This is a vintage 1957 14 StarCraft Ski-Champ. StarCraft confirmed for me it is a very rare model with less than 100 built in that year. Most regrettably I must sell it halfway through my restoration. I found it in Maine in the fall of 2015. I purchased a new Road King trailer (included). The trailer alone cost me over $800 and it has never been in the water, the trailer is in pristine like new condition and road ready. I towed it to Chattanooga, Tennessee where its been stored indoors and out of the weather ever since. I was on again off again several times with the restoration, but I am in a situation today that has me selling it for personal reasons, basically clearing out and moving on. Financially it will eat my shorts letting it go but I must cut my losses and not look back. My preference is to get this boat into the hands of someone that will restore it properly. I am hopeful to find it a new home with someone who understands and appreciates these little tin boats, someone who is passionate in their restoration work and is skilled in wood working and finishing. All the parts are with me and on hand, I even have the rare and often broken original drain plug intact. The original manufacturers label is intact as well. I did remove the windshield and it is in a landfill somewhere, it was not original and it was dry rotted. The first three pictures are as I found it in Maine when I purchased it. The following pictures are of it in its current condition which is halfway through my restoration. Im selling it as is, but I will show you everything in detail. I have spent a small fortune on all new, very good quality mahogany and marine plywood, I have new mahogany cut for everything, there is no old wood on this boat. I also cut a new transom out of a beautiful piece of oak. My plan was to continue fitting out the boat with all of my new wood getting everything cut to size, fit up and assembled unfinished. Then I was going to strip all of the wood back off of the boat to sand, prep and varnish while the aluminum hull got grit blasted, there are some very small dings in the aluminum I was going to knock out flat again but there are no big dents or tears in this hull, it is in remarkably good condition for its age. Once I was finished with the grit blasting I was going to paint the aluminum hull and top cap skins while varnishing the wood on a parallel path. Then I was going to perform the final detailed assembly. If you have questions do not hesitate to reach out to me. I can and will also send additional pictures of anything you need. This little boat is going to make someone a very good winter project this year so ladies if youre looking for that special gift for your Beau then bust out your checkbook and surprise him. Would also make for an excellent Father & Son or Father & Daughter restoration. I always saw this boat being a showstopper and thats where I was headed with it. I priced this boat and trailer to sell. You can pick it up here in Chattanooga or I can personally deliver it anywhere in the lower 48. For our Canadian neighbors to the North I would consider bringing it to you as well, I just can't see me driving up near the Artic Circle so if its a reasonable destination no worries. My delivery charge would be 45 cents per mile using the Rand McNally mileage calculator which you can find in a simple Google search. As an example, I punched in Chattanooga, TN as my starting point and Lake George, NY as my ending point and the Rand McNally mileage calculator spit out 1014 miles, 16 hours driving time. 1014 x .45 = $456.30 delivery fee. This example would take me two days to get to you in Lake George, NY. You can use this calculator to realize how much extra it would cost you to have me deliver it to your driveway. Consider it a fair fee as I'm only charging this delivery fee one way, I'll get myself back to Chattanooga on my own dime, also consider the driving time involved for me away from home, the cost of fuel, possible tolls, hotels, meals and the wear and tear on my truck, I'm not making any money at .45 cents a mile, this is simply a courtesy service I am offering to help you with the transport if you need it. If your a StarCraft enthusiast and a capable restorer of these older boats then please don't pass this one up as it has great potential. Its all here and its all original just needs to be handed over to a person with a warm Winter workshop willing to burn some midnight oil paying attention to the details. I have lots more to share at turnover.
On Oct-24-19 at 10:01:20 PDT, seller added the following information:
Questions
Is it still available?
Is this Starcraft Ski-Champ still available?
Bill in NC
I am the new owner of this boat. I bought it in 2019. drove two days to pick it up.ongoing project. main problem ws paperwork. Louisiana requires registration and title for boat. trailer had to be inspected by state police. A judge had to be contacted to award the boat to me. claiming it was very old and original title had long been lost. So two year later i have the paperwork. Boat never been in water. Boat came with wood topping. I covered that with the original metal skin. Stained the exposed wood and painted the metal a forest green.
Found a restored 1957 Johnston 35 hp boat motor in Florida. Motor is beautiful. Took a while to figure out steering.
I dont think I would have taken on this project if I would have known the work involved. better off buying one already done. Now three year later, hoping to get the boat in the water this spring.
Total spent $5000.
just to let you know. I finally got the boat on the water this week. took three years to restore it. two years were to get the paperwork. had to go to a judge. anyway. put a 35 hp motor on the boat. run fine. little hard to get over the seat, to adjust motor or move around. but it turns heads.
hope you read this.
ray
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