1987 Glastron Restore

Hello fellow boat enthusiast! I have been observing the work performed by other members on this site and felt that it was time to start a project of my own. I was contemplating buying NEW or getting into some fun by buying an older boat and making it new. After several months looking for the perfect one I came across a deal that I couldn?t turn down. Although, it isn?t exactly what I wanted, wait, I don?t think that I knew what I wanted. Anyhow, I found this 1987 Glastron Conroy. It came with a 1997 Yamaha 60HP outboard with only a few hours on it (nearly new condition for the age) and a nice trailer. The best part of the boat was the Price $500.

Pictures are coming!

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

So I have some pictures but they are stuck on my camera until I find the adapter to get them off. I tried putting the memory stick into my laptop but it doesn?t read the Don?t Pro Duo.
This is Day two of the boat remod. I hooked the garden hose up to the motor and tried firing it up. Even though it has been sitting for a couple of years that bad boy fired right up. I didn?t want to run it for very long due to the old gas that was in there but I revved it up to about 3500 RPM and then shut it down.
All of the carpet is now removed. Also, I cut out the fiberglass around the deck ply and I think I?m in for a lot more than expected. The foam under the deck is saturated with water and cause the entire deck to rot. The stringers are in rough shape not rotted because they are mostly covered in fiberglass. I think that I am going to go ahead and cut those out as well since they are exposed and easy to get to.
Back Aft: This is where it is getting tricky, I wish I had the pictures; anyhow, I cut all of the wood out except the flat area where the gas tank sits. It still looks pretty good. A little wet but not rotting. The trans looks pretty good as well. So I think that I am going to add a piece of Ply to the Trans just to beef it up a little and prolong its life. It will be a head ache to remove the motor and split the hull If it isn?t needed. I may use the synthetic stuff later on down the road.
Questions for today:
Foam- Is there a good reason for it or is it just to rot stuff out? I can make storage space out of the rear compartment if I don?t replace it.
FiberGlassing. When I replace the stringers how many layers of glass do I need to put down?

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I finally got down to the stringers. Man what a task that is to get all of the foam out of the way. I have decided to leave the vertical fiberglass that holds the stringers in and just epoxy those to the new stringers and then cap it off with new glass. I think this will be enough to hold for a lifetime.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Merrymeeting said:

I finally got down to the stringers. Man what a task that is to get all of the foam out of the way. I have decided to leave the vertical fiberglass that holds the stringers in and just epoxy those to the new stringers and then cap it off with new glass. I think this will be enough to hold for a lifetime.

Click to expand...

Aside from some grinding, you're not really saving much time by using the existing glass, plus it's going to be dirty and moist no matter what you do. I'd strongly suggest grinding them out - it sounds like less work. Up to you, though.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

you are right about grinding them out. I ground the caps off the stringers and then realized it was going to be more work cleaning up the remaining glass to try and get the new glass to stick to it.

I stopped by Hancock lumber today and orderd some materials for the stringers and decking. It was nice to find out that they delivered for free so it will be here tomorrow.

I am still looking for the cable to the camera to put some pics up on here. It is coming along good though. Three days and I have the stringers almost ready to go in. Hopefully I will get them in tomorrw

How dmany layers of glass should I put on the stringers? I was thinking that one would be good but I like to make sure I dont ever have to do this again.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I plan on doing a good stringer replacement on an '88 Glastron but haven't got that far yet. I will be doing that in the next 5-6 weeks.

But here is a link to a document from WestSystem that shows some great illustrations of the process. I'm going to do it this way when I get to that point.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/Fiberglass-Boat-Repair-and-Maintenance.pdf

I hope this helps.
Nick

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Thanks for that manual. That makes me feel alot better about this job ahead of me. I almost feel like I should go ahead a replace the transom as well since all of the rest of the wood is going to be new. I dont really want to seperate the boat though and the transom doesnt seem that bad. I think that I am just goign to reinforce the transom and leave it alone untill it becomes an issue.

Fiberglass is itchy!

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Do some core samples on your transom while you're in there. That'll answer your question of whether now is a good time or not!

I actually enjoyed doing the glass work. Grinding and cleaning sucked.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I took some samples of the transom. I think that it is ok but then again I dont know anything about boats so tell me what you think....

Drilled several holes and all wood looks to be wood and not compost

All samples were wet but bright brown in color...

stood on motor and there was no give on the transom...

The only question is with the wood being wet. I was thinkinag about drying it out and sealing it. I dont know what to use to seal it. I was thinking resin or bildge paint. I am going to go ahead and add a piece of plywood to the transom to add a little extra meat. could I just put some resin between the plywood and sandwich them together? or should I use something else?

What is the best way to dry it?

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Merrymeeting said:

I took some samples of the transom.

Drilled several holes and all wood looks to be wood and not compost

All samples were wet but bright brown in color...

What is the best way to dry it?

Click to expand...

You have about a season or two left before the transom starts to become mush. Sorry to tell you this, but there's no good way to "dry it out". Once it's that wet, it's going to develop rot.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I still cant find the dang cable for my camera so I took a coulple of pics with my cell phone so you guys can see what I am working on. Here is a pic with all of the glass removed. You cant really tell in the picture but I have all of the interior stripped. Also most of the grinding is completed and the stringer material will be here tomorrow.



http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...55328869722_1420857401_30135138_6559034_n.jpg

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

danond said:

You have about a season or two left before the transom starts to become mush. Sorry to tell you this, but there's no good way to "dry it out". Once it's that wet, it's going to develop rot.

Click to expand...

Do you think that I should go ahead a split it and replace the transom? I was hoping to get the boat in the water in about three weeks. . I am not planning on pulling a tube or anything with this boat so I can take it easy this season and possibly break it in half this winter to replace the transom.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

ok, stringer material is here. For the second time I ordered the wrong boards the first time. I am going to be busy grinding away today and then sanding to get ready for the install.

I am looking over the threads to see how much material i should need to put the stringers in.

Glass, resin and epoxy?????

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Transom might be able to wait, but it's up to you.

As far as supplies - for a full boat start with 4 gallons. That'll get you started, but probably won't be enough, though it will be enough for you to figure out how much you're going to need going forward.

As far as glass - get 10 yards of CSM and 10 yards of 1708 biaxial. Again, probably not enough to finish, but enough to get started.

Good luck! It's not so bad.

...ok it's pretty sucky but it's rewarding when it's done.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I am off to the hardware store to get some tools to make life a little easier with the sanding. I have read several topics that recommend a flap wheel on the grinder. After I return I am going to finish cutting to the stringers and get them ready to install. I hope to get them in today.... Pics are coming will post progress tonight and also budget so far on the boat.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Design Layout Ideas:

I have been looking for some good floorplans. I am thinking of gettign rid of the Back-to-back seats and putting in a caouple of captains chairs. this will eliminate two seats. My wife was not too happy to hear that I wanted to do that because she was planning on tanning while I was fishing. I guess my thoughts were that there isnt enough room in the boat for six people anyhow but how do I keep her happy as well.

The Bow is going to be converted to a fishing deck and I was thinking about putting a bench seat in the back. Will it create a hazard if I close off the fuel compartment and what do I have to do if I do? There is something that doesnt sound good about battery and fuel in the same compartment.... let me know what you think...

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

Stringers are cut and everything is almost clean enough to put them in. I think i need to let it warm up a little because i coated the stringers w/ resin and they are still wet 15 hours...going to try and warm up the garage to see i i can get them to dry.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

HELP!!!

Project is going slow and now I am at a standstill. Yesterday I cut the stringers and dry fitted them to make sure everything was going to fit. After dry fitting I coated the boards with resin. Today after about 20 hours of setting the resin is still wet. I thought the cause was the weather turning colder about 60 so I took a blow dryer and tried to speed it up. Nothing,,, I don?t know what to do now??? Do I let it sit for a couple more days and see if it will harden or do I start over?
Can I use acetone and remove the resin and try to add more hardner to the mix and try it again?
What will happen if I just put them in tacky and try to glass over it?
New to glassing and need your help?..

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

I finally got a couple pics off of my phone...


Here is the floor after the stringers were removed. This is not the current status of the rebuild. I spent several hours grinding and sanding all areas where the new glass is going to be.

Re: 1987 Glastron Restore

If it's still wet, you didn't mix the hardener correctly. Give it a few more days and see if it hardens on it's own. If not, you have a big mess to clean up, and will need to start over.