14' Starcraft Seafarer Build

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

atuck593

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2011
Messages
239
Reaction score
0
Location
Northeast Pennsylvania
I know this is the section for builds and modifications but just a brief introduction before the project. My name is Alex, I'm 23 from Pa. I have fished from shore since before I could remember with my dad and brothers. Last summer the local lake decided to drain a few feet of water to replace the boat launch ramps. Not bad in theory but when you hit the summer drought the water level became very low. It made fishing from shore very difficult. I purchased a small kayak to fish from on the lakes and streams. It was nice to hit the shallows but being 6' 2" 220 lbs it was tough to move around and sit in for a long period of time. I also had to leave my brothers on shore. This started my search for a small aluminum fishing boat and ultimately brought me to this site. I have been looking at all of the builds on this site for a little while and have seen some awesome work by everyone. After researching some of the builds and asking a few questions I think I have a plan on what I would like to do with my boat.

I am starting with a 1971 14' 3" Starcraft Seafarer. I have seen a few people on here working with Starcrafts and have got a lot of great ideas. The boat will be powered by 1972 Evinrude 9.5 and a Minn Kota Endura 50lb thrust trolling motor. I mainly used the electric motor as the three closest lakes to me are electric only but I picked up a running Evinrude for a decent price this winter. I hope to get to some bigger water this summer with the outboard.
 

Attachments

  • Boat Before 1 - Copy.JPG
    Boat Before 1 - Copy.JPG
    39.4 KB · Views: 27,154
  • Boat Before 2.JPG
    Boat Before 2.JPG
    39.9 KB · Views: 27,154
  • Boat Before 5 - Copy.JPG
    Boat Before 5 - Copy.JPG
    36.6 KB · Views: 27,156
  • Boat Before 3 - Copy.JPG
    Boat Before 3 - Copy.JPG
    33.7 KB · Views: 27,155
The weather here in PA has been awesome as of late. About 8 inches of snow on Monday and then 5 inches of rain the last two days. I may need my boat soon just to get to work. I guess I just couldn't wait until spring to start but since I don't have a garage the boat rebuild just might have to wait a little longer. However, I have restored my little 9.5 Evinrude and I am pleased with how it came out. I have heard mixed reviews about these 9.5 Evinrude's and their Johnson counterparts but the price was right and it does weigh very little for its horsepower. I may move up in HP someday but as my first boat goes I am content putting around on a lake with this. Along with $150 bucks for the motor I bought three cans of spray paint. (Duplicolor Self Etching Primer $6 can...Engine enamel navy blue $6 and white $6) and decals off of Ebay ( $8 with free shipping) to fixer up a bit. I can live with $26 to at least make it look good!
 

Attachments

  • After 4 - Copy.JPG
    After 4 - Copy.JPG
    34.1 KB · Views: 26,522
  • After 3 - Copy.JPG
    After 3 - Copy.JPG
    33.4 KB · Views: 26,522
  • After 2 - Copy.JPG
    After 2 - Copy.JPG
    35.1 KB · Views: 26,522
  • After 1 - Copy.JPG
    After 1 - Copy.JPG
    36.1 KB · Views: 26,522
  • During 2 - Copy.JPG
    During 2 - Copy.JPG
    32.5 KB · Views: 26,523
  • During 1 - Copy.JPG
    During 1 - Copy.JPG
    34.7 KB · Views: 26,522
  • Before 2 - Copy.JPG
    Before 2 - Copy.JPG
    30.3 KB · Views: 26,522
  • Before 1.JPG
    Before 1.JPG
    29.4 KB · Views: 26,522
Thats a great boat you have there. Nice job on the motor too! I have a `68 evinrude 9.5 that i`ve completely gone through, there nice lightweight motors. Mine pushes my 12` smokercraft with just me at about 15-16 mph. it should push yours 12-15 mph depending on load. My friend has the same boat as yours and its a stable, dry, good riding boat. I liked it so much i just picked up a `85 14ft deep v seafarer. Good luck with her. :D
 
That's awesome. I have the same boat, I am just getting started. I picked up the last of the items I needed to get going... or at least that I think I need. It's a race to beat the melting ice!
 
Thanks guys for the feedback and support.

Ultra- congrats on your Starcraft purchase. I can't wait to see what your plans are on your build.

mcdonl- I know what you mean about not being sure if you have everything. I have been slowly purchasing items for the build all winter like seats and pedestals and such. I hope that way once I get started I will have everything that I need for that particular step of my build.

I have bought Gluvit for the seams and rivets ( I have read that steelflex can be a pain to work with ) as there was a small amount of water in the back of the boat the two times I took it out. Maybe 2 cups after a few hours out. It's not bad but if I have a floor in it I want to seal that up.

I plan to carpet everything but I have priced a few places and it looks like for a 6 ft wide by 20 ft long piece of marine carpet I will be paying way close to $150. Could I just use outdoor carpet? Whats the difference between? They are both water and mold resistant but the outdoor is a lot cheaper. Any thoughts? Any places that have awesome prices on this item?

I drew up a picture of what I would like to do and what colors I would like to use below. If anyone has any advise or suggestions from experience please let me know don't hesistate share. I am new at this and would like to get it as close to right the first time through. Mistakes can become expensive with boats as I have been pricing the items.
 

Attachments

  • Boat 2 - Copy (2).jpg
    Boat 2 - Copy (2).jpg
    65.9 KB · Views: 26,477
I know I have been debating how I would like to set up the back seat with the tiller. I figured when fishing I would like to have the seat on the pedestal centered as to balance out the boat and fish from both sides without leaning too much. But then it would be a stretch to operate the tiller comfortably. I might end up getting another seat base to put the seat in while moving and then having the center one while fishing.
 
Looks like you have a very well balanced fishing boat there. I like your ideas on the layout {sometimes less really is more} 2 low profile, light weight decks, fore and aft is what i've had in mind for mine too. The quality of your work is apparent from the photos , I'm looking forward to veiwing your progress, keep up the great work.....
 
Solid paint job.

What process did you use to remove the decals on the cowling? Did you just sand them off or apply heat to remove, then sand?

And the paint, was is rattle can or brush and tip? Sorry to ask so many questions, I'm still trying to figure this whole process out. Looks like you've got a pretty good handle on it!

T.
 
Ray- Thanks. Yeah I want to keep it simple and stable with the low decks. At this point I am content with just enough storage for the lifejackets, foldable paddles (with two motors I think oars onboard would take up a lot of room so if I get into trouble foldable canoe paddles I hope will do the trick), and some tackle boxes.

SlowRollin- Thanks I am pretty happy with the way it came out too. It was my first time working on one. I did some research on here as well as just searched on Google ways to paint and restore an outboard motor for different resources. As I said before the previous owner used a clear coat over the whole cowling so i just sanded everything down until it was smooth and evened out. I just painted over the decals and everything with the self etching primer and engine enamel. I only used rattle cans with the paint job...but I made sure to tape everything off so as to not get paint onto the motor itself. I would stay away from the Krylon multi-purpose paint though. I bought some thinking it would work on the aluminum prop and plastic cowling (hence multipurpose). Big mistake! I tested it out on the prop after using the self etching primer and it never dried to a hard finish and I was able to scratch it off with my fingernail. I went back to get the engine paint then and re-do the prop and start the cowling. I also had a secret weapon with the decals. I got a good deal on Ebay with them but my girlfriend is an art teacher soo she helped line them up and get them as close to symmetrical as we could. Don't worry about the questions. A lot of guys on here were nice enough to share information with me I am glad to share what I can as I work through mine (but by no means am I an expert). I also have a lot more questions here as I work through my build.
 
Alright to take advantage of some nice weather this week I decided to remove the bench seats and prep the rivets and seams for the application of Gluvit. I used a steel wire wheel to clear away the old paint and dirt around the rivets and seams and get down to the bare aluminum. I read on here and have got some feedback from people that have used it before said it sticks better to the bare aluminum rather than apply it over the existing paint.

The paint that is on there however, was pretty tough to get off in some places which has me think I may only need to spot prime later on before I paint the interior. After about two hours of grinding I was able to get it preped and ready to go. Depending on the weather I may just start tomorrow after work.
 

Attachments

  • Gluvit Before 1 - Copy.JPG
    Gluvit Before 1 - Copy.JPG
    31.6 KB · Views: 26,287
  • Gluvit Before 2 - Copy.JPG
    Gluvit Before 2 - Copy.JPG
    29.5 KB · Views: 26,285
Atuck I reread what you said about driving from the center of the boat, you do know that people extend the tiller with a slip on handle to do what your talkin about. As far as the carpet I think the marine is gasoline resistance but I'm not sure, I'm pretty sure the outdoor is not.
 
Ray- I know what you mean about the tiller extension. I have seen some guys use them, but I plan on sitting on the rear bench when using the outboard. It was just a matter of should I sit center on the rear bench or off set to the right. I plan on mounting the removable pedestal on the rear deck in the center and then drop it down when moving. I want to balance out the weight on that rear deck the best that I can. As for the carpet I have to check into that more. I am thinking that local stores will carry different products as opposed to simply searching online.
 
Nice boat and motor. Well to be honest I love the setup seeing how I have the exact setup. Good luck and cant wait to see what you do with it.
 

Attachments

  • 103_5350.JPG
    103_5350.JPG
    218.9 KB · Views: 26,149
  • 103_5351.JPG
    103_5351.JPG
    234.3 KB · Views: 26,149
  • 103_5352.JPG
    103_5352.JPG
    199.4 KB · Views: 26,149
Thanks Bassaholic thats a nice looking boat you have there yourself as well. (Ha same boat and outboard.) I like the simple layout of it. How well does the little 9.5 push the boat with the added weight? I can't test it out yet as the lake up here is still frozen. Also, when you have the motor attached to the boat and tilt it up to pull out of the water (like in your picture) ratchets keep it in place. However, do you have a release lever or something to allow the motor to go back down to the running position? The previous owner said that you just need to push it back down when you would like to use it. Does this seem right?
 
Well I guess not everything goes as planned. Finally had some nice warm weather today (reached 50) and I thought I would get everything ready to apply Gluvit tomorrow ( heat wave 60+ tomorrow). Anyway, the boat has always been dry and covered, but due to working on it the past day or two it was left uncovered.
This is where everything does downhill faster than the Jamican Bobsled Team. Looking at the transom it was just wet but upon further inspection the plywood was flaking and falling off a little right where the outboard mounts. Thinking rot...I gave it a closer look and the piece of rubber mat that was screwed into the transom for the outboard to mount on and cut back on vibration simply pulled right out. The screws were about 3/4" and I first thought the rot went all the way through. After removing them I realized the rot was the worst on the holes drilled through.
Planning now to replace the transom I started to unscrew the bolts holding it in place. 40 + years of trailering the boat and using a 20HP motor caused the aluminum bolts to bend just enough to not allow the nut on the other side to come off. The the soft aluminum heads of the screws stripped using a plain old screw driver. Getting the hacksaw out, I cut the bolts off at the heads and pulled them threw but we're not done yet.
After getting the aluminum cap off the top of the transom I discovered colony of carpenter ants burrowing their way throughout the transom like an ant farm. At this point I was relieved that I had checked out the transom further. Finally, the 2" thick slab of plywood was all but too eager to come out of the channel it was bolted into for the last 40 years. I wanted to try and save its shape the best I could to use it as a template for the new transom being put in. I will just have to piece it back together a little bit.
I guess now in hindsight I am glad that I have to replace the transom especially since the colony of ants had made my boat their home. But while I was in the middle of the removal I was thinking otherwise.
 

Attachments

  • Rot 1.JPG
    Rot 1.JPG
    246.9 KB · Views: 7,393
  • Rot 2.JPG
    Rot 2.JPG
    266.1 KB · Views: 7,393
Well atuck593, better to find out now than in the middle of the season. After the rebuild it will be as good as new and you`ll have piece of mind if ever decide to upgrade the outboard. Keep up the good work!
 
I got a little bit more of the transom re build done this weekend. I was able to remove the old one, cut and fit a new 2 x 8, and stain the new one. I currently have the new transom drying down the basement waiting to apply a few coats of spar urethane but in the mean time I figured I would post what I have done.
 

Attachments

  • New Transom Fitting.JPG
    New Transom Fitting.JPG
    255.5 KB · Views: 7,124
  • Transom Remove.JPG
    Transom Remove.JPG
    245.1 KB · Views: 7,124
Well...the last week has been pretty slow. Even though the calendar says Spring it still feels like everything but here in northeast PA. The only bright side is Trout Season opens this Saturday so getting everything ready has kept me occupied and not thinking about the boat too much. I made sure to seal up the transom pretty good by applying 2 coats of stain and 3 coats of Spar Urethane to both pieces of wood. I also plan on placing a small piece of aluminum plate over both the transom and back plate to keep the motor mounts from digging into the wood. I think that is what cause the rot to start last time.
 

Attachments

  • New Transom (2).JPG
    New Transom (2).JPG
    273.1 KB · Views: 6,779
  • New Transom (1).JPG
    New Transom (1).JPG
    248.5 KB · Views: 6,779

Latest posts

Top