My father's elder builder

[sweetValley]

Got an older starcraft that I've been slowly restoring not just to get it back on the water, but because it has some real history behind it. My dad was the original owner, and he always called it his elder builder project since he spent more time tinkering with it than actually fishing. Now it's my turn and the hull is still pretty good, but I've been going through the wiring, replacing some old teak, and updating the controls without losing the old school charm. Anyone else here worked or working on a boat like this?

 

[Mitchtherevelator]

Glad to hear people are taking on these kinds of projects. I worked with my old man on a 71 Holiday and it was a handful. We had to rework the hull in several places and did the wiring completely. Honestly we went to restoring it as it was from the factory as we thought adding some modern mentieis would lose its charm. We still take it out every once in a while when we have some free time. Well, he has a lot of that, but I'm a bit busy these days with work.

Keep us posted on your progress

 

[Hawkins91]

Which original features are you trying hardest to preserve like the teak trim, gauges, or control layout, while still making the updates feel clean and reliable?

 

[lakerunlegends126]

I love seeing these projects come together. About 5 years ago, my uncle and I managed to restore a beaten-up '72 Starcraft Super Sport. The floor was pretty much shot, the foam was completely soaked, and the wiring was in rough shape, but we held onto the original aluminum dash, the classic Starcraft emblems, and even gave the old bow rails a good polish. We did replace the bilge and lights with modern versions, but made sure to keep everything else true to the original style. I'm curious, what parts of your boat are you set on keeping original?