76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

[osborn159]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

nice boat, good progress, doesnt look all that bad either, ive got a stripped down hull on the side of the house, looking forward to making some progress soon.
again nice ride, good luck
D

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

You're doing a good job of documenting your project. However unfortunately a lot of your pics are coming up super-tiny. Attaching pics right on iboats is a pain because the file size restrictions are too small. You should consider creating an account on a site like photobucket.com and linking to your photos there.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

You're doing a good job of documenting your project. However unfortunately a lot of your pics are coming up super-tiny. Attaching pics right on iboats is a pain because the file size restrictions are too small. You should consider creating an account on a site like photobucket.com and linking to your photos there.

Your right EZ, I noticed that the latest pics came out really tiny. I was thinking about doing it on the photobucket but from reading threw alot of posts Ive seen people have issues with that, like when they move pics around or if the account isnt a paid account pic can be lost etc....

I remember having my resizing program set at 620x480 (ish) but just last night it wouldnt accept those and it dropped the size? Do you know what the actual size restriciton is, is it the same on the "manage attachments screen"?

I certainly want to put all the pics out there so everyone can see them, and with out a magnafying glass.

 

[redfury]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

I use Picasa and Google to host my pics, haven't had any issues with it yet.

 

[dorelse]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

I use Picasa and Google to host my pics, haven't had any issues with it yet.

Ditto on Picasa...create an album just for your rebuild, keep the pictures at a medium quality, and you can have 100's of photos. I have threads that are years old that the photos still come up on.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

I'll check out the Picasa web albums tonight when I get home. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

So I am getting ready to pull the motor off the boat, should get to it on Thursday. I bought a hoist, good for up to 450lbs, and already have the stand build. Once I have it off the boat I figure I'm going to try and get her fired up. I bought the SELOC Manual but have seen some suggestions from others that the Clymers manuals should also be had. Any thoughts on this?

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to select new spark plugs. As I am refurbishing the engine I noticed that the plug wires are in poor shape, I figured that I'll put at least new plugs, wires, and be replacing the water pump impellar, kind of a preventative measure. I was looking around but cant figure out how to select the correct plugs for replacement. Anyone know how to go about that?

 

[osborn159]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

i think you have a mercruiser, regaurdless, call your local dealer and ask what was the original brand and part#, if your gonna buy plug wires and such get prices for all before you check on line, sometimes its worth a little more $$ to get your parts from a dealer, in case you need to ask a few?? later on, if your not a customer they may not be so eager to help. I write service at car dealerships, bout the same there.
Good luck, D

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

i think you have a mercruiser, regaurdless, call your local dealer and ask what was the original brand and part#, if your gonna buy plug wires and such get prices for all before you check on line, sometimes its worth a little more $$ to get your parts from a dealer, in case you need to ask a few?? later on, if your not a customer they may not be so eager to help. I write service at car dealerships, bout the same there.
Good luck, D

Good advice osborn. I think I'll get my serial number and engine info together and call some dealers to see what they have to say.

Thanks!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Definitely post your motor questions in the appropriate motor repair section. We have a number of absolute GURUS on here. You'll get good answers and quickly.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Definitely post your motor questions in the appropriate motor repair section. We have a number of absolute GURUS on here. You'll get good answers and quickly.

Good Point. I'll ask around the Engine section.

Thanks

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Found more of the original boat documents.
Trailer Serial# V23267
BOAT # 39111M75E
MOTOR Serial# 3872424

Looking forward to doing some research and see what I can find out with this information. If you guys know anything about these let me know.
Thanks!

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Finally made it back out to the Boatpartment yesterday afternoon. Got the steering cable removed. That was more difficult that I thought it would be. I had to pull the motor end of the cable out after the motor was pulled, just did not have enough room to maneuver with the engine on. Once it was free from the engine threading it threw the transom hole and then the inner gunwale proved interesting. On the upper portion of the inner gunwales the factory molded fiberglass loops to hold the throttle cables and steering cable. The nut on the motor sided of the cable was too large of a diameter to fit threw the hard fiber glass loops, just by a hair but too big is too big. I had to take my dremel tool and a small cut off wheel and slice down the center of the fiberglass loops. Once I had that single cut I could pry the loop open enough to get the bolt threw. As I had already removed the steering wheel column the cable was all that was left.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

While I was out there yesterday afternoon I also got the engine pulled off. That was another challenge. I figured it would be a simple hoist it up and off deal, but once again I was proved wrong.

There are actually 6 bolts holding the engine onto the transom. The first four were obvious and pretty easy to pull out. The remaining two you could see penetrating threw the transom and transom plate but could not get to the heads of the bolts. I figured that these remaining 2 bolts were holding on the plate only but in fact they were bolted through the engine mounts, threw the transom and plate. Without removing these the engine would of course not budge an inch; however the whole boat would lift up real nice! LOL. To get at these last 2 bolts I had to completely remove the power tilt trim cylinders from the engine brackets by taking out the bushing/bolts from the bottom attachments, taking out 1 long bolt (about 12?) which ran through one side and behind the motor and through the other side then remove the 2 bolts from the top of the cylinders. Only after you had the cylinders removed could you access the last 2 bolts holding the engine on. Talk about a duhhhh moment, I kept seeing the bolts from the inside of the transom and was thinking they were holding on the plate?.well they were holding the plate, and the engine! Once I got all that off I was able to hoist the engine up and off the transom.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

After I got the engine pulled I was left with the throttle cables from the control unit holding it on. This puzzled me a bit but here is what I found. The throttle cables are attached at the engine, coming in through a rubber grommet and then bolted into the engine using small bolts. To get these off I found a retaining clip was holding the cable and adjusting nut into position, loosen up the clip, unbolt the cables at the bottom and worked the cable free, pulled out the grommet, then pulling each one out with its positioning nut intact. Tada! The engine was freeeee.

Let me tell ya, I bought a 450lb smaller engine hoist thinking it would work just fine for pulling a small engine. Welllll?it did work but that 85HP Merc weighs a ton, and when you got it hoisted up in the air with nothing but this hoist holding it up it feels like a 10 Ton lead weight swinging around. I?ve seen posts on here about guys pulling engines with come-a-longs from ceiling joists and trees or guys build home made gantry cranes. Let me say this, it was a humbling experience for a 6?5? 375lb man like me to pull that Merc. I highly advise using the appropriate equipment when pulling these engines, if that thing came loose it would most certainly put the hurt on you, if not maim or kill ya. Besides, this engine would cost 3X more $$ than the hull to replace.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

At this point I've got almost everything off the boat now, except those troublesome rails and cleats. I still am pondering how and the heck to get up under the bow seats and inner gunwales to access the bottoms of the bolts....That will be the next trip....It'll be my umpteenth crack at pulling those pieces, if I cant get at them I might just break out the sawzall and cut um off! Just kidding, but I'll be thinking about it.

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Here is the progress since I laid eyes on the boat on 12/27/09

Had a shop repair the trailer, rewire, new lights, installed tongue jack, rebuild trailer coupler, purchased a spare tire, etc?. I then trailered her all the way from Las Vegas, NV to Tucson, AZ then up Route 66 back home to Chicago, IL through the snowpocalypse.

I've rented the boatpartment, a 2.5 car garage by Chicago?s Mid-Way Airport to use as the workshop.

Have the interior seats, inner gunwale and ski locker pads, vinyl flooring, old bimini hardware, lights, gauges, windshields, tilt/trim assembly and cylinders, steering cable/wheel/column, engine, and most everything except 2 rails and 2 cleats removed

I was originally planning on a total budget of about $2,000 (insert hysterical laughter here) but with the tear down stage nearing completion we?ve invested a bit over $1,500 total and have yet to clean/paint/buff/install anything into the boat. I?ve revised my budget (aka B.O.A.T. = Bust Out Another Thousand) and am hoping to come in at about $4000 in the end. I find it?s important to remember that this is not about the money. This is my first try and I am getting up off the couch and actually performing a restoration. This boat has been in my fianc?e?s family for 35 years and was entrusted to us. I just hope that when it?s finished that Grandmother sees the pictures and approves and maybe my fianc?e hasn?t killed me by then. Yes my friends, family, and co-workers think I?m crazy and yes it is a lot of work. But when the day comes that I put her out on the water I?ll know that this was a project that my fianc?e and I did with our own sweat, blood, and tears (it really burns when crud gets behind your safety glasses and lands in your eyes).

 

[santo101979]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

Much much more is yet to come:
1. Power wash all the crud off the boat and trailer
2. Get engine into good working order. Crossing my fingers on this one!
3. Buff up Engine and Engine panels
4. Scrub top to bottom w/ Bon Ami using the Black & Decker scum busters
5. Repair all the dings/scratches/cracks/holes/etc? using Marine Tex and Fiberglass repair kits
6. Sand down the deck, removing all the old glue.
7. Wet Sand the boat top to bottom using the least aggressive grits possible.
8. Buffing out top to bottom (including bright work) with several stages of decreasingly aggressive compounds.
9. Buff out clean and restore windshields, cleats, rails, etc?
10. Install and properly bed the cleats/rails, lights, etc?
11. Use existing gunwale and ski locker panels as templates, cut new pieces.
12. Locate stereo speakers and cut holes then apply gluvit to the new panels.
13. Re-upholster inner gunwale/ski locker panels
14. Locate and mount gunwale rope lighting
15. Locate and precut holes for seat pedestals
16. Apply Gluvit to all of the wood
17. Apply Kiwi grip non skid to deck surfaces
18. Mount Engine/Tilt Trim/Fuel Filter etc?
19. Install new battery and wiring, Stereo, switch panels, etc?
20. Wire up lighting, switches, stereo, gauges, etc?
21. Install new gunwale and ski locker panels
22. Install new Seats
23. Stow all the required boat stuff
24. Take it out on the water!


Take a look and let me know if I'm missing any steps or what ya think I should look out for.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 76 Glasstron Tri Hull Resto Project

I think I'll have $5k into mine (including purchase price) so you're not out of line. It is an expensive hobby that's for sure.

Gluvit is not the practical solution to what you're trying to do. You want epoxy resin from somewhere like US Composites, west system, etc.

My only other suggestion would be to try your best to clean up a small area of the boat. If it doesn't shine or clean up quite as you'd like.....just sand and paint the darn thing.