Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Well first I guess I'll say hello to everyone here! I recently purchased a 1979 Glastron 16' boat and trailer, extremely low price, as the seller just had to get it off his lot. I've never owned a boat before, and really only driven one once. I have a bunch of friends that (somewhat) know there way around boats, but I really feel I'm going to need a lot of input and advice. I don't have any pictures right now, but here's what i've done so far:

Ripped out all the old wiring. There is no engine on the boat yet (will take outboard, with remote steering), old bilge pump, and some switches that had rotted out in the guys backyard. I'm actually pretty competent with electrical systems in general, but not marine applications. I have a pretty good idea of how the electrical system is going to be set up once the motor and battery comes into play.

Located three screw-hole size holes in the hull. The seller said that when they put something in, the screws were too long. When i ripped out the old rotting seats the screws came out too, so now there are three very small holes in the fiberglass hull that I will patch. This is something I will need advice on as well, I've read a few online how-to's but still don't fully understand how patching fiberglass works.

All the seats and benches that work as seats in the front will need to be replaced.

Is there anything else that I should start thinking about? I'm just starting out on this project, so I haven't started really thinking about a motor yet. Mostly I'm concerned with the main structure of the boat, making sure there are no leaks and the few rotted out parts are fixed up. I will post pictures of the few rotting places as soon as I can.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? As I said I'm in way over my head here, on a budget but in no rush, bought it as a summer project basically.

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Those old Glastron's were cool boats. Definitely a worthwhile project. Being set up for an outboard is great. This is the thread you're going to want to read as John has a similar boat and is totally redoing it http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=231007

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

OHHH COOL another glastron !! I am doing one right now , just got primer on mine last night !!! its been a year and a half almost but well worth it !!!! did the stringers and transom last year !!! [ pic of work so far ] is my thread

Cool cant wait to see her , Some other good reading is the completed projects forum !!! there are a bunch of us glastron owners on here !! all the guys are great we all will help all we can !!!! John

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Before buying motors or rewiring anything, check the hull for integrity - waterlogged foam? rotted stringers? rotted floor/sole? rotted transom? Given your description of what you've removed so far, i'd say there may be other issues lurking under the skin...
- Scott

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Wow, John has a lot of cool stuff going on in that thread, will have to readl all of it eventually. And Scott, I was reading after I posted last night and I see a lot of the restore projects involved taking the floor out and checking the gull integrity from the inside. I didn't really think about that, but I'm going outside now to sart on a few more things, so I guess that floor should come off?

All i've removed so far is the superficial things, all the cousions on the front, the seats, and allll the garbage. I'll post pics in the thread after i'm done for the day. Thanks again everyone!

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

I'm still looking for my camera, but in the meantime i manged to get the floorboards up. I noticed some spots were soft, and to my (not so much) surprise the bottom had at least three inches of water. There were long foam blocks in there, and they were completely soaked. It seems like the water could have gotten in through the deck because the carpet and top of the wood was wet, and the boat wasn't leaking any of that water. Mostly the front part of the deck, but i think taking all the wood deck out and cleaning out the hull is a better idea. So is this waterlogged foam replaceable? And even before that, how should I go about cleaning the inside of the hull? So many questions!

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

I used a floor scraper to get the foam out of my boat. (Like used for ripping up old tile) Once you dig out a small section so you can use it, it makes short work out of getting the bulk of the foam out.


You will need to test the transom for rot by drilling holes. Search "Core Samples" for the method.

Odds are you are going to find the stringers and transom are rotted out with the foam being waterlogged.

Since you have a tight budget-I would suggest you do a complete inspection and determine if you are starting on a boat that is worth the effort. I started on one that needed the engine rebuilt and every piece of wood and upholstery replaced. In hindsight, it was a poor choice. The hull is sound and the exterior looks fairly good, so that is something, but everything is so expensive.

I will say that transoms and stringers are much easier than they sound. It can be intimidating, but it is a very manageable job once you get underway. There is a ton of great information here, so read, read and read again.

Good luck!

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

I agree with J. Mark. A rebuild isn't nearly as complicated as it may look at first. I have often referred to is as building a model in real scale - you cut the part out and glue it in. Costs a bit more and the parts are bigger, but the concept is the same.

I knew my boats needed the work when I bought them and had a pretty good idea of what it was going to cost. I also knew that I really liked the hull design and style of what I would end up with, so even though I would be hard pressed to get my money out of them, it wasn't a factor as I knew I would be keeping them for awhile and I was going to be happy with the finished product. I had an essentially new boat for a lot less than new. I also had the time (long winters), space (heated shop) and money (not a huge amount, but not insignificant, either). If you lack any of those ingredients, I'd look for another boat.
- Scott

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Alright, well first I'd like to thank everyone for there advice, input and support. Upon your advice, I ripped up the deck and found a good amount of water as I stated in my last post. I got all the foam out and a good amount of the flooring and rotted wood (pics below). The stringers look to be a bit rotted, but are mostly coated in fiberglass. Based on the pics, any thoughts on the stringers? I haven't gotten to the transom yet, there are two bolts and I really didn't look at that yet. I am actually surprised in regards to how little work I think it will take (compared to what I thought). So, in my mind my next steps are:

• Scrape and sand inner hull where foam was
• Possibly replace stringers
• Foam
• Put decking back on, and coat.

Not having any experience, how does that sound so far? Now some pics:

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Looks like your on the right track so far. Stringers may need replacing from the looks of the rot showing and the amount of water you said was in the hull. You can drill a couple of test holes along each stringer and see what the shavings look like that come out and determine the condition of the stringers and decide wether they need replaceing or repairing.

Always wear your safety gear while working on your boat. Respirator, goggles, gloves, paper suit, etc.

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Since it appears as though you only have 3 fairly simple stringers and you've gone this far, I say you should grind them out, replace with new wood and fiberglass over them. Then you'll know it's sturdy and safe. How's your interior stuff? Are you going to be able to reuse anything like the side pieces and seats?

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

I can tell you that those stringers are shot. The wood is going to have about 10% dry wood, likely up front, the rest is gone. I speak from experience, and you can look at my links below if you are curious. Your boat is older, but VERY similar to mine.

Tis nasty work conditions you are looking at, but only if you don't equip yourself with the essentials. Fiberglass dust is plain ITCHY. You can avoid it though, by getting a set of Tyvek overalls, a good filtered mask ( not a painters rubber band dust mask, a good one ), a box of rubber gloves and some garbage shoes, or something that will prevent your feet from getting 'glass dust in 'em. Seal yourself up tight, get that grinder and some 40 grit flapper discs and rid yourself of those old stringers. Once you've gotten the hull cleaned out and prepped for glass, the rest isn't so bad...then it's just sticky...you can ask John about that.

The problem with that glastron is where that floor brace went across the stringer. All the water goes in right there. You need those stringers for hull integrity. You could try to cut the tops off the stringers, pull the wood out, put new wood in with an adhesive and then wrap them in a layer of glass after grinding ALL of the fiberglass on and around them, but the work involved, you are better off starting fresh. I had tossed that idea around for a while and decided it would be easier/better to just put in new stringers.

John and I are intimately involved with our Glastrons and are more than willing to help you out, as well as the other guys deep into their Glastrons, so don't feel afraid to ask for help with any aspect of your project.

If you don't already have a grinder, get either a good quality grinder ( MAKITA makes a great sealed grinder ) or if you have a Harbor Freight close, get the cheap one with the warranty and keep exchanging them as you go along ( the dust will eat up a cheap grinder )...just take a look at the "hull extension with picks" thread...you'll find the smoking grinder in there.

Good luck!

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

ezmobee said:

Since it appears as though you only have 3 fairly simple stringers and you've gone this far, I say you should grind them out, replace with new wood and fiberglass over them. Then you'll know it's sturdy and safe. How's your interior stuff? Are you going to be able to reuse anything like the side pieces and seats?

Click to expand...

Yep I have to agree with Ezmobee, but i would also go one farther and do the transom , then you wont have to worrie about her for the next 30 plus years !!!!! plus from what i have learned on here is if the stringer are shot then more then liky not the transom has some rot !!! John

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

from that pic it looks liek you will need new stringers. also since you got this far why not replace them? but yeah i would take some core samples and go from there

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

Thanks again guys. Even just ripping out the deck today I can see what you mean about fiberglass being extremely irritating on the skin. Not as bad as unwrapped ceiling insulation though, that stuff gets everywhere too. I never thought about the Tyvek overalls, but will def. get a pair, along with a good respirator.

So I'm doing some research on how to do the stringers, from your guys links and searching mostly. After the stringers are done I will start looking at the Transom, but I agree with jcsercsa and say that it's probably shot. It seems like a more daunting task then the stringers though. The boat is all covered for the next three days as rain in the area and work will prevent me from working on it. Time enough to clean up the work area in the garage and do some more research so I can be ready mid next week.

Also, anyone who knows about titles/registration in New Jersey:
The boat title will be taken care of next week, but the trailer is another story. It has no paperwork or VIN/other ID number on it. It too is from 1978. I think I can get the seller to sign/notarize a bill of sale, i wrote one up as best i could with the description of the trailer. Any thoughts on that? Because it's so old I'm really not expecting a issue.

All the pictures are here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregmontalbano/sets/72157616564203636/
My digital camera broke today after i finally found it, so I'm using a friends when I can

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

redfury said:

The problem with that glastron is where that floor brace went across the stringer. All the water goes in right there. You need those stringers for hull integrity. You could try to cut the tops off the stringers, pull the wood out, put new wood in with an adhesive and then wrap them in a layer of glass after grinding ALL of the fiberglass on and around them, but the work involved, you are better off starting fresh. I had tossed that idea around for a while and decided it would be easier/better to just put in new stringers.

Click to expand...

I see what you mean. So when it comes time to put new stringers in, would it be a good idea to cut the area out for the floor brace, and fiberglass over that? That way no water could get in at all? Also maybe fiberglass the floor brace and epoxy them together? Maybe I sound crazy there, as I said I'm starting out on the research now, just some ideas though.

EDIT: There is no doubt in my mind I will be using all new wood for all 3 stringers and floor brace, what I have to research now is how to properly install them, and what type of wood.

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

fiberglass everthing. when you replace the stringers, fiberglass them to the floor. when you install your floor, fiberglass all of it and the seems. i used marine grade plywood for my floor, my stringers were actually 2x4's and 1 2x6 for the center main beam. they were kiln dried spruce lumber. i love the boat. looks very nice. check your transom as well. i suspect it is likely rotten as well. measure the thickness of it before you remove and try to get the same when replacing it. you may need to glass two sheets of plywood. hope this helps. good luck.

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

OHH man the way then stringers look like I will bet your transom is shot !!!

OHH she looks sweet , like them colors !!!

Also I would do the transom frist , it will make it a lot easyier to get to and get the plywood in there !! plus you will want to glass the stringers to the transom !!! there is some good pic;s of it in my thread !!!

Ok that just my 2 cents , lol John

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

To take your mind off of glassing let's talk about what motor you're going to get for that thing. What the max HP rating on it? I'm thinking a 70 is the minimum you'd want on there and it may take up to a 115.

Re: Restoring 1978 Glastron, in over my head!

ezmobee said:

To take your mind off of glassing let's talk about what motor you're going to get for that thing. What the max HP rating on it? I'm thinking a 70 is the minimum you'd want on there and it may take up to a 115.

Click to expand...

Max rated is 100hp. If I buy a motor this year it will be a 9.9, maximum allowed for the lakes around here. I really think I'm going to wait until next year to get it out on the ocean. At that point, maybe a 75 would be nice. That's a whole other host of research I need to do.

EDIT:

I would like some clarification on what exactly the transom is on this boat. Is it simply the piece that the outboard would rest on?