Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

Tomorrow I'm going to look at a 15' deep v fiberglass boat. I cant make out the name on the side something like Gi--fion. It doesn't look to bad, but the previous owner tore the seats and floor out. He told me it has a small hole in the hull. It looks like some kind of fish and ski, but I'll be turning it into just a fishing boat. I know nothing at all about boats. I have wired houses before and I am a commercial carpenter. So I'm pretty sure I have some of what it takes to get the job done right. I've been reading some of the post about restoring a boat. I know to check the transom pretty good. From youtube I've seen it's not hard to patch fiberglass. Is there anything major I should look for tomorrow?

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

If the floor has been torn out, sounds like it may be in need of a full on stringer, deck, and transom restoration. This involves a lot of work and quite a bit of money, and all the fiberglass work is tough. Read a few restoration threads on here to see what you may be getting into to make sure you're up against. If the deck is removed I guess that will make inspection of the stringers and foam easy enough. Flotation foam holds in moisture if it ever gets in there, and it seeps into the stringers and bulkheads and begins them rotting. The best way to test for rot is to drill test holes in the stringers and transom, though I'm not sure if a seller would allow that.

I sort of detest fiberglassing new wood in. You begin to stick to everything, the rubber gloves rip as they stick to the roller, your feet stick to the hull, it gets on your skin and (I find it to be anyway) is difficult to get all of if you are hairy. It's worth it all though to have a boat you know is in great shape and is exactly what you want you may not be able to afford any other way.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

From the pics it looks like it has some kind of fiberglass sub-floor of some sort.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

As stated, usually there are stringer issues when the floor goes bad. Lots of threads in the restoration forum to review and see what & how others have restored their boats. Many were caught by surprise when they got their boat home and realized it was rotted. At least you know that up front.

You can go to NADA.com and check out all of the boat brands that begin with "G" and maybe you can match it up to the partially legible label (Could it be Glastron ?).

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

The USCG (guessing you're in the US, otherwise the MIC may or may not be accurate) has a MIC list of all US boat manufacturers

[h=3]Manufacturers Identification[/h]
It is a MUCH more extensive list then others. A quick Gi_____ search didn't turn up any great possibilities, but dig in & look around, you might find the info.

Does the title &/or registration have that info, are they available. W/out the paperwork, boat & trailer purchases can be difficult to get registered & titled, in some states nearly impossible.

Welcome to iboats, post up some pix when you look at the rig. Dismantled interior too.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

Some boat makers put the boat model name on the sides at the stern, not the manufacturer.

There may also be a USCG capacity plate that also has great info:


Look near the helm seat and while in the boat, look back at the transom, possibly up under the splashwell.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

I hope you read this before parting with cash.

All the information including the name of the boat should be on the title papers. If the seller does not have a title you are throwing your money away in most states because you will never be able to put the boat on the water with a motor.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

Thanks for the info. I haven't made it out to look at it yet. We are trying to meet today. I'll look over the boat really good. Before I buy it I want to make sure I can get it registered in my name. He has the title for the trailer. Just some kind of paperwork for the boat. I'll see what the notary says. Thank you. I'll post pics of the rebuild if I buy it.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

Walk not run--from this boat. You my have the carpenter skills to rework a set of stringers, but it's a 100 hr. labor job. What you will have after all that will not be worth the effort and expense you've put into it.

Find yourself a boat that doesn't require so much work. They're out there.

Re: Buying my first boat. I will have to restore it.

Hey there jlog my .02 cents
Run from it if you want a boat that's awesome
First time boat owner I highly recommend something aluminum because they re easier to fix up or restore and usually easy to get at a reasonable price I was looking on Craigslist tonight in my area and found a half dozen that would be awesome candidates shoot my neighbor has a starcraft islander for sale I'd love to have to restore but my gut feeling is to take your skils which will get you far in a resto find you an example starcraft Jupiter and run with it thanks for letting me put that out there