1972 Starcraft Center Console (115hp Mercury inline 6)

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Anton

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2021
Messages
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Location
Manchester NH
HI all,
Don't post much but had a rare free moment for an update on the new boat. We upgraded (still keeping our 56 AT with the 57 Evinrude 10hp as a go-to boat as she is amazing). Been looking for a 16-20' semi V for 2 years now and stumbled across one the other day we had seen posts for but the owner kept getting cold feet and removing it... We drove down and called last minute with cash in hand. Managed to look her over and she looked good to us. He was saying transom is going as is floor but he was mistaken... stinky water below the floor and mold but Im guessing the tarps gave way this past Spring. We ended up with a 72 Starcraft Center Console, 18' with a 1986 Mercury 115 hp inline 6 (Tower of Power) and a nice roller trailer to boot. We drove it a couple hours home after airing tires and greasing hubs and my wife thought I was lying when I told her we paid $1,000 cash. Motor wasn't froze but wouldn't start. everything was nice n loose though. 2 weeks ago we went ahead and found the wiring issue (on the internal motor fuse -main one). 20 minutes on that I filled a tub with water, hit her 3 carbs with some starter fluid after fogging a tad and she fired right up leaving my son and I SHOCKED. Shut her down because we weren't getting water pump squirts (we are NEW to this boat motor style/type). We cleared any mud dauber nests and drove her to my buddy's dock and backed her in. Fired up and she was pumping. After about 10 minutes he says, "take her up river a bit and ring me if you have problems" so we took her out... Oh my word does she scoot lol. We ran her for 10-15 minutes not going over 3/4 throttle and brought her home (wow roller trailers make things easy!) We have now checked out bottom end, dumped and replaced the oil there, checked out impeller, have a rebuild kit already on standby etc. Got the bilge pump replaced, put in 2 new seats and only having issues with the wiring for running lights atm. The light work (I hard wire jumped em to check and traced but its goofy so i will dig for a schematic. Have a gifted lowrance x125 from a buddy we will mount after Thursdays short vacation up to the Northern NH border and already ordered a power panel, fuse blocks, some usb ports, new horn etc. Since this boat actually has a floor, seats n stuff we will have many projects with it including the floor eventually so I will try and post as we go along with her and learn (and will most likely ask a TON of questions to the community that helped us with our first boat, the Arkansas Traveler!
 

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That is really hard to read. Could you edit and break it up into paragraphs? That will certainly help get you more responses.

Not trying to nit-pick, just making an observation that I hope is helpful. Maybe this will help...

---------------------------------------
HI all,
Don't post much but had a rare free moment for an update on the new boat.

We upgraded (still keeping our 56 AT with the 57 Evinrude 10hp as a go-to boat as she is amazing). Been looking for a 16-20' semi V for 2 years now and stumbled across one the other day we had seen posts for but the owner kept getting cold feet and removing it...

We drove down and called last minute with cash in hand. Managed to look her over and she looked good to us. He was saying transom is going as is floor but he was mistaken... stinky water below the floor and mold but Im guessing the tarps gave way this past Spring. We ended up with a 72 Starcraft Center Console, 18' with a 1986 Mercury 115 hp inline 6 (Tower of Power) and a nice roller trailer to boot.

We drove it a couple hours home after airing tires and greasing hubs and my wife thought I was lying when I told her we paid $1,000 cash. Motor wasn't froze but wouldn't start. everything was nice n loose though.

2 weeks ago we went ahead and found the wiring issue (on the internal motor fuse -main one). 20 minutes on that I filled a tub with water, hit her 3 carbs with some starter fluid after fogging a tad and she fired right up leaving my son and I SHOCKED. Shut her down because we weren't getting water pump squirts (we are NEW to this boat motor style/type).

We cleared any mud dauber nests and drove her to my buddy's dock and backed her in. Fired up and she was pumping. After about 10 minutes he says, "take her up river a bit and ring me if you have problems" so we took her out... Oh my word does she scoot lol. We ran her for 10-15 minutes not going over 3/4 throttle and brought her home (wow roller trailers make things easy!)

We have now checked out bottom end, dumped and replaced the oil there, checked out impeller, have a rebuild kit already on standby etc. Got the bilge pump replaced, put in 2 new seats and only having issues with the wiring for running lights atm. The light work (I hard wire jumped em to check and traced but its goofy so i will dig for a schematic. Have a gifted Lowrance x125 from a buddy we will mount after Thursdays short vacation up to the Northern NH border and already ordered a power panel, fuse blocks, some usb ports, new horn etc.

Since this boat actually has a floor, seats n stuff we will have many projects with it including the floor eventually so I will try and post as we go along with her and learn (and will most likely ask a TON of questions to the community that helped us with our first boat, the Arkansas Traveler!
-----------------------------------
 
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Wow, that is an awesome find. She looks great!

It just happens that I'm working on a 18' Mariner-V, just like yours, but green instead of white. This one has a 55 HP Yamaha on the back, but I DO have a Mercury 115 on a stand.

So, a couple of questions...

How does the boat sit with that big engine on the back?
Does she squat in the back?
Does she run a bit nose-light?
 
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From the pics, it looks like the trailer is to short for the boat !! Aluminum hulls require support right at the back seam at the transom... with that big motor weight there and the overhang over the last roller, could become a serious issue!! Nice find, but please address the trailer fit before you have a problem...
 
Wow, you are right about that. Doesn't look like much tongue to move the winch post forward, but I would put the jack behind it and move that winch up as far as possible.

And I would start looking for a trailer on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.
 
From the pics, it looks like the trailer is to short for the boat !! Aluminum hulls require support right at the back seam at the transom... with that big motor weight there and the overhang over the last roller, could become a serious issue!! Nice find, but please address the trailer fit before you have a problem...
Wow, you are right about that. Doesn't look like much tongue to move the winch post forward, but I would put the jack behind it and move that winch up as far as possible.

And I would start looking for a trailer on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist.

X2. To me it looks like that trailer has rollers instead of bunks. The trailer seems robust enough to extend the tongue a couple feet to get the correct fit.
 
I think you are right about that, Dubs. Maybe swap to bunks that extend a bit further back, too.

But it depends on what is available. When I needed a bigger trailer back in the spring, I was able to buy one and sell the smaller one for a little bit more money. I got the trailer I wanted, made a little money and spent ZERO days working on it. That was a win-win for me.

So it's often worth looking around before diving into a project.
 
In my area, boat trailers in good condition are very scarce !! In the posters case, having a lighter weight aluminum boat, it would be fairly simple to add a longer tongue and move the boat forward. However he does it, it should be corrected before he does a lot of towing...
 
It's funny how areas are so different as to what is available. One friend lives in the Baltimore area, another in the Hampton Roads area, and those places are just flooded with boats, trailers and motors of all types. Out here, there is a decent supply, but I usually have to drive an hour or so.

But over the mountain, boat stuff is scarce. Aluminum boats, especially. When I sell, often it's to a guy over the mountain, looking for something to put into the river.
 
I took mine out yesterday with the 55 Yamaha, and it does maybe 27 with me alone. Not bad, but a bit lackluster. Curious how yours sits in the water with the 115 Mercury.
 
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