1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

I haven't pulled the floor on her, yet, to see what's under there (almost afraid to)... LOL - Whatever is there may be wet. There may be nothing at all. Either way, it will get new foam. I am also thinking about undercoating the inside of the hull, up a ways just to be safe. As far as insulating the canopy goes, I may screw 2x4's and sheets of ply to the inside of the uprights, and right up to the peak. The ply wouldn't have to be heavy stuff, to seal it up, and add quite a bit of extra strength to the little shop. We get some nasty wind storms here, in the winter, and I don't want it taking off like a frisbee, down the street. It'd be super easy to heat it after I sealed it up. - I'm starting to work on the out I/O now, and after I get that fixed, and some wiring replaced, it will be time to pull the floor and go from there up.

 

[ricohman]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Great project! I wish I could find myself one to restore. I still can't help but notice the lines of the Chief in my newer Islander.
I like those shelters, buts its to windy where I live to buy another. The first one blew 50ft into my rear yard, while it was anchored to railway ties.

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

good point. wonder what mobile home anchors go for these days?

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

The I/O is giving me fits. I have a post going on the Mercruiser forum, and those guys are trying to help, but sheesh. This this is a bear to get off. Something just won't release, and let me pull the unit back. What a pain! I think the gears may be jammed. Now, I'm trying to get the lower unit off, so I gan try to get this thing off. Yikes!

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Thanks to the guys on the MerCruiser Forum, I finally got the out drive off. Boy, what a bugger that was. Now I can set that aside and take my time on it. It's on to the good stuff: The rest of the project. WAHOO!

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

what turned out to be the snag on the OD?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

You're off to a rip-roaring start, jp. Or is that a rip-it-up start. I like the newer Chieftains with rectangular windows. You got a smokin' deal.

Anyway, welcome to the Tin DryDock. May your stay be short, although it sounds like the talk of heat and a flat screen means you plan to settle in for a while. :watermelon: Have fun!!!!

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Barato2 - The hang up was the fact that the driveshaft had rusted into the gimbal bearing! It was nearly two weeks of trying to sweet-talk that bugger out! I finally took three 2x4's (on edge), propped them between the top plate, on the out drive, and the gimbal, blocked up a floor jack under the upper unit, placed a chunk of 2x8 between it and the upper unit, and jacked up the unit, until it pulled loose. It still took about 45 min. of being under that amount of pressure to come loose! The boat was gettin' mighty light, in the rear before the shaft finally broke loose. The gimbal bearing was/is still stuck on the shaft... more PB Blaster! Like I said, the guys on the MerCruiser forum really helped me out, on this debacle. I know this sounds like an extreme solution, but if your driveshaft is REALLY stuck it works great! - GA Boater - Thanks for the "Welcome Aboard" As you can see in the above paragraph, I was about ready to start eyeing the sawzall... LOL - Yep, already have a stereo hooked up in the shop, and heat is next... Then satellite, for football... a hot plate, a fridge and I'm set...

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

maybe some sort of slide hammer arrangement to yank the gimbal brg from shaft? you can get a cheap one designed for body work for about $30 and modify it. i've always considered PB to be the gold standard for penetrating oils, but recently, my brother, who was chief engineer on an 800' tanker (and lives 100' from a saltwater bayou) and thus i figure knows a bit about corrosion, has recommended K'roil. i plan to get some and see how it does. here's to ya for perseverance! the rest of the boat will be comparatively easy.....

lovin that shop. what did you have to give for it?

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Barato2 - Yep, sounds like a great idea, I'll try it. - We use Kroil in the refinery industry, when we're doing turnarounds. We buy it for our tool rooms, by the pallet load. Great stuff. Seems to me it was invented for the aircraft industry, many years ago, thus the name Aero-Kroil. It used to be, here in the Northwest, you had to know somebody that worked for Boeing to get your hands on the stuff.

I bought the shop off C/L for $350. It was about a year old. I don't think I got hurt, as it came with another 10'X14' enclosure, I'll use to store the yard tools, and parts I remove from the boat. Both canopies are Shelter Logic brand. If you look into them (whatever brand) be darn sure you tie them down (as one of the other guys said) as, before I could get the small one bolted to concrete, we had a little wind and it sailed over the fence into the neighbors back yard! Luckily, he's a great guy, and has a huge sense of humor. We laughed our butts off, while we were "rolling" it back over the fence. More "creative ingenuity" - LOL

 

[Brenn]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

I cant believe what a great deal you got on that boat.Its almost impossible to find those in our neck of the woods.I will be following along with your build,good lcuk.

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Thanks, Brenn! Nice to hear from a fellow Washingtonian. - I see a few old, bigger ones, and some runabout models, in Oregon (mine came from Oregon, too) - long trip but well worth it), but I hardly see any of the 18' Chieftans, anywhere, for sale. Do you have a Starcraft, too, and if you do, what model/year is it?

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Sorry I haven't been getting any work done, and posting pics - We have been having some pretty nasty storms come through over the past week, or so. Hopefully tonight will be the end of it for a while, as I need to get going on pulling the aft bulkhead, removing the seats, and removing the flooring, so I can see what's under there (floatation, gremlins, etc.), and check for any rot, in the transom and cabin bulkhead. - QUESTIONS: (a) I have seen other photos of other Chieftans with a one-piece plexiglass front window (mine has one, too) on the cabin: did they come that way? (b) I think I want to coat the inside of the hull, to above the water line. Any advice on what to use, and how much I'll need?

 

[classiccat]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

(a) no idea

(b) after gluv-it (seams/rivets), maybe paint (S/E primer, primer + paint). I don't recommend putting anything on the inner hull that can trap/hold water against the aluminum. The PO of my current project coated the interior hull with epoxy...it trapped water and behaved like an electrochemical cell resulting in some pretty nasty corrosion. much of it lost adhesion and clogged the limber holes further exacerbating the problem.

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Thanks, BlueFin 16 - I hadn't thought of coatings trapping water. I'll do the Gluv-It like you suggested, and maybe paint it. I certainly don't want any corrosion problems, and I don't want any drainage issues, for sure.

 

[barato2]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

on your plexi Q....curved plexi windshields were the norm in early 60s, and every Starchief (your boat, earlier version) i've seen has it. and most of em are cracked and crazed.

 

[Brenn]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Yeah I havent found a Starcraft around me that was any kind of decent deal.I may have to do what you did and hit up Oregon to find one.Im constantly looking though.Let me know if you see anything in the 16-18ft SS range anywhere.Thats what I would like to find but Im pretty open.

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

OK, storm system has moved out... time to get my butt to work on pulling some stuff off the boat.

 

[jpstude]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Brenn - will do. I cruise C/L quite a bit, so I'll keep an eye out for you. I see "Ready to launch" ones are pretty spendy.

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1978 Starcraft Chieftan 18' - Starting point

Brenn - will do. I cruise C/L quite a bit, so I'll keep an eye out for you. I see "Ready to launch" ones are pretty spendy.

And more often than not, not necessarily "ready to launch"! Amazing what some people will deem ready to launch...

Jim