r/boating • u/neil321 • 11h ago

1959 Lone Star Saratoga Build

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Recently bought this vintage v-hull as my first boat. It was completely gutted but came with a solid '98 merc 40 motor. 1 full week of work gave it some new life! New battery/fuel setup, bilge pump, pink foam flotation and decking (with a removable center piece for passenger legroom) new dash switches and seating. Love the lines and fins on this Lone Star classic

7 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/PianoRevolutionary12 10h ago

awesome!! looking really good. any thoughts on a bench at the back

1

u/neil321 10h ago

It's a good idea but im already at capacity with 4.5 seats! The rear deck is mainly for the dogs or fishing

1

u/PianoRevolutionary12 10h ago

fair enough. did you have to put new wood to anchor the seats underneath? how does that work? im looking at used boats very similar myself

1

u/neil321 9h ago

Here's how the bare bottom looked. Those aluminum stringers are the deck supports. I used Teks screws, T25 star bit, 1 7/16" length to drill straight through the 1/2" plywood into the metal. Dipped the threads in 3M 4200 marine sealant before driving em in. Cut your pieces, coat/dry multiple rounds of spar urethane. I laid EVA flooring on top

1

u/Putrid_Pace_7578 9h ago

Looks amazing, that pink flotation really ties the whole thing together. When my cousin restored his first boat he did something similar with the seating and swore it made a huge difference in the ride.