1958 Lonestar Malibu

[bunker108]

I redid a 1973 Starcraft 18’ SS with a tower of power years ago. Sold that for a 1998 Caravelle 188, 4.3 Volvo SX. Sold that a few years ago and have been pretty inactive in boating since. That is until me and a buddy got our hands on a 1958 Lonestar Malibu. We are almost done restoring this boat so I thought I’d start posting some pictures!

 

[bunker108]

 

[bunker108]

This is how we found her.

 

[TankerDan]

Cool, I have an early 60's 12ft Lonestar aluminum row boat I stripped down and repainted a couple of years ago. I use it on our local lakes for trout fishing.

 

[bunker108]

Gutted and sand blasted.

 

[bunker108]

So much sanding. And then more sanding. And then sand again. And then when you think your done you have to sand at least 4 more times.

 

[Meames1]

That is cool.

 

[jbcurt00]

What are you using for filler?

 

[bunker108]

I believe we used a standard automotive aluminum bondo. Boat was primered, sanded some more and hung for paint.

 

[bunker108]

Backing up just a bit. The initial work in this boat was a mad dash trying to get it done for a Lake Powell trip. We had about a week to try and finish it for the trip. Needless to say we didn’t make it. Here is transom, version 1. It didn’t stay in the boat. More on that later.

 

[bunker108]

Painted and reunited with the freshened up trailer.

 

[bunker108]

Had my kid help me throw an impeller and carb kit at the 33hp Johnson long shaft. Rehung it on the boat and she fired right up. Then we changed the gear oil.

 

[bunker108]

I made some floor mats and cut some wood for the seats. I actually sealed all the wood this time. Learned that lesson the hard way. Then I took the boat back to the shop to start doing the interior. The boat project was on a fairly normal trajectory up to this point...but things were about to change quickly! Stay tuned.

 

[bunker108]

I dropped the boat off at the shop and some time goes by. Then I get a call that the boat is back in the booth and I need to come look at it. For the record my buddy who asked me to help with this project owns a shop which has made all of this possible. There is no way I could have a accomplished any of this on my own.

 

[bunker108]

Interior was next...and wow! It came out better than I ever could have imagined. All stainless staples and hardware should help longevity. You can see the quick boat resto has changed course. What started as a cheap boat for the kids to cruise or to run trash from camp to the marina has morphed into something else entirely.

 

[bunker108]

It was at this point that we realized that old tilt trailer was not suitable for several hundred mile tows to the the lake so I picked up this little trailer from the local RV/Marine shop. Then we started eyeballing that old Johnson Seahorse...

 

[bunker108]

The hunt was on for a modern outboard. New Mexico is not exactly a great place to find an outboard engine that fit the bill. My buddy had a line on a 40hp Mercury 4 stroke and pulled the trigger. It became painfully obvious that our hastily installed transom would not be up to that task of holding this modern beast! So the boat was gutted once again and plans were hatched to replace and reinforce the transom. And since it was getting torn down the interior came back out to also paint the interior of the boat.

 

[bunker108]

Transom version 2.0, Coosa board and more aluminum. He also added a lower transom to catch the lower mounting bolts on the bracket. This transom is solid and should last forever.

 

[Meames1]

That should scoot. Looks great, really like the blue.

 

[sphelps]

Very cool ! The paint though not original looks amazing and fits nicely .
Nothing like the dependability of a new motor ..Looks big for that boat .
Maybe not ,idk ... A 56 or 57 vintage short shaft merc would have been awesome to find for it ..
Cant wait to see it running on the lake !