Starcraft BV 170 - Flooring

Hello All,

I realize this might be a little bit of a stretch being a boat question but hopefully it's worth a try..

I just purchased a 1985 Starcraft BV 170 with a 110 HP Evinrude. The boat has been sitting for about 20 years, but so far it looks promising to have it running by mid summer. The engine is remarkably complete. I looked down the plug holes with a bore scope and the pistons look very clean. Compression check is coming this weekend.

The most obvious problem is that 20+ years of southwest sun has trashed the deck, so a strip out, complete cleaning and re-deck is one of the first tasks. The boat has front and rear storage compartments which appear to have solid floor underneath. (..this floor also has a different pitch when tapped on.. like it's aluminum under the carpet..) My question then is whether anyone knows if the plywood flooring runs from the tip of the bow to the stern, or if it only runs between the storage compartments? Storage compartments are riveted to the hull. If the plywood floor runs under them that means I will have to drill rivets to remove them for a complete re-flooring. Does anyone know - or remember - anything about these old boats?

Thanks for any info!

Vince in NM

The best thing to do is post this in the boat repair section. Maybe a mod will do it.

Just start removing all the bad wood until you get down to the stringers you will see what you need to do. Replace everything that is dryrot. Can you just lift up the floor in the compartments? Once you get the new stringers in and the deck fastened then cut some holes with a hole saw and pur some good closed cell pouring foam in for flotation. Keep the plus you cut for stuffing in the holes and put a layer of glass over the top and then some good deck paint. You should not have to cut any rivets.

Looks like you could move the helm over and make it a center console and put in a nice livewell. As long as the hull is in good shape the possibilities are limitless. You may want to pull the engine and just pour in a new composite transom while you have it ripped apart?