1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

[Glastron Man]

I am restoring my fathers boat that be bought in 1977 new. Its a 1977 Glastron HP154 bass boat. I am somewhat of a novice to boat restoration so any help would be great. Here is my plan for the project.

1. Strip the hull and prepare for repainting.
2. Replace the transom
3. Replace the decking
4. Sand/prep and prime the cap for 2-Part Urethane Paint
5. Rewire entire boat
6. New electronics
7. New Carpeting



Pictures to come

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Well its the first week of my project and already i have hit some road blocks.
I wanted to remove the cap so that i could do a better job of prepping it and also so i could replace any rotted wood easier. Well after 2 days of trying the cap just wont come off. It seems that the manufacturer ran a bead of epoxy around all of the live wells and bulkheads before the put the cap in and not it is impossible to remove it in once piece. If anyone has had this problem before and knows an easier way around it please let me know.

Here are some pictures from the start.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

It seems that the manufacturer ran a bead of epoxy around all of the live wells and bulkheads before the put the cap in and not it is impossible to remove it in once piece.

Ayuh,... Pictures of the Problem areas would Help....

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Bond-O

Yeah that's the problem, i can't get to any of the areas i suspect are epoxied. I can't see them. I was able to see one area around a live well under the helm and it was definitely epoxied. I will snap some photos of the material i was able to chip out of there and post it. The rest of the areas that won't come loose are concealed.

Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Ayuh,..... While I don't know your hull,...
Sometimes ya gotta decide what might need to be sacrificed to do the build,..
Fortunately,...
Fiberglass, just by it's nature is Very Repairable,....

What goes into the decision of Where to cut, should be the least obvious, easiest to repair,+ with the least trauma possible...

Sometimes access is found where you least expect it too....

Post up some pic.s of the interior,...

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Good day fellows,

I have tried and tried to get the darn cap off this boat but i think it was never meant to come back off. I have posted a few pics here of the areas that i feel are either fiber glassed or epoxied from the factory when they set the cap on the hull. There are 3 bulkhead areas and each one is very solid when tapped on with a hammer. And i can get the cap loose everywhere except in these areas.

My next question is if anyone has any particular recommendations for a good urethane paint for the cap. I plan to sand the gelcoat down smooth and fill any cracks and holes with an epoxy. Then prep for primer and paint.

Any input would be great and if i am doing something wrong please don't hesitate to call me out. I would rather do it right the first time and I can put my pride aside.

Thanks for any help

Glastron Man

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Ayuh,... Would it, or do you think it's possible to slip a Long Sawsall blade in there to seperate the liner from the hull,..??

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Bond-o

Yeah i tried that but there are areas that i just cant get to. I think that i can do the rebuild without taking off the cap. I am going to cut the cap off the back 4 feet of the boat so that i can replace the transom and then refit it before painting. The boat has fiberglass stringers so that is a plus for not pulling the cap off.

This is my plan for the transom.

Use 3/4" PT plywood (2-layers)
Laminate them together with PL Polyurethane construction adhesive
Cut out shape for new transom
Run a layer of glass over whole piece of new wood
Use PL Polyurethane on the transom to adhere it to the hull at the back of the transom.
Glass in the new piece of wood on all sides to the hull and stringers.

If i have missed anything or I am going about this completely wrong please tell.

thanks

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

don't use pressure treated plywood. you can get a marine grade plywood and use fiberglass to glass it to the transom.

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Well, i scored some 3/4" marine plywood and laminated the two pieces together. Tomorrow i will cut out the profile of the transome and begin glassing it in. Wish me luck

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Take your time with it. Have fun. It will all be worth it.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Cool another Glastron. Welcome to the madness

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Well i glassed the new transom today and ran into a couple problems. Overall it looks good. I had one area not roll down the side properly and it ended up setting up on me. Should i just cut it off, sand it and put a fresh coat of resin over the area? Otherwise it looks really good.

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Hi, been a while since my last post mainly cause i have been to busy to work on the boat much. I finally got the lid off and all of the decking, foam and rot all cleaned out of the hull.. Before i went back in with new stringers and decking i decided to go ahead and flip the hull over so i can get that part of the restoration complete. When i got it over all looks good with the exception of the keel.. The gelcoat is completely gone here and i can see fiberglass. Plus there are nicks and scratches in various places on the bottom. Need advice on what to do. Do I:

1. Spray a new coat of gelcoat on the bottom of the boat?
2. epoxy the keel, nicks and scratches and then paint with 2-part urethane?

Keep in mind this is a trailered bass boat that will never stay in the water more than the day i am out and will only be in fresh water.

Any advice would be great.

thanks

 

[archbuilder]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Nice looking project, your list looks really familiar! You can do either, there are a lot of differnt opinions on here in regards to gel coat and paint. Gel coat is by far more durable. That being said, it is an enormous amount of work from what I have seen. Here is a link to Skibum's project, he is in the process of sanding out the gel coat he sprayed.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=358025

I'm painting mine, which will be less durable, but a lot less painless. I'm using a base clear urethane system, and hopefully will be getting paint on it in the next few weeks. I'm spraying mine, but I know there are a lot of guys on here rolling and tipping theirs....I have never tried that. Keep up the good work!

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

On my boat, when I had it turned over, I went down the full length of the keel with a layer of glass. My boat gets beached alot so I wanted extra protection. You can use a one part topside paint or just about any other paint for that matter, if your going to trailer it. No one is going to see it anyway. I actually used Tremclad paint on my boat bottom. It's been there now three years and holding on strong. My boat gets trailered as well.

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Thanks for the responses everyone. I cleaned the hull and it revealed some areas that need attention. As you can see from some of the pictures the keel is rubbed pretty thin and you can see the fiberglass. There are also several gouges in various places throughout the hull. How should i address these areas prior to either paint or gelcoat.

Any advice would be great.

thanks

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Has anyone had experience with Interlux Perfection 2-Part Polyurethane paint?

Any help would be great.

thanks

 

[Spinnaker]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Has anyone had experience with Interlux Perfection 2-Part Polyurethane paint?

Any help would be great.

thanks

Yes, I've used. Whacha wanna know? Good stuff for the hull. Certainly saves re-gel and a lot of work.

 

[Glastron Man]

Re: 1977 Glastron HP154 Restoration

Thanks for the response. Just a couple questions.

1. How extensive of a prep should i do on the hull? Interlux recommends using an epoxy primer before painting. Can't i merely clean it, degrease it and sand it with 120-220 grit paper then go with paint?

2. What should i use to fill some of the gouges on the hull. Someone said i could use Bondo as long as i prime over it before painting.