Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

[starcraftkid]

First off, let me say I've been lurking here and reading for quite some time. I finally signed up and this is my first post.
Most of my past experience has been with aluminum boats, mostly Starcraft models, every thing from 12' up to 22' V models.
I have little to no experience with fiberglass boats in general.

I've been wanting a trihull for river fishing now for a while, I spotted one for sale locally and went to have a look. It's a Starcraft Capri 17, which hasn't been in the water in 2 years or so. It was powered by a Mercury 50hp four cylinder motor, which to me seems a bit small, but either way, there's no motor included. The last owner is up in years, bought it new, and has been fishing it much the way I intend to most of it's life. It's interior is stripped, which is fine, I'd do the same, and the carpet shot. The transom appears solid, the guy let me do a drill test on the inside and all is dry, the boat has spent the past two years shrink wrapped while the owner recovered from an illness. Prior to that it was stored in a carport. It's been used only in freshwater, the outer hull is in really nice shape other than a few ugly touch up spots, which after some rubbing turned out to be only superficial scratches that the guy painted over with house paint. (No idea why).

The underside is spotless, no dings, scrapes or patches, the boat is light, I can lift the stern myself so I doubt it's more than 6 or 700 lbs total, maybe less. The steering and controls are out of the boat, but the guy has a brand new Teleflex steering kit, new carpet, and a Bimini top for it. The original motor died, I'm not sure what of, but its sitting in his garage all apart. The transom was never drilled for a motor, the old motor was just clamped on, the only bolt hole in the transom is for a safety chain for the motor.

The bad part is that the deck has a crack in the floor, about 6" ahead of the splashwell. The front floor is rock solid and doesn't flex a bit under my 350lbs even jumping up an down on it, but the rear floor flexes at the seam, but is rock solid behind that. It appears that the seem in the deck is not over what ever support is below it and the seem came unglued so to speak. I have access to a bore scope at work, I took that and gave a look through the drain plug and it appears that the deck on this thing sits a good bit above the stringers? It appears to have only 1x3" wood supporting the deck every few feet, and the seem is not directly above the last board and was only supported by the fiberglass coating. The current owner only weighs about 110 lbs or so, so it never moved for him, but for me, I need something stronger.

I've read through the countless horror stories here about rotted decks, stringers, and transoms, but this thing is light, dry, and the rest of the deck is rock solid. (I even crawled under the splashwell to get a few drill samples of the stringers at the very rear, and even that came up dry. I think its more a matter of poor construction or a moved floor support? I'm half temped to drill along the seam, and install a 6" wide aluminum plate with some moly bolts to bridge up the gap and call it a day with some new carpet but I think the right answer is to pull out the last section of floor, which is already separated from the rest of the deck, and lift it out and see what's up. If all they used to support 1/2" plywood on 30" or so centers is 1x pieces of wood, it'll only be a matter of time before the rest of the deck gives way under my weight, or the weight of any one of my fishing buddies, who all outweigh me by at least a 100lbs. I prefer not to have carpet, a flat floor with some grit added is fine, something that can clean up with a hose would be nice so long as it's not slippery. I also don't mind if it's something that can be replaced easily as it wears. I was thinking of maybe even rubber pimple mat or something similar over what ever the floor ends up being.

Second, assuming the deck is all buttoned up and the boat again ready for a new motor, what size motor, or let me rephrase that, what would be the minimum size motor that this boat will need to get on plane? I have a few good 50hp motors, and a 90hp Mercury, but I'm leery about too much weight on the stern.

Two questions:
Does anyone have any pics of one of these with the deck out?

Does anyone run one of these and what size outboard do you run?

Simple is the name of the game here, it's not going to go far, it's just for use in the river, maybe a few miles from point of launch tops, but it needs to get on plane and move along and not just putt putt along. A pair of 6 gallon portable tanks and a set of back to back seats will work well too. Maybe even a pair of aluminum pedestal seats. I'd also like to fill in all the holes left by the miles of padded vinyl that was removed from this thing, Maybe some light wood trim that would allow easy mounting of rod holders?

Here's a few pics of the boat:

Starcraft Capri Pics:
Left front
http://i45.tinypic.com/ogfeb8.jpg
Dash
http://i49.tinypic.com/200uzpg.jpg
Floor crack
http://i49.tinypic.com/2cnbdys.jpg
Splashwell
http://i47.tinypic.com/atwn4.jpg

 

[DALLEN7]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

HI starkraft if you take a look at my thread mine is very close to yours it is not a starcraft but is a tri hull. it looks very similar to yours including the splashwell. take a look and tell me what you think. mine is running a 73' 135 hp evenrude.i have not had it on the water since i bought it i just started the restore soon after hope to have it on the water next year or late this year.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Nice project, I hope this thing don't need repairs to that extent. I don't think I could justify it. From what I can see by looking in the drain plug hole with a camera is that the deck on this boat sits about 3" above the stringers, with a handful of 1x strips run side to side to support the deck. The stringers at the rear pass a core test, and the fact that it's not 'heavy' with water weight is a good sign. My transom doesn't go all the way down to the bottom, it stops about 7" above the drain plug hole and there's no wood in the upper wing areas at all. The transom is encased in glass with also what appears to be foam layer within the glass.
I sort of figured that if the sagging rear section of deck holds my weight with only minor sag, the wood itself can't be in all that back of shape. I can stand anywhere in the boat and even where the crack is, the deck will hold my weight, but the rear panel drops down about 3/8" with my 350lb self standing at the seam just to the rear of the crack. When I put weight on the seam, I can see wood protruding only slightly beyond that forward deck panel, if that 'lip' there was a 1/4" larger, there wouldn't have ever been an issue.

What I don't want to do is tear up the whole boat only to find that a minor fix would have worked.

If it means that the whole boat needs to come apart and a lot of time and money needs to be spent on this boat, it's not going to happen, there are too many good boats out there for less money and aggravation. This one just happens to be a deal since it's already on a trailer that needs nothing, and I've got just about everything it'll need to get this in shape.

I'll have about $400 in the boat and trailer if I go ahead, the trailer is worth that as it's got two brand new axles, four new springs, and all new hardware and a brand new Peterson submersible LED light kit. Plus a brand new Power Winch, cables and remote. The boat also comes with a new helm kit, several super market bags full of misc. small parts, the new Bimini top, and 2 brand new tires to match two others already installed on the trailer. I've got 90hp Mercury 4 stroke that may be a candidate for this boat, if not I can pick up a used smaller motor if needed.
At a quick glance, there's over $2500 in new parts that come with the boat, maybe more. Granted most were probably bought new at 1990's prices but still new parts none the less.
90% of the boat's issues area interior cosmetics, which to be honest, mean little to me. I just want a good stable fishing platform for the rivers and maybe the bay on really nice days.
Being I have other boats, it's by far not my only means to get on the water, I've got 8 other boats in the yard, but all are aluminum V hulls. I want one trihull in the lot for bait fishing the river mostly since they're so stable at rest. If two of us, both over 350lbs, are on one side of the boat, in a V hull, it's a real issue in a 17' boat, but a trihull will handle that without taking on water. (One fishing buddy has an old Glastron trihull that's in pretty bad shape, so bad that I am leery about its seaworthiness. It's got layers upon layers of deck, too much motor and it leaks profusely). If the bilge pumps or batteries ever failed it's going down. Not being a very good swimmer, I not wanting to spend my time on the water bailing or kicking and screaming in cold river water, I figured I'd be best setting up my own boat for this purpose. After all, I know when mine is done, I won't need to carry two jump packs just to start the boat because the batteries are weak from constantly powering the 7 bilge pumps, and the transom won't have angle iron and 2x6 braces holding the motor in place, and the deck won't resemble a partially submerged floating dock. (Mine will also have seats, not milk crates and chair cushions).

The part about this boat that got my attention was how clean the hull is, no keel marks, scrapes, or patches, no fade, and no real damage. It's light, and solid and looks solid enough that if I hung a motor on it as is, I'd be out fishing with little worry about the hull leaking or sinking today. Its an old boat, but far newer than anything else I have. It also 'feels' much bigger than even my 19' aluminum boat mostly due to all the interior space and it's width. There's a lot of open space in this boat, and my thoughts are to keep it this way by only putting in a pair of pedestal seats, but having the option of fishing from the rear of a pair of back to back seats also has me thinking.
I also want to lose the forward seat cushions and replace those with hatch covers, and maybe a forward casting deck area, or at least a big flat area on which to carry a large cooler.

The first order of business will be to lower the trailer, I want to flip the axles and get that boat lower for easier launching, and then the deck. After that, the steering goes in, and the motor gets hung and we'll see what it'll do. First off though, I'll wait for the latest heatwave to pass as it's near 100 degrees and super humid out today and will be all week. Being soaked in sweat, rolling in fiberglass isn't my idea of fun boating.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

You are correct, the trailer alone is easily worth the money. An old tri-hull with no motor has basically no value. If I was you, with the deck being solid, I'd add a layer of fiberglass over the whole thing and paint it with some non-skid. Hang a 50 on it and go fishing.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

After looking at your pix...ditto to what ezombee said.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

You are correct, the trailer alone is easily worth the money. An old tri-hull with no motor has basically no value. If I was you, with the deck being solid, I'd add a layer of fiberglass over the whole thing and paint it with some non-skid. Hang a 50 on it and go fishing.

I'm sort of leaning that way too but think that maybe a layer of 1/2" plywood would be a good bit of insurance due to my weight. I do have to fix the flex in the floor at the crack, it needs to be supported in some way. I also thought about dropping in an in floor cooler or livewell there, it would give me access to the edge of the rear panel and let me build up some support for that loose edge.
If I do that, I'd be adding something useful, and fixing the unsupported floor edge when I frame it out for the cooler. I have a salvaged 9" deep by 12" x 18" long floor compartment with a teak hatch that I could use, its basically just a fiberglass tub that screws down into a cutout in the deck with a wood insert for a lid. I took a piece of wire and shoved it down through the deck, there's at least 18" down to the keel in the center and the area between the stringers is about 24" wide or so. I just hate cutting it without knowing what's down there first.
I certainly don't see it being worth ripping up the floor to fix an otherwise decent trihull that when I'm done with it will still be just a run of the mill trihull.
As small boats go, I like the trihull design, I don't run rough water and the fishing stability is well worth the loss in ride quality.

Do you really think a 50hp will get this thing on plane with two big guys onboard?
I was thinking something closer to a 100hp or maybe even more. It's rated at 120 on the CG plate. I've got a 90hp rebadged as an 85 on my 16' Starcraft SS, and it barely tops out at 38 mph on the GPS with two guys aboard. It does hole shot good but I propped it a bit low for our added weight, and the motor will top out around 6100 max with the current prop. I had a higher number prop on it but it didn't go any faster and took too long to get on plane when loaded with us and a big cooler, and all our tackle.

I'm hoping the trihull makes for a better fishing platform for the river, the SS can be a bit tippy and it doesn't have near the deck space this thing does.

Anyhow, I got the boat for $200, with the trailer and the pile of an engine in pieces. I've got a good 50hp that I could hang on it, also a Mercury. (I'm not a big Mercury fan but will run what ever comes along that's in my price range and in good condition). The 50 I have is a late 80's 3 cylinder. It runs well but has no power tilt or trim. I've also got a 115 Mercury that I was saving for a nicer boat but I hate to see it sit on a stand in the garage, it's got low hours, is turn key and would move that boat pretty well I think.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Well I said 50 mainly cuz you'd mentioned you had one. I think it will plane a tri-hull fine. A 3 cyl 70-75 would obviously be even better. If your transom is in really good shape then go ahead and hang the 115. It should be a rocket then.

My suggestion to just glass the existing floor goes exactly hand in hand with your line above "I just hate cutting it without knowing what's down there first." That's exactly why I figured you shouldn't cut it. No one seems to ever find anything under the floor of an older 'glass boat other than pain and despair . A couple layers of fiberglass would add considerable strength. Better than overlaying another layer of wood.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Maybe I'll bridge the gap in that seam with some aluminum, then glass over the whole deck. That way it won't be so likely to crack there again.
From what I can see the rear edge of the crack isn't supported properly, either they missed the cross support when they put the deck down, or it moved somehow. I see small metal 'H' clips between the deck panels through the fiberglass in a few spots, I'm wondering if that's all they figured was needed to hold the deck panels together vs. proper support. There's three clips buried in the fiberglass at each seam, a few look rusty, and those at that rear seam are broken. It looks like they slid clips over the edges of the plywood to keep the seem from sagging and just glassed over it all. Sort of looks like a quick built production line boat to me, but the rest of the boat looks great.
Any idea how much or what type of fiberglass or resin I'd need?

How does this idea look?

Then on top of this I'd put down a couple of layers of fiberglass which would level out the repair again, which won't be more than the height a screw head plus maybe 3/16" thick for the aluminum plate. It would be a quick, easy fix for the crack, and would prevent the crack from reopening if the new layer of glass didn't adhere perfectly to the old layer.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Well, tonight I ripped out all the old carpet, every last inch of it, removed all the bolster trim and padding, took out the rear jump seats and their armrest padding, and got rid of all of the unneeded wiring hanging all over the boat. I tossed the 1970's AM/FM radio, tossed the chrome or polished stainless plate that was glued to the transom, it was only about 20 gauge SS, and other than maybe preventing some friction wear on the transom, it was useless.
I'll make up a small motor plate to from aluminum to protect the transom fiberglass myself. It looked like it belonged in a commercial kitchen not on the back of my boat.

I also removed a junk VHF antenna, a dead wiper motor, and all of the old Bimini top hardware and track. There's a new Bimini top that has it's old hardware.

Now, my question is, with the side padding removed, which was mounted to 3/4" plywood and attached to the gunwales on each side with carriage bolts and nuts, should I replace that wood with something to reinforce the gunwales so they can still be stepped on while boarding the boat?
I was thinking of bolting on a pair of 1x PT planks down each side to support the inner gunwales?
http://i28.tinypic.com/8zi490.jpg

Also, keep in mind that this is a 17' trihull, I was looking at a brochure online for a 1974, (mine is a 1973), which lists this boat at 1070lbs?
http://i27.tinypic.com/30be77n.jpg
I don't think this thing is that heavy?
I can for one, lift the stern well of the trailer myself, and I'm by far no athlete at 325lbs and 45 years old. It's not light but I can get the back of this boat up off the trailer fairly easily. The same with the bow. I suppose three guys my size could lift the whole boat fairly easily, four could carry it.
I would think that the stern was the heavy end as well.
I'd guess the total weight to be more in the 700 range than over 1000lbs.
Would the weight listed in the brochure include the motor? Granted that this hull is stripped of it's seats, vinyl padding, and carpet, I doubt I removed 400+ lbs from it.
It's sitting on a trailer, with twin 2000lb axles and four 1000lb springs, the suspension is not compressed in the slightest under the weight of the bare hull.
I can probably dead lift a 100lb bag of fertilizer, and that's a strain,this boat don't feel that much heavier lifting it off the trailer. The trailer is also full length bunks, so my lifting it is picking it up nearly it's full length.

(It was sitting crooked on the trailer, so I gave it a push and it moved quite easy, so I tried lifting it, and I could lift the stern pretty easy. No real strain to lift it).
Where do they get those specs? I seem to remember another spec of 550 for the weight of the Capri 17, but can't find that again. All I can find is the 1974 catalog spec sheet.

Its true weight will have a lot to do with what motor I hang. If this does indeed weigh over 1000lbs empty, then I will no doubt want to use something larger than the 50hp I have? Maybe something closer to the 135 max rated HP? (The rated HP is also another question as the boat lists only 110 on the Coast Guard plate, yet the 1974 brochure lists 135 as it's rated max). Maybe the 1974 was a very different hull?

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Well, I got to poking and prodding around the crack in the deck the other day. What I realized was that the reel section of deck was pretty small and easy to pull free. I took a box cutter, cut the fiberglass bond around the sides, lifted the panel up and out. What I found sort of shocked me. The floor sits a good distance above the stingers, on what is basically 1x3 planks about every 30" or so. They don't appear to have been fastened to the stringers with anything but some sort of glue or putty. The one next to the crack was in crooked, on an angle. I cut several new lengths of 1x4" wood I had to match, laid them in place using some 5200, marked where they were on the sides of the boat, laid the original deck back down, which was in great shape, and reset the rear deck panel back in place. I put in a few screws to attach it to the new supports, and sanded and reglassed the seams with a layer of glass mat and some resin. I let that set up, then brushed the entire floor with a heavy layer of epoxy to seal it. The lower hull, at least in the rear had no foam in the middle only in the outer edges, none between the stringers. The stringers looked clean and a drill test into one gave me dry wood dust. I filled the test hull with epoxy putty and buttoned it all up.

The deck was about about 7/16" thick overall but a lot of that was glass layers on top. The wood was most likely only 1/2". There was no rot or wetness below the deck that I could see.
I sort of pictured the under deck area to have been different, but the deck was just laid above the stringers on those tiny cross supports. I think the deck would be more effective if laid directly on the stringers. The deck as far as I could see, doesn't touch the stringers, only the 1x3 cross braces and the outer lip of the hull or inner part of the outer corner of the hull. I sort of pictured the cross braces as being either sectioned between the linear stringers or countersunk into them. They just lay on top.
I guess I'd have just done thing a bit different, but since it's lasted this many years, I'm not about to re-engineer the design.
I'm just amazed that the floor don't have any flex in between the supports being so thin. I guess all that fiberglass on top ads a lot of strength.

The plan is to put on several heavy coats of garage floor epoxy paint, then a coat of light gray truck bed liner for traction and mount some seats and a motor and get it wet.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Sounds good. My only concern with the garage floor paint is that some of it may not be meant to be used outdoors and may not tolerate UV very well.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Possible project- Starcraft Trihull

Sounds good. My only concern with the garage floor paint is that some of it may not be meant to be used outdoors and may not tolerate UV very well.

The garage floor paint I'm referring to is the same paint they used to paint the sidewalks, shop floor, and hand rails at work, it's a two part, 50/50 mix epoxy paint meant for commercial driveways, floors, and walkways. The label says adheres to ALL surfaces permanently. They redo the place every few years, it holds up to cars spinning tires, carts with metal wheels, and all sorts of chemicals. It's a high gloss finish in a light/med. gray color. The last time they had it done, the guy gave me about 12 gallons of it that were left over. I did the inside and outside of a rather well abused jon boat I had and it not only made it look decent, its stopped all the rivet leaks for over 6 years now.
I don't have much doubt it'll stick to and last in the boat, plus I'll roll on some truck bed liner over top for traction.

The epoxy paint dries well enough to walk on in about 6 hours but the bucket says wait 48 hours before driving on it. I'll give it a coat of the epoxy paint, then in a few days coat it with some bed liner for grip.

Everyone I fish with is pushing for carpet or vinyl but I can't picture having to get fish bait out of carpet, not to mention hooks and lures. The boat originally had short green AstroTurf like carpet. It still has it on the sides. It was in good shape so I left it for sound insulation purposes.