Boat Work Trade for Boat!

[jigngrub]

So I met forum member hadaveha back in the spring on this site and he just lives a few minutes down the road from me.

David shares our passion for boats and is a verifiable MBS case, but not just any boat will do for this guy. He has a certain criteria they have to meet, they have to be 1. Old
2. Inexpensive
3. Must show a certain amount of rot and decay

David has grown partial to one of his boats in particular, a pretty nice 1960 Lone Star runabout tinny and wants to reconfigure it to better suit his needs and asked me if I'd help. Since I love working on boats, it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

The overall design is still in the planning stages right now, but he has decided he wants to cut out the closed bow and put in a raised deck with storage below and a pedestal seat. We started cutting out the closed bow today:

After making a bunch of racket and aluminum shavings with a jig saw, grinder, and sawsall we ended up with this:

The red line indicates where the top of the new deck will be. The crossbeams you see won't be removed until the new deck framing is installed for support.

In the planning stages are:
1. Raising the main deck 1 1/2" or so to remove a step-up in the forward area.
2. Center console or maybe side console, we're still looking at that
3. A smaller rear deck and new transom wood
4. Floatation foam

The lack of floatation foam in this boat is typical to the decade it was built in. the largest concentration of foam I've been able to find in this boat was under the covered bow:

2 billets about 12" wide x about 4' long, and 4" thick suspended under the closed bow for a floatation value of about 160 lbs. of floatation.:faint2: There's a little more foam in a couple of other spots and with some luck we might make it all the way up to 250 lbs. worth.

So in exchange for all of this back breaking labor I'm fixin' to put forth, David has agreed to part with one of his vintage treasures:

A 1967 MFG Corvette CV 15 with a 1967 Merc 650

It has a little soft spot in the floor:

David with his hand over the soft spot.


David making a hole in the fiberglass cloth with his hand.


David digging through the tiny bit of mulch in the small soft spot with his hand.

EDIT - Inflammatory remarks removed.

... but first we need to get the Lone Star in good shape, so stay tuna-ed.

 

[jc55]

Nice dude! Great documentation and pics. Following along...

 

[Woodonglass]

:facepalm: xxxx

 

[GA_Boater]

jigngrub and Woodonglass - check your PMs.

 

[Watermann]

I can see some good times in the future for the old Lone Star :thumb:

Besides, she needs to be back out on the waves and away from all those nasty rotten glassers :lol:

 

[jigngrub]

Nice dude! Great documentation and pics. Following along...

Thanks jc, I hope you enjoy my thread as much as I have enjoyed yours!

I can see some good times in the future for the old Lone Star :thumb:

Besides, she needs to be back out on the waves and away from all those nasty rotten glassers :lol:

The Lone Star is a fine vessel!

... but I gotta had it to David, he doesn't discriminate when it comes to old boats, he has just as many glassers as he has tinnies.

 

[sphelps]

From tin snips to respirators ... op2:

 

[jigngrub]

From tin snips to respirators ... op2:

The best and worst of both worlds eh!?ainkiller:

... maybe I'll fuse them together and put removable "floors" in the MFG.:whoo:

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Both projects look like fun. It should be an interesting experience to tag along. op2:

I just got paid a case of beer for repairing the BIL's yoke on his canoe....maybe some day I'll be able to barter boat work in trade for a boat too :congratulatory:

 

[nurseman]

Following along, looks interesting.

 

[UConnMRB]

I will be following. Should be fun.

 

[Ned L]

Looks like a nice project. I will point out/ask if you have thought about what you are doing to the stability of the boat by raising everything (center of gravity). Especially the foredeck. Have you ever tried standing on the foredeck of a small runabout?? Not particularly fun. Just something to think about.

 

[jigngrub]

Looks like a nice project. I will point out/ask if you have thought about what you are doing to the stability of the boat by raising everything (center of gravity). Especially the foredeck. Have you ever tried standing on the foredeck of a small runabout?? Not particularly fun. Just something to think about.

Have you ever stood on the foredeck of a Tracker TX 17? This boat is actually bigger than one of those. The Tracker is narrower.

The Lone Star is a semi V, V at the bow but a flat bottom at the transom. It should do well with the casting deck, and the deck will provide considerable more deck space that was wasted with the closed bow.

The bow deck will also make the boat easier to board now too, before you had to climb way down from the dock onto the main deck (a pretty good drop when the water is down), now you can step from the dock to the foredeck and then step down onto the main deck.

 

[saginawbayboater]

The proverbial "Little Soft Spot"! Awesome stuff Jig. I'll be tagging along. Cool boats! :couch2:opcorn:

 

[Ned L]

You are not getting what I am saying. This may work out fine for you, however, ..... This boat has a decent amount of flare up forward so the beam at the waterline under the foredeck is much narrower than the fordeck itself, also, the new 'deck' you are planning on installing is higher above the water than the deck of a Tracker TX 17 (both things are working against you). There ia a reason the Tracker has a very square shape with almost no flare up forward and a low (above the waterline) deck. With the Tracker you are effectively standing on a rectangular box, with the Lone Star you are effectively standing on an upside down triagle. There is a reason some boats are designed as they are, it's not all just about looks. ......... Just saying.....

 

[zool]

You are not getting what I am saying. This may work out fine for you, however, ..... This boat has a decent amount of flare up forward so the beam at the waterline under the foredeck is much narrower than the fordeck itself, also, the new 'deck' you are planning on installing is higher above the water than the deck of a Tracker TX 17 (both things are working against you). There ia a reason the Tracker has a very square shape with almost no flare up forward and a low (above the waterline) deck. With the Tracker you are effectively standing on a rectangular box, with the Lone Star you are effectively standing on an upside down triagle. There is a reason some boats are designed as they are, it's not all just about looks. ......... Just saying.....

Same principle as a surf board, ya cant hang ten on a shredder or big gun, u need a wide, flat nose on a long board.....

 

[saginawbayboater]

Same principle as a surf board, ya cant hang ten on a shredder or big gun, u need a wide, flat nose on a long board.....

:boink::thumb:

 

[pckeen]

Like what you are doing with this. To echo what Ned is saying, I've stood on the front of my 18' Holiday closed bow - you need to balance yourself there, as the boat will shift considerably at rest. You can do it, but you need to be careful. I would think you can put the deck in, but if you lower it from the planned red-line, or alternatively put in a bow seat there, you will find it will be more stable.

Having said that, it's starting to look like a long cold winter up here, and I'm waiting to get my boat back from the Welders, so in the meanwhile....opcorn: