the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

[GA_Boater]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Glad the motor finally decided to let go, Bob. Goodness, you had a forest in there, didn't you? And good, you passed the ice test.

 

[barato2]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE........

i think you may win the "most vegetation growing in the boat" award. wow.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Wow, what a lot of work to get that dug out. Glad you are able to rescue her.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

i cut the top off saturday....havent decided how much of the bow deck Ill keep.... I like being able to stanbd at the bow but down IN the boat... but I also like having a dry covered area up front as well....I am going to see if my gas tank fits today and then Ill try and flip the boat off the trailer upside down so i can sand the bottom and paint....no leaks hull and rivets look great...some flaking paint under there though

was kind of tricky taking off myself....

the sides are pretty wobbly now... Ill have to think hard about tying the floor into the sides and the transom as well as the covered rear of the boat...
bob

 

[InMotion]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

That's a bigggg open boat you've got there now! For sure you will need to tie the sides back in as they really do give the hull it's rigidity. Big job there for one fella... but nice work on your own man!!

J.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

wasn't too bad...I flipped it myself.....held ratchet straps hooked into the rod holder openings to lower it. The boat only seems to be maybe 500 lbs or so.... its tough to move around...but not impossible.....its way more ridged that I thought though..... but ill tie in the sides for sure...

. the top is pretty heavy itself..id guess about 250 lbs.

bob

 

[InMotion]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Nice flip job there Bob...

Do I see a Vette peaking out of the garage there??? Is that the "tow" vehicle??

J.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Nice flip job there Bob...

Do I see a Vette peaking out of the garage there??? Is that the "tow" vehicle??

J.

lord no.... but the marine center that is trading me a blown 115 ocean runner LONG shaft for my rebuilt 20" lower unit and $100, ( and who i get a lot of parts from) showed me the book that lists a tow hitch for 97-2004 vettes.....$278.......i told him id pass.....

I cant believe the boat is as light as it is...seems to be similar in weight to the 1982 180SS i worked on last year and flipped to sand...

the paint on the sides of this boat isnt original... the boat was rebuilt previously I discovered while tearing it down...but it is sticking real good.....just the Bottom paint is all messes up..... like they got under there with a brush and painted over a no prep hull...so Ill strip the bottom below the chine..and just sand the top.

now SELF ETCHING primer... i had THOUGHT is was used when you DID NOT want to sand after prime....not, that you didnt need to sand prior to prime.... i keep hear talk of the etching bonds to the previous layer of????(paint, zinc, hull or other primer)....love to nail that down....zinc chromate ( or rustoleum bare aluminum primer) then self etching primer then top coat.....no sand after self etch primer??? guy at home dept said you never sand after priming..I am beginning to believe there is more than one way to do it....

bob

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Yeah, the guys at HD wouldn't be my 1st resource, paint department or not.

If you sand to BARE aluminum hull, give it a quick acid wash (50/50 vinegar & water) bath and rinse w/ plain water. Dry, then use SE (self-etching) or ZC (zinc chromate) only on the bare aluminum areas only, and only a sparse coating of the SE/ZC. Then prime the ENTIRE hull, preferably w/ primer from the same paint line as your finish paint. A LIGHT sanding between coats, helps get a better final finish to your top coats.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

i know i maybe jumping the gun with the paint questions but I have about 6 gallons of aluminex hull and pontoon cleaner.....would i not need that if i am sanding every place there is no paint( to get rid of the paint). my thought is that that cleaner might be for bare aluminum that has been exposed for years...and that someone didnt want to sand it all.....bob

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

getting close to painting the outside...stripped the paint under the chine-strake. mainly because it looked like someone started years ago, then gave up, and it had dried back to hard....really ugly... the sides looked good. It seems this boat was given a thorough overhaul sometime in its past...as a ton of rivets are rebucked, and on one side they alternated the side of the rivets and the opposite side they are all the same size!!, plus there is a sealant under the front keel, that i THINK might not be original.....plus there seems to have been some repair( a place with a LOT of rivets )

does anyone think that dark sealant is factory??

bob

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

I have the same stuff on mine, seems to dry/crack out after a while. A few others have commented about the stuff.

 

[laurentide]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

I've got that gunk too. I didn't think it was factory initially, but now I'm guessing it is. I'm also guessing it's good that I didn't tear it out.

 

[Jimmy H.]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Wow nice boat and sweet find. I was just looking google images of Islanders and came across yours and this thread. I have been keeping my eye open for one in my area. Anyways Ill be following your progress. Good luck!!
James

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

If I remember, Jason cleaned the sealant up, didn't remove it, and smoothed it up with good ole 5200. I don't know how as runny as that stuff is.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Yah, that's factory sealant. If you are painting prolly best to just leave it be.

On my Jet Star I took a razor blade and carefully scraped away the visible stuff as I went bare alum on the bottom side of the hull.

:thumb:

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Yah, that's factory sealant. If you are painting prolly best to just leave it be.

On my Jet Star I took a razor blade and carefully scraped away the visible stuff as I went bare alum on the bottom side of the hull.

:thumb:

funny the paint on the sides looked great with the one exception and that was the paint on top of the 'extra" sealant....it was all checked, and cracked....Ill probably try to clean it up....anything that can be seen isn't doing any good anyway...that way the new paint might not check there ......bob

 

[dozerII]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

That is factory sealant, it seems to dry out and shrink then the paint cracks as well. I did the same as Jason, used a razor scraper to clean up the loose stuff, then just repaint.

 

[bob johnson]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

got my welder going sunday. I had trouble fir a while... and didn't know the cause.. it was too low gas pressure AND swirling winds, and as such I kept blowing holes in the sheet... then Id have to weld them shut, then Id blow another hole... finally figured it out and make a little tent over the work area( outside) and I turned the gas flow up, and it went smoothly, but by then I have warped the transom sheet aluminum.... so my delimna is trying to figure out how ill address this condition:

I have a lot of things ready to do...I think I am going to cut the covered bow support from two layers of sealed plywood or buy a piece of oak and cut that.....then I have the runner supports for the transom brace ready to either get riveted to the last three ribs or ill mig them in place. also my new gas tank(used off ebay) its not as tall, BUT it is 1/2 WIDER!! so the stringers are going to have to go up the ribs!!! and the floor will be a little higher than factory. bob

 

[InMotion]

Re: the starcraft islander rescue.....sorta.....got some work ahead!

Hmmmmm... The guys at one of the plants had this problem recently with a 12 foot by 14 foot square duct.... used a lot of angle iron bracing to straighten it out. Of course angle iron won't work here... but I would think that bracing of some sort is going to be necessary to straighten that out. Hopefully someone with alot more welding experience than I have will chime in....

J.