1958 Lonestar Holiday bowfishing/hunting conversion

[josher3006]

After a couple of years lurking, and a few upsets in my 12' semi v, I decided to go the larger route. Found a great deal on a 1958 lonestar holiday for $150 including trailer. Boat is in great shape with only one real dent in her. I really like this hull shape, flat in the back, but shallow V in the front. Here are some pics of her. Plan is to take off all the old paint to get her ready for a camo paint job, new transom, floor, and new benches. This was originally a console steer but I will convert to tiller set up for more space

 

[IwanaFish]

Never seen a boat like that. That is cool looking. Should be real stable.

Lonny

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Is that an old Cadillac?

 

[bigwave]

Is that an old Cadillac?

That's funny, I thought the same thing. I say you turn that old tin into the batmobile. POW!!!!!!POOF!!!!!!BAM!!!!!dunnanana

 

[josher3006]

Got to working on the boat again this weekend. Picked up a 2X12 to serve as a transom, got it cut to fit, removed the rivets on the reinforcement panel to allow the new one to go in. For the transom, I first epoxied and laid mat on the edges of the transom, then placed a layer of mat/resin over the face. That was followed up with a sand colored camo paint to protect the epoxy from UV. Here are some pics:


If you dont believe in the evils of pressure treated wood, here are some pics of my experience firsthand. Some of this corrosion made pinholes in the transom


Here it is all fitted and bed with 5200....now the waiting for it to cure begins.

This week I will be working on fitting and fiberglassing the floor.

 

[josher3006]

Over the weekend the plan is to paint the boat. Right now I am thinking of using the rustoleum spay etching primer, then covering that with several coats of the parker duck boat paints in olive drab color. Any advice or tips on this? After reading through the posts, the self etching primer seems the way to go.

Also, the floor is going in. It is going to be 5/8 sandply, exterior grade with 3 coats of resin to seal it up. After the resin, it will be painted to protect against U.V. Anyone got any ideas on how to make it a nonslip? I was thinking of putting some nonslip compound they use on sailboats in the final coat of resin and then painting over that.

Lastlt, on the bottom side of the floor, any thoughs seal it, or leave it with just a spar urethane finish to "breathe" thanks in advance for any help on this.

 

[josher3006]

Got a lot of work done on the boat over the weekend.

First sanded and put on three coats of West epoxy on the 1/2 inch exterior ply that will serve as a floor. After the final coat of epoxy was applied, I took a sand blast gun and sprayed a layer of sand over the tacky epoxy. Then let it cure up over night .

Boat was primed with the Rusto self-etching primer, then used a can of satin hunter green Rusto and a can of flat brown Rusto. It was mixed about 50-50 and reduced 15% with acetone. Sprayed the whole boat down



Also I sprayed down the floor boards with the mixture of paint. If you look close you can see the textured surface from the non skid that was stuck in the epoxy layer.



After that dried, I was able to fit the floor in the hull. I used self tapping stainless screws to secure the floor to the bulkheads.



I'll be heading to Lake Cumberland for this weekend to try and get on some stripers. Hopefully she will be ready for water by then. I will use the rest of the summer to finish her, but want to get her in a usable condition as soon as possible!

 

[Kismet]

That's wonderful !

There's a similar boat up here for sale for $300. I keep going to the ad, then coming back to reality, then, of course, going back to the ad. Lonestar holiday, eh? hmmm.

I will live vicariously through your efforts, if that's all right?

'Course, I was thinking of Buck Rodger's star ship's treatment...shiny aluminum outside, sharkhide coated, and creature comforts inside.


Very nice.

Thank you.

 

[josher3006]

Boat did great on Cumberland....The 25hp moved the boat nicely with 4 people aboard. No problems getting her up on plane. No leaks. It was, however, apparent that the boat needed some additional reinforcing to replace the seat benches that were removed. Pounding over waves made both sides of the boat flex. Time for Phase two...Decks and benches.

First order of business will be the front casting deck. It will be approximately 58" by 58." Hoepfully this will be plenty of room for one guy, with the occasional two person load. I planned on doing aluminum for the framing for the many reasons people have debated on this board, aluminum is just better. The cost was huge at the local box stores until I went direct to a local supplier who sells to the public. I walked out with 32' of 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 x 1/8 and 32' of 1 x 1 x 1/8 for a grand total of 119.00. Approximately 1/4 the price of what it would have cost at Lowes.

Here are pics of the front deck framing going in....It is all held with solid aircraft rivets. Thankfully, my brother is a sheetmetal tech for the Air Force and is a pro with the rivet gun. If anyone has any questions on using solid rivets he can answer them!

 

[josher3006]

And I believe we have a name for this vessel...By popular demand....The BASSMOBILE!!!!

Decals to follow.

 

[bryguy]

I will add that with four ppl in that boat, it is super stable!

 

[JGibson]

My trailer and your boat would look great together :wink:

 

[josher3006]

I like that trailer! Those fenders look like they came off an airplane. My boat already has the wings, it would be great together.

 

[Brandon]

I really like the idea of using solid rivets but have NO clue on how to install them or what tools are needed. Nice looking boat you got there!

 

[josher3006]

Got some more work done on the front deck, just some more bracing etc...Also got the rear supports for the bench/deck that will go in the back. Finished cutting/fitting the wood for the front and rear decks. Just have to coat with epoxy and paint. Hopefully, will get all that done by this weekend so Saturday can be a day of trying things out on the boat rather than working on it!


Here is the finished framing for the front and rear deck


Close up of the rear bench support


Close up of the front deck, it measures 58"x58" roughly.

 

[josher3006]

Brandon, my brother is on here so he may chime in, but to put in solid rivets you need a air hammer and the proper rivet set (steel punches to go in the air hammer that correspond to the size of the rivet you are putting in), and a bucking bar (basically a large piece of steel that flattens the other end of the rivet) you can use a large hammer for a bucking bar in a pinch, but a real bucking bar helps get in tight spots.

Nice thing about solid rivets is they are way stonger than "pop" rivets, and installed properly they are waterproof. My brother tells me that there is a sealing compound the rivet is dipped in before installing when you want a rivet that is rated for pressurized aircraft cabins. For this purpose (boats) just installing a rivet will be waterproof, no need to seal it.

Any other questions just ask, I was first intimidated by the whole process but after learning from my brother, they are easy to install, and way cheaper than stainless bolts most people use to install framing. It really is something anyone can do with the proper tools.

 

[bryguy]

Just to add on to that, the rivets may not hold up well against higher pressures (unless they are sealed), but for this application, they are plenty watertight as long as they are installed correctly. As far as the rivets go, keeping it really simple, you will want to use universal aka "button head" solid aluminum rivets. We have been using -5 (5/32) and -6 (6/32 (3/16)) rivets and so far have not needed anything else. You will want a couple different lengths of each size rivets, for instance, we have 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 6-5, and 6-6 (lengths are in 1/16ths of an inch) to allow for different grip depths (material thicknesses) i.e. extrusion to extrusion or extrusion to hull. As a very generalized rule, for the rivet sizes we are working with, you will want the rivet to protrude through the hole about 1/8" (too short won't be as strong and too long with lay over when hammered). The rule for how much to compress the "shop head" of the rivet is Finished Diameter= 1.5*Original diameter (this can really just be eyeballed). So once you get it all setup, hammer 'em out. make sure to apply equal pressure on the the rivet gun and the bucking bar so as not to deform your base material.

WEAR SAFETY GLASSES AND HEARING PROTECTION (IT IS EXTREMELY LOUD!!!)
Tools:
air compressor and hose
drill: battery/corded/air (reversible air drills are very convenient and i picked one up for $15 at harbor freight)
air hammer("rivet gun") - $10 harbor freight
Rivet sets (punches)- picked up a set of 5 (3/32,4/32,5/32,/6/32,countersunk) for about $18 on Amazon
Bucking bar - $15 Amazon
Rivets- you will probably have to order them online (i couldn't find them anywhere else)
layout & fitting tools - speed square, clamps, vice grips, tape, etc....


well that was alot longer than i originally planned, guess i got carried away. hope this helps somebody build up the courage to try it.

 

[DJBombar]

Loving this build already!!!!!! I really like the color.

Dave

 

[Hammy]

Josh, I have one of those Batman trailers in excellent shape with almost news tires and working lights for sale.

Hammy

 

[josher3006]

Worked on the boat over the weekend. Finished cutting and fitting the front deck, and rear bench seat. First made a template out of cardboard box from a water heater. Cut out the plywood parts, then sealed the plywood with two coats of epoxy. When the second coat of epoxy was still tacky I sprayed some sand in it with the sandblaster to make it non-skid like the floor. After that I shot it with a couple coats of the mixed rustoleum. As that dried, I used a scotchbrite pad to rough up the inside gunnels that would show after the deck was put in. Then I shot on a couple of coats of dead grass ultra flat paint. I got this at my local Gander Mtn. it is made by hunter's specialties, and compares to the Parker duck boat paints a lot of people use, but it is cheaper. Here are some pics



Front deck non-skid'd and painted



Rear bench non skid'd and painted, and the front part of the front deck --it had to be done in two pieces



Inside of boat painted.

Hopefully I get the seat deck plates cut out and secured, and then the floor and deck can be anchored back in sometime this week.