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1989 Starflight Restoration Underway!!!

R

ragu

Member
Back in 1989 a very good friend of mine bought a brand new Starflight from Oneils boatyard on Long Island. He used it for 3 or 4 years and "put it away" He is the type of guy who never sells anything. He's got Vettes, Harley's, Mercedes etc. in garages in investment houses he owns. I have restored a 24 Progression, a 21 Superboat a 16' Superboat and a 13' Whaler. He would hang out with me in the garage when I was working on these and would break my chops and say why don't you just buy one finished. Last week he decided that he caught the restoration "bug" and now is going to restore the boat with all original stuff right down to the O'Neils sticker on the transom. I am winding down with the restoration on the 16SB so it will be fun to watch his money instead of mine fly out the window. Over the last week we derigged the entire boat and gave him a "material" list of things to do and buy. He knows what he is putting into this he will never recoup. I actually found him an almost identical boat in FLorida that would cost him less than this restoration but he is attached to this boat. Amazingly, the transom, hull, and floor is dry as a bone. The moisture meter was good to him. Here are pics of the boat derigged as we were bringing it to Raybo Marine and fiberglass. He did all the glasswork and paint on my other boats. I will keep you all up to date with pics and progress. Raybo is going to shoot a small section of the boat with clear imron this week to see if the finish is up to the standards we want of the boat. Its black with silver and red flake. He does not want to paint or change the colors. The Starflight is my all time favorite Checkmate.
The 200HP Merc that he has on the boat is also going through a cosmetic restoration. The motor has maybe 50 hours on it according to him. The compression was 125lbs across the board. Carb cleaning, tune up and lower unit service is all the mechanic says it needs.
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Raybo Marine did a test section on the bow today. He used clear Imron without the clear primer that imron makes. It looks absolutley unbelievable. We are going to have a test spot primed tomorow with the clear primer and then the clear awlgrip. That should increase the "depth" of the gelcoat. The red non metal flake is going to have to be painted with imron but Raybo's paint work is exceptional. We are expecting great things on this. I will post a pic of the test spot tomorow night. When we were going over the boat the metalflake under the rub rail appeared to be in excellect condition but when we look at it now next to the test spot it looks dull in comparison. I can't wait to see this boat in the sun when it is finished.
 
Teaser shots of the work by Raybo Marine

The hardware installation (rubrail, new chrome trim etc) was installed tonight. I will post full shots of the boat tomorow. It is going over to East Coast Marine for the rerig. My friend ordered all new guages steering etc. I think I am as psyched about this boat as my friend. He just had a lift installed in his yard for the boat. This thing is GLEAMIN' in the sun.
He also ordered a factory interior, carpet and full cover from Checkmate

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Here are pics of My 21 Superboat and 16 Superboat also redone by Raybo Marine and Fiberglass. The Hydrostream is an original never rigged Viper that Raybo fixed a scratch on it for me.
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you say that is just one coat of clear? looks amazing:thumb:
i have heard guys say that clear will start to peel over time....is that true?
 
ross said:
you say that is just one coat of clear? looks amazing:thumb:
i have heard guys say that clear will start to peel over time....is that true?
Click to expand...

That is the finished product. I never got a chance to snap a pic of the test spot. I would assume like any original clear finish, if not maintained and covered it will peel
 
Wow that looks great :thumb:.. mine isnt even that faded but it already has clear on it and its peeling :mad: so i think im gonna reclear this winter..
 
Wow!!!! My Father-in-Law has that exact same paint scheme on his Starflite and quite personally I think its the best one I've seen. That boat looks amazing. Keep up the good work.
 
Its being rigged now, Interior should be in early next week. Hopefully it will get wet next weekend. More pics to follow!
 
With todays prices on new boats, this is the way to go. I wonder what it will end up costing to rig this boat like new.
 
This boat came out great! My name is eric and i am new here but i work for raybo and i did a large majority of the sanding/polishing on this boat and i fell in love with it so i went out and bought one. The previous owner just dropped it off this morning actually, anyway this boat is very nice. Cant wait to see it all finished
 
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