1954 Starcraft

[Islander78]

After 2 months at mechanics i picked up the boat. Boating season is upon us and i have alot to do to it. Unfortunately the only thing he did was loosen all the nuts n bolts in the transom for me...instead of following thru and replacing the transom.. So i quickly tightened everything back up as to not sink my boat. Now i am going to begin the restoration myself.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I hope you didn't pay them anything?

 

[Islander78]

I only gave em 150$ deposit..he may yet still be helpful as a referance person and i might still have em replace the transom n floor ply this winter.

So, ive given the boat a good once over cleaning and taken her out for a few runs now. Ol girls tired and definitely ready for an overhaul. But still seaworthy. Im lookin at redoing all the electrical now. Ive found a radio n speakers, and im thinking of building a good dash board. Replacing the stearing wheel with a unique one, and adding the appropriate gauges..i can encorperate the side throttle housing and speaker mounts for both sides if i give it a more robust dash..i have a good electrician friend that may be able to help..again, im only a carpenter and feel the wiring will be best left to a pro. I also am going to build a box for the captains seat on a swivel, instead of the post mount. And a box for a blue cooler live well that doubles for a passenger seat. The two back swivel seats are fine for now, until i replace the floor with new marine grade ply..plus new foam under it..

Just happy to have her docked behind my house and usable for fishin and relaxin..should be a great summer!

 

[Islander78]

So i started the electrical remodel on my boat. I went to my local Harbor Freight and lumber store and picked up some electrical components to help me, and also my local West Marine store for some accessories. Had an old friend donate some 14 gauge wire too. I know, not all marine grade, but this is my first go at it and its alot cheeper. After learning the basics, i jumped in head first. Running all my positives through the switches, then to my fuse block and all my negatives to a buss bar..wasn't as complicated as i imagined..found a new horn that i had to modify so it would fit into my old classic chrome horn. That took some doing but it worked, just need to wire it to a button now. Im also looking at buying a new radio n speakers since the ones i garbage picked aren't gunna cut it. Once i get all the wires ran im gunna wrapem n hidem. I also got a quart of Navy Blue topside paint, hopefully my painting skills are up to par.

 

[Islander78]

My neighbor has donated a convertible top to my boat project. Some adjustments to be made, i need new snaps for the windshield and the side runners to match the top. Its a few inches short to span the witdh of the windshield but the price is right, free! I also have completed the wiring of the lights, accesory plug, and new horn. I probably could have done a few things differently. Like adding the negative buss bar the the front behind the dash, instead of running all my negatives to the back, but at least i have all the wires connected in the same place. May be easier in the future if i need to trouble shoot.

 

[Islander78]

Any tips on top painting? It has its original baby blue but its been spray pained over..wondering if i should strip just the spray paint or just clean it really good and cover it..not really going for showroom quality becaus of all the flaws. Im thinking of doing some screw hole repairs..thinking of leaving the tiedowns n bow light n horn in place and painting around them.Hmmm..comments please. Thank you for watching.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

Put as much effort into it as you feel like
If the paint that's there is adhered well and just faded, then sand it lightly and paint over. Research the roll and tip method using rustoleum. Enamel hardener works well with rustoleum.

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

 

[Islander78]

So last trip on the boat. She began to run at half speed and stalling..75hp Mercury Force 1996, discoverd by pulling plug wires, the center cylinder was not firing properly. I self diagnosed and replaced the CDM module, still not runnin right. Borrowed neighbors compression tester. Discovered 0 pressure on center cylinder and 127psi on 1 and 3. To the mechanic she went...will update...thinking i used Marine gas on that trip instead of midgrade that i usually use. Hopefully its not too much damage..

 

[Islander78]

Its too much damage..now what?

 

[Matt193]

It looks like it spun a ring. You could probably have it bored out and rebuild it as long as the damage isn't too bad around the ports. My guess is that the head is damaged pretty badly as well. Depending on how available the parts are, it might be cheaper to find a different motor. At least around here, there are a lot of 3 cyl 70HP Johnson/Evinrudes that can be had cheaply even if you have to buy a whole boat to get the motor, controls, and wiring.

 

[Islander78]

Found the powerplant on ebay for $700 + shipping? Gunna find out if it was used in saltwater and how used it is..or if its new/rebuilt..newer used motors are the price of another boat 2-4k..