Back in 1984 I took a 1958 Crestliner 15 ft boat and took it apart and made it into a bass boat rather than restore it the way you did. I was just so very impressed with your care and patience in restoring this boat. I found I was smiling the whole time. Great job and it is a gorgeous boat, one of which to truly be proud.
Wow, I smiled through out the whole project. It’s always amazing the motivation when doing it right, a dream provides in completing a project. Congratulations on a fine looking boat.
These old Aluma Craft boats are amazing. The are made from aircraft aluminum and thick. They way they make boats now I’m sure the amount of aluminum they used then would make 2 boats now. You are gonna love this boat! Keep it up man it’s worth it.
Thank you. Yes I'm very and I mean VERY fortunate to own one. It has a forever home with me, it's my dream boat. Enjoy yours as they will only get more elusive with time.
excellent boat work I had the same style boat many years ago when my kids were small they could not fall out due to high sides and it served my family well, great job on your boat
That boat is amazing hello from Australia my old tub is about to hit 50 years old and after a full rebuild and a 4 stroke will last another 50 I'm sure you have to respect past tradesmen
Hello, this is my personal dream boat. All boats are great in their own way they just need a captain to love them. You guys have some great boats in Australia from what I've seen on the web.
It would be interesting to compare the weight of the stripped boat with the weight of a comparable modern one. I think that the old boat would have a lot more aluminium in the hull.
@@surgemedia2374 it's called a boot stripe you put it at the boats scum line formed where water and air meet. Your bottom paint stops at the line/jack stripe.
It would have really been cool and great if yo had made it look more like a NAVY RIVER boat like used in Nam... That would have been really a cool project to do.
Well I did it in a none conventional way. To remove and replace the aqueduct is the correct way to do it. I simply took a sawzaw, held it vertically and slowly cut two lines in it. The cuts let me remove the center piece between the cuts then allowing me to easily pull the rest of the wood out. The tricky part was putting would back in and making it look factory. I simply chose the furthest gusset to either port or starboard and right in the center in line with the chosen gusset I put a cut in the wood so when I put the transom in the cut lined up perfect with the gusset so it would hide the cut. I slid the small piece in first then the large piece then I clamped it in right where I wanted them. Then I drilled and bolted it in using existing holes as guides. I had no problems at all visually or more importantly structurally. This was my way that worked perfect for me but other techniques may vary and maybe better then mine. Sorry for the big response just I'm trying my best to help answer your question. Good luck with your FD 🙂👍 P.S If you have any more questions feel free to ask amd I will help how I can and also currently my transom is converted to all aluminum since I repowered with a new 60hp Etec. I did that work myself also. Hopefully I will get do a video on that in the future.
SURGE da BULLY Thanks for the reply. I considered doing just what you did, but after seeing someone remove the center braces rivets, then bolt it back with stainless steel bolts and adhesive, I think I do it like that. But, after inspecting my transom boards closer, I figure they have 2 or 3 more years of life in them, and since my transmission went on on my truck, I need to fix it first. So I sanded both boards, sealed everything well, put a few coats of Man O War, & tightened it all up so I can use it this year. Haven't decided whether to use original white oak, mahogony, or coosa board for inner transom. The rest of my FD6 is practically maintenance free, so the coosa board would be a good investment and insurance against any future transom maintenance. I really like the Queen Merrie. Saw a white one for sale cheap in Reedsport a while back. Almost....... I'm leary of old salt water aluminum boats.
+Daniel Cronin I currently use a 25 hp 2 stroke 70's model Evinrude, amd it pushes the boat at about 12mph with 3 adults and 2 kids and calm water and low wind plus light load of gear. For this specific hull, yes a 40 or 50hp is plenty to get on plane with 4 adults. Other boats will vary depending on load, hull type, water and weather conditions. I plan on buying a new Evinrude E-Tec next spring in the 40-50 hp range.l for this boat.
I just picked up a 1960 Queen Marrie 18ft and I am going to throw my 40hp on it after I fix it up. Good to hear that it will push it without being too slow.
Mainly I wanted to enjoy the restoration experience and ofcourse save some money. Also with choosing to repaint there was no need to go to bare aluminum on the whole boat since the previous paint was very well adhered.
what great rare hulk she is!! i have a 1955 feathercraft Cruisette 19 footer that is also quite hard tto find. i wonder what the differencs between your boat and the "Merrie Queen" that Alumacraft produced about the same time
+postaltraining thank you. It's my dream boat and I was fortunate to find one and restore it. Your Feathercraft im sure is an amazing boat ad well take care of it. Main differences from the Cruiseabout to the Queen Merrie are the Cruiseabout was only made for about 2 years or so between 1957-1959 It also is longer by a foot, wider by about 6 inches and has higher freeboard with a shorter bow cover. Styling differences are noticible also.
ahh- yes, i spid the higher gunnel flare toward the front and knew the merrie queen had (at least mostly) level gunnels. my cruisette is as i bought it at least 15 years ago. one of the few that hasn't been mailed into a center console boat by fishermen. i came very close to getting another- have seen less than 5 total. it's got pipe roof rack for tonneau roof. the catalog showed PLAID top material- what's more 1950s than plaid? so my boat is proper and complete but needs new floor. tricky two level floor and my hip went bad and other health problems have kept me from getting at it. but it's my dream boat and i call it a "cold dead hands" boat- as in that's the only way someone will get it. i did recently see another 19 foot alumacraft big and wide and i believe it had a pipe rack roof system, original equipment. no change in gunnel height toward the front so maybe a rack to stretch your roof cover over was an option on the queen some years (?). i couldn't resist to ask the guy if he'd be interested in selling it. no response lol
Really should have consulted an Aircraft Mechanic for the aluminum refinishing. You should not sand the paint off aluminum. There are other ways that are faster, easier, more effective and do much less damage. Otherwise, great job.
Unfortunately it's an old boat serving a modern purpose. I love the old classic boats that's why I saved this boat from the scrap yard, the shape it was in that's where it was headed sadly. But luckily it found a home and I showed it the respect it deserves and brought it back to life and I plan to take good care of it.
