Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

[slowleak]

Hi, first post, I've been doing a whole lot of searching online about a boat I looked at on CL. Its an older Starcraft cabin boat from 1967.
The seller is asking $1500, and won't budge on the price. Its on a super nice roller trailer, LED lights, new tires, and it's been well cared for.
The seller is selling it sans the outboard and controls.
I get conflicting opinions from several buddies, basically those who fish and those that don't.

The good:
It's light and easy to tow.
The transom is rock solid.
Its perfect for fishing and has a cabin.
There's a ton of room for electronics.
There's plenty of storage room in the cabin.
I have the perfect motor for it off my old boat.

The bad:
It needs paint, the exterior paint if peeling all over.
It needs two new seats, (about $50 at Walmart).
I have to rig a motor to it and match the prop.
Its got a cabin and throwing and retrieving the anchor will be a pain.
The floor has a few spongy spots around the edges.
The interior and instrumentation is old and original.

The boat for the most part could simply have a motor hung and be ready to fish.
To be nice, it needs to be stripped and repainted, and the rear deck should be replaced, the seat boxes repainted and new seats installed.
I'm not looking for pretty, just a safe fishing boat for the river and bay.
The finish on the boat is a case of it being repainted years ago and that paint is lifting. It will probably scrape right off, I was able to take a several foot section down to bare aluminum with a credit card.
It used to have a flush to the sea type head in it, that's been removed, the through hull ports are still there but are bypassed with a large hose inside. I was thinking that they would make good connections for an onboard hand wash sink inside the cabin?
I don't much care what it looks like and I would be using it for a fishing boat, so fancy and clean doesn't matter. I just want something that will last a few years and not sink. I'd be stepping up from a 14' fiberglass boat with a 20hp tiller motor.

Is $1500 a good price for a boat like this? The boat doesn't have any corrosion, it's been sitting for a few years but it don't look like it's been abandoned or let go, the owner had a 110hp on it, I have a newer 115 Mercury I'd like to run on it.
Here's the ad, http://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/boa/2225643597.html
I tried a lower offer but nothing doing, he won't budge.
I'm thinking that I can hang a motor on this and fish this season on it, then repaint it over next winter? I rarely run saltwater so I don't think the poor paint will do much harm until then? Besides, by then the rest of the paint may be gone on it's own.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

Welcome aboard the forum!

Some will say that it is over priced as-is. I would say the price is all up to you and you alone. The old addage," it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it". I don't know what the market is for that style boat is in your area so that would be up to you to determine. I do't know how many of those old Starcrafts are left either in your area. I do know there have been a number of them restored by members here on iboats.

The one advantage you have in this case is that you already have an engine to put on it from what you've posted. That in it's self could make it worth the price. Over all the boat doesn't look awefull and would be in the condition I would expect to see in a boat of that age. So again it comes down to how much do you want it, how much are you willing to pay and how much are you willing to invest in it for repairs

Looks like it's time to make some decisions! Good luck with it either way.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

for the type of use and condition you would be happy with, sounds like a good deal--because you have a motor. Do you have controls and do you nee steernig? those two components can be expensive.
If it ends up being a total bust you may be able to resell the trailer and get some of your money back.

 

[Krichbourg]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

Welcome Slowleak,(like the name). This is a great site to have your questions answered. You will get much better results if you post your question on the Starcraft area. Look at the boat manufacturer list, you'll see it. Starcrafts's have a loyal following and many people will be happy to share their experience and knowledge with you. You've found a great site. Check out the Starcraft Cult, as they like to refer to themselves, and you will see what I mean. Right or wrong, you will surly get answers. Good luck and welcome to Iboats.

 

[86 century]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

That is an iboat members boat cant come up with the name. I would say it is worth 1500 in scrap so don't blame him on not budging on the price.

Good Luck

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

Yah, I might be a little bias as I love Starcraft boats and play cards every Thursday night with reelfishin who happens to be the current owner of that rig.

In your neck of the woods that would be a pretty fair price for the rig you are looking at. In FL and Midwest it would go for less. On the left coast and Canada it would probably be double that.

She is a great rig especially being an OB. Trailer is ready for action. Boat itself can be run (with your OB) as is and when you feel like it, she has great bones to rebuild as good as new.

IF you grab it there is an excellent, albeit quite strange, group of guys you could hang with here on iboats.:facepalm:

Have fun!

 

[slowleak]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

I've got a later model Mercury 115 that I'd use on it. The motor came of of a buddies boat after he upgraded to a 150hp not long after buying his boat. I have the motor, harness, cables, and controls.
The Starcraft has good steering, the deck is usable, but like I said, it's got soft spots, near the edges around where you would stand to fish off the back. It's got an assortment of rod holders and an ancient depth sounder too. The current owner said the original owner ran it in a river and kept it on a boat lift, the trailer is a lot newer. I plan to do basically the same. I'm not sure about taking it into bigger water, it feels pretty light overall. I can lift the tongue of the trailer and walk the boat around like nothing. It's either super well balanced or very light. I'd guess the hull is under 1000lbs, maybe less?
I'd either buy a pair of padded seats at Walmart or just make something out of wood. The seats sit on two wood boxes, built in to hold left and right fuel tanks which I'd guess to be around 20 gallons or so each. They are plumbed to a fuel switch at the rear of the boat and into a fuel filter.
The paint is rough but I've also seen some aluminum boats that were never painted. This was originally dark burgundy in color, but someone stripped and painted it white. There's a texture paint finish on top. It's sort of got a cool old feel to it, I suppose that boat has a lot of history.
The seller has it tarped over with a huge stand in the middle so it's bone dry inside, and it don't feel heavy and there's no dampness in the boat anywhere. It was almost 70 degrees out the day I went to look at it so the deck wasn't just frozen either. I'd probably just cut a piece of plywood for now and paint it and use the boat as is. I'm not too concerned about having a fancy interior since it'll only get covered in fish bait. It does have carpet, but that would also go. I did lift the carpet in one area and the wood below looks good, even though it gives a bit under foot. Of course, I'm 350lbs, so the deck may be fine to a smaller guy. My buddy has a glass boat which the floor feels soft on to me but he don't think so. His boat also only feels soft when on the trailer, in the water I don't notice it at all.

There were several people there looking at it when I was there, and it was getting dark so I really want to go back and have a super close look. I also have some concerns whether or not my car can pull it. Its probably fine on the road but I've never tried to launch a boat with a Crown Victoria.
A couple of thing I need to figure out as well is that the trailer has a Delaware title, I need a title for PA, but I take it that in NJ they don't have titles, so the seller just held onto the signed title, which is notarized in 2007. If PA will accept that title, it looks like I may go back with cash to make it mine, if it's still there by then. I've been through the mess of trying to get a trailer titled in PA before, they won't recognize NJ trailer registration as a proof of ownership in PA.
If I find that they will accept the DE title here all is good.

That Starcraft has four bolts sticking out of the transom, stainless steel 1/2" in diameter, will they work on my 1999 Mercury 115?
Will the steering cable fit too?

 

[slowleak]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

I should also mention that this is about the 20th of these I've looked at, it's the very first that hasn't had some sort of hull damage or nasty repair. I've seen a few that were badly corroded, some that had no wood left in the transom, and almost all had dents all over from careless docking or just plain collisions. This boat is dent free, there is very little in the way of holes drilled in the original hull. The transom has one transducer bracket secured with three screws, there are some rod holders along the gunwales, and there's two antenna holes drilled into the sides of the cabin that I'd most likely plug up. The Plexiglass lower windshield is decent, not cracked or hazy, the the seat cushions are intact, old and dusty but not shredded beyond use, and the cabin door is still there. Most that I've seen are weathered and rotted to the point where the wood needs to be removed with a pitch fork or vacuum cleaner. This alone tells me someone took at least decent care of this boat over the years. I crawled under, in and around it and the hull is perfect.
The only real job that I'd be looking at is stripping off the old paint and rolling on some new white paint. The deck is an easy fix, I'd just replace the rear section, at worst I'd have to remove the seat boxes but that's not an immediate concern. I have little doubt that I could have it up and running in a day or less with only the cost of a new battery and some fresh gas using my motor.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

I also looked at that Starchief, its not bad at all, the paint isn't a big deal, just about any boat you buy that old will need paint, and the same for the deck or seats. That's all minor stuff. The nicest thing about that boat is that the hull isn't all banged up or modified. It would be in my garage if I didn't already have so many boats here now. I'd have to dump at least one of my other Starcraft boats if I bought that. I really like the seat boxes and how they fit the boat, it makes that a really nice boat to fish from too. I was thinking that it would be great to add an enclosure and bimini top. He's got the top frame, but it needs new covering.
Those boats are just plain rare in these parts, they seem to be more common inland farther, I don't think I've seen one on the water around here in 20 years. There's a few older SS models but I've never passed a Starchief or Chieftain and I do a lot of boating.
There's a post about that boat over in the Starcraft section, everyone pretty much agreed that $1500 would the minimum value on something like that. That's got to be one of the nicest original Starchiefs I've looked at. Its got that old boat look that I'd probably just leave alone, fix the deck, paint it, hang your motor on it, and go fishing. Make it too pretty and every scratch will hurt. Part of the beauty about owning an aluminum boat is that they can take a beating which makes them perfect for fishing.

 

[vintageglass]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

If your looking for a title on a trailer in NJ, good luck, NJ only titles trailers which weigh in over 2500lbs, meaning that almost no boat trailer will have a title. If you happen to find one for sale by the original owner, then you may get the Certificate of Origin, but if they still have it, it means it was most likely never transferred or turned in to the state in lieu of a registration card. If it wasn't, the CO is worthless as there's no paper trail. If you have any other state title, then your most likely fine, at worst you'll pay a late transfer fee when you transfer it. Just so the last titled owner signed the thing and didn't put the buyers name on it, if so that's going to be a real problem if that name is the NJ seller. He won't be able to transfer that title to his name since NJ doesn't do titles on light trailers. Most of us in NJ who buy an out of state trailer with a title, just put the title away and register the trailer as home made since turning in the title used to mean forfeiting the title and then only having a NJ registration card as proof of ownership. Therefore if you do find a trailer with a title in NJ, it will be a non NJ title.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

That is iboats member reelfishin's boat. I think it's worth the money. Not a steal, but fair. My buddy bought a 21' Starcraft Chieftain last fall for $1200 with a 90HP on it but the trailer it's on was crap and the boat needs some major work. Starcrafts are easily restorable. I wouldn't even concern myself with the condition of the floor, transom, etc since it's so not a big deal to replace. I say go for it, we'd love to have you in the iboats Starcraft club! There's a ton of us on here.

 

[slowleak]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

Does anyone know what kind of hassle I'd be looking at with a DE title that's been signed and notarized back in 2007? The seller said he just put it away with the boat title since NJ don't title trailers, will PA cause me grief over the title being dated that far back? The DE title is signed but not dated by hand but the Notarized Stamp on it is dated 2007. The title says the trailer is an 1986, but it looked a lot newer to me, of course it could have been stored indoors too.
If I knew the trailer wasn't going to be an issue, I'd jump on it. I was thinking of heading down there again on Sunday to really look the boat over and try and make a deal. I called today and he said he had a guy coming by on Saturday to look at the boat, so it may not even still be there.

I looked at another similar boat in MD, but the right front of the hull was all rippled up and hammered out, and someone butchered the sheetmetal around the rear caps replacing the transom wood. It looked like they used a hammer and chisel to dig out the wood and then just patched it all up with sheet aluminum. That guy wanted $2750 but that had a 75hp motor on it. The motor ran but it had problems starting and something was squealing real bad when it ran.
The interior on that boat was a mismatch of used seats and fake grass carpet. It also had four huge bilge pumps rigged up in the stern. That boat had a different shape in the rear, the transom wood was completely encased in aluminum and the splashwell was narrower. On the 67 Starchief, the the splashwell goes side to side and the wood is exposed. It looks like you could pull off the corner caps and unbolt the wood and just lift it out for replacement. The boat in MD had a title that said its a 1955 Hmd. My take that meant someone didn't know what to call it so they called it home made? I looked at another, a 21' Chieftain, but that one had an I/O hole in the back and the motor was in pieces all over the floor. They wanted $2500 for that and the trailer was a painted antique with no lugs and four 10" wheels, with its bunks all rotted out from under the boat and not tires left on the rims.
The one in NJ is by far the nicest I've seen, it's as close to original as I've seen and it's not been jury rigged to death. Everything that was changed over the years was done well and it looks like it belongs. It's also the lightest. I looked at one up in NY last fall that had moss growing on the floor and about 6" of mulch rotting in the stern. The back wall of the cabin had all but fallen in and the dash was hanging by the wires. It also was so heavy four of us couldn't lift the tongue off the ground. I got the impression it was full of wet wood and wet foam. On the boat in NJ, the deck is still decent, even if there's a soft spot or two and I think that carpet in there actually may have protected the plywood. It's got a thick rubber backing that may have protected the wood. Of course it don't look like it's been left out in the weather either.

On a Starchief, do you have to remove the cabin to replace the deck? It would be shame to disturb all that to just fix a few spots in the rear. In other words, is the outside deck separate from the inside deck? If the dash and steering wasn't all hanging on the back wall of the cabin, it wouldn't be so bad. All I'd want to do with the cabin is sand and revarnish the original wood on the back of the cabin, right now it's got old varnish or urethane that's peeling and flaking off. It looks like the back wall of the cabin is just plywood?
How were they originally finished? Maybe just a coat of color paint is the right answer?
Of course I think just a sanding and some new urethane would look best.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

You can replace the deck with the cabin intact.

Here's some pics and videos of my buddy's 21' Chieftain we picked up fall of '09 http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/Chris Boat/?start=all It's only got a 90 on it which is way underpower but still planes nicely. Only does about 26MPG but gets you there.

 

[slowleak]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

That 21 don't look bad but from what I've seen, the 21' gains all it's added space in the cabin, there's not much more room outback for fishing on the 21' over the 18' models.
I also didn't realize that the cabin design was so different on the 21' model. On the 18' model, the bunks inside don't extend past the front window, there's a panel that's part of the hull there, almost like a dashboard panel on an open 18' boat. The bunks are large enough to seat 4 adults.
On the 18' there's a hatch out on the bow deck but you would have to be a contortionist and not much more than 80lbs to get to it. It's of no use other than for a vent, and I'm not sure I'd want a vent open up there in open water. There's only about 18" between the top of the cushions and the bow deck or the bottom of that aluminum lip there. Ahead of the cushion is open, you can see the foam flotation below the seating area up there. In other words, you can't lay down and look up through that 12x12" bow vent. (At least a guy my size can't squeeze in there).

I did look at a few 21' boats but I was afraid that my car won't pull them as most were on tandem trailers. Anything much over 2000 lbs in tow is the limit, the 18' is probably pushing it when its all assembled. I figured the bare hull is not much more than 1000, and ad a 300lb motor, 600lb trailer, and some fuel, I"m nearing the 2,000lb mark. The 18' boat feels light, and the owner now pulled it with a Ford Ranger with only 2 wheel drive so my Crown Victoria should do it just fine. I plan to keep it at a buddies place on near the boat ramp so I won't be hauling it more than a few thousand feet each way.

 

[Solittle]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

I had one just like it years back. It had a 100 hp Johnny on the transom and perormed quite well. I was not crazy about the design though as when under way the air flow over and around the cabin resulted in the engine exhaust being sucked into the cockpit. Also as with any alumnium boat it was noisy.

 

[starcraftkid]

Re: Starcraft aluminum 18' cabin boat

I had one just like it years back. It had a 100 hp Johnny on the transom and perormed quite well. I was not crazy about the design though as when under way the air flow over and around the cabin resulted in the engine exhaust being sucked into the cockpit. Also as with any alumnium boat it was noisy.

Maybe that's why those boats have so much ventilation built in? One of the things I noticed on that boat is that it's got forward and reverse deck vents, much like those used on an I/O boat to ventilate the engine compartment and bilge. It also has a 12" square vent or deck plate opening that you can crank open.
On that style boat, especially with a black top, your going to be running with all the windows open and the vents wide open to keep cool. If your sitting, with an outboard, your not running the motor, it's not like you need it for heat. Underway the cabin is closed up and the driver sits outside the cabin. A buddy has an I/O version of that boat and you do smell the exhaust a bit when moving slow, but not underway and on plane. Since an outboard dumps its exhaust at the water level I don't suppose its too big a deal. I also don't see where that cabin design is any different than any other cabin boat, whether Starcraft or other. I had a 17' Sportcraft a few years back that drew a lot of exhaust into the cabin from the motor, but only when moving slow.

I've owned many aluminum boats, I've never thought that the noise was an issue, your going to get more noise from a big tin can, but I'd rather have a boat that's super light and easy on fuel than one that's quite and cost me $40 a day to run.
My 17' Capri will run all weekend on a 20 gallon tank if I'm careful, my 17' aluminum boat will run all month on that same fuel, both have 50 hp Evinrudes. It's simply a matter of weight. The aluminum boat will also hold far more weight.

When it comes to a cabin boat of any kind, I don't think it gets any better than a Starchief or Chieftain with an outboard.

If I had that 21' EZ posted pics of, I'd hang a 140 on the back and at a full enclosure and make it my winter boat. A cabin heater and room for two guys to fish off the back is all I need. Of course it would take a full size truck to pull. The trailer alone under that is over 850 lbs, and the boat probably weighs in at about 1,400 lbs dry.
The 18' model was always the holy grail when it comes to Starcrafts since it can run on a common V4 engine very efficiently, it has enough room to bunk two people and its large enough to be stable in bigger water. If you measure one of those, they measure on the high side of 18', they're a 'big' 18' boat. The later models, after 1967, had more of a V hull too, so they ran a lot smoother in the chop. The first version was almost completely flat in the stern and pounded pretty hard in the chop.