1962 Glasspar Seafair Sedan restoration

[irishglasspar]

I just picked this boat up a couple of weeks ago. I am new to the boat restoration. I have read a lot about these particular boats because I have wanted one for some time now. As I began to clean up the boat and started to really check it out I found the transom to be in bad shape (not too surprised). The floor is very solid so for now I am assuming the stringers are fiberglass due to the fact it's a 1962 with an I/O. The vin is 17XA2048. The wiring is also in need of updating as its a rats nest, I was able to turn it over before I pulled out the motor and out drive to begin the process of replacing the transom.
I have a ton of questions already. One is should I open the floor to put in a bilge pump area between the floor and the hull or leave it sealed? Two I noticed when I removed the motor and outdrive that they used a 1/2 spacer on the gimbal housing to get it to fit. So should I build my transom 1/2 thicker in the center to better fit my gimbal housing? Three is it better to go with an auto style fuse block or a toggle style fuse system when I rewire the boat? Four how long can I leave the wood exposed after sanding before I apply new varnish. Five what is a good epoxy besides the west system. There has to be a somewhat cheaper system that is just as good. Also I am Thinking of using the whale supersub bilge pumps. One under the cabin and one under the motor.
I have set up a photobucket account to keep up with my project.
s1152.photobucket.com/user/DeWayne_Partain/library/?sort=9&page=1

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Woodonglass]

I just picked this boat up a couple of weeks ago. I am new to the boat restoration. I have read a lot about these particular boats because I have wanted one for some time now. As I began to clean up the boat and started to really check it out I found the transom to be in bad shape (not too surprised). The floor is very solid so for now I am assuming the stringers are fiberglass due to the fact it's a 1962 with an I/O. The vin is 17XA2048. The wiring is also in need of updating as its a rats nest, I was able to turn it over before I pulled out the motor and out drive to begin the process of replacing the transom.
I have a ton of questions already.

One is should I open the floor to put in a bilge pump area between the floor and the hull or leave it sealed? IMHO you need to remove the deck to inspect the stringers. Boats of this vintage with Transoms as bad as yours, typically have bad Stringers as well. Just because they're covered with fiberglass doesn't ensure they are structurally sound. Only core samples can/will tell you that.

Two I noticed when I removed the motor and outdrive that they used a 1/2 spacer on the gimbal housing to get it to fit. So should I build my transom 1/2 thicker in the center to better fit my gimbal housing? How thick is the transom now? What Motor and Outdrive does she have. The MFG has specific specs for transom thickness and motor mount alignment. You NEED to know what those are and build accordingly.


Three is it better to go with an auto style fuse block or a toggle style fuse system when I rewire the boat?
I'd recommend a fuse terminal bar. iBoats sells them..http://www.iboats.com/Fuse-Terminal-...iew_id.1184807

Four how long can I leave the wood exposed after sanding before I apply new varnish. What wood are you sanding and Varnishing?

Five what is a good epoxy besides the west system. There has to be a somewhat cheaper system that is just as good. Don't have to use epoxy. Your boat is made from Polyester Resin and you can do all the repairs using Poly. About 2/3 cheaper than epoxy. Faster and easier to use as well, IMHO. I'd say about 90% of our members restore their boats using Epoxy.

Also I am Thinking of using the whale supersub bilge pumps. One under the cabin and one under the motor. Can't help you here. Never used em.

I have set up a photobucket account to keep up with my project.
s1152.photobucket.com/user/DeWayne_Partain/library/?sort=9&page=1

It's best to post your pics directly into your thread. Just copy the IMG Code for each pic from PhotoBucket and then Paste it into your thread like this...



Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

See answers to your questions in RED above

 

[sphelps]

Cool boat ! I think Woody meant 90% of members use poly not epoxy .. ? #5

 

[Woodonglass]

Yup I SURE did!!!! Poly NOT Epoxy!!!

 

[irishglasspar]

As for the stringers I have been able to verify that they are only fiberglass. No wood used on mine. Cannot tell you what a relief to know I dodged a bullet there. I will post picks of what my stringers look like under the deck. I think I know why they used a spacer on the gimbal housing. The motor that the boat currently has is a 3.0 mercruiser with an alpha 1 out drive. The original motor was a Volvo Penta. Instead of moving the front motor mount they used a spacer to allow the gimbal to fit the back motor mount. This is a guess by the way everything looked prior to removing the motor and outdrive to replace my transom. As far as specs for the motor alignment and mounts the info I would need would be for the mercruiser and alfa 1? My transom was 1 and 7/8 inches thick before the demo. I have also found another issue I will need to address. The boat looks as though the previous owner hit something on the bow. I will inclose pics of this. I have yet to find a thread on this type of repair. What polyester do you guys recommend? The Wood I am talking about sanding is all of the mahogany trim. I need to redo all the varnish through out the boat.

 

[irishglasspar]

The Picture with deck removed is not my boat. That is just a pic of what the stringers look like. Mine are the same.

 

[Woodonglass]

Merc's require a 2" transom. SCORE!!! on those hollow stringers. Now that I SEE the stringer configuration, I WOULD probably use epoxy and 2 layers of 10oz cloth to effect the repairs. They need the added strength. That damage on the bow looks to be a Classic example of what happens when you repair a boat using BONDO!!! Over time water gets to it and it deteriorates and causes exactly what you see. You'll need to grind all that out down to good glass and do the repair correctly.

 

[irishglasspar]

I am in the process of compiling what I think I will need in the way of supplies to do my transom and build the two new motor mounts for the motor (front and rear mount.) How much of what materials should I order for this? At the same time I order the stuff for that the coating on the inside of the boat will need sanded and recoated. My question is it normally just gel-coat. What is the best way to go about this? also before I start the transom rebuild I am going to cut 2" of the back of the deck. I don't want any material from the tear down clogging up my drain holes or the bilge system I want to install. I will have to be sure I have enough materials to deal with reinstalling this in my list. While I am waiting on materials I am sanding down all the mahogany in the boat to be varnished. I figure it will be a few weeks by the time I can afford all the materials so why not sand in the mean time...lol. To bad its a 110 degrees outside.

 

[irishglasspar]

One thing to add should I use 3/4" marine plywood for the transom or 1/2"? I figure 4 pieces of 1/2" or maybe 2 3/4" and a 1/2" to get to 2" thickness?

 

[trailerbound]

I too have a 62 sedan. one thing I plan on doing in regards to my transom is to not use wood. there's no wood in the stringers to rot so why put it in the transom? my plan is to use seacast once and never have to worry about it again. yes it costs more but its a one time deal. I used it in a silverline I did and its very easy to use. if you can swing it that's the best way. I'm sure someone will be by to say they hate it or that using wood will last 20 yrs etc...just thought I'd put my .02 in. good luck with the rebuild!

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd go with one 1/2" sandwiched between 2 - 3/4" this might be of interest...Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms
Gelcoat can be rolled, brushed or Sprayed. Rolling would be my choice in your case.

 

[irishglasspar]

I looked into using something other than wood in the beginning but the cost is insane. I even found some really good posts about it over at fiberclassics. I figure Im in my mid 40's now I should out live it if I do it right...lol. I have decided to go with vinyl ester on the transom and I found that some of the tabbing is coming loose up in the bow. That will also see some vinyl ester and 1708. I really don't know how much resin to buy to do the transom and the little bit of motor mount work I need to do. the web sites say I need less than a gallon. For some reason I doubt that. Im guessing around a gallon and a half to 2 gallons. I figure 6 yards of 1708 maybe 8 would be better. I'll need everything to make PB. I want to use PB to glue everything. Any insight into how much I will need would be awesome. The transom is 1' 6" x 4' 6". It will be 2" thick when complete. the motor mounts are basically a 2' long piece of 2x4 an a1x2 ant the back. Do you have any pictures of your '62 trailerbound?

 

[Woodonglass]

2-3 qts of PB. 3 gallons of resin, 3 yards of 1708 6 qts of cabosil

 

[irishglasspar]

that's sounds a lot better. Thanks for the information Woodonglass.

 

[mickyryan]

wood that's just poly resin no cloth repair that's what happens to poly resin without fiberglass reinforcement I dug some out of my hull I found and it looked exactly same like someone had spilled some and left it and it cracked just like that, very cool boat ill be watching this thread for sure