Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

[FL_sand]

Hi there, new to iboats, but have already learned a lot by reading the many posts here.

I am easing into the restoration of a 1983 (I think) Galstron SSV-151 (15.5ft open bow family fun/ski/runabout) and 1984 Johnson 90hp V4 outboard. My folks bought this boat around 1985, my brother and I spent many days water skiing over the next ~10 years, then it mostly sat outside and uncovered after that. Needless to say, there is not much left of the original boat. My dad gave me the boat on Father's Day, 2010. I bought a pair of new wheels and tires and and a tube of marine wheel bearing grease, then hauled it home after draining the standing water from the back and removing the largest couple of trees from the interior.

The good news is, the demolition was easy! What did not pull out by hand, or get pulled by my crack demolition team, was quickly sucked up into my trusty shop vac.

Well, so much for the introduction. I will post my first steps at exploratory surgery and my restoration plan for feedback next.

-Ben

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Not sure now if I should be more worried about the interior...

...or the paint...

...or the transom...

Well, at least I know I will have good support, at home...

...and here on the forums!

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

So far, I have pulled all the interior trim and seats (saved most pieces to use as templates, ripped up the floor (no templates, only dust, flakes and mud), shop-vacced the interior, washed most of the mold, mildew and other fungus off the exterior, used my car and jumper cables to run the tilt-trim up and down to get the motor off the safety lock and into the lowered or operating position, popped off the cover and dripped some 2-stroke oil into each of the four cylinders through the spark plug holes, built an engine stand...

...then, had the big talk with my wife!

So now I am trying to quantify what we might be getting into, here.

I will pull the motor in the next week or two, and mount it up on the engine stand. Then I will have to remove the cap to get access to the transom and the area under the front seats. Along the way, I anticipate removing all control cables (either with the motor or with the cap).

Anyone have an opinion on removing windshield, cleats, bow-rail, etc before or after removing the cap?

At that point, I see this as six separate sub-projects:
(1) motor can be worked on any time, independent of the other tasks
(2) stringers and floor probably need to be replaced first?
(3) next would come the transom and rear floor under the splash well
(4) after inside structure is complete, then I can adress the bottom of the hull and decide if it needs paint or gelcoat or what
(5) after the hull is done, I paint the cap (before joining back to the hull?)
(6) with cap and hull back together again, I can obtain and install new seats and upholstery.

...whew!!! that sounds like a lot of work.

So, anyone want to venture a guess (or "budgetary estimate") as to man-hours and dollars for any of items 1-6, above?

My thoughts are:

(1) up to $500 for the motor should get me a carb kit, water pump, oil change, and miscellaneous wires/cables/controls if I do all the work myself? I know I am spending $100 for OMC service manual. Anyone know if the owners manual worth the extra $35 -- does it have any specific information for this motor, or is it boilerplate verbage and legal disclaimers?

(2) resin, fiberglass and AC ply for the stringers and floor -- looks like 3-4 sheets of wood plus how many gallons of resin and how much glass to seal/cover/attach? 5 gallons? 10 gallons?

(3) resin, fiberglass and AC ply for the transom -- looks like 2-3 sheets of wood plus how many gallons of resin and how much glass to seal/cover/attach? 5 gallons? 10 gallons?

(4) if the hull only needs buffing, then $100 for materials? anybody have a price or time to re-gel or paint a 16' hull recently? My dad said he thought he saw blistering -- how many months and dollars is that gonna take?

(5) my topside metal flake looks dull and feels rough to the touch, and my wife does not like the look, anyway. Anybody got a recent materials cost to paint a 16' bowrider?

(6) I spoke with a local upholstery shop, and they guesstimated anywhere up to $1,500 if I just asked them to replicate all original upholstery (rear bench, two captains chairs and two bowrider seat cushion sets). Could be considerably less, if I make up the wood forms myself and just have them stitch and mount the covers.

Any comments, redirection, or criticism BEFORE I start work would be greatly appreciated!



-Ben

 

[Dabbler_E]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Wow. I saw your first picture and thought "That man has a PROJECT!"

I'm most qualified to comment on 1) and 6).

1) Depending on how well the motor was cared for, you are probably going to be in for either a fair bit less than $500 (assuming the control unit is good, just needs cables) or a fair bit more (powerhead issues, lower unit frozen). Get the factory manual (no need for owner's manual) and check compression and spark, water in lower unit, and gear shift function. You will absolutely need to clean and rebuild the carbs, and you will want to replace the fuel lines w/ ethanol resistant. The Johnson/Evinrude motor forum has massive brains ready to help you troubleshoot.

6) You can very likely build and upholster yourself a new bench seat and bow cushions for WAY WAY less than what a shop would charge. Check out these threads for inspiration:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=379388&highlight=bow+cushions
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=347724

I'm currently redoing bow cushions on my, and just plan to do fold and staple (no sewing). Bought 1 sheet plywood, staples, Christmas tree fasteners, 4 yards fabric (<$8/yd w/ coupon at JoAnn's), and plan to reuse the foam. I will seal the plywood using leftover exterior paint. If you're not doing any fancy striping or sewn-in detail, it's pretty straightforward.

If the frames of the captain's seats are rotted, you're not going to be able to rebuild them -- look into replacements. Prices on fancily upholstered helm chairs will make your scalp prickle but there are some considerably less expensive ones if you don't mind basic white.

Hope that helps! You've got a lot on your plate but there's a ton of support and expertise here.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Welcome to iBoats!

Make sure the motor is good. Get a compression check on it as soon as possible. A boat with out a motor is not a boat.

5 Gallons Of Resin 10 yards of cloth (9 oz and 1708 Biax my preference)
Use Ext Grade Ply for Stingers and Deck Coat it all with resin an use 1708 Biax for the final layer of your deck. Use some 9 oz to tab the deck to the hull. Check out OOPS post on this site Page 76 for his Peanut butter Recipe to use for fillieting in your stringers and your transom.
Buy a 4inch grinder from Harbor Freight and some 40 or 60 grit flapper wheels, a Circular saw, Sawzall, Dremel tool, Dust Mask, Respirator, Googles, Tyvek Suit, and BEER and you'll be on your way.

100 - 200 hours later, 1,000 to $3000 dollars later and you'll have a boat that is as good as new (Or Better). Lot's of guys with no experience have turned out some pretty darned good products. Do some searching and you'll see.

I think your order of work should be something like

Remove the cap
Remove the Deck (Boats don't have floors)
Remove the Stringers
Remove the Transom
Grind the insed of the hull smooth
Replace the Transom and glass it in
Replace the Stringers and glass them in
Replace the Deck and glass it in
Flip the Hull
Sand and prep the hull
Prime and Paint the hull
Flip the hull
Replace the top cap
Sand and prep the top cap
Prime and Paint the top cap
Redo the interior
Do the electrical
Do the Mechanical
Get er Wet!!!

Have Fun

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Welcome to the forum. Lots of great fiberglass boat restore threads to check out. This is a particularly good one http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=381565 he's doing an absolutely textbook restore thus far.

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Wow, thanks for the responses and input!

Dabbler_E:
The motor has been well cared for, and not run too hard or long, so I am cautiously optimistic there. Also, I am more comfortable as a mechanic than I am as a fiberglass-tech or finish/detailer. The upholstery guy I talked to was very open about letting me do as much work as I wanted to take on, then rely on them to finish only the fit and sewing tasks which I might not be able to get right (like the barrel-wrap-around covers for the captains chairs). BTW, the captains chairs appear to have a fiberglass seat base, with some combination of wood and foam around. We will see what can be re-used there. Those upholstery threads are awesome! Thanks.

Woodonglass:
I am most excited and least worried about the motor. Nuts and bolts, I understand. Thanks much for the ballpark estimates. I think if I can hold 200 hours and $3,000 as a top-line estimate, then hopefully come in under that, I will be in good shape. Also appreciate your thoughts on the order of tasks. In a small boat like this, is there any concern for having the cap, deck, stringers, and transom all out at once? The boat will be sitting on the bunks of its trailer (where it has spent the past ~15 years) so should be well supported. After typing out that list and thinking about it, I wonder if I should not replace the stringers and mid-ship section of the floor with the cap on, remove the cap, then finish the floor (foremost and aft sections) and transom before flipping the hull for painting?

ezmobee - could you publish a phoenetic guide to pronouncing your screen name?
Thanks for the welcome, and that is a particularly good thread. I read it earlier this week and will go back and read it again before I am done.

Thanks for all the comments and support. I am out of town for most of this weekend, but hope to pull my motor at least by the following weekend.

Ben

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

My mom found this photo, circa 1985, of my Dad launching the new boat at our lake.

This is my inspiration for the restoration:

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

If you can get to the stringers with the cap on then do it. Usually the cap and the splash well are "in the way" when it comes to getting the stringers in.
I do NOT believe you can replace your transom with your cap ON. Make sure to take measurements before removing the cap and then brace the hull inside and out to insure it all stays true. Check out all of the posts on here and you will see how others have stripped their hulls BARE and were able to put it all back together. Keep the pics coming as you progress

 

[redfury]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Well, there's a few of us "that 70's show" Glastron restores out here, you are one of the 80's guys, so things changed in the way Glastron built their wares.

Cap off is the easiest way to do the stringers with any bowrider boat just for simple ease of access. Our transoms are small in comparison to other boats, so you can go a few routes because of the lesser cost ( seacast, nidacore )

Glastron switched to VEC construction around 2000 which is a superior hull design vs our hand laid boats, but your stringers look like they were at least fully glassed in, instead of just blanketed like mine was. Glastron used redwood ply in my boat originally, but I can't say as to what they used in the 80's...mine wasn't even fully glassed in, just tabbed on the inside and coated with bilge coat.

2 things that come to mind. One: WEAR A RESPIRATOR DURING DEMOLITION AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, GRINDING. Fiberglass dust not only itches, but you'll be coughing up blood if you sit and suck it in long enough.

Two, buy some Tyvek suits with hoods, get a good set of work gloves that are sealed ( not fabric ) and make sure you buy suits that are larger than you think you need because they tend to get tight in the crotch if you buy one that should fit you ( for example, XL suit for me is tight @ 6ft tall, medium build )

When grinding, contain your dust, or you'll have it EVERYWHERE and it will be a huge nuisance to pets, the kids and you when you mow your grass if you are doing this work outside.

I'm willing to bet that power washing the gel coat and a little elbow grease and some poliglow will make that boat shine again.

Small blisters in the gel coat are from osmosis. You can grind them out with a dremel and then fill them and do small gel coat repairs if they damage is minor. I'm willing to bet that you can avoid anything other than a lot of elbow grease for the cosmetics of the boat.

I'll be following your progress. Lots of pics! We demand lots of pics!

 

[fauxmeister]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Love that style boat and good inspiration shot with your dad. Good luck!

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Thanks again for the replies!

Wood: I believe I can get to only the mid-section of the stringers with cap on. The entire section under the transom plus the area directly under the driver/passenger seat footrests and the bowrider seats themselves are all completely unreachable with the cap on. Transom is not even a question, cap MUST come off. The questions remaining are: would I be more certain of a good fit if I complete the middle 2/3 of the stringers and/or deck before removing the cap? OR, is it not worth the hassle of two separate grinding sessions and two separate glassing sessions?

redfury: thanks for chiming in! I have read your entire restoration post (one of the first I read all the way through) and got a lot out of it. I think you were the one who mentioned dust on the neighbor's patio? I will post later on specifics of my stringer construction, etc... but I would really like to hear more about dust containment and safety. This is my major apprehension with this project, and I have been considering starting a separate thread on the topic.

Currently my boat sits ~20 feet uphill from the well my family drinks from (we do have a water softener/filter system in the house.) Also, either my son or I mow just about every week 8-10 months out of the year with a riding mower. Of course, my 3 kids and dog play here, and since I have 3 boys the play usually involves rolling in the dirt. As it is, I come in dirty and dusty and spitting grass clippings after mowing. Am I about to permanently foul my yard with glass fibers or toxic resin-bits that blow up any time it gets dry? Can you really "contain" this dust? Can you really clean it up effectively? Does it wash away with the first good rain, or will it come back again and again forever? Would I be better to rent a stall someplace for a month to do the grinding?

Like I said, this might be a topic for a separate post?

fauxmeister: Thanks for checking in. Boy, if this boat was not a piece of my childhood, I would be looking to do a motor swap like you managed! Sweet deal you go going there.

I will be out of communication for a few days heading into next week. Hope to hoist my motor up and off shortly, and be back with more pics.

-Ben

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

I would NOT worry about DE-Capitating the boat. YOu will be fine!!!! It will maintain its shape. Take your measurements and maintain them. Get a GOOD Respirator and a tyvek suit. Shop vac all the dust that you can and you will be fine.

 

[redfury]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

As far as the dust goes, you can only do so much to contain it. The best thing you could do would be to create a barrier so you can at least keep it all in one place. I made the mistake of blowing out the boat with my air compressor and you could see the cloud of glittering dust float into my neighbors properties. The first time I mowed, I itched pretty bad, after a good rain, no more problems.

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Well, I drag myself shame-faced and down-trodden back to the forum more than half a year later, to face the reality that I am not gonna get this done myself. I spent two hours last night emailing repair folks around northern/central Florida to ask about quoting taking this job over for me.

:facepalm:

So where does that leave me? Should I delete this thread and my userid and never return to the forum? Does anyone on here want to offer to take over a project boat in north central Florida? Any advice on contracting out all or a portion of a restoration? Should I start another thread on asking for help, or would that be grounds for banishment?

I do have more pics including the completion of demolition and the first big wash job this boat has seen in two decades.

link to all my photobucket slideshow pics:

transom looks "just a little soft" huh? maybe I could still run it for a season... or not.

I pulled the stringers out with a shop vac, leaving fiberglass shells with some rotted wood stuck in the middle. Guess I need a bigger shop vac and a long skinny scraper to finish this job.

here is a perspective shot of stringers and transom area

...and just to prove that I did at least attempt to work on this project night and day at some point...

Anyobody on here ever dealt with facing your own human limitations with job/family/kids and realized you just cannot make it happen this year and cannot wait till next year?

?

Please let me here something, even if it is a chorus of boos!

humbled-in-florida,
Ben

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

Completely rebuilding a fiberglass boat is a HUGE undertaking. Although not prohibitively difficult, it is very messy, tedious, time consuming, and the materials are expensive. There's no shame in determining you aren't up for it. It is not something that it would make ANY kind of financial sense to pay someone else to do. For what that boat needs, basically if you can afford it, it probably isn't going to be done right. Take that motor off and junk the hull. If your budget is tight, look for an aluminum hull that needs some interior work. Otherwise, sell the motor and look for a water ready boat. I'd be leery of looking for another older fiberglass hull (with or without motor) as there's a good chance it could need the same work this one does. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

thanks for the advice... now I just hafta tell my dad the ol' girl is not worth saving...

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

He'll be fine with that.....he did let it sit out for 10 years...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

I'd say you've got close to $1000 worth of stuff there in that motor and that galv trailer so don't junk the whole thing.

 

[FL_sand]

Re: Glastron SSV-151 bowrider restoration

You know, that is the logical next question, "How much for the whole package as a 'project boat' vs. the motor by itself, the trailer by itself, and then what does one do with an old hull?"

?