I will get some pictures today once I inspect the paint and get the paper and tape off. I may be out of commission for a couple weeks here so progress will slow.
Great progress for sure! Was the texture on the floor in pretty good shape or did you add some sand etc..? Can't wait to see another really old Starcraft come back into service!
I like the L.L. Bean color scheme. Seems fitting for the boat. Maybe you can get them to use her in the next catalog photo shoot. Lol. The colors really wake her up Mark. Nice choice.
Thanks guys I appreciate it. When I walked out to the shop Sunday morning and the boat was still masked off I seriously considered going to town and getting more paint of a different color.Once it pulled off the tape and looked at it, it kinda grew on me the polished up aluminum helps I think.
Dale question on your restore did you reuse the aluminum rub rail? I have the old rub rain but it did not cover the whole length there was a second piece about 8" on the back of the boat, Hard to find a local place that carries it and shipping is $$
I did reuse it. The evidence I saw on the gunnels convinced me that these did not go the entire length of the boat but terminated just behind the front seat as shown . I got the kinks out of them as best as I could and then stripped them with oven cleaner and steel wool. Polished with Mothers. They hide the line between the bow cap and the oak gunnels. Hope this helps. http://
Well since I am waiting on the lumber and the drying cycle I am moving on to the front bench and backrest. Just going to sand and seal the seat base it turned out dark will be interesting to see how the rest of the wood turns out. I do have some creative wood work to do to rebuild one of the braces to the hull. Dowels and a form to try to fix about 3/4" of wood. Still have two coats to add to the transom board, lots of little stuff to do.
I am not going to put the 55hp Selectric back on the boat so I will also have some dash work to do. I am thinking of salvaging the one bad bench top and taking enough to apply a veneer over the dash.
Might be too late for the seat but I have had reasonable results lightening up old wood with bleach when trying to blend in with new pieces. There are products specifically made for wood or just experiment with some laundry bleach at various dilutions. Just a thought. I tried to get similar tones with my project but the oak will be light and the mahogany dark and that's the way it was from new I would guess. You only have to please yourself.
Still plugging away, sanding and sealing the bench and seat back assembly, pictures do not do justice or show how the grain and character of 60 year old wood. The 3rd and 4th coats really make the character of the wood pop.
What you have is a fine fishing boat, I would use it as such. As far as wanting an old tin boat with wood gunnels and benches they are available you just have to look. My project boat was bought on Craig's for $250 not a big investment and you can work on it as time and $ allow. Be careful searching crags in 3 states to look for the next project when you are less than 50% done with the current project is a sign of a problem.
Well I give up I am going to have to fuse together 1x2's to get to 14' needed for the gunnels. After promises and false starts I am unable to find somebody willing to actually provide the 1" x 2" x14' white oak pieces.I have been a little busy with life the last month so progress has ground to a halt. Progress will continue on rainy weekends during the summer.
