1979 Starcraft 18' center console restoration

Picked up a 1979 Starcraft center console in December. I haven't gotten to do as much work because of the weather, but I have gotten it functional and taken it out a few times.

What I'm working with/done so far:
-18 foot center console
-1986 Evinrude 60hp VRO. I put a different fuel pump on to run premixed fuel, and got rid of the VRO all together. I rebuilt the carbs and compression is good.
-Wesco trailer. Put new wheels/tires on it to get it home and had new tires put on the old (galvanized) wheels, returned the wheels/tires I had bought to Walmart. Put new lights and rewired. Moved the winch post up a foot so the transom rests flush on the bunk boards.
-Installed 800 GPH fresh/saltwater bilge.

To do:
-Repaint
-Replace transom and floor. I'm thinking epoxy coating plywood for both and putting some kind of non slip paint on the floor.

I'll upload some pictures, does anyone know how to resize iphone pictures so they can be loaded on here?

Good deal! Pics pics pics! Certainly sounds cool. I love center console boats

Welcome aboard. There is a tutorial under Watering Hole for posting pics. I use Photobucket for resizing (and lots of other stuff) and it is easy to use. I lived in Louisville for seven years, nice city. Good luck tomorrow nite.

Uploaded the pictures, they were rotated correctly on my computer, but seem to have messed up somehow when loading them on here.

Took the vinyl flooring off to expose the wood so I could get measurements for the new floor today. If you notice the console is off set from the center to allow better movement. Any thoughts on leaving it off set for better movement? Or moving it to the center for better balance?

Hey man nice boat, if you take your time and re-do it right that'll be a sweet one. Also congrats on the Championship win last night...it hurts me to say that (I'm from Lexington and Bleed Blue) but at least the trophy stayed in state.

Keep us posted with pics on the re-build.

Took the outboard off today and was planning on getting the floor out, but I ran out of daylight by the time I got home. Ked - Thanks for the comment, I'm a former UK student, so I know how you feel.

I've taken the console and the floor out and thrown out all of the old flotation foam. After 15 years of sitting in a barn, the mice had done some work on it... I got new floor boards and have cut, beveled the sides for a better fit and sanded them. All they need is to be painted/sealed. I got gray patio paint and a non skid sand additive. I am going to paint both sides of the boards to seal them, then I am going to add the non skid sand and apply that once the floor is in the boat. My hope is that coating it again when its in the boat will hide the seams between the boards, making it look like one piece and with half of the paint gone, the sand to paint ratio will provide more grit.

You're doing great. Keep at it. I haven't quite gotten to my floor yet.

I finished final exams yesterday, so now it's on to working hard on this boat for two weeks until I start working. I pulled the transom yesterday, vacuumed out all the left over foam and filth that had been accumulating. I'm putting my second coat on the floor boards today and washing out the hull to get ready to patch holes. I have a friend that has some extra durafix/muggy weld style rods. I'm not sure exactly what brand they are, but I plan on using them to repair some missing rivet holes and screw holes that were filled with just silicone. With a little luck, I'll be painting the hull by the end of the week and if the weather cooperates, I'll be completely done with this project by Derby (1st Saturday in May for those unfamiliar).

Have fun with that, are you planning on stripping down to bare metal or just scuffing it up and painting over it.

If I had it to do over again I would have just hit it with the wire wheel to knock the crud and loose paint off and then primed and painted over that. It would have saved me an entire day of grinding on the boat.

Good luck, did you finish school and start a real job? Or are you just starting a summer job?

ked_man said:

Have fun with that, are you planning on stripping down to bare metal or just scuffing it up and painting over it.

If I had it to do over again I would have just hit it with the wire wheel to knock the crud and loose paint off and then primed and painted over that. It would have saved me an entire day of grinding on the boat.

Good luck, did you finish school and start a real job? Or are you just starting a summer job?

Click to expand...

Ked, Thanks for reading. I wasn't planning on grinding to bare aluminum, just sanding off what I can. I have another year of undergrad left, so it's just a summer job for now.

The missing rivets have been patched and painting has begun. I did not patch with a muggyweld type of product, but used JB Welds' Water weld instead. I sanded the bottom of the boat, then wiped it down with a vinegar/water mix. I bought a quart of Majic tractor truck and implement paint in gloss white to try and I was very disappointed in it's quality and performance. After thinning the paint per instructions on the can, the spray came out chunky so I brushed the rest of it on and it ran and looked horrible after it dried. I used Rustoleum gloss white and I liked the color and finish much better than the tractor paint. I took pictures of both of them and will post them another time. Waiting on better weather to put a second and maybe a third coat on the bottom of the hull.

Pictures from the beginning stages of painting. You can see where tractor truck and implement paint ran when it was brushed on and didn't come out of the paint gun well. Also, you can see the tractor paint on the left and rustoleum on the right for a color comparison with the original manilla folder color where I hadn't painted yet.

Looks good, I like that gloss white, I went with Rustoleum on my boat, for a good cheap paint you can't beat it.

The outside and bottom of the hull has its second coat of paint and is ready to be flipped over. I painted a first coat on the console and two pieces of aluminum that serve as corner pieces under the splash well to contain flotation. Tomorrow I will put a second coat on those and replace two rollers on the trailer that are cracked and I plan on putting new bunk board carpeting on top of the existing carpet. With a little luck, I'll be able to put it back on the trailer tomorrow and start painting on the inside of the hull.

Looking great!

I got the hull flipped over yesterday, re attached the knee brace at the transom, sanded and got a first coat down on the inside of the boat. It's getting there...

Painting is done and the floor is mounted. I laid the console in while I was putting the floor in so I could run the motor controls easily, but it is not mounted yet. My jeep was parked on my transom last night so the glue could harden. I needed a 1 1/2 inch thick board, so I cut a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood down to the general size and glued it. All thats left to do is put everything back together and touch-up paint the hull and floor. I'd post pictures now, but I have to get ready to go to Churchill Downs for the races.

Looking good! Blazing through it. I would have sprayed the tractor. Paint straight. I've had good luck painting hot rods that way.