC machine! Ah the ole 140 MC is loved by many and will run forever if taken care of. Trailer looks pretty decent too, nice score :thumb:

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome to the Mob, OP.

Pretty straight looking hull. So far the best advice has been from your mechanic about joining the iboats crew. That could also be the worst advice, too.

Are you going with a resto and keep the green or a functional refurb/color change? What all is in the wind?

And the big question - Does she float? We can help with that minor issue if you say no. Have fun with your retirement project.

 

[opsimath]

Adding an interior picture and a couple pictures of how the boat appears now. It is ready for a plastic media blast and has its replacement trailer. Heading out of town for a few days so I will update when there are changes. ops

 

[Watermann]

Now it's official your a card carrying member of the Starmada! Complete with avacado head knocker seats the off shore is very vintage 70's. That old trailer should sell if fixed up a little you could get some rebuild cash out of it.

 

[hayko1971]

Its a great boat, I actually kinda like the avacado colour

 

[opsimath]

Hello Starmada,

Back in town and have some time to answer your questions. At this time I am not real sure where I am heading with the rebuild. The transom seems to be solid but I will take a better look once it is all cleaned up. I have not checked the hull for leaks but have been reading some of your past advice. The final color has yet to be determined but the green will likely have to go.

I am posting a picture taken just after the 140 was pulled. You can see that the boat had two 15 gal. fuel tanks which will be replaced with a below deck Ameri-Kraft 30 gal. tank. It measures 6 3/4 X 18 X 79.....Has anyone else done this on a rebuild?

I will be picking up the boat from media blasting on Monday with some more pictures to follow.

ops

 

[GA_Boater]

The green would go if she were mine, ops. Perfectly understandable!

While you have the motor out, think about adding a second bilge pump. I/Os are always a pain to work in bilge under the motor.

Tanks have been moved under the deck. It's all a matter of having the room. Over 6 1/2' is pretty long, but you have a long cockpit, too.

 

[Watermann]

Hello Starmada,

Back in town and have some time to answer your questions. At this time I am not real sure where I am heading with the rebuild. The transom seems to be solid but I will take a better look once it is all cleaned up. I have not checked the hull for leaks but have been reading some of your past advice. The final color has yet to be determined but the green will likely have to go.

I am posting a picture taken just after the 140 was pulled. You can see that the boat had two 15 gal. fuel tanks which will be replaced with a below deck Ameri-Kraft 30 gal. tank. It measures 6 3/4 X 18 X 79.....Has anyone else done this on a rebuild?

I will be picking up the boat from media blasting on Monday with some more pictures to follow.

ops

So when you pull off the transom cover and take a look to see if the ply is starting to delaminate. From the pic it's the original from the factory as seen by the white color and it's extremely filthy like mine was.

Yeah the below deck belly tnak job has been done before. It was pretty easy.

 

[opsimath]

Watermann,

Very appreciative of the picture. I have been concerned about how to fit the tank in snug but still leave room for expansion.

Did you have to replace your transom?

ops

 

[Watermann]

Yeah there was rot and de-lamination, 40+ year old plywood is on borrowed time even if it doesn't have rot.

On the tank, I did have to do some modifications to the deck supports by moving them out to accommodate the width of the tank which made me have to add 1" height to the deck. I have a 1/4" of room on each side as that's the CG rules call for with fuel tanks. The tank rests on thick neoprene strips and the hold downs also have neoprene under them. The poly tanks don't expand outward, mainly upward and I have lots of room there.

Everything about fuel tanks is here. http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/AssetManager/ABYC.1002.01.pdf