My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Got the seats and the upholstery vinyl for the interior ordered today. Should be here no later than Monday.

 

[Brenn]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

youre going to have one of the shortest/fastest resto starcraft threads ive seen.nice work

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Thanks. It doesn't seem that short to me since I took a couple of months break before Christmas on working on it (if I hadn't my wife would've killed me). I'm lucky in that the weather has been really good this year and has allowed me to work on it most weekends and sometimes in the evening. That and the week at spring break when I got to spend most of the entire week working on it. I envy you folks in the northern states for your fishing opportunities (I'm a transplanted Minnesotan and most of my fishing has been there and on lake of the woods in Canada) but it is a lot easier to work on boats throughout the year here.

 

[Brenn]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

true you guys do get the good weather.its definitely a trade off with the weather and fishing around here.we get alot of moisture but are also blessed with alot of good fishing close to most of us.the other trade off is that there is alot of boats around here but they tend to be alot more expensive then elsewhere.

 

[dozerII]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Well, progress for this weekend - Got the decking in and riveted, although I took EZ's idea and used the self tapping colored decking screws along the outside edges since the rivets didn't seem to want to seat properly. The rivets worked fine everywhere else. Now just have to wait for my Nautolex to arrive before I can get everything else put back in. I put the splash well back in also and 5200'd the joint between it and the transom. Also got the inside of the boat painted today. Here are a couple of pictures of the progress.

Glen, do you know how much Darcy wants for the cushions? Maybe I can find out what the shipping would be and make a decision on it. Thanks in advance.

I will Check with him today, and get back to you, Paint looks real nice, it sucks waiting for parts.
Glen

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Nautolex arrived today, but found out this morning that the Nautolex 88 I ordered, and for which I payed extra for priority shipping, is on back order. They are hoping to get it by May 15th. Was so looking forward to getting the flooring down this weekend as my seats are arriving on monday. Oh well .....

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Nothing to show picture wise for this weekend, my daughter and granddaughter came to visit today so most of the day yesterday was spent doing honey dews. I did get the upper rubrailand insert installed and the gunnel trim on. My new seats are supposed to be here tomorrow, then it is just a wait until the Nautolex 88 gets here so I can get the vinyl down.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

If they didn't have it in stock, the vendor should refund the extra shipping charges. I think so anyway. Waiting sucks!

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Yeah waiting does suck, especially now because my lounge seats came today. Oh well nothing to do about it.

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Still no vinyl glue, so not vinyl put down today On the other hand, I made myself a corner bracket as an experiment. I know MichaelP sells remakes of the originals and probably this fall I will order a pair from him, but I saw this type on a 2002
Starcraft SS which someone posted on the Craigslist/Ebay thread:

I figured I could come up with something like that so bought some two inch Aluminum angle and made this:

Not as nice as the originals, but at least they will cover the mess at the back end.

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

I want the sliding doors that cover the gas tanks and battery, but mine didn't have them so I am working on making some. This is my first effort. The hardest part is getting the vinyl to look good on the inside curves,

Any comments, suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

The hardest part is getting the vinyl to look good on the inside curves,

I know about this:facepalm: It is hard!

Looks like you did a great job there

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Only suggestion I have is - quit messing around and install them cause they look sweet!

I like the corner caps too, care to elaborate on how you made them?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Perhaps if you glued the vinyl down on the flat parts and waiting for it to dry completely before doing the wrap, it wouldn't wrinkle as much. Looks pretty good though anyway.

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

I made the corner caps using 2" aluminum angle from Lowes. If I remember right a eight foot piece of it was around 15 dollars. I didn't do a lot of measuring, held the angle on the corner and marked off about an extra 1/2" on one end and two inches on the other end.


Then I cut along the corner of the angle two inches. I then cut one side of the angle off two inches in.


I also cut 1/2" off the width of the side angle. Otherwise it hangs down too far. I then bent the tab over on the edge of my anvil to form the side piece.


I then used an epoxy that I found at Lowes. It comes in a clear plastic tube. It is a dark blue on the outside and white on the inside. You cut off the amount you need to use, knead it until it turns gray and then have about 5-10 minutes work time with it. I fill the gaps with the epoxy and after it sets up you can sand it. I really like this epoxy as I feel that you don't waste as much. I decided to paint the caps the trim color of the boat since you can't match the aluminum color, but I think that it looks pretty good.

Oh by the way I jury rigged my jig saw in my vice (padding the jaws with some scrap foam insulation I had) as I didn't have a band saw available and it is almost impossible to cut it otherwise. This is my "Don't do this at home" picture. And remember what Norm says - "Always remember your safety equipment"

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Got my rear doors made and fitted this weekend.



Also couldn't wait until my glue comes so I can put the vinyl down, set one of the seats and the consoles in place temporarily.



Hopefully the glue will come sometime this week.

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Starting to make the picture clearer, looking good.

Thanks for the cap tutorial I think that's a good solution for missing caps.

 

[SierraMark]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

Stephen,

I really like those doors for the batter/gas tank area. I am thinking of doing something like that to my Fishmaster when I do my rebuild but I was thinking about it and I was wondering if it would cause problems with gas vapors. Are you concerned about that or have you already addressed that issue?

Would adding maybe a couple of louvered vents be enough to dissipate the vapors?

-Mark

 

[Stephenatx]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

The doors I made are basically a copy of the original doors found on the SS. The metal panel in each door is something I found at lowes it has a perforated pattern throughout. The original doors had the same thing, it was just a lot of small round holes.

 

[64osby]

Re: My new/old 1971 Starcraft SS

I want the sliding doors that cover the gas tanks and battery, but mine didn't have them so I am working on making some. This is my first effort. The hardest part is getting the vinyl to look good on the inside curves,

Any comments, suggestions will be appreciated.

It's little late but maybe it will help the next person.

On the inside corners , sand the edge so it is rounded and smooth. It helps to have at least 1" of vinyl extra on the back side, it also helps to have 1/8 to 1/4" foam under the vinyl. Staple the straight edges to about 2" from the corners. Cut slits in the vinyl at the corners, kind of like your fingers, minimum of 1/4" width closest to the wood. They will be wider at the outer edge. Keep the cut about 1/8" away from the back edge of the corner. Start in the center and work out, pull with even tension and staple each slit or finger(not your own). When you are done it should look like your fingers spread out.

A good hair dryer or a heat gun on low can also help make the vinyl easier to work in the corners, both inside and out.