My circa 1955 Lone Star Cruisemaster restoration

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EricJay

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Good day, gents.

I have been a lurker here on the forum for about the past 6 months since I started my project but decided today I would register and join the conversation. I am about 85-90% complete on my 1955 (or so) Lone Star Cruisemaster restoration and you guys have been instrumental in helping me get the job done. I thank you for the advice and information as I near completion of my first SOLO boat restoration. I have restored a number of air cooled VWs and an Austin Healy but this is the first boat I have owned or restored by myself. I grew up helping my dad on countless basketcase-to-beauties boat projects. I bought a bare hull that sat on a boat hoarding neighbor's lot for @ 30 years. I was told it was a 1960s Star Craft, but after months of internet searching to identify the model, I discovered it is actually a Lone Star Cruisemaster from @1955.

Found 1.jpg
Found 2.jpg Found 3.jpg

STRIPPING: To start, I removed and trashed the1950s flotation foam and went to town stripping several layers of crappy white and aqua blue paint by hand using Jasco and Klean Strip brand strippers and a sharpened putty knife. Stripping took several months as I was working on it only after work and on weekends. I went around each and every rivet by hand with Scotch Brite red and green pads, sandpaper, wire and plastic bristled brushes until all the paint was removed. Suffice to say I am now intimately familiar with every rivet on this boat. The original green paint was the hardest part to remove and speaks to the quality of materials used by the manufacturer.
Stripping 1.jpg Stripping 2.jpg

PRIME & PAINT: Once stripped, I sanded with varying grits and more red and green pads until I achieved a nice shine. I then applied Rustoleum clean metal primer to the interior and the exterior cabin and decks followed by thinned Rustoleum enamel which I mixed using 50/50 Safety Yellow and Safety Red for an eye popping orange. Primer and paint were applied using 4" foam rollers. Thus far I have applied 4 coats and plan on several more for maximum durability. [I know how some of you feel about using paint other than marine topcoats on boats so it is unnecessary for you to reiterate your feelings on the matter. I have used Rustoleum enamel on other projects and found it to hold up well to the elements. I was meticulous in my prep so I am not worried.]
Primed 2.jpg Primed 3.jpg Primed 1.jpg Paint 2.jpg Paint 1.jpg Paint 5.jpg Paint 3.jpg Paint 4.jpg
Paint bottom 1.jpg Paint bottom 2.jpg

RIVET SEALING: I applied Gluvit generously to every rivet inside the hull in the floor and along all the interior seams. I filled the hull with water 2 weekends ago to test for leaks and discovered a pinhole in the floor that was the result of pitting and only one leak along the starboard seam back aft. That discovery led me to purchase another quart of Gluvit. This morning I brass wire wheeled the entire exterior deck until I saw either shiny metal or until the pit opened into a pinhole. I only found one more pinhole. I will Gluvit the entire exterior deck this afternoon.

DECKING: For exterior decking, I used untreated pine 1x4 furring strips with untreated pine 2x4 framing for added strength. Pressure treated wood chemicals/preservatives are a no-no with aluminum (not to mention heavy). I mixed a pint of Minwax Golden Oak stain into a quart of spar varnish and thoroughly sealed the exterior deck wood which produced a lovely warm finish. All the wood used inside and out will receive the same treatment. I have cut all the interior flooring and completed the exterior deck but am waiting until the final Gluvit treatment has been applied and cured to install.
Deck.jpg

GLASS: 2 original windows glasses were intact upon acquisition but I broke one while stripping paint from the frames. I am using thin acrylic which I cut to the appropriate size. The hard part there will be rounding the corners but I think a Dremel with a cutting wheel should do the trick. I extra windows cut to size to allow for a learning curve on the windows.
Glass.jpg

BOTTOM PAINT: As we live a block from the river and are deeply committed to preserving the ecosystem we love, I decided against any type of biocide bottom paint or ablatives. This boat will not live in the water full time so I used Rustoleum on the hull as well. It will spend at most a few days to a week in the water at a time and will be in motion most of that time so bottom growth is not a concern. The sides will be polished to a blinding shine and then waxed.

FLOTATION: For flotation, I acquired a bunch of foam blocks used by utility trailer manufacturers to stack their trailers on flatbed trailers for transport. Those blocks are 12" square by about 18" long. I cut each block using a fine toothed hand saw into 3 pieces measuring 4" thick to fit into the sides and wrapped each section in cling wrap to keep foam bits out of the bilge pump. I fit foam into every side section from the top of the gunwale to about 4 inches from the floor but do not plan to add flotation in the floor under the deck to prevent risk of capsizing should I take on water.
Flotation.jpg

POWER: I plan to install a modern 70-90hp motor so I have enough juice to get out into Tampa Bay and spend time in Clearwater and St. Pete. While I would prefer a Honda, I will likely end up with a Mercury given they are plentiful and cheaper on average. I am not entertaining the notion of an appropriate vintage motor because I love my friends and family and do not want to smoke out everyone on the river as I pass. I will install LED running and interior lighting and a trolling motor for quiet river cruising. The head will not dump into the water as the original plumbing allowed, but will use a self contained RV system with an electric pump.

This entire restoration is being done by hand except for today's wire wheel work on the pitting. Hand stripped, hand sanded and polished, hand painted, all foam, wood, and decking hand sawn.

I am lucky on 2 major points: First, from work I have access to plenty of scrap material used on this project. All the wood and window materials were scrap bought at a deep discount and the foam was free. Second, I am lucky all the original window frames, roof rails, and deck fittings were present upon acquisition. I will, however, have to hit Craigslist for a new trailer as the current one is not good for anything but storage.

I estimate I am a couple months from completion and look forward to the inaugural cruise which I will call "The 3 Hour Tour". I will reach out with questions as they arise.

Current state as of February 7, 2015
Feb 7 2.jpg Feb 7 1.jpg
 
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GA_Boater

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Welcome aboard.

Links to photos are not much good when a viewer is required to sign in to see them. :rolleyes:

Click on the Forum Help link in the sig below for help on posting pics in your message.
 
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jbcurt00

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Consider adding an enamel hardener to the Rusto paint.

Is the Rusto clean metal primer a self etching or zinc chromate primer to improve adhesion to aluminum?

Lots to wade thru all in 1 post w so many pix.

Lowes sells aluminum angle, consider it for framing and support rather then 2X4 dimensional lumber.
 

EricJay

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Image issues should be resolved now. Was not aware Google images did not allow hot linking.
 

EricJay

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jbcurt00 The Rustoleum is enamel so I did not add any additional hardener. I anticipate plenty of 'quality time' with 800 or 100 grit to get the desired finish. I agree on the aluminum angle and may switch to that from the 2x4s depending on cost. The wood was practically free, so...

The primer is not etching primer but I did scuff well before application. We used the clean metal primer on some of my dad's projects and found it to hold up well as long as we fully coated and enveloped the surface and did the same with the top coats. I applied several coats of primer, sanding between each. I also sanded between top coats, which were applied a couple weeks apart to allow full curing of each coat. I learned when painting autos and bicycle frames the importance of multiple thin coats that are permitted to fully harden rather than laying it on thick. I had frames that never hardened when I laid paint too thick and had to strip back down and start over.
 

jbcurt00

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Aluminum can be tough to get good adhesion, hence the SE or ZC primer 1st.

Were your dads projects aluminum?

Yep, prep prep prep for paint.

Keeping the rear pod for the OB?

Whats plan for boat and pod transom?

Red looks good on it. The hardener can be used w any enamel, just improves hardness and scratch resistence of paint, plus makes it cure faster, w more gloss and makes paint fuel resistant too. Typically only added to the top coat.

Nice BIG boat for your 1st build.

Best of luck.

Did it come w the LS cleats and script logos intact?
 

EricJay

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Some of my dad's projects were aluminum but most were fiberglass. Our experience with aluminum was mainly with home built biminis and canopies and add ons. He liked being able to craft things from scratch that were much lighter than the original components so there was a lot of aluminum fabrication going on in our garage. We learned by trial and error how to get paint to stick to aluminum. The clean metal primer was what we found to work. Zinc chromate used to be the thing but we had and I still have zero interest in working with that as it is mean stuff. I used it when I was in the Navy and did not enjoy it.

No logos were present. The neighbor I bought it from thought it was a Star Craft until I stumbled upon a pic of the very same boat online and learned it was a Lone Star. It was kind of a 'EUREKA!' moment for me, lol. I have not decided whether to source new logos as I prefer a clean smooth look.

I removed the transom, hammered the parts back into place that were bent, and sanded. I will reinstall using stainless hardware. My old man always used sandwiched plywood with fiberglass for the rear plate/motor hanger deal but I think I might use stacked 2x6s with a metal plate for hanging the motor.

The color appears red but is very orange in person. Orange has long been my favorite color. I have owned several orange VWs. I will likely add enamel to the topcoat since you recommended it.

LS cleats? You mean the deck cleats? 4 deck cleats are present. I painted them but kicked myself afterward. I plan to remove them, strip, and polish, and reinstall using new stainless hardware.

Yes, big first job for an amateur :)
 

Woodonglass

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I'm a Lonestar Owner too!!! 1961 Flamingo Glass boat!!! Love what you've done with the old girl!!!

We've had a LOT of aluminum boat's painted here on the forum. LOT's of discussions by Pro's and Amateurs on how to prep, prime and paint aluminum. We've seen the Good the Bad and the Ugly of just about every method you can imagine using just about every paint you can think of. I wish you all the best and hope you will report back a year or two in the future and let us know how your paint performs. We have a LOT of examples of Aluminum boat owners using the Rustoleum paint with out doing proper prep and not using SE primer and they did not fair so well. I don't recall of any member using good prep and using SE primer and the Rustoleum Paint With the Hardener reporting back with a failed paint job. I truly hope you'll be the exception and report back with great results. I LOVE the Orange!!!!:thumb:
 
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GA_Boater

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Just a question. Why do you think foam under the deck will cause her to capsize?

Some advice - Follow your Dads lead and use plywood for the transom. Dimensional lumber does not have the strength or durability of two pieces of plywood bonded together.

Thanks for fixing the pics. She is looking good. Too bad you didn't join earlier - We could have told she is a Cruisemaster in a minute. :joyous:
 

EricJay

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GA_Boater Being as light as the hull is, it seems that buoyancy at the lowest point in the boat would create instability in the event it took on water. I have seen the arguments on the subject in other threads with equal numbers of folks being pro vs anti floor flotation. I could be completely off base here and I do agree with the folks who say it would be better to have a capsized boat that floats to hang onto than to have it just go down and leave me bobbing with a life jacket around my neck. 4x8 sheets of foam are only @ 20 bucks so I am fully open to laying some pieces in the floor. The manufacturer did not use flotation in the floor of this boat so either the regs were different then or they did not deem it necessary.

I will follow your advice and go with laminated plywood at the transom.

Woodonglass I figure that even if it does peel it will just be that much easier to remove for repaint, lol. Glass always half full :)
 

Woodonglass

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I agree that Plywood IS the only way to go on the Transom. Make sure and use Ext.Grade and NOT Pressure Treated. PT will EAT the aluminum. This will help you fabricate the transom. Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms

And if you end up doing any more painting you might find this interesting...

Paint Your Boat with Tractor Paint...Say What!!!
eek.gif
 

EricJay

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I nearly went with farm equipment orange but read so many iffy reviews on the quality f the paint, particularly the Majic brand in your post. My process was pretty much as is outlined in your post, though.

The transom is going to challenge me because I have never worked with fiberglass materials before. As I recall, My dad cut 2 pieces of plywood, glued them together with construction adhesive, added screws at the corners and center, applied resin, applied cloth, rolled it out smooth, applied more resin, sanded after hardening, then painted. Is that pretty much the sequence? I do not want to paint that piece but would like it to match as closely as possible with the decking. Is it possible to sandwich the 2 pieces of plywood and apply epoxy without the cloth or is the cloth where it will get its strength? The transom board slides into about a 2" channel on the back of the transom and I am concerned it will end up too thick with cloth and resin.
 

jbcurt00

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For lamimating plywood for the transom I would recommend (in no particular order)
Polyurethane glue (ie: gorilla glue)
TiteBond3 (waterproof version of TB)
Epoxy (w or w out cloth)

Depending on the exact width of that channel I would pick plywood that allowed maximum total thickness of wood and allow room to seal the transom plywood really well.

If you have 2in to work w, IMO, you could laminate 2 1/2in and a 3/4 layer of plywood and have plenty of room to seal it. 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 would probably work too. What plywood are you using?

Spar varnish/urethane/polyurethane, epoxy (w or w out cloth), and paint have all beem widely used to seal tin boat transoms.

If we are talking about the transom at the back of the boat (not the pod motor mount) I would probably use epoxy and cloth to seal it. Epoxy isnt UV stable so it has to be covered w paint, spar or similar. The pod mounts to the boat thru this transom, and as I would likely be using epoxy to seal it anyway, adding cloth will add little expense or time but add some strength

100% wrapped w epoxy and cloth, I'd apply 2 more coats of epoxy to each side (doing the edges w every coat so they have 4 coats).
 
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GA_Boater

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Eric - That is a good question. Are you talking about the actual transom being 2" thick or the bracket wood. Or both?

cruisem.PNG
 

Woodonglass

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We've Had lots of members paint their "Tinnies" with the Tractor Paint. It's no different than the rustoleum. They're ALL Oil Based Acrylic Enamels. Maybe just a bit different formulas but very little. The hardener is really what makes the big difference. Really enhances the gloss and hardness of the finish. The Titebond III wood glue does a Great job gluing the plywood. But Epoxy is KING in the Boating World. As stated it does need UV protection but that's easy with Marine Varnish or Paint.
 

EricJay

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Ga boater What I am calling the transom is the pod that hangs off the stern that the motor hangs on. Would it be more accurate to call that the motor bracket or motor hanger? I would like to not have to apply any fiberglass materials to the boards the motor will hang from if I can get away without it. I was hoping to mount a metal plate on the sandwiched plywood to hang the motor from and finish the wood like the decking. I saw my dad use fiberglass materials on some boats there and on others he would just sandwich the plywood with glue and screws/bolts and varnish. I prefer the latter.

Now, as for the stern itself- and by that I mean the rear wall of the deck area where that pod bolts on- must I also mount plywood inside and/or outside there? The motor mount pod/motor bracket was bolted directly to the stern without any wood as far as I can tell. The bolts were snug against the hull giving me the impression there was no wood there but that may have been done by a previous owner. There are quite a few holes in that rear wall of the stern that will require patching but if I have to install plywood I will utilize them to mount that plywood. Now that I think of it, that may be what those holes are there for.

Woodonglass I watched a ton of videos on YouTube and read a bunch of reviews before I pulled the trigger on the enamel. I had good experience with it elsewhere but not on a vehicle and was concerned about finish more than durability. Mine looks passable currently but I will definitely go to town with some fine sandpaper before the final coat with added hardener.

TruckDrivingFool Please do, it keeps me motivated. My neighbors, friends, and family are in awe at the progress thus far. This old timer has come a long, long way since I dragged her from certain death and decay. Everyone is surprised I have kept at it considering how much it needed.
 
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jbcurt00

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Bracket or pod is what's hanging off the stern of the boat and is where the motor mounts.

IMO you need 1.5in min of plywood at both locations. I wouldnt mount a rear piece of ply on the exterior side of the stern, double on the inside where it'll be more protected then on the outside.

Let me find a pix and I'll post it of another LS Cruiser.
 

jbcurt00

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For the pod, go as thick as your motor will allow:
009-2-3_zpsjfio7bh3.jpg

George put his ply all on the interior side of the stwrn of the boat, no exterior ply.

Those are only Merc 300s, so 60hp total..
 
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