1999 Starcraft Superfisherman Transom Restoration

[LDUBS]

One thing that I'm looking at right now as a potential challege or issue is the wood thickness, combined with the added 1/16 plate i'm going to attach. The channel the wood sits down into, as well as the support struts that bolt all this together is pretty tight as it is. I don't want to jam it down in there and put undo stress on the aluminum. Because the difference is a mere 1/16", What Im thinking of doing is once I have the new wood fabbed up, I can simply route 1/16" deep channels in the wood to accomodate the support struts. I can't imagine this would compromise the strength in anyway being so little, and it would fit together much better this way. Anyway, thats a ways down the road at the moment.

That is what I would do, and seal the heck out of the ply. Especially those partially exposed laminations when you route out the 1/16 grooves.

 

[LDUBS]

Something that has me thinking as I do this. Corrosion, like rust on steel, needs oxygen to do its thing. My thinking is, once as much of this is cleaned out as possible, sealing the metal when I coat with epoxy will prevent the process from continuing.

Keeping in mind I'm far from a qualified expert, I would want to remove all of the white corrosion before coating.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

Keeping in mind I'm far from a qualified expert, I would want to remove all of the white corrosion before coating.

I'm doing my best here, but I have to tell ya, there is quite a bit and its been very difficult to remove it. I had to resort to a dremel with a little cutting bit to get it out of the pits. What is interesting is once you buzz it out of the pit, its usually underneath what looks like good metal right beside the pit.

I would say that as of now, I have about 90% of the white crud out of of the tin. There are still tiny specs of white here and there that would take me another week or ten to remove... lol. I used the dremel on all of it.. which is insanely tedious, then scoured and scrubbed the ever living piss out of it with white vineger and stainless brushes.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

OK guys, I wanted to keep this thread moving and let you know where I stand. Most of the aluminum has been cleaned up about as good as I can possibly get it. Quite honestly, there was a bunch of pits and it took a lot to clean them. Even so, I'm not 100% sure its all completely out of the tin.

In the one bottom corner, as I was cleaning, I noticed an odd spot on the bottom of the hull, right were the folded edge of the transom skin is riveted to the bottom of the hull. Ugh, another hole, right through the bottom of the boat. . Its a tiny hole, maybe a 1/16. It appears water got trapped in there and you guessed it, ate through. I went around the entire perimeter of the transom edge and so far, haven't found anything else, but this is a bummer. I'm concerned now that there is more corrosion damage in the seam.

I really don't want to scrap the boat. My thinking at the moment is that this boat is a 5 year plan, maybe 10 and then i'm off to another. So, I'm going to complete the repairs as planned, fix up that new pin hole and seal it good and be done with it. Hopefully, I can get some quality years out of it before I unload it and buy another.

To put it honestly. This boat was used in salt/brackish water and I probably should have known better. I got a bit of boat fever because of how the rest of it looked and had to travel 4 hours to look at it. Shame too, the rest of the boat is in pretty nice shape. More updates to follow.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

New Update.

The weather here has been batshit crazy and my schedule just didn't give me a lot of time recently. However, I kept plugging away at this thing and honestly, things are looking up. I have been cleaning the tin like a madman now for a couple of weeks, an hour or so at a time. As I may have mentioned earlier, a tiny cutting bit on a dremel buzzed right through the white stuff in the pitting, following that up with two different courseness stainless wire brushes, then a pure vineger bath/scrub, then rinse. She cleaned up pretty darn well if you ask me.

Beginning of fabrication time. I was going to use the transom wood as the template to make my new tin skin, but realized it was going to be a touch short in spots, mainly at the bottom, and I wanted bit more coverage down there. I had a huge sheet of cardboard in the garage and used it to make a template off the old wood core, then added the small bit to the bottom to ensure I have as much of the transom skin covered. It came out perfect and I'm ready to transfer this to the metal and cut it out. More to come.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

This weeks update. Weather was a bit warmer so I could feel my fingers better. Been going over all the pits with a fine toothed comb to ensure its as good as reasonably possible. Pretty happy with how it cleaned up. IT WAS A LOT OF WORK. I will say that.

I made a template off the old wood core to use as a basis for the new metal skin. I had to add a little to the bottom as I took out the Z channel that the core sits into to clean the corrosion out from between it and the outer skin. I wanted to make sure the new tin completely covered this area and the rivet holes were well within the new skin so it all goes back together flush and not half the new tin covering half a rivet hole. Hard to explain without pics. After test fitting the cardboard template and ensuring perfect fit, I cut the new tin and slid her in. Perfect fit with maybe 1/4" of clearance on each side. I did clamp it down tight and take a grinder to clean up a little where it was off on the curved bit. Happy.

This weekend is supposed to warm up so I will be drilling out all the mounting holes and getting wood blocks cut and drilled to use for clamping. There is one area, on each side of the transom where I won't be able to get clamps that deep. Brainstorming how I can get solid clamping pressure down there when I get to the epoxy stage.

 

[LDUBS]

There is one area, on each side of the transom where I won't be able to get clamps that deep. Brainstorming how I can get solid clamping pressure down there when I get to the epoxy stage.

Temporarily clamp blocks of wood to floor framing or whatever then use wedges against them and the new skin? Clamp a length of wood at the top then use wedges against it at the bottom?

Can't ever have enough wedges!

 

[muskyhunter1978]

Temporarily clamp blocks of wood to floor framing or whatever then use wedges against them and the new skin? Clamp a length of wood at the top then use wedges against it at the bottom?

Can't ever have enough wedges!

You and I think a lot a like! I was actually thinking. I have a couple of scissor jacks that came out of vehicles I owned. I may be able to put them up against the flooring on their side and crank them up till I get adaquate pressure against the skin and a block of wood to distribute that pressure over a larger area. I do like your idea.. simple and easy. Thanks bud!

 

[LDUBS]

You and I think a lot a like! I was actually thinking. I have a couple of scissor jacks that came out of vehicles I owned. I may be able to put them up against the flooring on their side and crank them up till I get adaquate pressure against the skin and a block of wood to distribute that pressure over a larger area. I do like your idea.. simple and easy. Thanks bud!

Things like that work. Just get something close then use shims to tighten things up. I can't say how many times I've used wood door shims for stuff like that. I always have them on hand.

 

[David Atkins]

Yeah, those are threaded PVC caps I put on there to isolate and stop a leak I had right after I bought it. I was using the boat a bit and testing/checking everything i discovered a livewell hose was leaking. i'll be fixing this permanently as I don't need a livewell.

If this a fix and flip you may want to reconsider that, the new owner may want a working live well, just a though; that is a nice looking boat, Sir.

 

[thill]

That looks really good.

Roll on your epoxy on both sides, place the skin on the inside with maybe a couple of self-tapping screws to hold alignment, and then a layer of plywood to distribute the pressure evenly across, regardless of how you clamp it into place.

That's going to work out just fine, as long as you really fill the space between the two sheets of aluminum. Nice work!

 

[thill]

Just replace the hose. It still adds value to the boat. You never know when you might want to keep some fish alive to save on buying ice or use live bait, or even use it to keep drinks cool.

If you don't use the livewell, put a plug in the fitting, so you don't have to worry about it. That way, you still have the option, but don't have to worry about it leaking.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

That looks really good.

Roll on your epoxy on both sides, place the skin on the inside with maybe a couple of self-tapping screws to hold alignment, and then a layer of plywood to distribute the pressure evenly across, regardless of how you clamp it into place.

That's going to work out just fine, as long as you really fill the space between the two sheets of aluminum. Nice work!

Thanks brother! I know one thing, it'll be stronger than factory once its completed. You're idea of using plywood to clamp it makes good sense. I also snagged 4 12" deep c clamps from harbor friend the other day. Those things get at least half way down the panel. I do plan on thoroughly coating both pieces before joining so I can fill the pits on the tin as well as ensure good adhesion. Its probably going to make one helluva mess when I clamp it, but thats a good thing. I want to see it oozing out the pit holes and edges.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

Just replace the hose. It still adds value to the boat. You never know when you might want to keep some fish alive to save on buying ice or use live bait, or even use it to keep drinks cool.

If you don't use the livewell, put a plug in the fitting, so you don't have to worry about it. That way, you still have the option, but don't have to worry about it leaking.

I honestly thought about converting one of the livewells to a cooler by lining the outside of the livewell with foam board as well as the lid hatch for some insulation value. Truthfully, I don't really care at all about resale value on this boat in the future. I got the boat for 4k, which the motor is worth half of that at least I figure. I'll have about 500 bucks in the transom resto and some odds and ends fixes I found while its apart. If I can break even or add a couple bucks on top of what I have in it someday, i'll be happy. I already told the wife that I have about 10 years of work left till I can retire. My retirement present is a new boat... lol.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

I made some deep throat clamps from a Harbor freight Pittsburg Handscrew wood clamp.
With the wood jaws closed and laying on a table you attach a 1x2 board to each of the jaws the needed length. Then you open the jaws about 1.5" apart and keeping them Parallel Then you put a square piece of 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, 1x6 or whatever you have laying around on the inner surface of the 1x2 attached to the jaw. I hope my description helps you envision what it will look like. The actual making of the clamp will be up to you..

 

[thill]

I like to use spray foam on the outside of all of my livewells. Good boats come with them insulated from the factory. Insulation is helpful, regardless of what you do with the livewell.

Your boat, your decision. I rarely use mine, but it really does help when I want to keep a few fish. It's also handy to cool drinks if you are out of ice.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

I like to use spray foam on the outside of all of my livewells. Good boats come with them insulated from the factory. Insulation is helpful, regardless of what you do with the livewell.

Your boat, your decision. I rarely use mine, but it really does help when I want to keep a few fish. It's also handy to cool drinks if you are out of ice.

I don't keep fish.. ever.. because I don't eat fish aside from a handful of saltwater varieties that I can tolerate... lol. I think you're right, I'll probably just replace the lines and temp plug the fittings. At least on of them. There is one in the bow too that I would really prefer it to be storage. Only gripe about this boat at the moment is the storage situation. We musky fish almost exclusively so storage of large rods, lures, etc is at a premium on most boats.

 

[muskyhunter1978]

Transom wood has been drilled and redrilled. Most of the holes are 1/4" with the exception of the tie down loops and the outboard bolts which are 1/2", and the splash well drain holes that are 1". I drilled all holes while in the boat at the correct sizes, pulled it and redrilled the 1/4" bolt holes at 3/8", the 1/2" bolts are 5/8" and the 1" drain holes are drilled at 1 1/4" (couldn't find my 1 1/8" hole saw).

I put the first coat of epoxy on the one side and hit the edge with a first coat as well. I taped off the bottom of each hole and filled with epoxy. Well... here's a tip, don't use blue painters tape. I made a helluva mess as thew eight of the epoxy eventually pushed on the tape enough to leak out. Wondering if I should have used duct tape instead. Now I have to mess on that side of the board. I'm going to take a sander and sand it all to a nice smooth finish before the final epoxy coat and refilling the holes the rest of the way up. As you can see in the pics, the holes are totally encapusulated now. I will say, the epoxy soaked into the wood quite a bit more than I envisioned and created a bit of a rough finish on the entire thing. Not a big deal, as its never going to be seen again, but I was suprised.

Should have this stage wrapped up in the next day or so. Epoxy work takes forever as it cures very slowly. After that... when I get a good couple of warm days outside, it'll be time to start reassembling this thing.

 

[thill]

Think it over, and you might come up with a solution.

Storage can be an issue in any boats. I have nephews who bring an entire tackle store when they come. Within 20 mins, every surface is covered in stuff. I have to constantly remind them to put their stuff back in their giant suitcases, so we can walk around the boat, and to lay their rods in the back corners of the boat when they grab another one.

Constant battle. Was the same when I had a 20' bass boat with tons of under deck rod storage, go figure. NEVER enough storage on a boat!

 

[thill]

Transom wood has been drilled and redrilled. Most of the holes are 1/4" with the exception of the tie down loops and the outboard bolts which are 1/2", and the splash well drain holes that are 1". I drilled all holes while in the boat at the correct sizes, pulled it and redrilled the 1/4" bolt holes at 3/8", the 1/2" bolts are 5/8" and the 1" drain holes are drilled at 1 1/4" (couldn't find my 1 1/8" hole saw)....

Did you add thickener to the epoxy before filling the holes? That makes life a lot easier. Chopped strand or Cabosil makes it stronger, too.