# 1965 lonsestar alum.



## catboat (Mar 25, 2008)

Hi everyone, new to the site, but been doing alot of reading on here some very good info.. So I have a question for the experts. My boat is a 16' Alum. utility boat design with 3 seats, the bow is closed across front of boat about 4' back with storage,this area does not go all the way down to floor its off floor about 1'. The seats are riveted to the bottom of the boat. The seat have braces that come down from the top of boat to the top of the seats. What I would like to do is cut the middle seat down about 10" leaving the braces intact and the bottom portion of the seat intact, so there would be about 9" of seat still left on each side and about 3" left along the bottom. Would I be losing to much support to do this? If this is possible would it be too much to do the front seat the same way, only not cutting the front support as low and then having a step up of about 5" to finish out front of boat with decking? Would it be possible for this or should I just cut on the middle bench? I plan on using angle riveted to seats to support deck, there is 28" of floor in between seats. I hope this makes sense to you, if you have questions please ask. Thank you in advance for the help would hate to ruin my fishing boat.


----------



## Jim (Mar 25, 2008)

Welcome catboat,
Thanks for joining! Would you happen to have any pictures of the boat? 

Jim


----------



## catboat (Mar 25, 2008)

Not Yet but will try and get them up later this week.


----------



## Captain Ahab (Mar 25, 2008)

Welcome aboard and good luck with the project.

I woudl also like to see a photo of the bracing and seat arrangement.


----------



## Waterwings (Mar 25, 2008)

Welcome Aboard !


----------



## bassboy1 (Mar 25, 2008)

catboat said:


> Hi everyone, new to the site, but been doing alot of reading on here some very good info.. So I have a question for the experts. My boat is a 16' Alum. utility boat design with 3 seats, the bow is closed across front of boat about 4' back with storage,this area does not go all the way down to floor its off floor about 1'. The seats are riveted to the bottom of the boat. The seat have braces that come down from the top of boat to the top of the seats. What I would like to do is cut the middle seat down about 10" leaving the braces intact and the bottom portion of the seat intact, so there would be about 9" of seat still left on each side and about 3" left along the bottom. Would I be losing to much support to do this? If this is possible would it be too much to do the front seat the same way, only not cutting the front support as low and then having a step up of about 5" to finish out front of boat with decking? Would it be possible for this or should I just cut on the middle bench? I plan on using angle riveted to seats to support deck, there is 28" of floor in between seats. I hope this makes sense to you, if you have questions please ask. Thank you in advance for the help would hate to ruin my fishing boat.


I love those old Lone Stars. Gonna restore me one someday, but right now the wallet wont permit it. Personally, I wouldn't modify that boat, but then again, I have just as much of a passion for antique and classic boats and outboards as I do for fishing. But, if you do insist on modifying it, pictures are a must.


----------



## bAcKpAiN (Mar 25, 2008)

Welcome, I looke forward to seeing the boat!


----------



## Defiant (Mar 26, 2008)

Welcome to the board's


----------



## catboat (Mar 26, 2008)

Here are some pictures, any suggestions would be appreciated


----------



## Tompatt (Mar 26, 2008)

srry dude but we cant see anything.


----------



## catboat (Mar 26, 2008)

OOPS! Finally figured out how to get the pictures on. Any suggestions?


----------



## slabmaster (Mar 27, 2008)

just my .02 cents. i would not modify this boat. i think it would be better to restore it to as near original as possiable and just go fish. i cut the middle seat out of an old richline once and it was a nice fishing rig until the rivits begin to leak . i think they leaked because i removed braceing. i later put a floor and a front deck in another richline and it just wasn't right' the extra load from the flooring mad the boat feel like it was a slug wallowing thru the water. if i were going to modify the lone star i would use aluminium framing and aluminum decking. you should also consider adding flotation. i am sure many will disagree with me but i think you would have better luck modifying a big jon. Oh by the way your boat is super cool . especially the hand rail around the front spray deck. perfect place for rod holders.


----------



## Tompatt (Mar 27, 2008)

slabmaster said:


> just my .02 cents. i would not modify this boat. i think it would be better to restore it to as near original as possiable and just go fish. i cut the middle seat out of an old richline once and it was a nice fishing rig until the rivits begin to leak . i think they leaked because i removed braceing. i later put a floor and a front deck in another richline and it just wasn't right' the extra load from the flooring mad the boat feel like it was a slug wallowing thru the water. if i were going to modify the lone star i would use aluminium framing and aluminum decking. you should also consider adding flotation. i am sure many will disagree with me but i think you would have better luck modifying a big jon. Oh by the way your boat is super cool . especially the hand rail around the front spray deck. perfect place for rod holders.



yea thats wat i would do. get new wood maybe carpet it, repaint, new seats, that would look nice.


----------



## Captain Ahab (Mar 27, 2008)

catboat said:


> What I would like to do is cut the middle seat down about 10" leaving the braces intact and the bottom portion of the seat intact, so there would be about 9" of seat still left on each side and about 3" left along the bottom.
> 
> Would I be losing to much support to do this?
> 
> ...



I think that you could do this and not loose much support. The decking that you woudl add would also add support so you should be fine


----------



## bassboy1 (Mar 27, 2008)

I have to disagree with esquired on this one. I have had to deal with quite a few boats with that seat design. Those seats are not really a great design, especially to mod. They really only provide strength, if complete, as they are a 3 piece design. Cutting half of them out actually removes quite a bit more than half the strength, so you would be harming yourself in the long run. So, I would suggest finding a way to do it, leaving the benches intact. Also, I would definitely stray away from the idea of completely removing one of the benches.


But, I still go with my original thought of restore it. :wink:


----------



## Captain Ahab (Mar 27, 2008)

Listen to BassBoy1 - he has far more experience then I at doing tin boat modifications.

Thanks BassBoy1


----------



## Jim (Mar 27, 2008)

I would remove all the old wood, repaint it, Replace it with new fresh carpeted wood, Maybe put in a fake false floor so its easier to walk around. Thats an awesome boat man!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!


----------



## catboat (Mar 27, 2008)

I guess that removing the seats is kinda a bad idea. So how would i go about this idea, if I extend the front seat all the way to the front storage area and had storage underneath. The deck will hit the front storage area 4" higher than the bottom of it right now. How would you put braces in this area? Next question, for between the middle and back seats should i still go w/ angle riveted to seats, or just lay the wood in braced underneath? There wont be any carpet because this is a catfish boat and i need to be able to clean it easy. Thanks again


----------

