New to me - Starcraft 18' Mariner-V

[thill]

Saw this boat on FB and couldn't resist. Went to see it, and it was not pretty, but in very solid condition. Not soft or dented up, just needing sanding, paint and some rigging. Here are some pics:




As you can see, it's in need cosmetically. The Yamaya 55 HP has 150# compression on both cylinders, and fires right up, but doesn't have power trim. This boat is rated for a 125 hp motor, so I'm considering putting a 70 or a 90 on the back. Here is the spec sheet:



A crabber owned the boat previously, and he removed the big center console and added a small side console. Also, they put a solid deck over the U-shaped front platform, both of which I think were good choices. Tons of room in this boat, although the camera angle doesn't show it.



Does anyone here have experience with this boat? I haven't water tested it yet, but I really like what I see so far.

 

[LDUBS]

Congrats on the new boat. I like those wide gunnels. My 18' Gregor walk-thru weighs just a little more (dry hull) but is only rated at 60 HP max. With my 50 HP I can move along at 29-30 MPH and manage 32 mph at WOT. If you put a 70 or 90 on your Starcraft, it should fly.

 

[thill]

Thanks for that info, Ldubs. How much does yours weigh dry? If you do @30 mph with 50 HP, that makes me very curious about how the 55 will push this one. Maybe I'll go ahead and install the shifter and get it rigged and running. I turned right over on starter fluid. Will be curious to see if it runs well on gas. The guy said the carbs were rebuilt since it last ran, so I'm hopeful.

655 lbs + 100 for trolling motor, 200 for batteries, 100 for fuel and 100 for misc. equipment puts it over 1,000 lbs. I am not happy with how this roller trailer is adjusted. Too much weight on the center rollers. I need to jack the boat up and fix that. I've seen too many cracked keels from that. I generally like bunk trailers for aluminum boats, but I've never had one that weighed close to 1,000 lbs with boat motor, fuel and gear before, so maybe rollers won't be so bad.


This boat is factory green, but I kind of want it in a more attractive color. Any suggestions? I usually paint aluminum boats either cream white or battleship gray. Maybe I should try something different this time?

 

[MrGiggles]

I think any of the popular 50s-70s classic car colors would fit that boat really well, like GM horizon blue or atomic orange. Gloss cream white with polished fixtures would look good too.

Single stage automotive paint is pretty easy to shoot and not terribly expensive. Can get just about any color under the sun. You can clear it as well, if you choose.

 

[FuzzyGrub]

You have the big brother to our 14’ Mariner V. It is a strong riveted hull. No leaks since it was new in the 60’s.

 

[Ironhorse2022]

I really like the layout of that boat - congrats. I painted mine navy blue with bare aluminum and am happy with the overall look/ contrast. I bet that boat really flies when you get it on the water. My keel is quite banged up and bent upwards in the middle from misplaced center rollers. I’m hoping there are no cracks lurking under the center bench seat. Just replaced my old rusted out roller trailer (with no keel support) with a much nicer bunk style trailer which supports the bottom much better. My hull weighs 180lbs empty so I don’t think I’ll miss the rollers much.

 

[thill]

Interesting update... I found the exact corner caps here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/281745312062
But the seller only takes personal checks. He sent me a note saying he keeps his reputation high on ebay and other places, so I decided to mail him a check.

Is Michael a member of this forum? It looks like his transom caps are perfect. I will report back once I receive them.

 

[LDUBS]

Thanks for that info, Ldubs. How much does yours weigh dry? If you do @30 mph with 50 HP, that makes me very curious about how the 55 will push this one. Maybe I'll go ahead and install the shifter and get it rigged and running. I turned right over on starter fluid. Will be curious to see if it runs well on gas. The guy said the carbs were rebuilt since it last ran, so I'm hopeful.

655 lbs + 100 for trolling motor, 200 for batteries, 100 for fuel and 100 for misc. equipment puts it over 1,000 lbs. I am not happy with how this roller trailer is adjusted. Too much weight on the center rollers. I need to jack the boat up and fix that. I've seen too many cracked keels from that. I generally like bunk trailers for aluminum boats, but I've never had one that weighed close to 1,000 lbs with boat motor, fuel and gear before, so maybe rollers won't be so bad.


This boat is factory green, but I kind of want it in a more attractive color. Any suggestions? I usually paint aluminum boats either cream white or battleship gray. Maybe I should try something different this time?

Mine has a hull weight of 750#. Add to that a bow mounted trolling motor, group 31 battery for the TM, starter battery, two electric down riggers & weights, 12 gallon portable tank, and all the other stuff common to a fishing boat. My Honda 50 HP four stroke comes in at 214#. I'm guessing a total of about 1,250# before adding me and any passengers. Mine is on bunks.

I will add that having power trim is a huge plus.

I'm the last guy you should ask about colors. Whatever you choose, a good paint job will make it pop. I purposely wanted just aluminum because I didn't want to worry about scuffs and/or keeping the finish looking good. And besides, being an old dude and kind of rough around the edges myself, I can relate to that old dull aluminum "patina" as a sign of experience, right! I have to admit I feel a little guilty when I'm around nice shiny boats, and clean it about once per year. Haha.

 

[Tinny Fleet]

I have an MR 180, bought new in 1989, and it has served me faithfully for over 30 years. I suspect it was built just a little after yours, during the drab green paint days color scheme which were followed by a creamy off-white. I mounted a 90HP Evinrude with PT&T on it, and it runs like a banshee, although it is a bit heavy for the boat. I have mine both "Bass rigged" (for casting in fresh and brackish water) and set up for trolling in any weather, salt or fresh (quick detachable downriggers, flat line rod holders, Bimini top, etc. ). Bow mounted electric. I have a quick detach Johnson 9.9 kicker motor that I sometimes run on it. Have taken it on big bass impoundments like Gaston Lake (VA/NC), Lanier and Alatoona (GA), Moore Lake (NH), and this weekend plan to take it on Stick Marsh/Farm 13 (FL), big rivers, behind the barrier Islands of the DELMARVA peninsula, several miles offshore (Florida), and all over the Chesapeake Bay. Nice comfortable seaworthy boat.

The floors are starting to get punky and I have a series of changes planned for when I do the tearout, which include extending the front deck, adding more storage, smaller center console, repower with something around 60 - 70 HP, and repainting in a more subtle set of colors (currently the OEM colors are red, white, blue and unpainted aluminum, with dramatic graphics, which IMO scares fresh water fish). It would handle a lot better IMO with a motor at least 100 lbs lighter than the current one. At the time I had a choice between a 3 cylinder Yamaha and the big V-4 Evinrude, both 90HP, and in retrospect I probably should have bought the Yamaha, but in those days I was an unabashed OMC guy and that was that!

 

[airshot]

Had that same model and color many years back. Mine had a 70 jonnyrude 3 cylinder and would do 37 mph empty, then around 33/34 with normal gear and my three kids. Awesome boat, but couldnt stand the pea green color..After first summer, put it in the garage andvrepainted it over the winter. Seats were white but vinyl floor was also odd green. Tried some brushon vinyl paint in brown and paintedvthe hull metalic brown, looked awesome, lots of compliments on it. Surprising the vinyl paint looked good and lasted for the remaining 3 years I owned it.

 

[thill]

Tinny Fleet,
You run a lot of the same areas I have. I grew up in Cape Canaveral, and fished the port, Indian and Bananna rivers, Sebastian inlet, St. John's river, all the beaches and so on. Then moved to the DC/MD/VA area and fished all over the Chesapeake, from the Susky to the Potomac to VB, Delaware Bay, up north to MA, especially the Cape cod Canal and Woods Hole areas, and then south all around the outer banks, as far south as Bogue Island and Myrtle beach. We probably have fished beside each other at some time or another, maybe in the Susky Flats, CCNPP or the mouth of the Potomac in the winter.

Thank you for sharing the info, about the 90 being a little heavy. That is helpful. Any idea what your true top speed is? That makes me think a 70 HP might be the sweet spot for this hull. I started the 55 Yamaha today and it runs okay, but needs the carbs cleaned. No PT&T might be a pain, depending on where I am. I saw a unit on Ebay for $375, but hesitate to buy it for a motor I might end up selling off. Not 100% sure it will fit anyway.

Had that same model and color many years back. Mine had a 70 jonnyrude 3 cylinder and would do 37 mph empty, then around 33/34 with normal gear and my three kids. Awesome boat, but couldnt stand the pea green color..After first summer, put it in the garage andvrepainted it over the winter. Seats were white but vinyl floor was also odd green. Tried some brushon vinyl paint in brown and paintedvthe hull metalic brown, looked awesome, lots of compliments on it. Surprising the vinyl paint looked good and lasted for the remaining 3 years I owned it.

Thank you for sharing info about running with a 70 on it. 33-37 isn't bad. Most of the time it's too rough to run WOT anyway. That sounds like a good compromise.

I agree about the green. Metallic brown is an interesting color that I hadn't considered. That might look pretty good, and itsn't such a drastic change from the green. Vinyl paint may have been a good choice, as the original manual boasts about their use of vinyl paint.

I think I'm starting to tune in on what I need to do with this one.

 

[Tinny Fleet]

Thill:

Not sure of the top speed with the 90 - will guess around 40. The boat rides true (not skitterish) likely because I have distributed the weight pretty evenly throught the length of the hull, with two big (group 31) batteries under the center console and bow mounted electric, anchors (with anchor chain), downriggers and balls, trailer scissors jack and other heavy stuff up front. That said, it does ride a bit heavy in the water for a tinny, and I have given a lot of thought to lightening things up at the expense of speed.

An aside, I bought the boat in Annandale VA, before we moved to Meritt Island 30 years ago, live near Sebastian Inlet now and spend time in New England in the summers. Chances are pretty good that we have been within shouting distance at the same time somewhere where there's water. LOL

 

[Tinny Fleet]

Here's an afterthought. IIRC my 90HP 2-cycle Evinrude weight about 320 lbs. The new 4 strokes are a lot heavier weight than old 2 strokes for any given horsepower. For my next motor I'd want to drop down to something like 250 lbs or less. No matter what it will go plenty fast for my fishing. And the boat will ride a lot higher as a result and I believe I would prefer the nimbleness improvement.

 

[thill]

You moved to Merritt Island around the same time I moved up to Maryland. I've only been back a handful of times. Went shrimping on the 520 causeway the last two times back, but that was in 2018 and 2019. Haven't been back since Covid stuff happened, but my Dad just moved to Tampa, so I plan to come down more often.

I agree with your assessment of 4-stroke weight. I'm not so worried about moving to a 4-stroke. I have a number of 2-stroke motors that will fit. The current Yamaha 55, a Johnson 60, a Mercury 60, a Johnson 88 SPL, an Evinrude 90 and an Evinrude 115, and I could even steal the 70 Evinrude off the pontoon, as it doesn't go any faster than it did with the 50HP.

Once I clean the carbs on the 55 and see how it runs, I'll be able to make an informed decision.. It might run fine with the 55, but we will see. Once you start putting gear in the boat, things get heavy fast, and weight slows things. I don't need it to be a speed demon, I just don't want it dragging at 26 MPH

 

[thill]

I'm on a tear. Just picked up a gutted Mariner 16'. I drove WAY too far to get it, but it's a great canvas to start with. Hull really is in excellent condition and the trailer in very good condition except for the winch















Unlike the 18, this one needs very little cleanup. The floor plywood that's in it is actually still solid, but I'd replace it since it's out already.

I think I've decided to paint both of these boats white. One or both will be for sale eventually, and I don't want to distract with an ugly color.

 

[thill]

Now that I've got two project boats, I have a couple of questions about floatation for previous owners...

1. In the older, 70's boats, is there any floatation foam in them at all? Under the floors, maybe?

2. In the 80's boats, I think I've seen some foam behind panels @ the sides of the boat toward the transom. Is this correct?

I was once in a jon boat that capsized as a teenager, and I'm a strong proponent of floatation in every boat.
Thanks.

 

[thill]

I'm looking at the floor and everywhere in the 16', and I don't see any indication of foam anywhere. Maybe loose panels under the floor to prevent blocking water flow?

 

[FuzzyGrub]

In our '67 mariner-V, all the foam was under the deck. The prior owner removed it all when they pulled the floor., on yours.

 

[SaminMass]

I really like the look of the trim on the edge of the gunnels. Clean functional and classy line. I kind of lie the color too but I’m weird that way.

 

[Tinny Fleet]

I've had two of the Mariner 16's. Superior boat. The foam goes under the decking. I lament selling mine.