1979 Glastron Carlson CV-23 restoration

[Wildey]

Pretty nifty driving there.
I have 4 boats and several other smallish trailers that get moved around constantly. My neck and back don't turn like they used to, so I put a ball on the front of an old 15HP mower that was headed to the dump. Amazingly useful.
I use it more than I ever imagined. I have an old snow plow lift handle with a toggle that will go on it to raise and lower it so I don't even have to get off the seat.

 

[docmirror]

Yeah, I should do that with one of my other yard tractors. I don't want to do it to the Cub, but I have a Craftsman with a hydro, making it a lot easier to go slow. Part of my problem was the clutch catching.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Man!!! I would love to have all that space, and a couple planes to boot. Envious for sure.

 

[docmirror]

OK sports fans, back here with an update. Old man vs CV23, and CV23 pulled ahead for a while, but Old man fought back with a vengance. Raise your hand; 'who LOVES to arc weld upside down, laying on your back in a sweaty t shirt?' Yeah, me too. I got the obligatory slag holes in the shirt, and divots on my chest and thighs, wearing shorts and arc welding, another 'do not try this at home'.

I got her up in the air, with 3 straps, and four chains around the trailer the whole thing went up a few feet so I could weld. It wasn't able to get the pads on the framing due to the tires being too wide, and obstructing the swing arms. So, next best thing was swing arms up near the hull and straddle straps under for support. If you'll note, I did a sacrificial offering of two riding mowers under there, and a jack in the back as a double security measure just in case. Nothing to be concerned with, it all worked well. Until I started under there to work.

Grinding grit first, a lot of rust, and crud on there and the grinder took most of it off the flanges, and deposited it in my hair, face, and down my shirt thankyouverymuch. Once I saw steel I stopped and moved on to the next flange. All that done, and fired up my 180A mig unit for some more quality heat, slag, and strain. I turned the gas way up and was able to blow some of the rusty crud away as I made passes with the trigger. It was not fun, it was not pretty but it looks like it'll hold until I can get the boat in the water, and flip the trailer to work on it like a human, using my feet as feet, and my back to support my head, and my hands to move the rod around.

Welded four of the six that were broke, the other two had weld on the top crossbrace and they weren't in very bad shape so I dodged those for now. Next job was getting it back on the ground safely. Which required a few ups and downs before it was all lined up just right with the post plates.

After that, I harnessed my engine, and starting to set the proper thrust line with the bellhousing flange of the jet. I have the rear bolts loose, so I can get an accurate gap from that to the engine block, and then I'll cinch up the front mounts a bit and finally draw the engine fully back into the jet flange. Maybe next Mon will get it to the hull guy. Now, I gotta go hit the pool and cool off for a while, and drain a few FMBs.

 

[docmirror]

Hidee-ho there neighbor. No work this past wknd. I was down in Galveston. So, not only did I go to the boat mecca of TX, but I bought another boat. Zoiks! Like I need another boat. Don't worry, this one is a real boat. Wife wanted a place to stay when we visit the kids and decided to get a Sea Ray. It's a 40ft aft cabin. Nice boat, with twin diesel Yanmars. Hope to get some work done on Tue. Trying to get it to the hull repair guy.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Pictures….. we like boat porn!!

 

[docmirror]

News. I took it to the hull repair guy, and he's gonna do my work for $2500 plus materials. Super cheap considering. Plus, he wants to come down to the hangar and do the work at my place. I don't have to leave it or tow it up to him, about an hour away. He's going to start next Friday, and should be 4-5 days. I had to do some cleaning but no engine work today. I might go down and do some engine work on Thur. or Fri.

 

[docmirror]

Weekend of woe. I prev said it was nice when big visible pieces of the project are linked up. This was not that wknd. This was tired, hot old man vs bent, rusted, crappy steel. No one is going to see the results of Sun work unless they dig way down in the bowels of the engine bay. Under the exh headers, and down at the engine stringers I had a rotted reinforcement plate on the right stringer. At some point in its life, the plate was a piece of cold steel, 1/4" thick and 9" long. When it got to me it was strips of steel and oxide, with 4 stainless bolts sort of holding it to the stringer.

I started with the framing hammer and the steel just LAUGHED at me! 'Ha-ha, did you think I would give up to a framing hammer? Silly wabbit.' So, I escalated to the 14" pry bar and some bashing and crashing. Rusty, crusty steel took another victory lap as I sweated by 'nads off wailing on it. Finally, the big gun came out. I got my 3' chromoly wrecking bar, and I did some wrecking with it as intended. Finally and with copious swearing the bent, rusty, crusty steel came out in bits and pieces.

I did save the stainless bolts which is good, as they are pricey at Blue, and I wanted to re-use them. $14 saved. Cleaned up the stringer, and examined it, and by golly - it looks just cracker. The one thing to say about Gastron-Carlson, they did not skimp on the 24oz roving. That engine stringer will certainly outlive me. My kids will be dealing with it if they ever decide to mess with the boat(unlikely). My daughter is a chem engineer and she has one of those stylish Yamaha speed boats with the fancy wake tower. She's a pro athlete and a 60 year old boat is not something for her to cherish. Maybe YOU, out here in iboat land will get to enjoy my hours of labor.

Next up was making a new plate. I have some 1/4 steel handy and decided rather than burn it, I would go ahead and sawzall. No commentary about the straightness of my cuts please. I could barely see the material for all the sweat on my bifocals. I WANTED it that wavy, if you please. Couple of holes drilled. For those of sharp attention to detail, one might see I'm using a ShopSmith as my drill press. Another interesting side story:

About 15 years ago, I moseyed down to my buddies hangar, and we shot the **** for a while. He informed me that he's sold his hangar, and would be giving up most all his 'stuff' in there. Same old story, he's got a cancer somewhere and won't be flying much anymore. I got first dibs on the stuff, and picked up a trailer with a huge engine driven pressure washer, and the ShopSmith. It's not just any ShopSmith, for those of the woodworking bent, but it was the Top of the Line Mark VII unit. Higher power motor, reversible power, built in vac, and some other nice gadgets all on a wheeled base. I did a refurb on it, and it's been doing yeoman duty for wire wheeling, sanding, grinding, and drill press. Another 70 year old tool that will outlive me. That Jacobs chuck might have a bit of surface rust from sitting outside for 40 years, but with a bit of lube, it works perfectly like the day it left the factory in 1963.

Back to the job at hand. Steel cut, holes drilled, old plate removed, and vacuumed up. I fitted the new plate in place, but - just for giggles, I'm going to have the FG guy lay a flap of 24Oz roving over that, and I'll drill new holes. Just one more bit of prevention. It will all go together with some silicone sealer, and I should be good for another 480HP to the pump.

After a few FMBs, I also mounted the new alternator, repaired the trailer winch handle, cleaned up the valve covers, and fitted the new throttle cable heim joint. Once I get some blockoff plate for the exh crossover to keep the intake cooler I'll be mounting the intake and valve covers. Maybe Wed. FG guy is coming in on Sat, and he'll get started. I will take pics, and stay out if his way. Hand up tools, offer encouragement, and keep him in FMBs as long as he's working.

 

[docmirror]

OK, it's not mine quite yet, but I'm grabbing up a boat just like this. It's a private sale, and not online, but basically exactly the same. I'll be single handing the docking process as my wife doesn't feel safe either driving or handling lines. About 38' is the biggest I've docked single hand, and this is going to be a bit of a challenge getting in and out, but we've rented an oversize slip, and I have a bow thruster already, so I feel pretty good in anything under wind speed about 12MPH. Over 15MPH, we're going to call the marina for an extra hand. Looking forward to some nights on the water.

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[docmirror]

Mini update. Worked on Tue a bit and Wed am. Got the valley cover, intake and valve covers installed and torqued mostly. Finished the alt install, and did some work on the right engine brace. We'll see how that goes. I got the oil, filter, and oil pressure gauge sorted out. Almost ready to put in the dist and wire it all up again.

 

[docmirror]

$622.64! Three sheets of 4x8 marine 1/2in and one sheet of 3/4. Gulp. It looks real, real good. I've never seen a sheet of plywood so damn straight, flush, true, and finished. It's like a very fine piece of art. I'll take a pic when I deliver tonite. My FG guy is going to wail on it with power saws. GAH!!!

I'm excited to get the keel base covered, get the gas tank back in and have the floor done. I don't want to DO the work, but I'm looking forward to the int having at least the appearance of the word 'boat' soon.

I was looking at the lower hull critically today. Some feminine hygiene product prev owner has beat it up pretty good here and there. Plenty of dings near the bow winch where he slammed the winch handle into the gel coat. Couple of big scrapes on the front of hull where he's clearly slammed it into the steel fenders - oops. The bottom of the hull shows some sand scuffing. I plan to get it up in the air on the lift without the trailer on two straps so I can work on it like a human and do some gel coat spray, and also some patch repair and sanding.

Been giving some thoughts to the paint. I don't want it real gaudy like one of those off-shore race boats, but I do want it bright. My idea so far is start with red pearl from the back, and move forward about 8 feet. Transition to an orange on an angle slanting forward from the keel up to the top deck. Then transition to a bright yellow from the orange transition going forward. I will do the rub rail frame in the alternate style, with yellow from the transom, and shading orange at the midpoint then shade to red at the front. I can buy replacement rub rail in that fake chrome color from Taco to give it a pop. Won't be very good for rubbing anything but will look pretty nice. I hope.

Also considering removing the front stainless bow railing and just leave it off. Not like anyone goes up there on the bow deck, so why have a rail up there? Just to make it look like a yacht? Pfft, dumb. I'll remove it to paint the hull with jet glo(aircraft paint), and see how it looks without.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Gulp is right!!! That’s some expensive plywood! Could have saved yourself tons of money using ACX, or BCX exterior grade plywood.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Gulp is right!!! That’s some expensive plywood! Could have saved yourself tons of money using ACX, or BCX exterior grade plywood.

Agreed. Marine plywood is overpriced and not needed.

 

[docmirror]

My FG guy wouldn't work with anything but marine grade. I asked. I also checked a few other sites and while I could have a few hundred with ACX or even BCX, they all said that there will be voids in those plys and the marine will have zero voids.

In the grand scheme of the project, the added cost is going to me fairly small. My labor for the FG will be 2500-3000 and then I have ext paint, the interior cuddy refurb, and next year I'm going for a bigger engine, and a B cut impeller and a Place Diverter.

The wood looks fantastic and is very heavy. I'm glad I went with the better stuff.

 

[docmirror]

Side note. No Glastron update, but maybe of interest to some. Grab a Cohiba, or glass of wine, or whatever floats your boat and sit right back and hear a tale.

I like the 'yacht lifestyle'. As I write this, I'm in the salon of my 42' yacht, in a marina with three ACs running, a frosty malted beverage, and some Floyd of the Pink variety on the 8 speaker stereo. The hidden TV is popped out of its weasel hole and sportscenter is giving me the scores on the days baseball doings.

Yes, my friend I do indeed like the yacht lifestyle. Yesterday morning was a bit hectic, we got the keys, and found the boat with no AC running and the seacocks closed. Grrrrr, I hate that broker for doing that. Dipshit. But, we got the seacocks open, the ACs running, the fridge on, and after a few hours, all was right with the world. Sleeping on a boat has never bothered me and I crashed out until almost 9 this am. Had some fluffy eggs, and did some reconnoitering around the place. There's the fuel dock, pump out station, manned from 6-9 every day. We've got an adult only pool with swim up bar, a regular kind of bar, and a 3 star restaurant up on the 3rd deck. There's a bricked promenade, with nice people who great you with 'howdy do!' and a smile. The trashcans are not full, we have courtesy carts to move stuff from car to boat, and all the women are young, shapely, and barely clothed(well not all, but plenty).

Like, like, like button for the yacht lifestyle. It pays here for a little background. We came from humble beginnings. My parents never attended college, my dad was a salesman, we had a decent home, but nothing of great value until we bought a used 1961 D200 truck with a Week-N-Der slide in camper. That was 'big doins' for us regular folk. Yacht? My dad couldn't dream of having something like this as a getaway. I grew up thinking that if I just made it to a double-wide, on a private lot with a decent sports car, I would be in heaven. This is not to look down on the plebes, heck - I'm as plebian as they come. A few years in school, and a few letters behind my name, and 50 years of hard work, and I have Made It.

Having made it, does not come without some cost. The fees, and maint on the boat are going to be at least as much or more than the equiv property tax on a beach home. The diff is, my beach home moves, and floats, and I do not have to mow, or pay the city/state a fortune to own it. Freedom is decidedly not free. I have an est for adding a autopilot to the boat, and interface with the GPS/chartplotter and it's about $5500. I'll do a little back and forth with the guy, and get it installed for $5k. Push a button and sit back and watch the magic. I have the latest Garmin 10" chartplotter with all the bells and whistles. It will maybe cook me a steak if I find the right menu button.

We got the right boat after looking for more than 8 months. Size is one of the most important things to get right. I was all the way up to the 56 foot Carver Voyager Pilothouse, and realized I was going to have a mess trying to single hand dock it, even with a bow thruster. Our min size was going to be 36 feet, and we hit the sweet spot at 42. I can back it, turn it, slide it, and broach it fairly well, and I'll get better with practice. Was considering adding a bow thruster, but with big props, twin diesels, I'm doing just fine without.

So, a few days of listlessness, and pleasure, and then back to the Glastron salt mines on Sat. did I mention I like the 'yacht lifestyle'?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

You sir are living the good life!! Post up some pics of the boat!!

 

[docmirror]

Guys, I posted a link to the same exact boat. Forty some pics to drool over. Mine has some trim differences but it's the same thing in the link We left a few hours ago, and I'm already working on the Glastron. The FG guy hasn't shown up yet, I'm getting kinda pissed off. He'll have to work alone tonight or just bag it until Sun.

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[kcassells]

Guys, I posted a link to the same exact boat. Forty some pics to drool over. Mine has some trim differences but it's the same thing in the link We left a few hours ago, and I'm already working on the Glastron. The FG guy hasn't shown up yet, I'm getting kinda pissed off. He'll have to work alone tonight or just bag it until Sun.

Sea Ray 420 Aft Cabin boats for sale | YachtWorld

Find 12 Sea Ray 420 Aft Cabin for sale on YachtWorld Europe's largest marketplace for boats & yachts. We connect over 10 million boat buyers and sellers each year!

www.yachtworld.com

This is such a BEAT subject. All the resources are here for you to go over.
This is nothing new.
It just seems no one wants to research any information anymore that is so easily available and seem like it's a brand-new day?

 

[docmirror]

This is such a BEAT subject. All the resources are here for you to go over.
This is nothing new.
It just seems no one wants to research any information anymore that is so easily available and seem like it's a brand-new day?

Uh - what? Thanks for playing along - I guess.

 

[docmirror]

Another Sunday, and more sweat. FG guy showed up late Sat, got drunk, fell over the welder and cut his head and arm. Things are just going GREAT!

We got started about 10 this am. He was up and moving around. Right now it's mostly all dental work with the recip cutter. He's chopping like Paul Bunyon with attitude. FG flying, foam tossing, screaming buzz cutter sounds just like a major league dental tool.

Everything is on track, we have our big glass and some epoxy, all the cleaning stuff. No plywood cutting today, mostly just digging out the dead stuff. It's a freaking mess in there. I'm still glad I hired the guy, really don't want do any of that myself.

My jobs for the day was to finish up the intake, mount the sensors, get the wiring cleaned up some. Mount the carb and hook up the throttle. I got the oil filter and oil in, spark plugs, and mech fuel pump. I'm going to use both electric and mech fuel pumps. Then it was time to get the fuel tank sorted out. I used my new electric pump, and two fuel filters in line, and filled the tank with 10 gal of older gas. Started sloshing it around, and tipping the tank this way and that to dilute whatever crud was left inside.

Went and got my 2 fire extinguishers, and set them nearby. Routed the hose from the pickup back into the fill tank and ran the pump. I'm getting crud in the filter canister, and the fuel is turning kind of dark. I'm sloshing and pumping and sloshing and pumping to get it all cleared out. Swapped filters, and now down to very small bits and pretty clear. I will take out the fuel sender on Mon and check it for resistance. It's a common sensor, if I need to repl will be pretty simple. Most times, just clean up and make sure the float is viable. I can get a cork float if the old one is junk. Maybe so old to be brass float.

I still have work to do on the right engine mount, and get some bracing done, but I want to stay out of the way of FG work. I think on Mon I'll go get a gel coat repair kit with plenty of paste and go to work on the hull. I"ll stay out of the way, and get the lower hull smoothed out some. Plenty of scrapes and scratches and gouges. I can also run some green scuffer pad on the parts of the hull that are oxidized. Knock it down to decent gel coat surface so I can prep for paint.