Restoring an old Glastron boat

[zaroba]

i've wanted a boat for fishing etc for a few years now, and it finally happened.
just got this old 15ft Glastron model 142Y for free from somebody and i'm fixing it up to use for fishing etc.

heres a picture of it from the front:

heres a picture of the 1971 two cylinder 50hp johnson engine:

the floor was rotted, so it needs to be replaced. i've already torn up most of it:

once cleaned nicely, i will fill the holes with a waterproof expanding foam (the old foam blocks that were in it are in horrible condition), put down 1/2" plywood, and seal it with marine epoxy and silicon.

 

[AMD Rules]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Price seems reasonable.

Its a Glastron.

Most likely 1968 Glastron Skiflight V-142, in Bronze Color option. Attachment below shows the ble version.

http://www.classicglastron.com/68gl-v142-153-web.html

Here's a good link for discussing these boats, with other Glastron/Carlson enthusiasts:

http://www.readylens.com/messageboard/default.asp

Good luck with your project.

 

[oops!]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

sweet boat......make sure the transom and stringers are good.....drop in the deck.....and kill fish

 

[kybasser]

looks good

looks good

i like the rear scallops like my 68 glastron .. someone sent me this link good pix http://recaffeinated.net/skankybeast/page1.html



my boat http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectThumbs,p,478,00.html

 

[redfury]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

The large "G" Glastron emblem puts it in the early 70's category. Looks like a 70-71 model, though I don't know if that color scheme was an option in either of those two years.

Probably be easier to determine the age if you can find the hull number. Glastron stamped those in the tail someplace.

From a letter from Glastron: "During the 60's, Glastron HIN's had six digits, and the the third
number from the left was the year. If the hull number on the outside of the transom is missing
or not legible, try looking on the underside of the dash near the steering column...There
often was a hidden one there. "

"Boats that were manufactured from 1970 - 1973 carried a seven digit number. The fourth
number from left indicates the year of manufacture. "

In 1973, Glastron starting using letters (GLA...) in the Hull Numbers.
Prior to that, the early 70's were just seven numbers, with the fourth number from the left being the year
(4322414 would be 1972). Starting in 1973 we were required to use prefixes.
Using the prefix you can determine the location the boat was built. Then
the seven digit id number will follow. A single letter and 2 or 3 more numbers which will tell
you the year of manufacture. These procedures are in accordance with coast guard federal
regulations"

 

[kybasser]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

my 68 's hin is x43142x doesn't fit your pattern data plate is plainly marked model #v176 on plate beside control mounts

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

thanks for all the info guys.
going by redfury's letter and the 7 digit serial, the boat was made in 1970, and the model is 142Y. the engine i know is a 1971 going by looking up its model number. now if i could get it running i'd be even happier, i have yet to take it apart to clean and look over. so far all i know the starter can barely turn it, even with a new battery (and somewhat hot wiring it due to lack of a key). the PA registration on it expired in 97, so i'm assuming it hasn't run since then and thus needs a bit of TLC.


besides that, the stringers all seem in good condition (boat was sitting bow up), but the rear most cross support was rotted, so will have to replace that. not a surprise given that the 1ft hole in the floor was right in front of it, the rest of the floor was just soft. i was planning to reinforce the cross members and outer stringers with 2x4s anyway to provide extra support and to provide a place to screw the new deck down to.

if it wasn't for the 90F temps, i'd have been working on it yesterday and today as well and would possibly have some more pics.
i'd love to have it completely finished by the end of the month.

 

[aborgman]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

thanks for all the info guys.
going by redfury's letter and the 7 digit serial, the boat was made in 1970, and the model is 142Y. the engine i know is a 1971 going by looking up its model number. now if i could get it running i'd be even happier, i have yet to take it apart to clean and look over. so far all i know the starter can barely turn it, even with a new battery (and somewhat hot wiring it due to lack of a key). the PA registration on it expired in 97, so i'm assuming it hasn't run since then and thus needs a bit of TLC.


besides that, the stringers all seem in good condition (boat was sitting bow up), but the rear most cross support was rotted, so will have to replace that. not a surprise given that the 1ft hole in the floor was right in front of it, the rest of the floor was just soft. i was planning to reinforce the cross members and outer stringers with 2x4s anyway to provide extra support and to provide a place to screw the new deck down to.

if it wasn't for the 90F temps, i'd have been working on it yesterday and today as well and would possibly have some more pics.
i'd love to have it completely finished by the end of the month.

If you don't mind, post some pictures of the transom.

--
Aaron

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

Re: Restoring an old Gaston boat

sorry for the late reply. been busy and the pics were on my gaming pc which was down for the week.

anyway, outside transom:

inside of transom:

can also see the remains of the rotted cross support near the drainage area. i've also already pulled off those side...box...things...near the back (sorry, don't know if theres a nautical term for them).

 

[kybasser]

I was wrong

I was wrong

Seems my boat is a 1972 v176 swinger afterall and i just titled it as a 68 oh well, I was going by google image search photos and the 68 looks identical to mine, must not have changed much It looks like you and i are at same starting point. I have an old friend that has a boat building company trickpowerboats.com i'm thinking about asking him to redio mine.... nice pictures please keep the photos and ideas coming. Looks like my boat will be split to replace transom, might as well do it right. later

 

[oops!]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

the correct nautical term for thoes shoebox thingies..........is called weight !

dont know why there there......hardly structural......but you might need a riser post deck to gunnel.....other wise....loose em if you dont want em!

good ol boats.....wont take long....have atter

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

heh, no updates in 4 months.
i had gotten really busy at work, and with the hot summer i stopped working on the boat completely since i would end up getting soaked in sweat and light headed after not even 15 mins outside. plus i didn't have it registered yet.

but, after a month of going from place to place and having places telling me it wasn't possible without the previous title owner presant, i finally found somebody who did the boat registration and sent it in for me. about a week ago i got the new title from the PA Fish and Game department.

so started working on the boat again.

cleaned it all up. taking out all the dirt, grime, and other junk. finished taking out most of the unneeded fiberglass that was on top of the stringers and from the deck, the stuff that remains i'm not worried about since the new deck will go over top of it. cut and put in the new rear cross support which includes a piece of wood to mount the new deck onto, and added the wood to the stringers to reinforce them and provide a place to screw the new deck down to.

still going to cut some wood to attach to the remaining cross supports.

going to get a used outboard from my aunt this weekend and hope it works, not going to bother trying to fix the old motor on it, so far i know it needs a whole new control box, throttle cable, starter, fuse, and prop. probably going to sell it and save up for a new motor. going to be taking the boat to a local pond on sunday to float it and test it for leaks before putting down the new deck next week.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

Hay zaroba, I wouldnt have worked on her eather if i didnt have the title !!

Did you check the transom for rot ?? and are you going to glass that them cross members in ?? John

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

the transome....it would probably be best if it were replaced. it is wet and quite soft. i can easily dig into the exposed layers with a screwdriver. although i understand how to remove the cap, i don't have the ability to put back on the 200lb outboard if i take it off, which i will probably be taking off anyway. i believe theres foam behind it as well, which is probably soaked.

would reinforcing the existing transom with pressure treated 4ply 3/4" plywood bolted threw the existing one and threw the outside fiberglass work to get around it? basically to bypass the existing transom completely. or would that be just as inefficient as doing nothing at all?

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

the transome....it would probably be best if it were replaced. it is wet and quite soft. i can easily dig into the exposed layers with a screwdriver. although i understand how to remove the cap, i don't have the ability to put back on the 200lb outboard if i take it off, which i will probably be taking off anyway. i believe theres foam behind it as well, which is probably soaked.

would reinforcing the existing transom with pressure treated 4ply 3/4" plywood bolted threw the existing one and threw the outside fiberglass work to get around it? basically to bypass the existing transom completely. or would that be just as inefficient as doing nothing at all?

I hate to tell you this but if you dont replace it you will lose your motor , putting plywood over will not work !! you will eather lose it on the road , if your lucky if not you will be out on he water and see yea , your swimming !

to get your motor off its not that hard get the bolts out of her put the motor all the way down ,and then lift the trailor up at the bow all the way have someone hold the motor while your doing this !! then both of you can lay it down , me and my son did it last time , and the time before that me and my daughter did it , 100hp merc 1962 about 300 lbs !! you can do it !!! john

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

just pulled off the motor. the screws it had going threw the transom came out with wet brown wood on them that looked like mud. guessing the whole thing is rotted.

glad i you said i should replace it.

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

if the fact that the transom is shaped like a triangle surrounded by fiberglass wasn't bad enough, more digging and looking as i'm about to pull the cap off shows that the cap, the bottom, and the transom are all fiberglassed together as one huge piece.

don't know if i can handle fixing that.
will pretty much have to cut the transom out.
i've never messed with applying fiberglass before, so don't know if i will be able to put it back together again the proper way.

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

here a cut, there a cut, everywhere a cut cut.
cap is off and the transom is mostly exposed.
sucker still doesn't want to come out though.

doesn't 'look' rotted, but it pulls apart easily and water can be sqished out of it with a bit of pressure.
even if it dries out, it will still be very soft and fragile.

 

[zaroba]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

bit more digging and out it popped:

think when it comes time to put the deck in, i'll use angle brackets screwed between the deck and new transom to add a bit of strength

 

[Darren Nemeth]

Re: Restoring an old Glastron boat

if the fact that the transom is shaped like a triangle surrounded by fiberglass wasn't bad enough, more digging and looking as i'm about to pull the cap off shows that the cap, the bottom, and the transom are all fiberglassed together as one huge piece.

don't know if i can handle fixing that.
will pretty much have to cut the transom out.
i've never messed with applying fiberglass before, so don't know if i will be able to put it back together again the proper way.

Fiberglassing is easy.

I have a boat based on one very similar boat to yours. A 1969 V-145.

Check out my blog for info on how to make a transom.

The temp dropped too much for me to put the transom in but it goes in when the weather breaks in June.