'59 Lonestar Nassau 16' speedboat

I finally got actual approval from SWMBO about a project (rather than her shaking her head and saying "Do what you want....") The catch? It had to be a boat. So I bought this:

It's a 1959 Lone Star "Nassau", 16ft aluminum. Not pictured is the 35hp Evinrude Big Twin that came with it, and will be going back on it (at least for the time being). Short term, the plan is to replace the transom (which is the only wood in the boat, as far as I can tell), clean it up a bit, get the motor running, rig up some seats, and go have some fun. This winter I plan on repainting it,reupholstering it, and (possibly) repowering it with the engine and jet pump out of a PWC. We'll see what happens.

That is a kool boat! It would look good behind my Volvo P1800 on the way to the lake.

Very cool.

Color me jealous. That has the potential to be a beautiful rig.

If you're gonna put a jet drive in a 16ft aluminum boat, do it right and use one that a LSx bolts to.

Neat boat. Does the outboard run OK? That era of Evinrude/Johnson motors had a common issue of the coils cracking but you can get good replacements from various sources.

that is flat bottom enough for a Jet, but I would rather stick a pad on the bottom and go outboard if you still want to go fast...

As far as flooring you could put down aluminum and then add a thin rubber mat for sound deadening and comfort.

Or go to some sort of plastic flooring. No matter what you choose you are going to have to mitigate the sound or the spouse will be angry

for the transom if you are going to jet it, just aluminum plate the transom, if you think you will ever rehang and out board do aluminum, closed cell structural foam board, then aluminum.

Cool buy looks like a fun and easy project.

My family had a Fiberglas Lone Star sailboat that we passed around for many, many years. Durable sonofabitch. Company was based near Dallas, but went out of business ages ago. Have fun!

neat, we have a 1966 26' Lone Star Cruiseliner.

The outboard doesn't run, but it's not stuck and appears to be all there. The guy I bought it from said it "just needs a carb kit"...you know, like everything carbureted that's not running right now does. I know jack about outboards, but I'm gonna take a look at it next weekend to see if I can get it running. From what I've read so far, they're not terribly complex.

In reply to psteav:

It probably needs a carb kit, water impeller, the ignition system gone through and the lower end oil changed.

I've got an outboard stand I built and a big plastic tank that you can test it with.

The carburetors should be very simple, I assume. Clean and replace some gaskets and o-rings should have them back in shape.

Once you get it upright, check the lower end oil to see if it has water in it (I bet it does). If so, it will need to be resealed.

I've played with my little 6 hp Johnson/Evinrudes enough to be confident to help you figure this one out!

And that terra cotta-colored house in the background looks like it must be owned by some really cool folks.

This looks similar-but-different from yours:

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-repair-and-restoration/boat-restoration-building-and-hull-repair/547852-my-first-boat-project-1960-lonestar-malibu/page2

Will your transom replacement go that easily? I think you mentioned it has Knee braces (from the transom forward to the floor/stringers).

Inspirational fodder:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/metal-boat-building/lone-star-boat-40903.html

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-repair-and-restoration/boat-restoration-building-and-hull-repair/523311-1958-lone-star-nassau-restore-underway

I also like the feathercraft boats too!

Nothing useful to add, but my dyslexic brain read this as a 59' boat and just about 'sploded. I opened expecting a monster cruiser.

I wish this would quit getting bumped. I do not need a boat...

Bump.

nokincy wrote: I wish this would quit getting bumped. I do not need a boat...

Time for an it's been a day since the last bump bump...

""

I say it's time for an "I moved it to a garage where I can work on it" update. yeah?!

In reply to nokincy:

Boats are fun!

*if and only if you have zero financial responsibility for them

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

Truth. Bring all the updates then!

Boat projects can be cheap compared to car projects, but require a lot of manual labor.

If you need some suggestions on how to do the transom, I can point you in a few directions. Its not much harder, just costs a little more, to do it right and have it last 40+yrs vs. 5+yrs using Home Depot materials.

I would keep that boat as an outboard. If not stuck, there is only so much that can go wrong on an engine like that.

Disappointing-update-time!

Finally got space in the garage cleared, got the boat over, borrowed Clem's outboard stand, and started digging in. The good news is that tune up parts are WAAAY cheaper than I had expected. I got a carb kit, lower unit bearings and seals, points, condensors, and coils, and a water pump impeller for $68.00 shipped.

The bad news is I after I pressure washed the gunk off of the outside and let the motor sit for a week, it would no longer turn over on the starter rope. E36 M3. Fogged the cylinders with Seafoam, pulled the recoil starter off, got out the breaker bar, and turned it over by hand, and it broke loose without much difficulty and turned smoothly through several revolutions.

Put the starter back on, got out the compression tester, and started testing. 1st cylinder 35 lbs, 2nd cylinder 65 pounds. Double E36 M3.

At this point, I'm trying to figure out whether its stuck rings and carbon gunk, or if it needs a rebuild. I don't think it makes sense to sink the money into rebuilding it if that is what it needs...I'd rather pony up for a known-good outboard in the 60-80 hp range. In the meantime, It's gonna get some Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders tomorrow and sit with the cylinders pointed up for a couple of days. I'm open to suggestion if anyone else has any good ideas (or any 60-80 hp short-shaft outboards they'd like to cut loose of).

In the boat department, we've got most of the mulch and funk cleaned out, and have bought materials to build seats. The gf has decided to do most of the heavy lifting in that department...I think she's more excited about this thing than I am.

Put this motor on yours, sell off the excess?

http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/boa/4646056751.html

60 hp for $300.

http://columbiamo.craigslist.org/boa/4608887366.html