TOPIC: 1960 Lone Star Holiday

I'm helping a friend modernize his outdated Lone Star closed bow utility runabout. It's a deep semi-V, 16' long with a 76" beam:

The first order of business was to cut out the covered bow that wastes lots of good deck and storage space:

Then there's the old timey box seat bases:

Gone:

The start of the front deck framing:

We're using .063 ga. 1-1/2" extruded aluminum angle.

We're also using 3/4" tongue and groove subflooring for the decking. This board has no core voids and a 50 yr. warranty against delamination. We're fairing and sealing the decking with epoxy resin and SM fairing compound:

After the first coat of resin we fair (fill) the rough surface with the compound to smooth it out:

After a2 coats of fairing compound and 2 coats of resin we get this:

We're also installing lots of floatation foam:

We're using both polystyrene sheet foam and 2 part expanding urethane foam:

There's already about 2-1/2 4'x8'x2" sheets of polystyrene and 2 cubic feet of expanding urethane foam in just the bow area.

Here's the front deck framing completed:

... and with the storage divider and support bulkheads installed:

I blacked out the hatch openings and the red dot will be the pedestal seat base for clarity:

Still lots of work to do with installing the main deck, steering console and the rear deck, I'll update as we proceed.

Mind if I tag along?

Looks like a stout deck subframe, nice work.

You should check your emails & PMs....

I hate seeing a classic aluminum boat being molested.

VinTinFan wrote:

I hate seeing a classic aluminum boat being molested.

Damn fine work, but I agree. My father-in-law has a 1966 Lone Star Mustang and I would never dream of cutting it, but to each his own.

Frederic

VinTinFan wrote:

I hate seeing a classic aluminum boat being molested.

I usually agree.

Unfortunately it was convert or scrap if I remember this discussion elsewhere, correctly and IIRC it had already suffered some mods, from the current & former owners.

jbcurt00 wrote:

Mind if I tag along?

Looks like a stout deck subframe, nice work.

You should check your emails & PMs....

Thanks!

Don't see any new emails or PM's, maybe try again.

VinTinFan wrote:

I hate seeing a classic aluminum boat being molested.

Look!!!... over yonder, a BUNNY!!!

If you don't like what I'm doing to this tinny, you'll probably have a stroke when you see what I do to my '67 MFG Corvette!

Stay Tuna-ed.

jigngrub,

Truthfully a Holiday isn't anything like rare & every one that is "re-muddled" makes the remaining stock ones more valuable.
(The "going price" of stock but in need of restoration LS Holiday on a usable trailer around San Antonio/Austin is about 600.oo or less.)

Thus you aren't ruining a national treasure & it IS your boat..

yours, satx

Really just checking in after you were MIA since mid-Sept...

Sent an email thru here and a couple PMs @the other joint...

Might ought to keep that hybrid, way out restructuring plan for the glass boat under wraps. Don't want anyone's head to exploded before you go crazy w/ the saws and the mixed materials you intend to use

Yeah not a big fan of heavy modifications unless the boat was pretty much toast to begin with. But gain it's your boat, well his boat......

Bob

satx78247 wrote:

jigngrub,

Truthfully a Holiday isn't anything like rare & every one that is "re-muddled" makes the remaining stock ones more valuable.
(The "going price" of stock but in need of restoration LS Holiday on a usable trailer around San Antonio/Austin is about 600.oo or less.)

Thus you aren't ruining a national treasure & it IS your boat..

yours, satx

Yeah, nowhere near a national treasure and it was purchased considerably cheaper than the "going price" in your area.

She has a few lumps and bumps, but not bad at all for a 55 yr. old boat.

I figured there'd be a few folks that wouldn't like the removal of the bow cover, but the bow covers of that era boat only served the purpose od hiding the cables and pulleys of the antiquated steering system and nothing else.

As you can see, removing the bow cover on this boat opened up a large area of deck space and will provide and enormous amount of storage area below. I'll take function over form any day.

... and removing a bow cover may be more work, time, and money than a lot of people want to spend and they're satisfied with just sitting down in one spot in the boat and riding around on the water... which is fine if that's all you want to do. But to me a boat gets smaller and smaller the less you can move around in it over a few hours time.

I think most people will like this build when it's finished, maybe even some of the "purists".

While I'm a fan of originality, I will say that you guys are giving very nice form AND function. Done correctly, I bet some people will ask, "Did they make them like that at the factory?"

UPDATE:

Got some more work done on the tin can:

Hung the side console

More foam below the main deck.

Laid the main decking in and starting the rear deck design.

Main deck installed and fastened with pedestals laid out and T-nuts below for fasteners.

Rear deck framed with bulkheads.

Rear deck design, hatches blacked out, red is pedestal seat, and blue is 2 swivel seat bases.

Should get the front and rear deck tops in soon and then it'll really start to look like something.

Looks like its going to be a nice build. The only thing I would question the use of particle board, even though you are sealing it. It has a 50 year guarantee when used as a flooring product, inside the house. A quality marine plywood would perhaps be a better choice and lighter overall.
Just my 2 cents, I like the build.

Looks good jig, nice work.

Have a great week, look forward to seeing the rest come together.

BTW: You are noticeably missed around the old joint.....

Got the rear deck put together today:

Going to work on the front deck tomorrow.

Not to jump too far ahead, but not going w/ exposed rivets thru nautolex on the decks?

Layout looks nice.

jbcurt00 wrote:

Not to jump too far ahead, but not going w/ exposed rivets thru nautolex on the decks?

Layout looks nice.

No Nautolex on this build, Dave is going with a 2 part (urethane or epoxy I don't know which) textured bedliner sprayed over rivets and decking. Rivets will be visible in cased they ever need to be removed to remove the decking.

Bedliner over top of the 4 coats of epoxy sealer should make for an extremely durable finish.

Is there access to the inside of the hull for future rivet work?

VinTinFan wrote:

Is there access to the inside of the hull for future rivet work?

Below deck access can be gained by drilling the heads off the rivets holding the decking down. When all rivet heads are removed the decking will lift out unharmed. When below deck work is finished lay the same decking back down and install new rivets. Simple.