New Tin ?'s (PICS ADDED)

I went to do some work for the landlord after work today and we got to talking about my little boat project. He took me out and showed me a tin he recently accuired at some sale. We wound up working out a deal where I take the boat as payment for my work rather than working for cash. I owe him 10 hours of work for the boat. Knocked 2 of them off tonight.

The boat is a mid 70's Starcraft 14'. I believe its a semi-v. It's mostly flat bottom then comes to a v at the front. I dont have any pics yet, he is gonna drop it off later this week. This boat is in incredible shape. It looks practically new. The paint looks original and its not even scratched up on the bottom. He says the original owner bought it new back in the 70's then got sick and it has been stored in a barn ever since.

Now to my questions. I'm currently working on my 81 Lowe 1436, Project "Slab Assassin". I dont need 2 boats. Which one shoud I keep and which one should I sell? The Starcraft is in much better condition than the Lowe and seems to have more room. It is definately wider. I guess my biggest question is, is this gonna be more stable than the 1436 flat bottom? My 3 year old is gonna fish with me next season on the boat and I was content with the 1436 but if this one is gonna be more stable then I'll go with it. I guess I should also mention that the trailer I built for the 1436 can be modded for the Starcraft without doing to much so not really much more work there. I'm open to listening to any opinions. Thanks!!

I have a 14ft semi v and it is more stable than a 36 in wide flat bottom. me and another guy can stand and fish at the same time. I dont think I could tip the boat over. I would fall overboard before the boat went all the way over. I would sell the flat bottom and build the semi-v.

My wife would kill me if I did that! Anyway, I think it depends on the water you will fish. if you are going out on big lakes go with the V. if you fish mainly small, calm waters I would stick with the flat bottom.

I guess I should have mentioned a little about what the boat will be used for. Thanks BC. Oh and I havnt mentioned it to the wife yet!!!!

This will be a crappie boat and is being built specifically for a lake with a 10hp limit. That being said it would still be nice on occasion to fish some of the other lakes in the area that dont have a HP limit and get pretty busy on the weekends.

Man, That's a hard call. Need to see pics side by side. Your V-hull will be a safer boat in any water with chop or strong currant. Prob a little better mpg. Jon boats started out as swamp/bayou/flat river boats. Welded or rivited hulls? How wide is each boat? Can your keep both? Hide one at my house and keep one at yours. If all our problems were such blessings.

Might be worth the trouble of water testing both, and getting your wife's opinion. :wink:

Brine said:

Might be worth the trouble of water testing both, and getting your wife's opinion. :wink:

Click to expand...

If moma is happy, everyone is happy! :mrgreen:

I second the nomination if mama's happy everyone's happy.

keep them both...you can always sell later

Thanks for the tips guys. Mama dosnt care either way, she would rarely if ever be out on the boat. She dont care much for fishing at all. Would be just me and my son most of the time or a buddy.

I could keep both, I just dont see the need for two boats that are very similar and would basically have the same purpose for me. I really like the idea of the extra floor room on the v boat but I will water test them and see what happens. I havnt even tested the 1436 yet, I was just gonna rebuck all the rivets to be safe. I'm going to work for him for a few hours tomorrow evening so if he hasnt dropped the boat off by then, I'll pick it up and get some pics on here and some more info about it.

Another reason to only keep one is with the new baby coming my budget has been drastically decreased by the wife. I dont have an outboard yet so the sale of one of the boats would help with that or I could barter one of em for a motor.

I worked off everything I owe for the boat. She is mine. Its really cool the way it worked out cause it's almost as if I just got this boat for free!! I havnt gotten her home yet but I may be able to pick her up this weekend. Dont have any side by side comparison pics yet nor have I done a leak test on either boat but heres a couple pics I snapped while I was out there working this evening. They are cell phone pics so they are not the best quality but you can still clearly see that ths boat is in amazing shape. I still dont know what year it is. The registration sticker on it is for 1974. The little plate inside says, Starcraft 14' Super Star. Rated for 4 persons or 500 pounds and a 29 HP motor.

Heres the bottom side, not a scratch. I believe this is original paint!!



Then I flipped her over. The only thing I can find wrong on this boat is on the right side of the boat near the transom you can see a ding on the gunwale. Almost looks like something was dropped on it but its not bad at all and I think it could be a pretty simple fix.

Also thought I should mention, I worked 7 1/2 hours at $20 an hour cash for this boat. I basically have $150 in this boat. Sounds like a sweet deal to me!!! Anyone still think I should stick with the Lowe flat bottom?

Anyone know anything about the Super Star boats? A google search yielded zero results.

I know the boat looks pink in the pics. ITR IS NOT PINK!!!!!! Its kinda like a tanish color. My phone just takes crappy pics!!

Check the link below for the Super Star. All of the boats listed say the max is a 20hp motor.

https://www.iboats.com/Starcraft_Marine____Super_Star_14/bp/43br1466s11524m32210

This one sure looks like it says 29 but the plate is old and some of the numbers are hard to read. It could be a 20 I suppose. That dosnt really matter anyhow cause it would never have more than a 9.9 on it.

After reinspecting the plate, you are correct. She is rated for a 20 hp. The weight rating is also 800 pounds not 500. Had to put my glasses on and study it for a minute, lol!!!

It looks like you did alright.
You should have a nice fishing machine there soon.
Enjoy!

Thanks, I'm really excited about this boat!! The more I think about it, I may just tuck this one away and continue the work on the Lowe and actually fish on it!! I'm at the point on the Lowe that I think I can have it completed in time for the fall bite then I can decide if I wanna sell it or not. The Starcraft can be a wintertime project!!

I did just find out I'm building a custom red oak crib before the baby comes in Jan. Wife likes to spring little projects like that on me all the time. I know when I get the crib done, she'll have to have a matching changing table and cradle. Sounds like I need to get the boat done in a hurry!!!

Either way you got a great deal on that 14' Starcraft, it looks like it's in great shape and ready for some mods!

It will definitely feel more stable than the 1436. I just test drove my smaller 12' semi V with it's new to me 20hp OB and it's more stable than my friends 1436 and only a little bit wider at about 40" at the transom and a little wider in the middle section.

IMO that Starcraft will make a sweet fishing machine that won't limit you to smaller waters as much as the 1436.

Disclaimer: I'm not even close to being an expert :lol:

I got her home today. I pulled some measurments and it has a 57" beam and is 46" at the floor. The transom is about 15 1/2" and the sides are about 21". It is 14'-2" long. OH dosnt require a title for a boat less than 14' so I didnt even think about a title. I'm gonna have to call the BMV and see what they say about a boat 2" to big.

I'm thinking you should fish both boats before you make a decision about which one to sell. If you've got the Lowe pretty well setup, you could possibly make a good bit more money selling it. One thing that jumps out about the vhull is it has lots of seats, good for taking both a both a buddy and multiple children along.