The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
I'm normally a motorcycle guy. Will trade motorcycle advice for boat restoration advice. :)

I purchased this boat when I was in school for $900 with the trailer and a 4-stroke 5-horse Honda motor. The motor was worth what I paid for the whole mess so I figured I was ahead from the beginning. I didn't mind the brushed-on latex paint or the oddly-sized trailer. We fished from it a few times only to discover that idle on the motor was too fast for trolling and mice got into the foam flotation inside the benches and tore it up. I had great plans of a quick, half-assed fix, throwing on a trolling motor, and going, but my big plans and nursing school got in the way. Now the boat's co-owner (my mom) is tasking me with completing the job for a first voyage sometime after ice-out.

It's a 16' aluminum. Built in the 60s, I think. Starcraft, maybe. I have the Honda and I also have an electric trolling motor. The boat is a shell, freshly sandblasted for $150.

I have no idea how to go about half of what I want to do. I have plush seats from a pontoon boat for the rear bench and the front bench for me and mom as both of us have terrible backs. It'll stay a tiller to decrease drama. It also needs a floor for my mom to walk on without breaking an ankle, rod holders, cup holders, and hopefully a downrigger mount.


Here it is, before sandblasting, and after I discovered that sandblasting was superior to removing the paint by hand:

before.0.jpg

before.1.jpg
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Benches are bent.
sand.seat.1.jpg


Way bent.
sand.seat.0.jpg


Replace transom?
sand.stern.jpg


Random fasteners throughout
sand.bow.jpg



The big, hairy question: Do I cut out the benches and deck the whole thing? My goal is to run both motors, so a box for a fuel tank and a battery are needed, I could make a center bench with a back to row from if I want to, and my mom wouldn't have to climb over seats. Heck, my 1-year-old could even tear around in the bottom. I could build in rod mounts and storage on the sides. How hard is it? Does this hull make decking more or less difficult? What's the learning curve on this stuff?
 

Woodonglass

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 29, 2009
Messages
25,924
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Welcome to iBoats!
Hopefully you had someone that knew what he was doing, blast the boat. It's not really a good thing to blast an aluminum boat!!:eek: Lot's of "Tin Boat" guys here on the forum and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to give you all the advice you can handle on what to do with her. Give them the specifics of what you want to do and they'll have the answers.

Good luck with your project.

WelcomeAboard.jpg
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Also, do I need to seal joints before painting? There are a few holes that I'll be filling first. I was going to leave it oxidized aluminum, but then I started looking at the painting threads here. Drama.
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Welcome to iBoats!
Hopefully you had someone that knew what he was doing, blast the boat. It's not really a good thing to blast an aluminum boat!!:eek: Lot's of "Tin Boat" guys here on the forum and I'm sure they'll be along shortly to give you all the advice you can handle on what to do with her. Give them the specifics of what you want to do and they'll have the answers.

Good luck with your project.

WelcomeAboard.jpg

Thanks for the welcome! It was a local (Colorado mountains) guy but he did a good job, and the aluminum is in awesome shape. I probably did more damage with my grinder trying to clear the paint. The skin is thick, so I'm not super worried. The hull seems to be in really good shape, I'm just stuck on how involved I want to get. Right now it's all alone in a 400 square foot garage. I can pretty much do whatever I want with it.
 

pckeen

Commander
Joined
Jun 20, 2012
Messages
2,067
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Hi,

The benches play a structural role on those boats, so I would be hesitant to cut them without putting in a structure that will hold the boat together.

In terms of the transom - yes it DEFINITELY needs to be replaced. Someone tried to save money by using offcuts of wood. Trouble is the transom needs to be a solid piece of plywood to bear the weight of the motor.
 

Teamster

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
1,923
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

I'll tag along,...........

Myself I would probably put it back the way it was built and go fishing,.......

That would be the fastest and most economical way in my opinion,.......
 

jbcurt00

Moderator
Staff member
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Oct 25, 2011
Messages
24,829
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

It's a LoneStar

It's supposed to have wood top benches, so at the hull, measure both ends of a bench & fab a seat that wide for the entire width of the boat. Push/pull the panels into the correct position to match that wooden bench seat. Seal the wood before installation. Epoxy, spar or paint. Epoxy will need to be covered to be protected from UV. It's not UV stable, but, IMO, the best sealer for wood in a tin boat. WoodOnGlass has a great DIY boiled linseed oil mix that should work great & be inexpensive comparatively. You can re-fill the seats w/ 1-2" rigid pink/blue insulation from HD/Lowes. If you can find any other places to sneak some flotation foam, I would:
10_1_11_Foamfinished.jpg


You don't have a lot of space for below deck insulation, but this ^^^ is how I'd fill the seat benches.

It's supposed to have a 'hoop' bracket at each end of every bench seat, from the top of the bench to the top of the gunwale:
DSCI0881_zps2decd523.jpg

LoneStar 16ft skipper ~ late 1950's-early 60's hull

Yes replace the transom:
DSCI1008_zpsc8ee5ef5.jpg

Use a 2 layers of exterior plywood (NOT pressure treated) laminated together w/ TiteBond3, and well sealed before installation. This ^^^ pix is to further reference that yours is a LoneStar, I know the pix is, and I wouldn't fab the transom as shown in the pix (multiple pieces in each layer). I'd use 2 layers, full width/height, to maximize their strength.

Deck (floor) may not be a straight forward, cut ply to fit & drop it in place. The hull has a slight cup to it, more at the bow, less at the stern.

What kind of a deck were you thinking? Permanent, removeable panels, plywood, teak??
 
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dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

It's a LoneStar

It's supposed to have wood top benches, so at the hull, measure both ends of a bench & fab a seat that wide for the entire width of the boat. Push/pull the panels into the correct position to match that wooden bench seat.
Deck (floor) may not be a straight forward, cut ply to fit & drop it in place. The hull has a slight cup to it, more at the bow, less at the stern.

What kind of a deck were you thinking? Permanent, removeable panels, plywood, teak??

Thanks!

What about using a rectangle to "slide" into the benches to reshape them? I was thinking of running a wood brace up the sides instead of those aluminum braces.

I was thinking of fitting plywood with hardwood runners for a removable floor. If I cut out the benches and decked it, it'd be using the benches (cut out) as brackets, making a frame with plywood and filling it in. It sounds too dramatic for my current situation though.

How critical is flotation? This boat will never see big water.
 
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jbcurt00

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Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

I don't think the bench sides are too far out of shape that they need to be reworked. Just get the flanges flat & fasten the benches to the flange. You'd be surprised how rigid those side pieces get after the bench top goes back on.
sand.seat.1.jpg


I think there should always be plenty of flotation added to a resto, as much as possible.

It's not a huge expense, it's not difficult to do, and as this boat's current caretaker, you might be confident in your ability to swim/stay afloat/make it to shore, but will all of your passengers? Or the next caretaker in your family? Or the future buyer's family. Stuff happens, and not always in ideal conditions close to the ramp or another boat that can lend support.

BTW: In many waterways in the US, it can get extremely expensive, extremely fast to recover a swamped boat. Esp those w/ gas motors.
 

jasoutside

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 20, 2009
Messages
13,269
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

I'll tag along,...........

Myself I would probably put it back the way it was built and go fishing,.......

That would be the fastest and most economical way in my opinion,.......

Yup, I'm with my buddy teamster for this project.

Welcome to iboats!:welcome:
 

jigngrub

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 19, 2011
Messages
8,155
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

I agree with JBcurt, you can never have too much floatation in a boat... floatation can mean the difference between life or death, especially when boating on cold water. Since your Mom is co-owner of the boat, I would never let my Mom go out in a boat of mine that lacked floatation.

I also agree that the benches will rework easily. Fill the benches with rigid polystyrene sheet foam insulation for floatation:
Owens Corning FOAMULAR 150 2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. R-10 Scored Squared Edge Insulation Board-45W at The Home Depot

Measure the width of the inside of your benches where they attach to the hull:

Cut slabs of foam at this dimension nice and straight and uniform and lay them inside the bench:


This will straighten the front and back sides of the benches that are pushed in and will help align the side that are pushed out when you fasten the seat tops on.

The top flange on the front and back sides of the benches can be adjusted easily by tapping up or down with a hammer and clamping when installing the wooden seat tops. All in all it'll be a pretty easy job and will turn out looking better than you may think right now.
 
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Teamster

Lieutenant Commander
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Nov 8, 2010
Messages
1,923
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

How critical is flotation? This boat will never see big water.

I've never drowned but I'm guessing it sucks,..............

Floatation foam is very important, In my opinion,.......
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

I've never drowned but I'm guessing it sucks,..............

Floatation foam is very important, In my opinion,.......
I tried it once, it wasn't that bad... :)

Point taken, foam will be added.

I agree with JBcurt, you can never have too much floatation in a boat... floatation can mean the difference between life or death, especially when boating on cold water. Since your Mom is co-owner of the boat, I would never let my Mom go out in a boat of mine that lacked floatation.

I also agree that the benches will rework easily. Fill the benches with rigid polystyrene sheet foam insulation for floatation:
Owens Corning FOAMULAR 150 2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. R-10 Scored Squared Edge Insulation Board-45W at The Home Depot

Measure the width of the inside of your benches where they attach to the hull:

Cut slabs of foam at this dimension nice and straight and uniform and lay them inside the bench:


This will straighten the front and back sides of the benches that are pushed in and will help align the side that are pushed out when you fasten the seat tops on.

The top flange on the front and back sides of the benches can be adjusted easily by tapping up or down with a hammer and clamping when installing the wooden seat tops. All in all it'll be a pretty easy job and will turn out looking better than you may think right now.
The pictures help a ton, thanks. This project just got way easier.
 

classiccat

"Captain" + Starmada Splash Of The Year 2020
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Dec 20, 2010
Messages
3,405
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

sweet boat dysco! :thumb:

She has alot of free-board for a 16'er...very nice!
 

glnbnz

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Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Messages
458
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Tagging along!
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Here is what I'm planning for the benches. Plank over the seat (over the foam) and then use a 3-sided plywood box to replace the aluminum brackets. I can throw a beverage inside the box and a rod holder on top. The wood should be substantially stronger than the old aluminum brackets.
seat.bracket.jpg


Should I worry about this plug?
plug.jpg


Replace this hardware and stuff like it with stainless?
stern.handle.jpg


In the two center sections, I was thinking about this:
decking.jpg

Bolting a board to each bench in the two center sections, then running boards across and using plywood over the top. This will let me mount chairs on a post, and allow my mom to get around the boat easier. Is this a generally terrible idea? I can rest boards on the aluminum to spread the weight out.
 

laurentide

Lieutenant Commander
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Jul 24, 2011
Messages
1,869
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Cool old boat. The only thing I have to add is that I don't think that Honda 5 hp will get this boat on plane, though I could be wrong. I checked one of these out a few weeks back to maybe pick up as a kicker, and it was louder and shook more than my 2 stroke twin cylinder 4 hp. If you can find a 9.9 or 15 hp 2 stroke it will be a much better match. You could probably sell/trade your 4 stroke for a higher hp 2 stroke. Just my $0.02...good luck with the project!
 

dysco

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Messages
45
Re: The whole shebang. 16' aluminum shell to fishing machine.

Finally, how should I seal this thing before painting? I'm going to buy a harbor freight sprayer and go for it.
 
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