1978 Starcraft 14ft

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Your motor could be raised a little from the pic, but wont make a big difference. You need rpm to make HP so a tach will let you know how your rpm measures up. Your 4 stroke is geavier and wont have quite the snap a 2 stroke has. I had a 14 Starcraft, slightly newer with a 9.9 evinrude and could get sbout 15 mph, added the carb upgrade to a 15 HP and could get 20 mph plus. A tail fin slowed mine down, so I made my own fin, smaller and made from .030 SS , only slightly wider than the cav plate but about 3" longer out back of the cav plate, then added a slight angle down about an inch back...this worked perfect !!! Now I could get 22-24 mph with just me in it. My two stroke only weighed 64 lbs, had fuel tank on one side and battery/ electronics on other side between back and middle bench seat. While your 4 stroke might use a little less fuel, you wont have the speed a two stroke has....really think you might want to go to a 18-20 hp....in my younger days we had a 14' mirro craft, with a 18 hp evinrude (1964). We could pull up a skier with that. (Skinny one).....
 
airshot said:
Your motor could be raised a little from the pic, but wont make a big difference. You need rpm to make HP so a tach will let you know how your rpm measures up. Your 4 stroke is geavier and wont have quite the snap a 2 stroke has. I had a 14 Starcraft, slightly newer with a 9.9 evinrude and could get sbout 15 mph, added the carb upgrade to a 15 HP and could get 20 mph plus. A tail fin slowed mine down, so I made my own fin, smaller and made from .030 SS , only slightly wider than the cav plate but about 3" longer out back of the cav plate, then added a slight angle down about an inch back...this worked perfect !!! Now I could get 22-24 mph with just me in it. My two stroke only weighed 64 lbs, had fuel tank on one side and battery/ electronics on other side between back and middle bench seat. While your 4 stroke might use a little less fuel, you wont have the speed a two stroke has....really think you might want to go to a 18-20 hp....in my younger days we had a 14' mirro craft, with a 18 hp evinrude (1964). We could pull up a skier with that. (Skinny one).....
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Is it possible to share a photo or drawing of the design of the SS fin you described ??
 
airshot said:
Your motor could be raised a little from the pic, but wont make a big difference. You need rpm to make HP so a tach will let you know how your rpm measures up. Your 4 stroke is geavier and wont have quite the snap a 2 stroke has. I had a 14 Starcraft, slightly newer with a 9.9 evinrude and could get sbout 15 mph, added the carb upgrade to a 15 HP and could get 20 mph plus. A tail fin slowed mine down, so I made my own fin, smaller and made from .030 SS , only slightly wider than the cav plate but about 3" longer out back of the cav plate, then added a slight angle down about an inch back...this worked perfect !!! Now I could get 22-24 mph with just me in it. My two stroke only weighed 64 lbs, had fuel tank on one side and battery/ electronics on other side between back and middle bench seat. While your 4 stroke might use a little less fuel, you wont have the speed a two stroke has....really think you might want to go to a 18-20 hp....in my younger days we had a 14' mirro craft, with a 18 hp evinrude (1964). We could pull up a skier with that. (Skinny one).....
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understandable. im not looking for a rocket ship but i think 12 is still yet slow. people keep saying 16-20 is normal and the boat was empty other than myself/wife and battery fuel tank. last night myself my dad and my 2 boys went and we cruised at 9mph no problem which is what my initial speed was with just the wife before moving around loadout definitely plays a part im aware of that i will keep updating my findings as things play out. i ordered a new prop as suggested by the mercury prop selector 12 wasnt even an option so im hoping to see at least 3mpg increase and easier to get on plane with the new one. also here are the other style foils i will be attempting to mount .. while looking for a link i believe i foudn what foil may have previously been mounted just based on the mounting hole gaps. looks like a whale tail may be an option

https://www.amazon.com/Shoreline-Ma...oreland+marine+hydrofoil,sporting,206&sr=1-19
 
suicyderider said:
do the cav plates come from factory predrilled or not? mine has 4 holes on it that look concentric but there was no foil when i got the motor, grabbed an SE200($80) from bass pro and the holes are not aligned. so i snagged a 2 piece foil from Rural king (shoreland marine $27) and i can drill it myself to match so this will likely be the route i take but i was a bit curious.
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No they do not, if your has holes the previous owner did so to install a cav plate!
 
airshot said:
Your motor could be raised a little from the pic, but wont make a big difference.
Click to expand...

Don't bet on that. I've got a 12' Starcraft Pram with a 4hp Mercury. Transom is 15.5" and the motor shaft is 17". My anti-ventilation plate was just about in the same position. I could get 11.6mph (gps) tops solo run. I made a transom riser out of some alum plate and alum channel that would up just over 1.5" tall. My boat now runs steady in the 14's and even ticked 15mph on the gps. 3.4mph might not be a lot on some boats, but it's over 25% increase. Also the bracket is now thru bolted. I originally just screwed it on both sides to be sure it would work before I drilled the transom wood.
 

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Reading reviews for the Doel-Fin last night and they were quite mixed. Is this just a matter of not mounting it correctly? A common complaint was that the directions weren't very specific. Also some said they needed a right angle drill for the install. Is there a better option? I'm really tired of bouncing around at low speeds with the nose in the air and other than throwing 300 lbs of bagged rock in the front I don't see another good option.
 
Make your own....thise big plastic ynits are for higher hp motors and bigger boats. As I found thru trial and error, on smaller boats and motors that big wide fin can cause more drag, it might getvthe bow down but t the expense of a lot of drag. Made mine from a piece of .030 SS sheetmetal. Cut out to fit around the lower leg, make it an inch wider than the current cav plate and make it a good three plus inches longer (toward the back) , I added a slight angle down on the last inch. No drag, increased my top end and lowered the bow more quickly !!! However, my motor only weighed 65 lbs and I weigh 175 lbs, nothing else in the back orher than a bilge pump !!
Or go pay big bucks for a plastic flipper that will probably break in a couple years.... Your motor, your call !!
 
Steph Boeker said:
Is it possible to share a photo or drawing of the design of the SS fin you described ??
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Wish I could, that one was about 4 boats prior to my current boat !! As a boat owner for over 60 years, I have owned many !! Make a cardboard template until you get a design you like. I can assure you that a 9.9 hp motor will never see 20 mph on a 14' aluminum boat with two people on board. That would take at least a 15 hp ....it would be questionable to see 20 mph with one person !! Not meaning to burst your bubble here, but...have owned more small boats than I have fingers and toes, including the same boat you are dealing with...my three 14' tinnies are a mirro, a Starcraft and a Northwood which is made by Starcraft in there plant, so basically, the same boat you have....
 
LaqueRatt said:
Reading reviews for the Doel-Fin last night and they were quite mixed. Is this just a matter of not mounting it correctly? A common complaint was that the directions weren't very specific. Also some said they needed a right angle drill for the install. Is there a better option? I'm really tired of bouncing around at low speeds with the nose in the air and other than throwing 300 lbs of bagged rock in the front I don't see another good option.
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Someone told me to throw the spare tire in the bow of the boat. You could move your battery up there as well and may help w/ balance ??
 
May not need to go all the way forward, you need to experiment !! On my 14' I had the fuel tank on one side and a gp 27 battery on the other side. I had a flat floor suspended between the rear seat and the middle seat. I then added a flat workspace (removable table) on top of battery and fuel tank, made a great work surface and a place to mount my electronics. This was enough weight forward to make a great balance. Also made me and passengers stay centered better with the sides used for stuff. In the very front I carried my anchor becausevthat isvwhere it was deployed when needed.
 
12mph max Before, added hydrofoil($27.99), new prop amazon($39.99), new 9.9 tp 15hp carb ($205) new top speed 23mph comes on plane nicely and is purrin like a kitten.
 

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Hows this look? Adjusted after the previous posts were made. Was about 1.25" low. Now close to even.
 

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That’s a nice looking boat, I like it in red.

12 to 23 is a big jump in speed. Good job!

When you were only doing 12 you had two people in the boat. It looked like it was close to planing out, but just couldn’t do it. Were you ever able to get it on plane before replacing the prop, and/or upgrading to the bigger carb?

It seems like a trim adjustment to get the bow down, might have got the boat to plane out with one person maybe…if that were the case, that little 10 might have run in the high teens. Now that it’s a 15, and sorted out, it’s a speedy little boat.

Nice job on the repaint and getting max performance out of it, it looks like fun.
 
Axhammer said:
That’s a nice looking boat, I like it in red.

12 to 23 is a big jump in speed. Good job!

When you were only doing 12 you had two people in the boat. It looked like it was close to planing out, but just couldn’t do it. Were you ever able to get it on plane before replacing the prop, and/or upgrading to the bigger carb?

It seems like a trim adjustment to get the bow down, might have got the boat to plane out with one person maybe…if that were the case, that little 10 might have run in the high teens. Now that it’s a 15, and sorted out, it’s a speedy little boat.

Nice job on the repaint and getting max performance out of it, it looks like fun.
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quite the opposite boat would wheelie with just me in it even with the fuel tank pushed FWD i couldnt get it nose down at all. the hydrofoils probably wouldve done it but everything came the same time and i just installed all at once and went with it
 

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