# 1974 Starcraft Mariner 16



## Pleasantvalley (Jul 29, 2018)

Hello tin boat folks!! New guy here, with my first boat. I scored a 1974 Starcraft Mariner yesterday with a Johnson seahorse 25 on the back. The boat has seen better days, was badly re-floored, had the benches cut out, Bad transom replacement, and is in general need of some TLC. The good news is it’s mine! Other good news is the engine, though very sloppily painted, runs well enough to really tune in. 

Started out today by drinking a cup of coffee in the new boat, contemplating what I was gonna do with it. I removed 3 crappy bass boat chairs, the original steering console and cables, and pulled up the carpet to see what is happening underneath. It’s not the worst, but it’s got to go. The floor is in there with about 300 rivers, so I have a lot of drilling to do. 

Anyway, I’m a novice with boats of this kind. I’m sure I’ll have questions along the way, and I hope I can find some answers here in exchange for some cool pics! I’ll start with how it was this morning and how it is now. Look forward to getting this thing going!!


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## Scrapper (Jul 29, 2018)

Are you thinking resto or going to totally change her up? Looks like a great project. Love the fact that you sat in it drinking coffee thinking about what you would do. Been there done that and will do it again. Lol. 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Pleasantvalley (Jul 30, 2018)

I’m gonna change it up. I dona lot of fly fishing, and live near both rivers and the Chesapeake bay tidal basin. So for me, I’d like to have a large front casting deck with some storage under it, a large rear casting deck to house the fuel tanks, and an open middle section. I may do a longer tiller handle and grab bar type console. Sort of a cross between a Jon boat, Florida flats skiff, and smith island skiff.

I was trying to hold off on gutting it and run it a few times to see how it feels, but the floor is not up to my standards. Being a carpenter and knowing I can do a better job of it, it would bother me too much. So this weekend I’m off to west marine to pick up some epoxy and gluvit. Going to pull the floor and transom. Replace the transom, clean the hull out and get it water tested and sealed hopefully. After that it’s paint time, then a new floor and I should be well on my way. Trailer needs to be adjusted as well, axel has to move back, rails the boat sits on (proper term?) need to be moved and replaced, and it needs a new winch. This should keep me busy for the next few weeks, plenty of time for a few more cups of coffee in the boat to really feel out the plan.


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## DaleH (Jul 30, 2018)

Pleasantvalley said:


> So this weekend I’m off to west marine to pick up some epoxy and gluvit ...



Ouch ... *DON'T do that ...* go to *www.raka.com* and call them; talk to Larry or Mike, tell them what you're going to do and they'll send you exactly what you need and you'll have it in 2-3 days ... better product at ~1/2 the price!

And NO mixing snafu's .... easy 2:1 resin to hardener mix, with no expen$ive pumps nor expen$ive West Marine pricing needed.


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## pchitti (Jul 31, 2018)

Only way to truly plan is with a drink and time in the boat. The neighborhood and my wife think I am crazy at this point.

On my first project as well, but I am forcing myself to get out on the water before gutting. Other than a few repairs nothing was changed on my little 12' v hull.


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## Pleasantvalley (Jul 31, 2018)

Epoxy ordered. Gonna build a quick engine stand tomorrow, pull the engine and start drilling rivets. 

So how tightly fitting do you guys go with your floors? The ones in there are not very tight or precise. I’m sure I could get the new one right, but I’m wondering if there would be issues with it being too tight.


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## Tinny Fleet (Aug 1, 2018)

Hmm. Good luck with the project. I don't think its a mariner though. Maybe a kingfisher.


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 1, 2018)

I’m just going from the dataplate, and console. I suppose it may not be, why do you think otherwise?


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## Tinny Fleet (Aug 2, 2018)

Pleasant:

Using the "rule of 3":

1) The model number of the boat on the plate - if its a Mariner it will be MR160
2) Eyeballing it - Mariners were a center console, this one is a side console. Also Mariners had high sides vs the low sides on your one. Check other Kingfisher restorations by googling "Starcraft boat restoration" and picking the iboats page that lists them all, with pics. Scroll down for the Kingfishers.
3) Experience - I'm working on my second Kingfisher restoration right now. Last one I kept the side console and went with a 40hp and raised bow platform. It would go like a banshee. Loved that boat, but traded it in for a bigger better one back when I had less sense than now. For the present one, I plan to KISS with as light a weight as possible:

- Run a 15 longshaft tiller electric start Johnson (push button luxury!). Mebbe put a 9.9 on there for days trolling for trout up in New England lakes.
- Bow mount electric
- Rig for oars (yes that's right!)
- Livewell and cooler in the center
- Ditch the raised bow platform idea. Place pedestal seats squarely within the boat.
- Rod and Oar racks on the sides under the gunnels.
- Olive drab Wetlander on the keel, olive drab "dull dead grass" Petit topside paint for the rest of it.
- Vinyl on 3/8 inch marine plywood that has been coated with old timers fomula. (no carpeting - I'm done with that stuff!)
- Aft and bow mounted depth sounders (vintage, like me)
- No wood on transom - all aluminum, thanks to Dawson at Fish-On fabrications in Cartersville, GA a sponsor on this site!
- Removeable downriggers set up midships for easy accessibility.

Launching and retrieving the thing should be a breeze with a nice Florida-made tilt bed "Continental" trailer. Light, yet roomy enough to handle a couple grandkids!


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 2, 2018)

I’ll re check the plate when I pull off the tarp this weekend. It’s been raining hard every day here this week so I covered it to keep from filling up too much. The trailer needs to be set up to fit better and I just don’t want to stress the hull if it’s not seated properly on He trailer. 

I was going off this old factory page I found online. Side console, used to be benches front and rear as shown (I can tell where the mounting brackets used to be. Dimensions seem right as well. I’m pretty sure the plate says Mariner 16 BO


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 4, 2018)

Got the floor pulled out today. Lots of waterlogged foam stuffed under there. Was attached to a combo of aluminum and steel framing with a combo of rivets and drywall screws. Pretty dirty but not in bad shape. Some screw and river holes in pretty much all the ribs, which I don’t think are that bad. I’m going to get it off the trailer and adjust the trailer to fit better, pressure wash the hull, then leak test it when the trailer is good. I’ll be painting the inside, but not sure on the outside of the hull. I like the gross avocado green more and more. Might try to find a place to color match it and just touch it all up.


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## Tinny Fleet (Aug 4, 2018)

Watching with interest!

I'll be painting mine tomorrow if the rain holds off.


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 5, 2018)

Rain! We have had so much rain here this year. Kinda lucky I didn’t get a boat 6 months ago, I’d be just sitting here with a boat ready to go, but no where to put it in. I’ve only gotten out in the kayaks twice and those days were a while ago. The Potomac was 11 feet high yesterday and we are supposed to get a third straight week of rain!


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## Tinny Fleet (Aug 6, 2018)

Gotta laugh. Weather forecast wise yesterday was the first 24-36 hour rainfree stretch in....weeks. Weather Radar completely clear for a couple hundred miles to our west (from whence cometh our rain). So I got up early, pressure washed (for the 10th time at least, there have been so many false starts) and dried the boat, applied the Petit topside paint to the sides and then the Wetlander on the bottom. Everything went on beautifully. Stepped back for a look....Perfect. Love it when a plan comes together.

1 hour later, a boomer moves through.

Looking at it this morning, the oil based Petit was mottled with thousands of light colored spots where raindrops lingered on the tacky surface. Dang it!!!!!

The Wetlander at least was just fine - it had dried quicker than the Petit.

Days like this that make you wish for a nice barn/workshop with plenty of room!


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 6, 2018)

No kidding! I’m probably gonna have to take this thing down to my parents garage to paint it. It will be inconvenient for sure since they are about 35 minutes away, but it might be the only way to get it done. 

No rain here today, BTW. But it is about 95 degrees with what feels like 90% or better humidity y and a sun like an oven. Maybe I’ll get the pressure washer out after work, but when I have to work in the sun like this all day, I usually just chug ice water on the couch when I get home.


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 7, 2018)

Well I got the inside of the hull pressure washed after work. There is some steel rust on the surface in a few spots that wouldn’t come all the way off, left over from the portion of floor framing that the prior installer used as a support. It’s not too bad, minimal oxidation, a little sanding and it should be good enough to seal. Weather parmitting I’m going to pull the gunwhale trim, redo the transom, and get it off the trailer next. Then it’s gluvit and interior paint time.

Couldn’t get pics due to yet another evening storm.


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## Pleasantvalley (Aug 7, 2018)

Break in the storm, got a few pics


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## DaleH (Aug 7, 2018)

Always LOVED the wrap-around ‘gun whales’ (gunnels) on those models!


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