New member/New boat: 1984 Starcraft 180SS or SS180

[star18]

Howdy all! Brought home the new boat today and anxious to get started! It's a 1984 Starcraft 180SS or SS180 (seen it called both ways). It has a good running 70HP Evinrude and is in great condition other than the interior wood and decking needing replaced. I plan on making a nice fishing boat out of it. Anyone here own or worked on one of these?

I'll post preliminary questions here and try to follow up in another post with progression. I'll post up some pics when I get a chance to take some.

 

[alumacraftjoe]

Welcome aboard! Looking forward to your progress... we like pics!

 

[star18]

Pics! Going to have to gut and re-build the whole interior...gonna be a big job!

 

[bobberboy]

Can't tell from the pics, but are you redoing because the interior's shot or because you want to make it more of a fishing boat. Either way, that's a lot of room to work with. My boat is pretty small in comparison and there wasn't all that much I could do. With your boat I'd have trouble trying to decide what not to do. Let us know what you're thinking to do and be sure to post more pics.

 

[star18]

Can't tell from the pics, but are you redoing because the interior's shot or because you want to make it more of a fishing boat. Either way, that's a lot of room to work with. My boat is pretty small in comparison and there wasn't all that much I could do. With your boat I'd have trouble trying to decide what not to do. Let us know what you're thinking to do and be sure to post more pics.

I'm re-doing it for both reasons; the interior is shot (rotten decking) and because I thought it was a good platform to make into a nice fishing boat. I've been eyeing the Tracker Targa V-17 and V-18WT's layout and would like to make my layout similar, to the extent I'm able to since mine's not quite as wide (mine's a 79" beam). I'll put a casting deck in the front and would like to have one in the rear as well. I'll add storage compartments and livewell and replace the fixed seats with post mounted swivel seats, lose the front bow rails, add bow-mounted trolling motor, new carpet, etc. I'll keep the walk-through windshied and dual consoles. I'm going to start gutting out the interior, probably tomorrow.

 

[wvmedic]

Star 18, you're boat is a SS 180 and is rated for up to 140 HP. They are great boats, sadly I just sold my 1980 SS 181. Redoing you're SS will not be that bad, and you will have a clean canvas to work with. I would go with 1/2 plywood (not treated it will corrode the aluminum) aluminum rivets for the floor, gluvit the rivets and seams from inside the boat. Check you're transom, if you have rot it will need to be replaced as well. If you have to tear into the transom take the rub rail loose at the back, drill out the rivets so you can lift the gunwell and not bend it up out of the way. You will need to sandwich two pieces of 3/4 plywood for that using epoxy, then seal it all up with epoxy and it should last a long, long time.

Jeff

 

[star18]

Star 18, you're boat is a SS 180 and is rated for up to 140 HP. They are great boats, sadly I just sold my 1980 SS 181. Redoing you're SS will not be that bad, and you will have a clean canvas to work with. I would go with 1/2 plywood (not treated it will corrode the aluminum) aluminum rivets for the floor, gluvit the rivets and seams from inside the boat. Check you're transom, if you have rot it will need to be replaced as well. If you have to tear into the transom take the rub rail loose at the back, drill out the rivets so you can lift the gunwell and not bend it up out of the way. You will need to sandwich two pieces of 3/4 plywood for that using epoxy, then seal it all up with epoxy and it should last a long, long time.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. The transom appears to be solid right now.