Lone Star Boat Collector- 1 Restoration at a time

[LoneStar7]

My name is Mike- I bought my first Lone Star boat in 2007, a 1959 Lone Star Saratoga and have been hooked ever since. I wanted to restore my boat as original as possible and started searching for parts and info on these old boats online and at the time there wasn't too much info online. The yahoo Lone Star boat club was fairly active then with a good group of guys and I just kept searching for info and parts. My searching lead me to ebay and craigslist and I just started saving these old boats. Most of the time I purchased them for $100 or $300 and I have bought boats everywhere from NY to Minnesota and in between. I found and bought old ads and all the old sales catalogs from 1958-to 1966 and did my best to scan them all and share them online at Fiberglassics and at the Yahoo Lone Star Club site.
In all I have 11 boats currently-1959 Monterey, 1959 Malibu, 1959 Coronado, 1959 Catalina, 1959 Newport, 1959 Cruiseliner, 1960 El Dorado (2), 1960 Holiday, 1961 Bar Harbor, 1961 Little Fisherman.

I m in the Army and restore them in my free time as much as I can and more that anything- I USE THEM. I ll do my best to post some photos and lessons I have learned and just like I have learned so much online and hopefully I can pay it forward a little now.

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

1960 Lone Star El Dorado- I have one restored and am hoping to start work on the other soon. I bought the one I have restored from the original owner and was able to replicate the original paint scheme. It turns every head while I have it out on the lake and Its a very fun boat. I will post more photos and details of my restoration.

 

[Corjen1]

Very cool boat!! looking forward to seeing your others!!

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

I washed the boat and prepped it for paint, sanding rough areas and taping off the original paint scheme with masking tape. After some research I decided to go with a high gloss latex enamel paint from Sherwin Williams. The paint leveled quite well and was easy to clean up and after 5 years of use and outdoor storage it has aged remarkably. The paint holds wax well and is easily touched up. My first season I kissed a dock once or twice with my bow on accident, but the scratches were easily blended with a roller and still today the high gloss paint beams white and reflects off the water. I used run of the mill coast guard approved numbers for my the hull registration and they have faded over the years. Sanding the old adhesive off and repainting the area prior to adhering the new numbers. Again the paint blended great.

 

[zool]

The light blue on the cabin top goes quite well with the rest, imo looks good to me...

 

[sphelps]

^^^ +1 ^^^ ! Nice work LS7 ! Welcome aboard ! :welcome:

 

[redneck joe]

nice - i'm hoping to find one of those with a roof on. I might have the bug; just got this one.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...950118-1963-lone-star-medallion-all-16-of-fun

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

I have another 1960 Lone Star El Dorado that I hope to start work on next summer. It lacked some of the original parts like the seat brackets and and steering wheel, but I was able to locate those parts from another boat. If you search craigslist long enough you can find just about anything and most people won't turn down cash. It needs a new windshield, but UPD plastics has a mold for them, a little pricey at $450 but I will bite the bullet when I get that far along. Another Solid old boat that I hope to get back in the water one day.

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

So...When I buy these old Lone Star's I really only try to get them when they still have the original paint and parts on them, I just love their old style and try to keep them as original as possible. So when I found this 1959 Newport in Indiana when I was stationed there, I pulled the trigger fast. The boat was only $400 but had all the original parts and a solid trailer.

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

I pretty much painted this boat the same as other. Sanding and taping off the original paint scheme. The El Dorado I had to replace the wood floor as well, but this boat was a lot simpler, since its floor is just aluminum. The old seats I have yet to replicate. But having the original wood to replicate saves a lot of work. I wire brushed the trailer, which I believe to be homemade and through a coat of black paint on her and some better tires and wheels. She turned out great!

 

[LoneStar7]

No Title

So the little 14ft 1959 Lone Star Malibu "speed boats" made by Lone Star really grabbed my attention. They have very cool lines and while staying in Wisconsin for a few weeks with the Army I found one. It had all its emblems, the steering wheel, original paint and seats that and for only $300 and on a sweet old Balco trailer I was hooked. Boat was a haul to get to but i was able to get it back home to Ohio just fine. I haven't started on this one yet, but am hoping to make it my late summer project.

 

[Woodonglass]

I'm a LoneStar guy too! 1961 "Flamingo" I'd recommend you use Photobucket for your pics! They come out bigger and easier for all of us to see.

 

[monriverguy]

Nice collection of boats there Lone , I also love the Lone star boats i Have a 1962 malibu that i fish with every chance i can it was just a shell and a trailer when i found her i do have the windshield but no wheel so i just made her in to a tiller. I just got a 1959 Eldorado that i am trying to rebuild, hope i can learn many things from you and others on here. If you have any pics of the pulley steering on yours i would like to see it as i was hoping to keep mine too. thanks for sharing

 

[LoneStar7]

1961 Lone Star Bar Harbor project, found this up near Lake Placid in NY, asked the guy if it was for sale in an email and he replied back yes and all he wanted was $250 ! This is such a cool old boat and its really solid. I have had this in storage for a few years but am excited to one day soon start in on her. The 1960 and 1961 Bar Harbors are identical. This is a rarer boat and was only made for 4 years by Lone Star. It sits on an old Holsclaw tandem trailer and all the glass and windshields are pristine.

 

[LoneStar7]

Nice collection of boats there Lone , I also love the Lone star boats i Have a 1962 malibu that i fish with every chance i can it was just a shell and a trailer when i found her i do have the windshield but no wheel so i just made her in to a tiller. I just got a 1959 Eldorado that i am trying to rebuild, hope i can learn many things from you and others on here. If you have any pics of the pulley steering on yours i would like to see it as i was hoping to keep mine too. thanks for sharing

I ll try to take some pics of mine and send/post them to you. The key components are the bracket that mount to your outboard as well as using a pulley style steering wheel. The rest of the parts or pretty interchangeable. The steering technology has improved greatly over the years, but I don't like dismantling these old boats needlessly and the pulley steering works more than adequate for my needs. it does require some maintenance to insure the cables are taught but that is easily done.

 

[LoneStar7]

I bought this boat in Minnesota, the owner just couldnt sell it. He wanted $1000 for the boat and I was able to offset it with the sale of the motor so it ended up being a decent find for me. The Coronado is a stripped down version of the Malibu, with woods seats and a rear bench and the windshield was an option as opposed to being a standard feature like on the Malibu. This boat is super clean and is on an old Montgomery Ward boat trailer. Minnesota made for a long haul but my plan was to leave this boat at a Cabin my family owns. Its so light and easy to tow I thought it would make a nice addition to the fleet.

 

[LoneStar7]

This was actually the first boat I bought, a 1959 Lone Star Saratoga. I have kept it inside for a while. Its a nice utility model and I have hopes to run dual motors on it someday when I restore it.

 

[LoneStar7]

I found this boat on craigslist while I was in Afghanistan, no one wanted to pull the trigger on it and the gentleman finally agreed to hold it for me until my return if I paid his asking price of $1100.00. Its a 1959 Lone Star Cruiseliner, and is decked out with all the options that are still present. The cabin table, the head, the galley and sink and the sliding cabin door. That and its on its original Lone Star Trailer. It needs work but I m very excited about this old beauty. I m going to bring it home in the upcoming weeks and attempt to sand it down to see what the original paint colors were. It doesn't have the original steering wheel but I have an extra and I picked up an old 1959 Mercury Mark 78A in a short shaft, that I will run on this old boat. My father is excited about this one, so I may have a helper on this restoration. I ll post some better photos soon.

 

[redneck joe]

I ll try to take some pics of mine and send/post them to you. The key components are the bracket that mount to your outboard as well as using a pulley style steering wheel. The rest of the parts or pretty interchangeable. The steering technology has improved greatly over the years, but I don't like dismantling these old boats needlessly and the pulley steering works more than adequate for my needs. it does require some maintenance to insure the cables are taught but that is easily done.

Mine was upgraded but the pulleys are still in there.

 

[LoneStar7]

Just in case anyone wants to know the sticker prices on these old boats, I have a handful of pricelists. Here is the one from 59'