Help me decide

[NorthernRedneck]

I sold my new boat last year since I was supposed to be moving to the prairies. Since that didn't happen and money is tight, I picked up an older 14 ft starcraft with a 25 hp and side drive. It's a decent boat considering it's age. I have already sanded and painted the engine cover. I ordered new decals for it but still have to apply them. I plan on painting the boat since it's still original paint on it. I'm stuck on the color though. I thought about just keeping it white. Then I thought red. Then blue. Now I'm leaning towards red again with a 4 ft gold decal and new starcraft lettering. I'm losing the original starcraft emblem on the side since one is in good shape but the other side is cracked and looks very dated. I also picked up some new seats and swivels/pedestals so the ones you see in the pictures are going. The seats are grey with blue in the middle.

 

[pirate_girl]

Looks nice the way it is Brian.
Just fix up the existing paint and you're in business.

 

[loboloco]

Heck, go crazy. Paint it titty tickle pink with fluorescent green trim. I bet everybody would know your boat from a looong ways away.

 

[BigAl]

I voted other ! Add tracks and call it a Kristi !!!!

 

[pirate_girl]

I votd other ! Add tracks and call it a Kristi !!!!

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!
What colour Al?? lol

 

[BigAl]

Heck, go crazy. Paint it titty tickle pink with fluorescent green trim. I bet everybody would know your boat from a looong ways away.

Can anyone supply him with a sample color ???

 

[pirate_girl]

Can anyone supply him with a sample color ???

PINK >>>>>>>>>>

 

[lowell]

Id go with white with red trim or possibly a 4 color fade just to make it stand out jmo

 

[AAUTOFAB1]

leave it white, spend the money on tackle or new reel

 

[ki0ho]

What is it?

 

[mak2]

leave it white, spend the money on tackle or new reel

I agree, or maybe beer and pizza. Just so a boat is in good shape I dont care how pretty they are. but that is just me, I know guys that are very picky about their boats. But I think they are compensating. How old is that pic? You still have that much snow on the ground?

 

[NorthernRedneck]

leave it white, spend the money on tackle or new reel

I've already got lots of tackle and about 10 rod n reel combos.

 

[snow dog]

I'd leave it white, cause money is tight and you can always paint it later. Put the $$$ where they are needed.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

I've started my little project by painting the engine cover and putting new decals. Looks great now.The engine's a '77 Johnson with electric start. It runs great. I plan on tearing apart the lower end and installing a new seal kit in it. The boat will get painted as soon as temps outside warm up a bit. I don't plan on having this boat for too many years. I picked it up for a very good price so I don't mind dropping another $100 into it if it will help me sell it later for twice the amount I paid.

I've always done well with boats. 15 yrs ago, I bought and sold boats every few months and always made a profit. I started with a crappy shallow 12 ft boat and antique 7.5 hp outboard which I bought for cheap. I sold it for double and bought a better boat and motor for the same price I had paid originally for the first boat. I separated that boat and motor and sold them again doubling my money. In the matter of a year, I had a brand new deep 14 ft and 20hp sitting in my driveway with a total investment of $600. I sold that outfit after a couple years and upgraded to an 18 ft Lund with a 60 hp. My total investement to that point was $800. The engine on that boat blew a piston. I ended up selling that boat for more then I paid for it with a running engine.

So, to those naysayers who think I should just leave it white and use it like it is, there is a method to my madness in painting this thing. I'll spend a hundred bucks if it's gonna earn me $900

Now, with that being said, what color should I paint it?

My uncle is a used car salesman. His favorite saying is "Profit's not a dirty word!!!" Works for me

 

[Cowboy]

I think I would just paint the sides down to the first rib about 10 inches or so it looks like from the pics . I had a red & white bass boat that looked perty good so I'm a lil partial to that combination . I also wouldn't paint the top aluminum rib either , maybe just polish it up a bit though . Just my 2 bits . looks like a nice boat .

 

[NorthernRedneck]

I think I would just paint the sides down to the first rib about 10 inches or so it looks like from the pics . I had a red & white bass boat that looked perty good so I'm a lil partial to that combination . I also wouldn't paint the top aluminum rib either , maybe just polish it up a bit though . Just my 2 bits . looks like a nice boat .

I thought about doing that combo. The sides don't look too bad right now but the bottom is missing quite a bit of paint from being trailered over gravel roads at some point in the past. The lower end on the engine also shows signs of gravel roads in the past.

Even if I don't sell for a while, I'll have a nicer looking boat. The aluminum rib is staying the way it is as is the interior color. The previous owners fabed up wooden platforms for the boat seats. Those will be going and pedestals will be installed along with new boat seats. I will keep the gray seat that's there right now but the brown one is quite weather cracked and will be kept as a spare on a removable mounting bracket.

 

[norscaner]

Cheers Brian.
I have the same motor sitting in the garage as a backup , great little motor and always starts right up.
I would repaint white on the boat if selling, something about original that makes it well looked after thus driving the price up.

p.s. your not the only one with that much snow lol.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

I do think the verdict is in. White it is!!! It's hard to tell from the pics but the boat has obviously spent a fair amount of time sitting in the water. One of those deals where they put in in the water in the spring and don't take it out till fall. It is stained yellow under the hull. I think a nice coat of white will freshen it up. I'm going to hold off on the decals until I get it painted.

Norscaner...I was in the city last week for a day trip for work and saw the amount of snow you guys still have. We both got the same storm two weeks ago but you guys got the rain while we got 4" of heavy wet snow that froze to a nice think crust. I've still got close to 3 ft of snow in my yard right now. It looked like we now have twice the amount of snow as in the city. And that's only 3 hrs away. I do hope it starts melting soon so the ice will be gone for may long weekend. We have a 5 day fishing/camping trip planned for that weekend.

 

[waybomb]

Ferrari Red base and Acid yellow flames, all in heavy metalflake.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

So I'm painting it white again and will add a simple graphic on each side along with new starcraft decals. The letters will be black and 18" long. The decals will be 72" long Now, if the weather would just stay warm enough to paint in a couple weeks, I'll have the boat painted by the time the decals come in. Once all decals are applied, a protective clear coat will be sprayed over them to prolong their life. The new seats will be in around the same time.

 

[norscaner]

Norscaner...I was in the city last week for a day trip for work and saw the amount of snow you guys still have. We both got the same storm two weeks ago but you guys got the rain while we got 4" of heavy wet snow that froze to a nice think crust. I've still got close to 3 ft of snow in my yard right now. It looked like we now have twice the amount of snow as in the city. And that's only 3 hrs away. I do hope it starts melting soon so the ice will be gone for may long weekend. We have a 5 day fishing/camping trip planned for that weekend.[/QUOTE]


Cheers Brian.
The snow really dropped this week and the water is starting to show on the McIntyre River. This means the steelhead are staging in the big lake and the big pike doing the same . I may try and go get some pike this weekend, it depends if my Dad wants to go and the ice is still good at the mouth of the creeks.
There is lots of ice on the inland lakes, almost 3 ft last weekend when my son in-law was out for laketrout.
Good luck for may long.

Nor.

 

[JEV]

I have made great money on aluminum boats by simply applying a fresh coat of paint. I always used to try to match the original paint scheme whenever possible, and my return on investment was VERY well worth it. You're doing it right for resale. I recall selling a boat while fishing, following a fresh paint job. A fellow motored up to my boat while I was drift fishing for walleye, and his buddy asked if I was interested in selling my boat. I asked him what he was willing to pay for it, and I delivered it that evening after going home to get the paperwork. Almost doubled my money within one week of getting it water ready. Now you got me itching to get back into that game. Lots of boats for sale around here for cheap.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

About 13 yrs ago, I was on my third boat already. It was a shallow 14 ft. I wanted something a bit deeper to handle the waves a bit better. I was out on my annual may long weekend fishing trip. The lake we have to cross to get to our fishing spot is about 9 miles long and wide open with waves coming in from both directions. The boat takes quite a pounding getting to the north end of the lake. I had decided to make the cross in 4-5ft waves. When I got to the north end of the lake to my fishing spot, I shut the motor off and went to put the anchor in. When I lifted the anchor, I discovered that one of the rivets on the forward keel had completely let go. Water was shooting up through the hole faster then I could bail. I quickly started the engine and made it back to the landing. Water wasn't coming in as long as I was moving. I pulled the boat out of the water onto the trailer. Drove the 30 miles back to town, stripped everything out of the boat when I got home, put the boat only out on the front lawn with a for sale sign on it. I kept to motor and trailer. I came back a half hour later after going to look at new 14 ft deep boats. There was a line up infront of my house of people wanting to buy the boat. I sold the boat alone for more then I paid for it and a motor(which I kept).

When I had my 18ft with a 60hp Mariner, I finally decided to sell it after blowing a second piston and it leaving me stranded. I sold it in 3 days for more money then I paid for it.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Here's a completed shot of the finished engine. Total cost was around $25 for primer,paint, and decals to get it to this stage.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Time for an update! The boat is now all painted with two coats of white. The smaller decals came in yesterday so I put them on. After the big decal is in, it will go on then a nice clear coat will go over all the decals to help protect them and make them last longer. I will be picking up the new seats and pedestals this weekend so hopefully by next weekend, she'll be ready to go fishing. Now, if the ice would just hurry up and melt, I can try her out in the water.

 

[rback33]

Looks sharp Brian! Nice job!

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Here's a before and after with all the decals now installed. I have the seats now and will install them sometime this week. Total cost for the for the facelift on this old boat is going to come in at less then $200 for everything including paint, primer, clear, supplies, all decals, new trailer fenders, new fuel line and new seats, swivels, and pedastels. I'm guessing that I've increased the value of this old girl by almost double of what I paid for her judging by the prices of comparable boats in this area. I plan on keeping her for 2-3 yrs then upgrading to something a bit bigger. I estimate the boat to be made in the 70's sometime. The engine is a '77 but has all new electronics, good compression, rebuilt lower end.

 

[snow dog]

Looks good, way to go

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Ok folks...I took her out for her maiden voyage this eve. The engine runs like a top at all speeds up to about 3/4 throttle. Anything above that, the top end still runs fine but it's like the lower end skips every few seconds. I'm hoping its not a lower end gear or shaft. I'm gonna head out and drain the oil out of the lower end to see what I can find. I didn't have a gps but I estimate the top end speed at around 30-32 mph. That's plenty fast for a 14 ft fishing boat around this area. I won't be the fastest out there but I won't be the slowest either. Now, if I can just get that skipping figured out, I'll be all set. I have all the seats installed now. The interior still needs a bit of paint but I'm thinking that will wait till after the long weekend. Paint isn't going to catch the fish!!!

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Think I found the problem with the lower end. When I said "skips", it was more like a loud band that shook the boat. I tore the lower end apart after work today inspected the two gears, prop shaft, and clutch dog. Sure enough, the clutch dog and gears were worn to the point where the clutch dog would slip on the gears every now and then. It was only doing it at high speed since that's when the clutch and gears were under the most strain.

I went down to a local small engine repair place where we call up a supplier. Just for the clutch dog, it was roughly $150. For the two other gears as well, the total came up to over $300. The guy says, "Hold on a minute, let me see those parts again." He goes in the back for a minute then comes out with the same thing as mine used but in like new condition. I walked out of there with a new shaft, two gears, and a new clutch dog fr under $100. I threw it all back together, added some new oil, and she should be good to go now. I'll have her out in the water again tomorrow morning to try her out. Fishing season starts in 2 1/2 weeks and I plan on being out there opening morning.