Starcraft remodel

[fishigan]

I am in the process of acquiring a 16" Starcraft aluminum fishing boat. I would like to do a little remodeling to it to make it more user friendly for fishing and duck hunting. SO I would like to take out the 2 middle seats and maybe the front seat. I want to lay a floor in and carpet it then put a cooler seat in the middle. A couple of questions I have are....
Do I need to add foam under the floor?
Does this kind of project tend to make the boat more stable or less stable?
If I want to paint it to make it look really nice and new what do I need to paint it with?
I may not use it for duck hunting....and if I don't I thought it would be nice to give it nice paint job. If I use it for duck...I just won't paint it. I also added a pick of the motor.

 

[fishigan]

Re: Starcraft remodel

I dont know why the images don't show in the post. If you right click it you can see it at flicker.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Starcraft remodel

Nope! still wont show pics.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Starcraft remodel

sounds like a good idea.be careful when reconstructing the inside,keep her stable through the chop.cant see pics either.

 

[fishigan]

Re: Starcraft remodel

Ok...I got the pics to work. So give me your opinions on doing the floor and whether or not to add in foam. Picking the boat up in a few days. Got the whole deal for $750. Motor is in great shape. I think the boat is a 79 or 80.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Starcraft remodel

I am in the process of acquiring a 16" Starcraft aluminum fishing boat. I would like to do a little remodeling to it to make it more user friendly for fishing and duck hunting. SO I would like to take out the 2 middle seats and maybe the front seat. I want to lay a floor in and carpet it then put a cooler seat in the middle. A couple of questions I have are....
Do I need to add foam under the floor?
Does this kind of project tend to make the boat more stable or less stable?
If I want to paint it to make it look really nice and new what do I need to paint it with?
I may not use it for duck hunting....and if I don't I thought it would be nice to give it nice paint job. If I use it for duck...I just won't paint it. I also added a pick of the motor.

Hey fishigan, welcome!

I like your thinking there! I had considered doing the same thing on the last 14 footer that I had.

If you are pulling the seats out you'll need to come up with some way to make the boat solid. The seats surely provide the skeleton to keep that boat from being a noodle. I'd leave the seats in there and "notch" out the middle of each seat providing a walkway down the middle. That would also leave the structure in place.

If you plan to add a deck than for sure throw some flotation under there. Pink or blue foam from your big box hardware store would be the ticket, or, swim noodles.

Click on the "Starcrafts being rebuilt" link on my signature and you'll find lots of info on how to paint a boat. Seems like just about everybody does it a little different and wars have been waged on the subject.

Welcome!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Starcraft remodel

Welcome to the forum! That's an extremely nice rig. In my area that motor alone would be worth the $750 so you got a fantastic deal.

 

[LastDollar]

Re: Starcraft remodel

I would leave the seats in place they act as a brace to keep the hull from flexing. For flotation you could add some foam pieces to the under side of the seats. I had a 12? that had the floatation done that way. Sweet deal!.

 

[fishigan]

Re: Starcraft remodel

Thanks for the input. I think maybe I will just slide a floor in and see how that looks. Would be nice to be able to remove the 2nd seat from the back at the least. Great site here. I have seen some awesome looking boat remodels done here.