1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Hi guys,

Thank you for all the helpful tips so far. I'm gathering the equipment, parts and pieces I'll need to complete the boat and in the meantime, decided to start tearing down the trailer.

I got the wheels off. The moon hubcaps are in really good condition, but with some surface rust. I'm not sure if I'll be able to remove the rust without damaging the chrome. I may have to get them re-chromed. I removed all the components except the rollers. The rollers are held in by pins that apperar to just be pressed into the roller to hold them in place. However, I can't hammer the pins out to remove them. Perhaps a sledge would do the trick, but I didn't want to use that much force. I could cut the pins to remove them all, but wanted to make sure modern replacement parts were available first. Here are a couple of pictures of what I'm talking about.





Is this a standard type roller that I could purchase here on iboats?

Also, what is this thing with the tie rods connected to it? Does it have a spring in it to help with the suspension?

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Here are the hubcaps. Anyone know of a supplier for whitewall tires size 4.80-4.00/12??

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

I removed all the components except the rollers. The rollers are held in by pins that apperar to just be pressed into the roller to hold them in place. However, I can't hammer the pins out to remove them. Perhaps a sledge would do the trick, but I didn't want to use that much force. I could cut the pins to remove them all, but wanted to make sure modern replacement parts were available first. Here are a couple of pictures of what I'm talking about.





Is this a standard type roller that I could purchase here on iboats?

You should be able to find shafts & rollers that are similar in size either on iboats or elsewhere online. LOTS of roller choices, diameters, shapes and a few different compounds that the rollers can be made of. Get a new bow stop too.

I'd recommend new shafts, keepers (mine have endcaps on the shaft to keep them where you put them, yours look like they have some sort of a collar between 1 end of the actual roller & the mount) and new rollers.

Iboat's trailer parts

Somewhere around here, there's a mention of making white wall tires via paint out of typical trailer tires. Coker Tire used to sell some smaller trailer whitewall tires, but they started at $125 for a bare unmounted tire.

Although Andgott also posts here, from elsewhere online:

Andgott wrote:

First, since they were new tires, I scrubbed and degreased the heck out of them... Used simple green, a pressure washer, and a scrubber pad.

Once it had dried, I masked off the rim, and the portion of the tire that I wanted to remain black. Probably would have been a lot easier off the rim, but I didn't think about it 'till AFTER.

Then, I used some flat white spray enamel... It took about 2-3 good coats. The first coat discolored a bit by the time it was dry, but subsequent coats covered it well. I used the really cheap stuff, the kind you find on the bottom shelf at Lowes or wally world for $0.98/can.

It has faded very little over 2 years, not enough to be noticeable. No cracking or peeling issues at all, either. Believe it or not, I actually get quite a few comments/compliments about the tires!

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Thanks jbcurt,

I really like the way those tires turned out, I may have to try that if new ones are that pricey!

Now that I think about it, the shafts on those rollers probably had caps on them at some point in the last 50 years. I'll check out the link you sent for the parts, thanks so much!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Search for member Andgott's Lake & Sea project. The wheel pix are from a different build. His resto turned out GREAT!

you're welcome

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Before...



After

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

This is such a cool project I gotta tag along if there's room !
Hub caps turned out great !
A glass cap on a tin hull .. Who would a thunk it !

 

[m casey stock]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

1958 14 Foot Resorter Runabout. Here is another great tin with a glass top.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Well, got the trailer mostly done. Still need to put lights on it and a jack. Man, that was a lot of work. 7 coats of old paint on this thing. At some point in it's storied history, it was two different shades of yellow, white, black, green and two different shades of blue. And that's assuming nobody ever took it to bare metal (pretty safe bet). I did though

Lot's of imperfections that you don't see until you actually put paint to it I discovered. My first attempt. The color here is (I think) the original color. It was the shade directly on the metal. Although the rims are old, I don't think they are original. I did restore them as well. After researching these old boat/trailer combos and looking at lots of pictures, I saw a lot that painted the wheels the same color as something on the boat. So, I did that. Whew, I need a break.









Boy, would white walls look good on there. I would try the paint method that was suggested but I don't know how I could tape off a perfect enough circle to make it look ok.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

He is the chosen one. Picked by the boat lords to bring peace to the two waring worlds of glass and tin. Godspeed good sir!

Cool boat! And this ^^^ is hilarious. Look forward to seeing this beauty come back to life!!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Jack the trailer tires off the ground. Pick a spot on the wheel you want the white wall to extend to, and spin the tire. If you don't have a steady enough hand, set up a brick, jack stand, something for a hand rest.

Use a sharpie or carpenter's pencil to make a slightly visible mark to follow w/ tape. Not as tough as you'd think. If you're worried about puling the paint when the tape is removed, use fine line auto paint tape.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

That trailer turned out nice. This will be an interesting restore. Tagging along if that's ok. Great work so far, and good luck.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Love the color ! Looks brand new !
JB has a good idea , or maybe this . Make a jig or use a compass and use the rim as a guide . A black sharpie may not show up too well but maybe just enough . You could also tape a stiff piece of cardboard over the rim where it stays put . Put a nail or screw in the dead center . A piece of wire or a thin stick with your marker and spin it around the screw .

 

[old islander]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Stellar job on the trailer. Looks beautiful. If the boat turns half as nice you will be the envy of the forum.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Thanks everybody, really appreciate the encouragement and nice comments!

jb and sphelps, those are great ideas, "I should have thought of that." Lol. I'm going to try jb's ideas just becuase it seems so simple and fast. I think if I use a silver Sharpie, it will stand out enough to see. I've read to super clean the tires with Simple Green or other such cleaner. Should I rough the area up with sanding first? Also, can you guys recommend a paint that I can acquire at HD or Lowes that will stick to the rubber and be flexible enough not to crack. I've seen that "Plastidip" stuff, but it might be too thick huh? I would prefer something I can brush on if possible.

Again, thanks for all your help!!

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Yeah, it needed that. I ground off all the raised letters and taped it off with 1/4" painter's tape. One side down, one to go!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Looks great1 what did you use to grind off the lettering?

What paint did you end up using? Brushed or rattle can?

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

Thanks jb! I used a little 3" orbital air sander I got from Harbor Freight, (80 grit works perfect) a trick I learned on Youtube. The paint is brush on Rust-oleum enamel. As it turned out, the tires have existing raised lines right in the perfect spot, so I just taped off along those lines and it worked great. I heated the tire with a Halogen work lamp, just a little, before painting.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

I love the color combos!!!! Funky, but cool and very era appropriate. It really is amazing what a (good) coat of paint can do, or can't do in my case. LOL!!! Keep making us look bad with the awesome work

 

[bvetter]

Re: 1956 Blue Star Islander Restoration

That setup is gonna turn heads!:thumb: