Mikes starcraft 14ft v-bottom complete conversion

Alright guys this is my first build. I have owned several boats in the past but they were all flat bottoms. I started to get my sea legs back and decided I had to get back on the water. I looked and looked and couldn’t find the boat I had in mind for a price I had in mind so here I am. This site has been super helpful already. I am so excited to get started.
The boat is a 1950’s 14 foot v-bottom Starcraft. It had a windshield, console, two bench seats and a 50hp merc. in her prime. Now it looks like scrap aluminum. The trailer is home made and not strong enough for my plans so I am shopping for one now.
I will need a lot of help so please give me your opinions. All I want is a casting deck in the front and back with a hand till 25hp motor. I have amazing carpentry skills and am not afraid to try anything.

Heres my Questions:
• How can I frame the front with the bottom of bow being so deep?
• How far from the top can I go with the casting deck?
• Livewell?
• Best materials?
• Do I need floatation foam in the bottom?
• The boat is completely water tight should I still use steel flex or would a thick coat of paint be suffice?
• Floor plans to get the most out of my little boat?
• There is not a weight or persons rating plate any ideas on my boat?
The dimensions are 13' 6" long and 53" wide at the transom and 21"deep at the transom and 28" deep at the front.
Tanks in advance!! I work midnights and will update as fast as I can!! Wish me luck!!

Alright guys, I deemed my trailer as scrap! After hunting on craigslist I found a pretty nice trailer for 175.00 that needed a good paint job and new bunks. I am in the process of stripping off all the paint and do a few repairs. I decided to complete the trailer then dig into the boat! I’m still looking for ideas on the live well. Has anyone had a machine shop build a stainless steel box then plum it? A cooler seems too small for me! And on the boat and trailer should I use self etching primer? Thanks again for any help! :?:

I'm far from an expert, but I'll share what I've learned...

1. Framing? When framing the front make sure your braces are sitting on the ribs and not resting on the floor.
2. How far from the top can you go? This is the big question. Obviously the higher you go, the less stable the boat becomes. With my boat I went out on the water and set a board across the front and middle seat. That was too high for me. Hard to beat on-the-water experimenting.
3. Livewell? When I need one I use a cooler. Since I don’t fish tourneys I normally fill it with ice. There are better examples on here.
4. Best Materials? Aluminum is lighter than wood and lasts much longer, many good examples here. If you use wood, avoid pressure treated as it may react to the aluminum. I treated my plywood deck with helmsman spar urethane, and it’s been good for six years to date. Use stainless steel hardware, especially where it comes in contact with aluminum.
5. Floatation foam? If a big wave comes over the bow and your boat starts taking on water, floatation foam will help keep you afloat.
6. Steelflex? I dunno…but I do know there’s a whole section devoted to it in the Boat House forum. https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11977

Sorry I can’t help with floor plans or weight limit. I will add that without the bench seats you lose a lot of re-enforcement that helps keep the boat from twisting and warping. I know others have removed benches, but usually end up re-enforcing the boat in other ways. Might be worth a search.

Good luck with the boat and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Daniel,
Thanks for the input. The seats were plywood with foam underneath them. the plywood just sat in the groove you can see in the boat pics. The boat is suprisingly very rigid! I love the idea of testing it in the water. i have a small pond and i think i'll try to mach up some quick decks to test several heights. Thanks again

i WOULD DEFINITELEY PUT SOME SORT OF SUPPORT/BRACINGS ON THE SIDES AND TIE THEM INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE BOAT. AND I MAY BE WRONG BUT I THINK YOU CAN APPLY SELF ETCHING PRIMER IF YOU DONT SAND DOWN TO BARE ALUMINUM. IF I WAS YOU AND I MADE A LIVEWELL, I WOULD USE ALUMINUM INSTEAD OF STAINLESS TO SAVE ON WEIGHT AND PRICE, EITHER ONE WILL LAST FOREVER. AS FOR FOAM ITS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT SOME IN BUT THE CHANCES OF TAKING A WAVE OVER THE BOW OR SIDES IS VERY MINIMAL AS LONG AS YOUR BOAT ISNT SUPER HEAVY OR YOUR IN SALTWATER. YOU COULD USE A POURABLE FOAM UNDER YOUR FLOOR OR GO WITH FOAM PANELS, I THINK YOU WOULD GET THE SAME FLOTATION WITH EITHER ONE WITH THE LATTER BEING CHEAPER. IF I WAS YOU I WOULD BUILD YOUR FLOOR ALL THE WAY UP TO WHERE YOUR FRONT DECK WILL BE SO I COULD GET A BETTER IDEA OF HOW THE REST OF WHAT YOU INSTALL WILL BE ARRANGED. JUST KEEP IN MIND TO THINK EVERYTHING THROUGH VERY WELL BECAUSE AFTER YOU GET STARTED ITS A PAIN IN THE YOU KNOW WHAT TO CHANGE YOUR PLANS IF YOU COME UP WITH A BETTER IDEA. ALSO KEEP IN MIND LITTLE THINGS LIKE WHERE YOU WILL RUN WIRES,FUEL LINES,LIGHTS ETC... I MADE A LOT OF MISTAKES WITH MATERIALS AND SMALL DETAILS ON MY FIRST ATTEMPT AND PULLED EVERYTHING OUT AND STARTED OVER. AND WILL DO IT AGAIN THIS WINTER WITH ALL ALUMINUM FOR A FINAL REBUILD. YOUR ALREADY AHEAD OF WHERE I WAS JUST BY JOINING THIS GREAT SITE BEFORE YOU STARTED, WISH I WOULD HAVE. A TON OF PRICELESS INFO FOR FREE........

The latest,
After many hours of grinding and sanding the trailer was finally ready for paint. I used Rust-oleum self etching primer and applied 3 coats. Then I wet sanded the whole thing (every nook and cranny) then applied 3 coats of Rust-oleum high gloss enamel based black. I’m going to let it set and cure for a few days and then reassemble. I’ll keep you posted! Once again I’m still looking for more ideas on the aforementioned questions. Thanks in advance!!

Alright where to start? It’s been a while because i was in Mexico for a week with my wife, but I have accomplished a lot. I finished the trailer up completely, all new paint, new carpeted bunks, LED lights with all wiring silver soldered and heat shrinked, plus I ran the wires all internal unlike the previous owner! The boat…. I completely removed all the interior and the transom, stripped all the paint off with a drill and a 3M paint and rust remover pads, then two coats of the RustOleum self etching primer, which by the way I tried to remove from the trailer in a few spots for some afterthought welding and had to use an angle grinder! Then I wet sanded the whole boat and applied three coats of RustOleum smoke grey paint with a brush and closed cell foam rollers made for cabinets. I wet sanded between each coat and I must say the paint looks amazing, I really impressed myself! My wife kind of brought me to reality, “why are you working on it so hard, it’s the bottom and the fish don’t care what it looks like!” None the less it does look amazing. I did find one bad rivet that was fixed with epoxy #-o but I grinded it down and applied JB Weld marine and it looks good but we will see how well it holds up. Plus…….. We found out my wife is pregnant so I have new found motivation for the boat, my little fishing buddy!

Please chime in with ideas and concerns. Thanks again

Congrats on the new fishin buddy (on the way), and you did a awesome job on the boat as well. =D>

Like many of you, Im gathering ideas for my first conversion. To jump back a few comments ago, Im considering aluminum construction. Is there a certain thickness or grade to the 2x2's. Can I buy it at a home depot? And lastly, can I work with tools as basic as a hacksaw to cut it? Wood sounds a lot easier to me, but this will likely be my one and only boat for a good long time (three kids to put through college). I want it to last. Ive been addicted to these mod pages for weeks now. This will likely be my winter project.

SmokerChris said:

Like many of you, Im gathering ideas for my first conversion. To jump back a few comments ago, Im considering aluminum construction. Is there a certain thickness or grade to the 2x2's. Can I buy it at a home depot? And lastly, can I work with tools as basic as a hacksaw to cut it? Wood sounds a lot easier to me, but this will likely be my one and only boat for a good long time (three kids to put through college). I want it to last. Ive been addicted to these mod pages for weeks now. This will likely be my winter project.

Click to expand...

Any kind of saw other than a hacksaw will work with the aluminum. A hacksaw will too, but really slow. A jig saw, sawzall, and lately I've been using a circular saw. Just use my regular blade that I use to cut wood. Didn't flip it around, or do ANYTHING to the saw or blade.

Great, thanks for that info. Theres so much to see and read on here, so I'll read the materials section before I ask anymore questions. Im new here so Im kind of skipping around. What can I say, Im drawn to the pictures! Men are simple..."Old rusty metal heap become shiny new boat with deck for cheap"... I mean, come one, what could be better?!!!

I had aluminum bracing welded to the ribs at the bow of the boat extending about half way back. I screwed plywood to the framing for decking at the bow. I was very concerned with stability as i have very poor balance. If your starcraft is like mine, there is a ridge that runs on the inside of the boat. I keep my flooring under that ridge, it is not very high but does provide a nice flat surface to stand and operate the TM with the foot pedal.
I have pic's of the framing on my build on the second page - build linked in my signature.