1962 Lone Star Malibu

[enginerd]

I'm new around here and thought I might make a quick introductory post. I came into possession of what I’ve deduced is a 1962 Lone Star Malibu about a year ago. The serial number is 23410061, which the internet tells me (Would the internet lie to me?) indicates the following. The leading digit is supposedly the last digit of the year, hence a 2 indicates 1962 since the Malibu was only in production from 1958 to 1963. The 341 is common to Malibues (How exactly does one write the plural of Malibu?), but there is no documentation on exactly what those numbers represented. The remaining five digits are the production number for the boat, hence 0061 means my Malibu is the 61st Malibu built in 1962. Another tipoff, I can also barely make out the name Malibu on the name plate on the dash and looking at paint schemes in old brochures seems to point to 1962. The trailer title said 1967 and the 18HP Evinrude Fastwin is a 1968. Unfortunately, Colorado doesn’t title boats, so I don’t have any documentation on the boat itself. My guess would be that someone repowered it in 1968 and got it fixed up, either to sell or after buying it. The trailer is not original to the boat, it’s actually a Sea King from Montgomery-Wards.

As you can see from the photos, the boat was in pretty rough shape. My aunt and uncle purchased it in 1985 and only used it a few times that first year; it still has the 85 registration stickers on it. After that it set in a field beside their house slowly going to seed. A nasty windstorm ripped off the cover and did in the windshield at the same time and after that the boat was fully exposed to the elements. My cousins got it running a hand full of times over the last 30-years and took it out on a private lake, but I think the last time it was run was over 10-years ago. I purchased the boat from my aunt without any knowledge of its history; just knowing it as the cool aluminum boat with fins that was sitting by her house. I traded her a few hundred dollars’ worth of window air conditioners for the boat, since I thought I could use another project (in related news I’m looking for someone that could add some holes to my skull).

Prior to hauling it out here (Washington) from Colorado, I did complete a few minor items on the trailer (like installing new lights, replacing the 30-year old tires, and replacing the wheel bearings) to make it road worthy. I also removed some excess weight in the form of the rotten seats, various rat’s nests, a few hornet nests, and the 18-HP Evinrude Fastwin; I knew I was going to be repowering the boat to get it up on plane and didn’t see much use to hauling the Fastwin across the country.

My plan is to do a full restoration and repower it with a little larger engine…on a budget. I don’t want to sink much more than $1-2,000 into it when all is said and done…and if I do my wife might make me live in the boat. I have a fair bit of maritime and mechanical background, but this will be the first aluminum boat I have owned. We’ll see how it goes.

 

[Steve A W]

Enginerd
Welcome to tin boats!
It looks like you've got a neat project there.
Good Luck with her.

Steve A W

 

[Kismet]

Welcome and best wishes!!!

(I wudda kept the 18hp, but I've got a soft spot for that engine.)

Please keep us up-to-date on your efforts. You certainly have a clean slate to work your magic on.

=D>

 

[enginerd]

You certainly have a clean slate to work your magic on.

I don't know how clean the slate is, but a pressure washer will probably help. I'll be sure to post more pictures to show my progress...or lack there of.

I purchased a 33-hp Evinrude Ski-twin off of Craigslist that I think might give her the right get up and go for my purposes. It will need a little bit of a minor cosmetic refurbishment since some previous owner took a spray can to it and put Boston Whaler stickers all over, but seems to run very well. If you like the 18-hp fastwin, you're in luck as I happen to have one for sale in Southern Colorado, but it hasn't run in a few years.

 

[enginerd]

Welcome to tin boats!

Thanks for the welcome Steve A W.

 

[enginerd]

Here are a few photos from after I removed some dead weight before towing it 1,500 miles. A slightly cleaner slate:

I've been working on the stripping the boat and fixing up the trailer the past couple weeks, so more pictures to come.

 

[Steve A W]

Lookin better already :!: :!:

 

[enginerd]

Well, here are a few updated photos from the work over the last couple weeks.

I decided to start with the trailer, which was a later addition to the boat (it’s a Montgomery-Ward Sea King and is about 6-years newer than the boat). Unfortunately, the winch mount and bow stop were too high for the boat. The previous owner had added a bow eye to the very top of the bow to get a better angle with the winch. I decided to take a cutting wheel to the mounting post and shorten it about 8-inches, which allowed me to line things up with the original bow eye placement.

I dismantled the trailer and sanded down the paint to clean up as much of the minor surface rust as I could; I treated the particularly bad patches with Rust-mort before priming with Rustoleum. Then put on two coats of Rustoleum high gloss enamel, giving it a quick rub down with a scotch pad in between coats. I also applied undercoating spray to the axel. I replaced the bunks with new pressure treated 2x4s and covered them in marine carpet with marine adhesive; also added new rollers. I purchased all new galvanized hardware and reassembled the trailer, adding a new trailer jack, winch, and coupler. I pulled new wires and added new LED lights. I have guide posts that I’m also going to install, but don’t want to put them on until I get the boat back on the trailer. The finishing touches were bearing buddies, to keep my hubs nice and full of grease, and a black vinyl stripe.

I finally got the boat stripped down to bare aluminum after spending all day with a palm sander or wire brush in my hand. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the hull was very straight with only one or two minor dings. I would have liked to have left the paint on the boat and just covered over it, but it was peeling off badly in areas, so stripping it was the only option. The boat was repainted once before in the same color scheme as the original; I know this because the aircraft stripper I used only took off the top layer of paint in a lot of areas. I was surprised to find they didn’t clean the boat that well before applying the second paint job; the dirty waterline was still there on the old paint job. I sanded the remaining paint off and cleaned up around the rivets with the wire brush…my hands are still numb.

At some point, a previous owner decided to drill holes in the side of the boat and mount steel eye bolts in them to tie down a boat cover. I removed those bolts and used closed end pop rivets coated 5200 marine sealant/adhesive to seal the holes. I also patched up the holes for the upper bow eye with an epoxy putty.

 

[Johnny]

awesome job so far !!!!!!!!!!!

are you going to put a safety chain from the winch to the boat eye bolt?

 

[enginerd]

are you going to put a safety chain from the winch to the boat eye bolt?

Great question; I hadn't considered it since the trailer did not originally have one. I have tie downs for the transom, but with a nylon strap on the winch, I suppose a safety chain on the bow eye would be a good idea...especially considering the recent video that was posted of trailering accidents. I, unfortunately, have a lot of work left to do before trailering it anywhere.

 

[enginerd]

Took it easy today and just finished repainting the cowl of the 33-hp Evinrude I bought off Craigslist. The previous owner had sprayed it out and put Boston Whaler stickers on it. I peeled the stickers and then applied some Citristrip, which easily removed all the paint and old decals down to bare fiberglass. I hit it with self etching primer and then three layers of Rustoleum Gloss white before applying new Evinrude decals I purchased off eBay. I did the decals today and repainted the front cover plates that had flaked off with flat blue (after self etching priming), and hand painted the blue and red "E" on the back of the engine with acrylic paint. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You need a rethink the Pressure treated bunks. The copper used to treat the wood will cause corrosion and pitting of the aluminum.

 

[enginerd]

You need a rethink the Pressure treated bunks. The copper used to treat the wood will cause corrosion and pitting of the aluminum.

I figured with marine grade carpeting and glue they should be isolated from each other well enough that there wouldn't be a corrosion issue. The marine carpet adhesive should form a waterproof barrier. Thoughts or experience?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

When the bunks get wet the copper will leach out of the wood and will be held in the wet carpet against the hull. The adhesive is not a barrier.

 

[Johnny]

Pressure Treated Wood is a STRONGLY debated topic on any forum
that talks about metal stuff and wood in the same family - - - -

Personally, I use it with knowing about it. Educate yourself
as to what is in the preservative. There are two grades available
to the general consumer: Above and Below ground use.
A contractor's grade for concrete forms has diesel fuel in the preservative
to prevent the concrete from sticking to the wood forms. (I would not use that on a trailer).
I put new [above ground] P/T wood on my trailer 10 years ago and have zero
corrosion on the contact areas of the boat. I go into ocean salt water a few
times a year...... and even tho I rinse well with fresh water, there
has got to be some residual salt in the carpet that will not wash out.
So, not only do I have P/T wood in the mix, I also have salt.

here are my thoughts - - - there are two coats of good quality Rust-Oleum
primer and at least 3 coats of enamel topcoat on the bottom of the boat.
It sits outside in the elements 24/7 and repainted every 3 or 4 years.
On another trailer, I have a product called YellaWood that I found at
Home Depot. This is a speciality P/T lumber that you may have to hunt down
in your area. https://www.yellawood.com It supposedly does not have the harsh
preservatives in it that the "green" P/T lumber may (or may not) have.

Most members here will agree that it is okay to use P/T lumber on a trailer IF it is
isolated by another material to prevent interaction with the metals it touches.
This could be PVC strips, carpet, plastic sheet under the carpet, rubber,
Plastic PVC gutter downspouts, plastic sleeve over the bolts, yada yada yada
Plus, I did not use stainless staples to hold the carpet in place, just some outdoor
carpet adhesive and general purpose staples and it is still all tight 10 years later.
If you do not have paint on the bottom of your boat, of course you would have to
take extra measures to address the issue of possible interaction of the wood and metal.
Education is the key factor - - -
Read, Understand and Follow the instructions with all materials you work with.

your boat = your call

jus my Dos Centavos




.

 

[enginerd]

Johnny,

That's pretty much the same boat I'm in (see what I did there?). While it isn't painted right now, it will be...hopefully soon. I think with the carpet/adhesive barrier, it should be fine, but I may consider further isolating it with some bunk glide sticks for $30.

 

[enginerd]

I got some paint on the hull over the past few days. I started by etching the hull with a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water, then applied a coat of Rustoleum Aluminum Primer, then applied a bonding primer, and the pictures are after the first coat of gloss white enamel. I figure there are at least two more coats to come; hopefully the weather cooperates.

I hope to get those two coats done before this weekend, since I will be heading down to Lake Powell to work on my other aluminum boat (not sure if a 65-ft houseboat counts). I'd like to have the final coat on the bottom so I can give it a week to cure before flipping it back onto the trailer to start work on the top.

 

[ericman]

I'm probably gonna burst your bubble here a little bit, but that Rustoleum Aluminum primer is latex! not oil.

 

[enginerd]

Rustoleum Aluminum primer is latex! not oil.

Well, you nearly gave me a heart attack and I had to dig a can out of the trash, but I think I'm okay. I used the aerosol (https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/professional/aluminum-primer-spray) primer, which mentions nothing about latex and requires clean-up with xylene or mineral spirits.

 

[enginerd]

Well, when life gives you rain...you can always wet-sand in preparation for the final coat, which will hopefully go on tomorrow if the rain lets up.

In the mean time, I got the safety chain for the bow installed that Johnny recommended.