Welcome to the Vintage Blue Star Boat Club website

  Classic American built  Blue Star Boats  ~built between 1950 to around 1964 ~ which some believe was the "Glory Years" of the small pleasure craft builders ~ wood, fiberglass and aluminum. Blue Star Boat are still around and coming back strong 50 years later. My name is Mike and I live outside Chicago,IL

This website domain name; "HartungsMuseum.com" was originally launched for a rare local museum located in my home town of Glenview,IL 20 miles North of Chicago.               Google : Hartung Automotive Museum  The owner Lee Roy who is in his 80's ~ misunderstood what the website was for and scolded me. So in respect for his privacy ~ and me the new owner of a cool little Blue Star Boat ~ I decided to place information about this forgotten little boat builder online ~ instead of the Museum in Glenview, IL.

Today in 2009 small aluminum,wood or fiberglass boats are very hard to find new, except for Lund type boats or tender type craft, they just don't make small boats anymore. What I mean is ~ can you cruise at 30 mph with your hand touching the water ? That's what I mean by "small cruiser" These classic small boats are still around on Ebay (12 to 16 foot)  or behind a garage somewhere just waiting to be re-built and taken back out on the open water. Don't be surprise if the price tag a vintage aluminum boat is $1000.00 + without an outboard. See the  Link below for FiberGlassics, which lists the old out-of-business boat builders of the Golden Era.

With recycling prices for aluminum at an all time high ~ 2009 could be a very bad era for these vintage boat's

Since launching this website ~ I have been contacted by people all over America, thanking me for posting the historical information as they research Blue Star boats. These boats are surviving the "test of time" due to the strong thick aluminum alloy and quality workmanship that Mr. Max Blue, owner of Blue Manufacturing Co (at Grand Lake) Miami, Oklahoma put in to them  ~ Built in America starting in 1950 ~ look's like Blue Star has made it past the 50 year mark cruising American's waterways ! I collect everything Blue Star including your project photos. After months of waiting on Ebay I won a mint vintage 1958 Blue Star Brochure which I offen color copy and mail out to help you, helping find your Blue Star boat and as it looked back in the day.

Here is a paragraph taken from a brochure I won on Ebay :

Blue Star aluminum hull boats are unusually dependable and capable of continuous high speed. For Safety the aluminum seats and bow are filled with Styrofoam - millions of tiny air cells that won't absorb water...keeping your boat and a normal load afloat even when its filled with water. For dependability Blue Star has rugged hulls constructed of the same tough corrosion resistant aluminum alloys ( 6061-T6 ) used in jet aircraft. For high speed Blue Star has graceful and modern lines....styling...mobility...the fine things you want in a boat.

I fell into my 1959 Blue Star 14 footer in 2007 on Ebay ( seen here on this site with a 1969 Evinrude 40 hp Lark outboard ) when I was hired to work on a Lake front Estate with its own private beach along Chicago's wealthy North Shore. I needed a tough small metal boat that could sit on the beach and small rocks all day with out me worrying about hull damage. For years I have own a 1957 wood hull Chris Craft Cavalier made from molded mahogony plywood which requires a watchful eye if docked.

If you find me on Google ~ Looks like this site is the one and only devoted to American Built Vintage Blue Star Boats. I locate info on Blue Star from 1950's boat magazine and other books like " Two Tones and Tail Fins " which features a listing of Vintage American boats.

I am happy to color-copy my vintage 1958 Blue Star Brochure and mail you out a copy for your archive. Go to "Contact Us" which will email me your question

also visit    www.FiberGlassics.com     which is the "king of vintage boat websites"

www.AOMCI.org    The Antique Outboard Motor Club    You can join with paypal and the magazine is amazing, huge membership