1974 Starcraft V Hull Questions

[beagle]

Good news on the trailer, when I first looked it seems like a jetski trailer so you probably have that under control now. At least the boat is managable enough to get on horses while you deal with the bunks.

" I'm still working on my rehab of my 16 foot fiberglass boat. Needs transom, stringers, deck, paint, etc."

have a thought on that... a) You must REALLY love this thing! b) I'm sure you know but I have to say it - please look out for the fiberglass dust and your lungs!! Good luck with your resto! I'd rather slam my (deleted) in a sliding glass door than do that much fiberglass work.

 

[Xnutty98]

Good news on the trailer, when I first looked it seems like a jetski trailer so you probably have that under control now. At least the boat is managable enough to get on horses while you deal with the bunks.

" I'm still working on my rehab of my 16 foot fiberglass boat. Needs transom, stringers, deck, paint, etc."

have a thought on that... a) You must REALLY love this thing! b) I'm sure you know but I have to say it - please look out for the fiberglass dust and your lungs!! Good luck with your resto! I'd rather slam my (deleted) in a sliding glass door than do that much fiberglass work.

The boat is ok. I certainly don't "love it" but it is what it is. The reason I'm doing the restoration is because it's a good project for me and my 15 year old son to tackle together and the memories in the boat. All of my kids and my wife caught their first fish out of that boat. They all learned to operate a boat safely on it. And in 3 years I'm moving to an area that's going to be mostly freshwater and it would be a perfect boat for big lakes. It's not even close to worth it financially, but the sentimental value behind it is.

 

[thill]

You will find that the utility of a tin boat is somewhat addictive. I bought a similar boat, a 16' Princecraft, thinking I would sell it after a few months. But that stupid boat was SO useful! Cheap, easy to tow, even with the minivan, the kids could run it, it held 6 people in a pinch, it almost MADE gas, you could drop it anywhere, even in super shallow areas only a foot deep and so on.

I put a nice Minn Kota Riptide on the front and a bimini top, and that boat became the preferred boat for fishing the backwaters of the outer banks. The kids were kayak addicts, but in the blazing sun, where the red drum were spooky, they would wilt in the sun. Next thing you know, EVERYONE was in the shade, catching fish. That boat became the go-to boat on our trips, even though I have several boats.

I ended up keeping that boat for almost 10 years, and sold it just last fall, and I've been second-guessing that decision ever since! The boat I replaced it with is a great little boat, I just need to give it a chance. But the memories made in the cheap, ugly little Princecraft are many.




What I'm saying is that the more you use that little Starcraft, the more you might find that it's worth keeping around. It's not like it's expensive to own or high maintenance.

 

[TriBull]

You will find that the utility of a tin boat is somewhat addictive. I bought a similar boat, a 16' Princecraft, thinking I would sell it after a few months. But that stupid boat was SO useful! Cheap, easy to tow, even with the minivan, the kids could run it, it held 6 people in a pinch, it almost MADE gas, you could drop it anywhere, even in super shallow areas only a foot deep and so on.

I put a nice Minn Kota Riptide on the front and a bimini top, and that boat became the preferred boat for fishing the backwaters of the outer banks. The kids were kayak addicts, but in the blazing sun, where the red drum were spooky, they would wilt in the sun. Next thing you know, EVERYONE was in the shade, catching fish. That boat became the go-to boat on our trips, even though I have several boats.

I ended up keeping that boat for almost 10 years, and sold it just last fall, and I've been second-guessing that decision ever since! The boat I replaced it with is a great little boat, I just need to give it a chance. But the memories made in the cheap, ugly little Princecraft are many.

View attachment 119993 View attachment 119994
View attachment 119995

What I'm saying is that the more you use that little Starcraft, the more you might find that it's worth keeping around. It's not like it's expensive to own or high maintenance.

I couldn’t agree more with Thill! I grew up on an island in the Gulf of Mexico during a time when wood boats were giving way to fiberglass boats… As islanders, we never thought about aluminum boats as a viable option on the waters where we lived… fast forward 40-50 years - today I live about 10 miles inland, in an area saturated by every imaginable kind of water - freshwater rivers, springs, swamps, lakes, etc. and salt water bays, inlets, marshes, and off shore…. I now have a 1974 12ft Starcraft that I take everywhere! And I mean everywhere - including 5+ miles off shore! There is no other single boat that I could do that with! And even at 50 years old, the boat is rock solid and easily has decades of life left in it! Yes, I’m now convinced that these little tin boats are very special!