23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

[63cruiser]

Hello, friend of mine told me about this site. I have looked at a lot of things on here and have gotten some ideas.
....First off, I wanted a boat that was good for walleye, crab fishing and maybe dragging around an inner tube for the kids. I found a great 1963 Lone Star Cabin Cruiser on CL. with a great sticker price. Just needed a little work. Which is why I am on here.
The boat had a 120 mercruiser inboard originally. The guy i bought it from started the transformation and other things got in the way.
1) I removed all the wood from the old transom and cut the back to 20".
2) Working on a plan to build a transom from 1 1/4 square aluminum tube. I have seen some pictures online and have a pretty good idea. (Only problem is I have never welded aluminum) I have a Lincoln welder that is capable of welding aluminum.
3) My goal is to remove all the wood from the boat and replace with aluminum(except the steering wheel-its just way too cool)
I have some pictures to give yall an idea of how things are going and to possibly point out any mistakes or suggestions.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Other plans,
Since the boat had a 120 mercruiser, I would like a 115 Johnson or similar 2 stroke. I would like a DFI but I am somewhat cheap and have found 90's model 115 for around 1500. I assume that a 115 would be adequate.
-The hull has a layer of fiberglass on it. The owner said people used to do this when the rivets started leaking. Its in good condition. I am planning on sanding it smooth and painting it black or blue. I am planning on painting the roof and edge white. I would also like to take the boat off the trailer, has anybody ever made a boat stand that is somewhat easy to get the boat off the trailer and onto the stand?
-I know that I have more questions but I am watching season 2 of Macgyver.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

There's a big difference between an I/O transom and an OB transom. You're going to need to do a lot more work to that transom than just replace the wood with a square tube aluminum... Which isn't that good of an idea.

We've seen a couple of square tube transoms come through here and the new owner wants to know how to fix the square tube transom that has been pushed in and looks like the boat has been rear-ended by a Mack truck.

You're going to need to fabricate a splashwell (they brace the top of an outboard motor transom) and you'll also need to fabricate transom braces for the bottom... and I'd put new wood back in the transom.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Welding aluminum isn't straight foward, esp on a 50+/-yr old boat. It can work harden the adjacent aluminum, not a great idea for a structural element like a transom, IMHO....................

I think it's an earlier model then 1963, probably 1957-1962 by 1963, the LoneStar crusiers were offered in a fauq lapstrake hull, not smooth sided like yours.

I'm also pretty sure it wasn't originally an I/O or inboard. I think a previous owner modified it or planned to modify it to be an I/O. Your deck is relatively new & isn't setup to take an I/O or inboard either:

The boat 'used' to have a splashwell, the 2 blue bat wings under the port & starboard gunwales are part of it.

Might need to make some changes to the trailer, the coupler is almost under the end of the bow, and there's certainly doesn't appear to be room to push the boat backward on the trailer...

A fiberglass covered aluminum boat is probably going to be kind of heavy, esp as a 23ft'r. Not sure a 115 will push a big (& perhaps heavy) boat like this really well...

Welcome to iboats dry dock, good luck w/ your project..

Careful planning & setup are about all I can suggest to get this boat off it's trailer. I tend to push aluminum boats off the trailer onto old tires to get it off the trailer short term.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Good looking ole girl and looks worthy of bringing back to life and on the water. Good luck with your project. From the sounds of it you have a spool gun on your welder for aluminum?? Not my first choice for welding aluminum, a TIG is most preferred. Since you state you have never welded aluminum before the structural areas on a boat is not the place to attempt to learn and you most likely will not like the way it turns out visually or strength wise. Again good luck with her and looking forward to your progress.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I noticed the blue area on the sides had some rough looking cuts and thought it might have originally been an outboard transom. Does anyone know anybody with one of these boats with all original transom and splash well? Some pictures of that would be great. I want to stay with the aluminum square transom idea because I have plenty of time to finish and I want to do it ONE time and never worry about it again, put gas in and go. I have seen aluminum welded before and I would like to learn, I am going to the blacksmith shop this week and try to find some scrap aluminum and figure it out.

Does anyone know where the serial number is on one of these boats? I looked all over and cannot find one. I see where the hull number should be but I would rather not remove the glass and not find it there.

Thanks for the information about the splash well is structural reinforcement. I hope to make it original looking if possible, but I like strong over pretty.

It only has one layer of glass on the boat. It is still very light. Thanks for those original pictures. That made me feel very enthusiastic about the boat project on what it is going to look like.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Might need to make some changes to the trailer, the coupler is almost under the end of the bow, and there's certainly doesn't appear to be room to push the boat backward on the trailer...

What does this mean. I don't know much about it. The trailer seems fancy, it has coil springs, shocks and pulls very well behind a half ton truck.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Not 100% sure, but it looks like a 10lb boat on a 7lb trailer: WAY too large (perhaps not too heavy).

Look thru some boat pix online, you should see what a good fitting trailer looks like under a boat.

Here's a member's 26ft boat, see how it doesn't seem to dwarf it's trailer:

The stern of the boat is well supported:

And how much tongue is sticking out past the front of the boat:

Perhaps it's on the correct trailer, but from the perspective of your 1st pix, it looks like your boat is HUGE, and the trailer isn't quite large enough. But again, that's a best guess based on 1 pix....

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

If you Google "lonestar cruiseliner", you will see tons of resto hits with good pics.

Click this

The attempt at an I/O conversion by a PO had a lot going against it. And a lot of work to make a good conversion left to do. Going back to an outboard is the right thing. Some of the restos have great detail.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Other plans,

-The hull has a layer of fiberglass on it. The owner said people used to do this when the rivets started leaking. Its in good condition. I am planning on sanding it smooth and painting it black or blue. I am planning on painting the roof and edge white.

Fiberglassing an aluminum hull to stop leaks is what knuckleheads that don't know their butt from a hole in the ground about working on and fixing leaks in an aluminum boat do. We've seen this a few times on this forum too.

If you leave the fiberglass on the hull it will be problematic in the future, the fiberglass will crack and delaminate with chunks and gobs falling off in the future as the boat is used more and more. This will make your paint job and the overall exterior appearance of the boat look like a Billy goats butt sewed up with a grapevine.

As the fiberglass cracks and delaminates your boat will start to leak again, and with the fiberglass on the boat it will make finding and fixing the leaks difficult if not nearly impossible.

Wether you deal with this now or later is up to you, I'm just giving you a heads up on what to expect.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

I looked under the boat. It looks like its missing a piece that should hold up the rear end. Few pieces of angle iron and some rollers, I can do that easy. I talked to my buddy about making a stand, might try to do that next weekend. Seems like it will be better working on it closer to the ground and more stable. Trailer needs some work too. The trailer tires are at least 25 years old and I pulled it home just fine for 150 miles, but I am looking for a sale for some 5.30x12's.

 

[Teamster]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Tagging along

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

There are a lot of holes drilled in the roof and sides of the boat. I think from lights, antennas or whatever people mount on the roofs of boats. I was planning on filling them with some epoxy or something and found this: HTS 2000 Aluminum Repair - YouTube .Have any of you used this product? I watched some other videos and read some stuff and people say it works good.
I will take some pictures of the holes and post them on here to show the size and how many holes.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

Out of all the tin boat resto's I've seen on iboats, I think 3 have tried those rods.

1 Unsatisfied

1 Didn't LOVE the results but thought it would work in some applications, kind of wished they'd done it differently

1 Pleasantly surprised, and thought it worked well, for what it is. Thought it would work in similar situations, but not for ALL aluminum repairs

My take away is that if you wanted to try, on an area that might end up covered or is in a low visibility area, and it you don't mind trying it, try it. Just be sure to follow the directions & make sure the torch is up to the task, and the area to be repaired is clean & prepped. I think there's some info in the directions about heating the repair site prior to using the rod.

The cost isn't high, even w/ shipping if you already have the correct burner tip & MAPP gas.......

I likely won't try it on any of my tin boats, but add a few of mine together & probably still don't have as much tin as your LS does. And on the roof, if the results aren't pretty, not many are ever going to see the repairs. Did the hole get plugged? Yep, then you might be good.....

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

One common theme by the ones that have posted good results is heat. Most say MAPP gas with higher heat is preferred over propane. Personally I have not tried the rods. Harbor Freight and Northern Tool both carry the rods, usually cheaper than the on-line sources.

 

[64osby]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

I have seen pictures of two LS Cruisemasters with outboards, they both had outboard brackets.

Looks like a nice project, but I too would be getting rid of that fiberglass. Like Jig stated it will have or does have issues. I'd be inclined to fix (remove) it now, seal the boat (gluvit) and then paint. You will be much happier in the long run.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

 

[63cruiser]

Re: 23' Lonestar Cabin Cruiser. Converting to an outboard.

There are about 20 1/4" size holes and several larger ones. I would also like to fill in the place where the gas caps went and take off the breather things(6) and cover the holes. Does anyone have experience filling these types of holes? I would like to try the hts 2000 stuff, but I am not sure how it will work on such large holes.
I cleaned up the inside some.