Do old glass boats get brittle?

[oldsub86]

I have very little experience with glass boats. We have generally had aluminum boats.
Do old glass boats get to the point where they are not really salvageable?
I looked at one a few nights back that has been sitting outside for a long while. The boat is almost fuzzy.
I really wondered if it could be brought back to life with just a really good cleaning and polishing or perhaps sanding and painting or if it has had its day.
It also has a lot of crazing in the gel coat on the transom etc. Is that a sign that the wood is rotten and the glass is flexing?

 

[nola mike]

If it's been sitting uncovered, you're almost certainly looking at rotten stringers/transom.

 

[Bondo]

It also has a lot of crazing in the gel coat on the transom etc. Is that a sign that the wood is rotten and the glass is flexing?

Ayuh,...... The wood rots out, the fiberglass doesn't,.....

 

[Ned L]

Well yes, I believe the polyester resin used to build (most) boats does continue to cure for years on a very small level, so the resin in a 50 year old boat will be slightly more brittle than the resin in a 6 month old boat. However, generally speaking this is not enough of a change to cause issues or concerns

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have very little experience with glass boats. We have generally had aluminum boats.
Do old glass boats get to the point where they are not really salvageable?
I looked at one a few nights back that has been sitting outside for a long while. The boat is almost fuzzy.
I really wondered if it could be brought back to life with just a really good cleaning and polishing or perhaps sanding and painting or if it has had its day.
It also has a lot of crazing in the gel coat on the transom etc. Is that a sign that the wood is rotten and the glass is flexing?

depending on the boat, the vintage and where it sat out in the elements, you are looking at a mile rebuild to a full-up hull restoration.

without even looking, assume you need $3K just to get the hull seaworthy. if it needs interior, assume $2-3k for that. if it needs motor work, anywhere from $500 to $20,000 depending on what it needs.

 

[oldsub86]

Well, I was not really thinking of making a new boat of it. I mostly wondered if it was safe to use for a while. I have an aluminum boat that has been waiting for me to repair it. This glass one is a similar vintage and has the same engine and outdrive etc. My thoughts were that I could use this glass one for a bit and then pull the engine etc and keep as spare parts for the aluminum boat. The floor was solid in the glass boat which I took to be a good sign. It is a bit rough looking, but if it was cleaned up a bit, it might serve the purpose for a while. The real question is whether I can get it for little money as I would not want to pay a whole lot for it. The trailer it sits on is not bad so that makes it worth buying if the price is reasonable.

 

[Scott Danforth]

without pictures and test drilling into the transom and stringers, no one can tell you it would be safe

the floor is the last thing to rot on a fiberglass boat.

the transom and stringers are the first things to rot

if you say its "fuzzy" from sitting outside. very high probability of the transom being so rotten that it may sink on you, especially since you stated there are cracks in the transom