progress on 58 owens

Ahoy , been stripping and sanding then sanding and stripping in the metal wooden boat house all winter and into the spring . Although it has been a labor of love and keeps me out of trouble in my new retirement ! Beginning to reassemble putting back front and rear decks in mahogany even though I'm almost positive they were upholstered from the owens factory .any suggestions on what type of vara thane or ure thane I might use . She will be stored indoors and be on the water 2-3 weeks a year . Also still looking for pics of similar owens . Thanks , OWENS PETE

 

Any more pics? From sude view ? Is this an inboard or outboard? How's it coming? Just looked at a 50s project boat 15' not sure exactly what it is supposed to look like

Thanks
Seth

 

Hi h2oproofer , my owens is a 20' inboard direct drive w/ original 58 283 . Hard to get any side views as she's indoors in a shed not much wider than her . I'll try to send a pic from before restoration began . She's coming along great almost done with the carpentry . Then the painting , staining and topcoat begins ! THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST , OWENS PETE

 

Glad to here she's on her way back to her glory.
The boat I looked at is a 15' plywood hull boat. It has painted sides w stained top decks. Guy says very rare boat? Can't find any picture s of one to see what it should look like. This too is an inboard boat. I recognized the bow light in a photo as its the same and that's what lead me to your boat

 

1958 19' Owens Flagship Runabout

A friend of mine saw your post and thought I'd send you some shots of our boat. It appears to be very similar to yours. I have searched the internet for these Owens models with little luck. I'd be curious to know who much you paid for your boat or if you have heard of any market value figures.

We have owned this boat since the '60s and was my grandfather's. We have re-done the interior and have rebuilt the engine once. It has been garaged and used in the summers in Seattle for decades and in Priest Lake for decades before that!

 

found Bigfoot ot owens boats

Wow !
I've been looking almost daily since I purchased my owens last year for any similar flagships.
your's is beautiful and the closest I've seen to mine . Only difference I see is mine is a hardtop while your's is a softtop . Even the interiors are the same orange and white . I'm second owner and have all original paper work (including bill of sale $ 3495.00 ) . Small world I was born in Bellevue in1958 and my dad worked at owens corning . My name is Pete and I kinda have a hard time getting my pictures up on the forum , I'll give you my email address and if you choose to give yours to me I could send photos from start to finish . (kerriganranch@yahoo.com) . Anyway I purchased the owens for $2400.00 but haven't a clue what a fully restored 19' would go for . To me she's priceless ! Hope to hear from you ,
PETE

 

I've used most of the marine varnishes, the price seems to get higher all the time. This past week I used Cabot Spar Varnish from Lowes and its pretty good stuff for a third of the price. I rate varnish on the smell( you can tell a traditional formula) as well as application. Time will tell how it holds up but I doubt I will go back to the expensive marine varnish since you really need to re-coat every year.

 

This was my first boat

I had this exact boat, but with the hardtop. I purchased it when I was 15 years old. I had a boat before a car. I'd be happy to share old pictures I have.

 

Ahoy Float design , I'd welcome any pictures you might like to share . I now have 7 of 10 coats of Epifanes high gloss varnish on her and am close to turning her over to the upholster , ( who just so happens to be my wife , 30 years running her own shop ) Yeah pretty lucky ! Thanks for any pictures as I've only found 2 others in all my searching on the interweb . I'm Pete and the boats name is MAHOGAHOLIC ps . She's a hardtop also .

 

pictures

I will look for them, scan them and get them off to you. If you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out to me. I have a ton of experience working on Classic runabouts. Did you know you can roll Epifanes varnish and the bubbles will magically disappear? You will get a very smooth coat if you thin it a touch. Try it on something when you have a chance. It's great. Alss, underneath the white vinyl in the aft deck is probably the original two tone mahogany. If you haven't discovered this, think about it. I discovered this as a teenager and was amazed how beautiful it looked. It created a mahogany V shape that wrapped over the transom to the OWENS Brass emblem that was grounded with a splashy boomerang shaped stainless accent. Do you also have the stainless plates that go on the port and starboard sites back towards the transom? All of the seat supports are also very good mahogany. I stripped them as well. The wood that wraps around the front seats and the aft bench supports are as well. I wish I knew then what I know now about wooden boat restoration. Mine would have been beautiful if I had, but she turned out pretty good for a 15yr old. Stay tuned for pictures.

 

Oh. I just saw the side shot. The Owens emblem goes above the stainless boomerang. That tow hook doesn't belong on her. There was also an aluminum accent that went on the outside of the windshield, just below where the top attaches. It wrapped around and traveled about 1/4 of the way down the sides of the windshield. I see your hardtop also has a crack in the center aft. Mine did as well. I never used it though.

 

I've re glassed the roof filled and sanded all cracks and spiders also formed and added an extra rib down the center . I have trouble posting pics on this site, but my email is kerriganranch@yahoo.com if i had your's i could send you many more . I'm also finishing the front and rear decks in 1/4 mahogany plywood . Thanks for any pictures and advice in the future Pete

 

Mahogaholic

2 years, success! 3rd in Utility + BEST OF SHOW MOST UNIQUE BOAT at south shore Tahoe? And 3rd place best post war Utility at The Concorse De Elegance north shore Tahoe 2015 in 3 weeks. What say you Gonzo . All me no pro's

 

beautiful

I would love to see mor pictures. She looks great!!

 

Congratulations and ditto the need for more photos. It's not bragging unless we can see it . . .