'79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Well you know I vote no stereo. Those are both nice motors.

X2

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

No news, no progress, no real reason to update anything but here goes.

Epoxy is still curing in the garage, slowly. Most of it is ready to re-coat so I will try to get that done tonight. Not much gonna be accomplished since we are headed to Kalamazoo for family stuff early saturday morning.

Kevin Van Dam(Kzoo native) is putting on a fishing clinic and casting demo for the kids so we might try to make it there in time to learn from the "world's best fisherman" a bit.

Hopefully I will be able to bring the SS home to start paint prep next week. That dang van is still in the way and needs to go soon. We've all been sick all week too, so there's somewhat of a legitimate reason that I've made no progress this week.

Last night we got healthy enough to change the brakes on the Flex, saved $550 so I'm pretty happy with that! Roslynn is a talented brake changer, as long as I can get the lugs and stuck bolts she is all set.

Back to work on the boat now...

 

[Teamster]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I hope yous had a chance to meet KVD,.............He's a great guy.

I had the chance to talk to him at the launch after he won the last E50 on Lake Wissota a few years ago,...........

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Some more epoxy resin curing on the side panels. This is the exposed face, so hopefully it will lay down evenly and cure up quickly.

I think we had some issues with the resin not being mixed enough with the hardener on at least one batch.

The edges on a few pieces are refusing to cure, so I sanded it down a bit and put some new resin on it.

Some other random pieces, the dash panels got sanded down and will be cut out to house a switch panel on the starboard side. Also a stereo housing for the port side.

Roslynn voted to keep the stereo so it stays.

I removed all the clamps and weight off the transom and it seems to have cured well, and the two boards are now one. You can see it on the white cooler there.

The transom is going to be dry-fitted one more time prior to epoxy. I am hoping to tow the SS back home this week so I can really get back to work.

Huron Sr. had some extra stuff that he pulled off his new '02 Sea Nymph.

The Berkely rod holders are nice, he upgraded to Bert's tracks like jasoutside recently acquired. The real bonus is the leftover shark marine vinyl that matches my interior so we can probably cover the bow pieces.

The guy that installed his new side scan sonar/gps and bert's tracks is my source for the vinyl so I lucked out there.

I'm leaning towards mounting two near the windshield so they can be reached from the bow or the stern, and will be in a good spot for planer boards.

I have two inline planers like this one now, so I will be doing lots of shallow water trolling for walleye hopefully.

There are designs to make planer boards out of wood also, if I have any leftover epoxy once the boats are done this summer I might try to fabricate a couple more.

This Lowrance is in great shape, probably because it has a cover, and it has all the functions that the Garmin has plus some.

I will probably opt to install this one permanently once it's been tested thoroughly.

It's got the water wheel and they are accurate at <20 kts so I may use it. I know some folks would leave it alone but for trolling speeds they are better than GPS.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I forgot to mention that the flippin mosquitoes are something else this spring...and they have a habit of settling into my semi-cured resin permanently.:facepalm:

I've been doing lots of light sanding to get rid of insects and drips as well.

The search for a 3-cyl 70hp Johnnyrude from the late 70s/mid 80s is ongoing.

If I find a VRO model reasonably priced I am going to jump on it, so that's kind of what I am hoping to find. I will be happily mixing 50:1 most likely.

I think I have 4-5 good leads(three Johnson, one Evinrude) and I am going to start checking them out to see if one of them "speaks" to me, and starts up easily.

I don't want to get one that needs anything more that a new fuel line so we'll see how it goes.

 

[yooperangler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Great progress and nice score on the fishin stuff and vinyl . I'm really starting to dred the epoxying after hearing all of your drying issues I'm definitely glad I've waited for warmer weather although it seems it's not coming this year. lows in the 30's tonight and highs in 40's tommorrow

 

[dozerII]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey HA, your making some good progress there. I know what you mean about the weather and the pesky biting things they are everywhere up here. Nice score on the accessories for the boat.
Glen

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Progress buddy! Excellent!

Yah, skeetos are bad up my way too. Hiking around in the woods is a little less enjoyable lately, my kiddos are totally bit up.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Yooper, the problem was improperly mixing I believe. The two batches we did last night were mixed much longer, using a plastic spoon in a cordless drill.

The resin is already solid, not tacky at all, less than 10 hours later.

Things should go more smoothly now that we figured out the issue.

I was told that the trick to getting the mosquitos to leave you alone is to stop breathing...as they are attracted to carbon dioxide.

I should be able to finish almost all the epoxy stuff by friday, then we are heading up north for a long weekend, to take some boats out that are ready for the water.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

then we are heading up north for a long weekend, to take some boats out that are ready for the water.

Now that sounds like fun! I am seeing mid 60's and sunny up north for the weekend buddy, enjoy!!

 

[Backwaters2]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey Huron,

Check this out: http://nmi.craigslist.org/boa/2400671095.html
Just listed on craigslist. I have the same motor on my 18' and they are very smooth and efficient.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Hey Huron,

Check this out: http://nmi.craigslist.org/boa/2400671095.html
Just listed on craigslist. I have the same motor on my 18' and they are very smooth and efficient.

Hey thanks for the link backwaters, I actually saw that one yesterday and I'm gonna check it out this weekend possibly. I'm gonna be up north anyways so I might as well get a motor while I'm at it.

It looks like it's in pretty good shape. I might test the compression on it to make sure.

 

[boatguy94]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I forgot to mention that the flippin mosquitoes are something else this spring...and they have a habit of settling into my semi-cured resin permanently.:facepalm:

Great progress, Huron! Even if it is just epoxy drying it's great to see something happening.

I quoted the mosquitoes because they were none up north near Traverse when I was there. Then get back to the Lansing area to stop at a friends on the way back and they were absolutely terrible... I bet they are a real pain when it comes to curing the epoxy.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Great progress, Huron! Even if it is just epoxy drying it's great to see something happening.

Thanks BG, yeah we have more epoxy curing now too

Not the most exciting thing, but it is important to protect the wood. We will probably keep this boat for quite a while and I don't want to redo everything every five years.

I did manage to get the starboard dash panel cut out where the switch panel will be mounted. That went smoothly and it can be coated with resin now too.

I'm gonna pull the boat out of storage next week to start painting, who knows...maybe it will stop raining someday!

 

[sschefer]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

LOL about the rain. We're getting this dang drizzle and then rain then drizzle and rain then... well you get the picture. It's just enough to make you mad but not enough to keep you from being able to cut the lawns. Nice wood work by the way.

I'm not sure if you're into this or not but if you need a fishfinder/GPS system the Lowrance HDS is the bomb. I started with just a head unit and now have almost every accessory they make for it. No need for a stereo, the SonicHub integrates into the HDS head unit and has everything you could ever want. If you want to watch a movie off your iPod/iPhone or a thumb drive just add a monitor and you've got it. There are two open USB ports on the docking station so you can plug your PC into it too. Of course the side scan (structure scan) sonar is awesome and the 3D charts are really cool also. I don't have the Radar dome for it yet and have been thinking about it but I really don't have a place to mount it unless I put a Tuna Tower on it and I'm not ready for that yet.

 

[Triton II]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

... don't have the Radar dome for it yet and have been thinking about it but I really don't have a place to mount it unless I put a Tuna Tower on it and I'm not ready for that yet.

Wow, now that I'd like to see... A flybridge Falcon with radar!

TII

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Well after a really nice long weekend in northern Michigan I'm ready to work on the SS again

We washed some lures in Lake Huron, checked out my dad's new 18' Sea Nymph w/ 2002 90hp Johnson. Great boat with a pretty nice layout in the stern, I will post some photos.

The rig topped out around 36mph, probably since the boat is really heavy...it's got a 45 gallon belly tank.

I scored big time at a couple garage sales, picked up 6-7 plano cases full of various Rapala's and my favorite red/white Daredevils super cheap. Also a scuba tank and weight belt for $15.

Just need an inflatable vest and regulator and I will be ready to finish my open water diving certification

The SS needs to get dragged home and flipped soon, so hopefully plenty of updates on the way. Epoxy has all cured well, thanks to proper mixing and better temps.

I'm also hoping to test out WoG's suggestion, the Epifanes clear varnish. Can't wait to check that stuff out and see how the wood looks.

Hope everyone had a good weekend honoring our vets, I know we did

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

I'm not sure if you're into this or not but if you need a fishfinder/GPS system the Lowrance HDS is the bomb.

Hey Steve, thanks for the compliment on the wood work. I've been learning a lot and things aren't perfect but next time around they might be

Funny you mention GPS/finder combos...I spent this past weekend playing around with a Humminbird 898 combo unit. Pretty neat stuff with the sidescan and whatnot.

I was not aware of all the add-ons available for those systems, sounds pretty cool.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

Photos will be added tonight, I have about one week's worth to post.

I've got plans to pick up the SS tonight after work, so progress will be ongoing from here on out.

Thanks to Jason I will have a permanent fuel tank to tinker around with, so I will need to plan on how to house and plumb the tank.

We have got one coat of epoxy on the transom, the rest should be done this weekend.

I can't wait to start taking the old paint off, we will see how it goes. I may be getting some quotes on media blasting soon to see how much that would run.

After that I'm assuming I will be trying to strip the paint off myself. Good thing so many other folks have gone down this road before, so I will be doing a bit of research on the subject.

 

[dozerII]

Re: '79 Starcraft SS 16 restoration

ELBOW GREASE works good HA lol, that is unless you want to strip it right down, I just went the sanding route on mine.
Glen