Green Boat Transom and Fiberglass repair

[Flyingiguanna]

So this is my first official post on the iBoats forum. I've been reading lots of the other restoration/repair posts on both fiberglass and aluminum boats. I find it all very interesting and informative. I'm new to boat ownership, but grew up with boats as a summer pastime whenever we visited my grandparents. I freely admit to not being much of a fisherman, but love being out on the water (when the weather cooperates. )

Anywhoo I've acquired my grandfathers small fiberglass rowboat/utility. Its about 12' long and he usually just threw it into us utility trailer or on top of his car when he wanted to go out. I have no idea who made it, how old it is or really anything other than the family has always just called it the "Green Boat" and that it was frustrating to get it registered in my name to put it mildly.

Mostly I plan to use it on a lake near my house and on the Connecticut river to go camping, but before I take it out I have to do some repairs. I'll post pictures shortly of it so you can see, but I probably shouldn't have taken it out on the water in the state the transom is in, and am lucky I didn't loose my motor last fall.

So i'm planning on posting my work, submitting questions, and hopefully i'll be out enjoying her sometime this summer.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Green Boat Transom and Fiberglass repair

So this is my first official post on the iBoats forum. I've been reading lots of the other restoration/repair posts on both fiberglass and aluminum boats. I find it all very interesting and informative. I'm new to boat ownership, but grew up with boats as a summer pastime whenever we visited my grandparents. I freely admit to not being much of a fisherman, but love being out on the water (when the weather cooperates. )

Anywhoo I've acquired my grandfathers small fiberglass rowboat/utility. Its about 12' long and he usually just threw it into us utility trailer or on top of his car when he wanted to go out. I have no idea who made it, how old it is or really anything other than the family has always just called it the "Green Boat" and that it was frustrating to get it registered in my name to put it mildly.

Mostly I plan to use it on a lake near my house and on the Connecticut river to go camping, but before I take it out I have to do some repairs. I'll post pictures shortly of it so you can see, but I probably shouldn't have taken it out on the water in the state the transom is in, and am lucky I didn't loose my motor last fall.

So i'm planning on posting my work, submitting questions, and hopefully i'll be out enjoying her sometime this summer.

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Post up yer pictures,... We'll walk/ talk ya through yer repairs,...

 

[Flyingiguanna]

Re: Green Boat Transom and Fiberglass repair

So if this works here is a picture of my boat as she was the day I picked her up.

Here is the transome.

Picture of the gunnel where it connects to the transom on the starboard side

I'll have to take a few more, but it is currently covered in snow. That stated, I probably won't be able to start for awhile due to weather, and other projects recently becoming more pressing. I want however to get a general feedback on how I should proceed.

First: I've read the pro's and cons of Epoxy vs Polly fiberglass and am leaning toward polly but am concerned cause I have no clue what was used on this boat. Is there a way to tell?

Second: As you can see in the transom picture the gunnels are separated at the top of the transom. Can i fix that with just layers of fiberglass or do I need some additional support?

Third: The three grooves that to under the middle and rear seat easily collect debris. Would It be an issue to fill them? Should I remove the seats and add foam in/under them?

Fourth: The middle seat has a plug that goes through the hull. I need to provide pictures, but I plan to remove it, and redo the hatch into that seat space. I believe it was previously some type of livewell, but I have no plans to use it as such. I need to figure out what to do so that I retain that storage, but fix the cover which is a hacked together mess.

Lastly: Paint vs Gellcoat. Right now I think I am just going to paint, but we'll see what happens after I remove the pain that is already peeling off of the outside.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Green Boat Transom and Fiberglass repair

When you get to it, Sand the top of one of the gunwales and give us a look at the underlying glass. It will be a brownish/pinkish color and may show some fibers. We'll be able to determine much better what the boat is made from once we see the native glass. From the pics, it appears to me its made from some fairly heavy woven roving glass and that would indicate that Polyester Resin was probably used. Epoxy will stick to Poly but Poly won't stick very well to Epoxy. I'm about 99.9% certain your boat is made from poly cuz Epoxy is way expensive and utility boats just don't warrant that kind of expense. The Gunwale Transom intersection can easily be repaired and some gussets put in place to reinforce the intersection. We can show/tell you how to do that when the time comes. The holes in the seat bases are there to allow water to drain to the stern and then out the drain tube in the transom. I'd highly recommend leaving them and always storing the boat with the bow up. As suggested, I would attempt to fill the front and rear seat cavities with foam and possibly the sides of the center seat leaving the central hatched portion open for storage. Patching the hole in the center seat will be easy to do and after you get a few layers of fiberglassing done you'll see how easy it really is to fabricate things with it and I'm sure you'll be able to make the center seat/hatch the way you want it.