Roughly one year ago, I caught up with Dean Loucks, the visionary behind The Art Of Design in Elkhart, Ind., and he filled me in on several projects he was working on, such as a new Skater Powerboats catamaran paintjob and an updated look for a Formula Boats 382 FAS3Tech featuring realistic American flag graphics, which has since been featured on speedonthewater.com in July (read the story).
Dean Loucks of The Art Of Design decided to give this 1955 Lone Star cruiser a whole new look. Photo courtesy Dean Loucks
One specific project, albeit far from a performance boat, that caught my attention was Loucks’ “new” personal project, a 1955 Lone Star cruiser that he had purchased a year or so before (he bought two actually) and was in the middle of updating. He filled me in on some of the plans for the boat and texted me a rendering of its graphics as well as some images of the rebuild work that had already been done.
He also informed me that Waves and Wheels in Missouri was on board to handle the interior before the boat was going to be rigged and its original 100-hp Graymarine engine was reinstalled. As of last week, the boat is back at The Art Of Design in Indiana ready for the final steps—although Loucks said there is no rush since the boat doesn’t have to be finished until March because he plans to debut it at the Sunnyland Antique Boat Show on Lake Dora in Tavares, Fla., in late March.
and then