1975 Glastron V162 Futura "Refresh"

[hvymtl939]

So, I actually have 2 boat projects going on right now, but thought I would post up the "easy" one first. (Are any of them really easy?) Right around the beginning of the year, I was browsing Craigslist on my lunch break (the start of so many bad ideas), and saw an ad for a boat for trade. It said it was a Glastron, had a 70 HP Johnson, and had new stringers and floors. Make offer.

I decided to shoot the dude an email and offered a guitar I had been looking to trade for a while. Having a near 2 year old doesn't leave a lot of time to play rockstar, and I figured the boat could be worth more in the long run. I figured he would tell me to go to hell, but don't know unless you try, right?

So, the dude emailed back and said "it's never too late to learn, right?!" When I got out to his house, it made sense. Previous owner lived on acreage, had 2 massive barns, and they were all filled with stuff. Mustangs, classic chevys, at least 4 other boats that I could count. He said his wife was wanting some room, and he had been wanting to learn guitar. It was a win/win. He said he and his son had run the boat for several years, and they put the new floor and stringers in. I inspected, and the work looked great. Not as smooth of epoxy work as what you would find factory, but solid and safe.

Here's the way she sat when she came home.

Previous registration tag shows she was last tagged in California in 1993, and I think it shows. This boat had to have set in dry storage in the desert for a long long time. There is no other way it survived as nicely as it did. Having seen before with my prior boat what can happen to neglected fiberglass and wood, it was a welcome sight. Transom core samples I took were as dry as the day it was put on from the factory.

 

[hvymtl939]

Here are some more pics from that first weekend, and our plan of what to do. Since we were not going to have to mess with glass and wood, our plan was to deep clean everything, paint the interior, lay down new carpet that came with the boat, get the motor running, full cut, polish and wax, then list it for sale, using the heck out of it until it sells. The PO explained that he and his son used the boat at a local lake for a lot of years, (hence the lake of registration), and fixed the floor together as a project. However, boy went off to college, project never got finished, and the boat got put back in the garage and forgotten about.

Here are some more pics.

41 year old interior vinyl is immaculate, besides some dirt, dust, and grime.

1976 70 HP Johnson. Lower unit has been swapped at some point (I assume since it's black and not green)

Prop is decent

Carpet is in a pile there on the left.

 

[hvymtl939]

Potential there under the grime!

Dirty girl! You can see she needs a center windshield section, and 2 wooden slats for the bow steps replaced.

The motor hood. It's from a 55 hp Evinrude Johnson. PO said he didn't have the original 70 hp one latched down well, and lost it on the highway, but this fit.

After getting everything taken out that needed to be, and wiped down well, we started to measure the carpet.

More measurements and trimming. Epoxy paint really cleaned up the inside!

This last sunday, we actually had some really nice weather for Kansas in February, so I pulled it out of the garage, and decided to see what I was working with on the motor. Had my first mate help me pull the front cover so I could get to the carbs.

 

[hvymtl939]

Well, I checked the gear lube, which was full, and a little black, but looked solid enough to try and fire it up. Hooked up the hose, hooked up the fuel tank, hooked up the battery and.....nothing.

Not even a click.

I let out a big sigh, and started walking to the garage to get my multimeter. Nothing is ever easy right? However, the admiral made the suggestion I recheck the battery connections. I do, and...

SHE LIVES!!! Sounds great! Goes into forward and reverse with minimal effort, no weird noises while shifting. Let her run for about 10 minutes on the hose, and temperature never got too hot per the highly scientific "how long can you hold your hand on the cylinder head" test. New impeller kit has been ordered, as I had to learn that the hard way last year on my first boat. Doh!

Got the center carpet section glued to the flat part of the deck that day too.

 

[hvymtl939]

Forgot to mention about the PO put on new shift and throttle cables, as well as a new teleflex rack and pinion steering setup. One less thing for me to deal with, yay!!

Last night, I got the remaining carpet glued down on the sections that go up the curves of the hull. I decided to do this after doing the main, flat section, as I thought it would be easier to make sure all the wrinkles were out. Don't know if I should have done it all at once, but it went down pretty easy last night, and the part I already had put down was rock solid.

Goal for these next couple of days in trim carpet, clean seats, and get them back in. We're supposed to have mid 70 degree weather in KC this weekend, so I would like to take her out to my local lake, putt around a bit, and see how she does! I'll bring my trolling motor and 20 hp tiller steer johnson just in case anything squirrely happens, especially since my new impeller kit doesn't come in until next week. She did fine on the hose, but that's one thing, and in the water under load is another. I will update this with more pics as I have them!

 

[ezmobee]

Wow that's quite a find! Should be real sporty with the 70.

 

[hvymtl939]

Wow that's quite a find! Should be real sporty with the 70.

Thanks! I was honestly just hoping to get a spare decent motor out of the deal, since the pictures on craigslist looked like they had been taken with polaroid that sat underwater for 10 years. Just goes to show old boats can still be nice if they were properly stored (like anything else really)

It's a manual trim motor, so I assume it will take a little longer to get on plane, but I imagine she will be pretty fun. I'll report back after Friday's test!

 

[MILKWEED]

That's a nice find, looking forward to the first run results.

 

[hvymtl939]

Got some more work done last night. Started cleaning 41 years of grease, grime, dirt, and god knows what else off the factory seats. Had to pop in about 5 new staples, but other than that, they're in great shape! Few mildew stains gave me fits, and I didn't want to tear up the vinyl too bad with a magic eraser, so for right now, they're "good enough". My buddy who is coming up this weekend is a detailing nut, so he's bringing a few different things he wants to try on them, so we'll see how that works.

Sorry I've been bad about taking pictures. You know how it goes when you get into a project, cold one in hand, music playing, and just get in the zone, and forget to capture your progress.

About halfway in on cleaning. Just enough room for the Admiral's car to fit in the garage! Gotta keep them happy.

Sill kick plate or whatever it's called installed, and carpet trimmed along the chine.

Getting closer. You can see the base I built for my pontoon holding one of the seats, and one of the stock pontoon seats behind it, that we have been using as a template for the ones we're making.

Not perfect, but for 41 years old? I can't complain too much.

 

[hvymtl939]

Got even more work done last night. Seats are back in, fuel tank is in, battery is in, life jackets are on, oar is on, fire extinguisher is one, horn is on, and a good variety of tools as well. Ready to take her out today after work! We're about 95% of the way there with this one. Need to cut, polish, and wax the hull, replace the missing steps on the bow, and restain/paint the ones that are still there, and find/fabricate the center windshield section. I've actually been keeping my eyes open for a new windshield. I think part of what dates this boat is that horribly boxy one that's on there now, so hopefully I can find something a bit sleeker.

And finally, the Admiral and First Mate.

 

[ezmobee]

Looks awesome! Good luck with the splash.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Really nice find and great work on cleaning her up. Good luck on splashing her today.

 

[hvymtl939]

Thanks guys! Hoping things go smoothly. I'll take tons of pics, and report back this evening.

 

[hvymtl939]

Well, this was a pretty great weekend.

I left work at 1:30 on Friday, and went and got the boat registered, and renewed my Kansas State Parks pass. Picked up my father in law on the way home, and we loaded up the boat, ran it one last time of the hose to be safe, and headed to Lake Olathe, a little 200ish acre lake a few minutes from my house.

We backed her down the ramp, got her off the trailer with no issue, and headed out. She was a little cold blooded at first (that water was freezing!!), but after she was good and warmed up, she ran like a top for the two hours we were out there. Didn't check speeds on my phone, but she's pretty quick. Here are some pics!

FIL and the Futura

Maiden voyage selfie!

Made it back in one piece!

Saturday, one of my best friends came in to down from Wichita. He, my FIL, and I all went out to Hillsdale Lake, which is about 20 minutes south of my house. The weather was mid 70s, which is unreal for February in Kansas, the water was glass, and the boating was exceptional. She did 31 mph on GPS with 3 good sized dudes and a cooler full of Miller Lite. Great Saturday.

Shirtless in February! I even caught a little sun.

Calvin, Gary, and beautiful water

Sums up the day.

We still have some cosmetic and odds and ends kind of things to clean up, but I'm glad she's running the way she's supposed to. Should be a damn fun summer!

 

[Brandon5778]

Congratulations on the trip! That boat deserves to be back on the water. A freaking guitar.... Lmao. You're going to have a lot of fun on her.

 

[hvymtl939]

Congratulations on the trip! That boat deserves to be back on the water. A freaking guitar.... Lmao. You're going to have a lot of fun on her.

Thanks. I'm actually 2/2 on guitar for boat trades. Picked up this 1967 Glaspar 14' with a 20 hp 1968 Johnson tiller steer for a guitar last year. Had a lot of fun on that boat too, and it's small enough I can store it under my deck.

Plan for next winter is set it up with controls, build a console, etc. Make it more of a runabout.

This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever take while boating.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Congratulations on a successful splash. Looks like you all had a great time and that's what makes all the work worth it.:encouragement:

70 degrees in Kansas in February. Really! What a jacked up winter we've all had this year. At least it has allowed for some mid winter splashes for some.

 

[strokendiesel002]

Congratulations! She cleaned up beautifully and I really like the lines!

 

[edgepa]

Of the three, the aluminum tiller may be my favorite. That said, pretty nice boating in February instead of playing pond hockey.

 

[hvymtl939]

Well, I've been working on buffing the hull to get her to shine a bit more, but it's damn tough to get things done when it's this nice out!! Did this instead of working.

Little dude getting the Glastron ready to go.

My mom driving the Glastron at Lake Olathe.

Mi Madre and I

My FIL, my parents, and my son... Admiral had to work this weekend

Andddd probably my all time favorite picture. "Look at me. I am the Captain now." He did an excellent job driving around Lake Olathe at no wake speed. Daddy sat on the bow and only had to make a few corrections to steering!

Get your kids into boating, and they'll never have money for drugs!