Carl,
Back in 1974 my young wife and I purchased a brand spanking new boat! Yahoo, now we could play on the water every weekend. We purchased a 16-foot Starcraft Super-Sport,,, walkthru windshield, steering wheel, seats for six people. Powered it with a 85hp Merc and we pulled skiers and tubes many a weekend over the next thirty years. Boy did we put some miles on that boat and engine.
In 1998 I re-powered it with a new 75hp (at the prop) Merc which actually out performed the older motor (old motor was hp. rated at the powerhead). At that time I also replaced and beefed up the transom.
The original wood has been removed. It was 1.5 inches thick. You can see some corrosion showing up on the unpainted surface of the aluminum skin where it had been in contact with the wood.
I bought a single sheet of .75 marine plywood and set out making a new board. I laminated up three layers for a total thickness of 2 inches.
The brackets riveted to the hull would only allow for 1.5 inches so I had to mill away those areas to fit before installing the new wood.
You can see in the photo where the board has been thinned and pocketed on the inner surface to accommodate the original hardware. I also had to cut a step along the top edge for the trim cap to fit.
I then had to reinstall the original aluminum splash well to complete my project.
Why did I put a brand new motor on a 24 year old hull? Because the hull was in great shape and did not leak anywhere. It did however need new and stronger wood in the transom. We continued to use this boat up until 2006 when I replaced it with a different style of boat.
That means this boat was still going strong after 32 years of use and was in good shape when it left my care.
Would I buy a hull of this vintage today? ONLY UPON CLOSE PERSONAL INSPECTION
Yes, you may find one that will need no more than what I did in the above photo essay. The more likely find, will be a hull that has some leaky rivets, maybe some hidden corrosion, maybe some stress/fatigue cracks in the skin.
These Starcraft hulls were built well and I never felt unsafe in mine, even in 5 foot swells on Lake Erie but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I had bought mine new and not mistreated it over the years. Oh I used it alright, used it plenty, and hard, but I also took care of it. In this area of the country one often sees uncovered or leaking covers on boats over the winter. Snow and ice gets in there and damages the seams and rivets.
I wish you the best of luck in your quest but don't expect a Cadillac on a junker budget. It may happen as there are always bargains just sitting in some old lady's garage or shed. Trouble is, you won't hear of these on a nation wide listing, they are usually snapped up by a nearby neighbor or relative.
