I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

[Chachi420]

Well, I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 16ft 1977 Glassmaster...
I've had a lot of fun on the nearby lakes lately, but I'm desiring something a little nicer as far as interior and I believe that I will need to replace the deck due to the fact it might be (or probably is) waterlogged.

I know very, very little (ok, actually absolutely nothing!) about boating and even less about boat restoration especially working with fiberglass, so I will be relying on the kind people of this forum as well as other internet searches.

I'm anticipating that the floor restoration will be the biggest area that I will need help and advice with, so I've been reading previous threads on the subject.

I'm creating this thread as a place to post my questions, comments, and pics of the project as I continue along. I appreciate all of the help from this forum, and I hope that I can learn a lot so that I can help others too.

I'll keep everyone posted with the progress.
8)


Here is a list of items I currently need to work on:

• 
  Check out floor/deck for any major problems that need to be fixed to ensure boat longevity

• 
  Inspect/fix internal gas tank

• 
  Fix navigation lights

• 
  Fix power trim

• 
  Reupholster interior (side panels, front seats and seat back panels, captain's seat and passenger seat loungechairs)

• Buff up fiberglass to make it shine like new and polish metal hardware

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Here is a earlier link I posted that has pics of my boat and a little history from the last 3 months when I originally bought my boat.
http://www.iboats.com/bbboard/bbBoa...i?a=viewthread;fid=28;gtid=808791;gpid=808791

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Ok, My first questions are on resoring the floor. The 1976 115 hp engine seems to be working well now, and I hope that continues for a long time since I know engine repairs are expensive, so I will no focus on the floor/deck of the boat.

Also, I don't wat to restore the boat if it's not worth the money/time to do so, but I really have enjoyed cruising/fishing around the lakes so I want to protect this boat so that it will last me several (5+) years. At it's present state, it seems the floor may not last though I'm not really sure, so this is a large area of concern for me and my newfound hobby.

The floor had a soft spot when I first bought it 3 months ago, but that spot developed into a small hole, and is now currently about 6" wide hole exposing a fiberglassed stringer and a foam tube. The boat has been left uncovered for the 3 months I've owned it, and at least an additional 6 months before I bought it. The boat sat at carteret community college in moorehead city, nc for at least 6 months before I bought it, so I'm sure that there will be water-logged issues with the boat.

What should be my next steps to determine if I need to rip out the whole floor or not? I'm hesitant to do this since I don't have too much money to spend and I have no knowledge of how to do that or how to put in a new deck. Is it possible that the fiberglass hull could be rotten or should the hull be ok.

I also don't have any tools except for a screwdriver and small ratchet set so I need to know if it is practical financially to undertake such a project, or whether I should just use the boat as-is and let it continue to deteriorate slowly.

 

[Kevin70]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Fiberglass never rots. You can always count on that. I found a soft spot when I picked up my boat, tore up the carpet on the spot and found that the entire floor was rotten, along with the stringers and transom. Don't start the restoration unless you:

1) Are willing to live without it for a long time.
2) First study the past treads on this forum so that you can get an idea of the work you are getting into. Grinding fiberglass, cutting plywood, re-fiberglassing, carpet, vinyl, etc. It can get overwhelming to some people.
3) You have the spare cash to finish it BEFORE you start it. My restoration is going to set me back about $1,000 just for the interior. Over $3,000 for the full restore.

I'm not trying to discourage you from doing it by any means. And if you decide to go through with it, keep in mind that there is a wealth of information on this forum, and alot of us people who have gone through the same thing and are happy to answer any questions that you may have.

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Fiberglass never rots. You can always count on that.

Ok, thanks for your reply!
I don't think I can live without the boat during the spring/summer boating season so I will start (If I decide to go through with it) around Sept and hopefully be finished by March if that's even possible. I don't know how long a deck restoration would take for an extreme novice.

So just to be sure...you think that the fiberglass hull will not be rotten? At West Marine, a worker told me that a fiberglass hull is made up of a wooden hull that has been fiberglassed and that the wooden interior can be rotten if water leaks in from the top (since my boat has been uncovered for a long time he said that might be possible). I want to make sure that the hull will be in good condition before starting a deck restoration.

I don't have much money to spare right now since I just moved into my first home. I can only spare $1500. Is that enough for the deck (wood, fiberglass, resin, and whatever else I may need)? I would eventually like to add new upholstry too, but the final finishing touches could wait if necessary until I save up more money.

My primary goal is to make my boat last me several more years, and my feeling is that in order to make it last I will need a new deck so that the hull dosen't become rotten.

I think I need to invest in some sort of boat cover first though to protect the interior from the rain :$

 

[Pony]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Fiberglass never rots. You can always count on that.

Ok, so just to be sure...you think that the fiberglass hull will not be rotten? At West Marine, a worker told me that a fiberglass hull is made up of a wooden hull that has been fiberglassed and that the wooden interior can be rotten if water leaks in from the top (since my boat has been uncovered for a long time he said that might be possible). I want to make sure that the hull will be in good condition before starting a deck restoration.

Thats the way the floor usually is (at least in the glass boat I had). That is why the floor will rot out. The hull is prolly gonna be a fiberglass mold of sorts and wont have a wood layer in the middle. (except the transom)

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Thats the way the floor usually is (at least in the glass boat I had). That is why the floor will rot out. The hull is prolly gonna be a fiberglass mold of sorts and wont have a wood layer in the middle. (except the transom)

ok, thanks. Is there anyway to find out if this is the case for a 1977 Glassmaster? I imagine all 1977 Glassmasters are made the same way, and it would be good to find out without having to do any work yet, especially anything potentially harmful to my boat (eg drilling a hole from the bottom of the boat to inspect the hull to see if rotten and fill hole with marine glue).

 

[Pony]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

In the part of the floor thats rotted and where the hole is, you will see "mulch" from the decaying plywood. If part of the floor is rotting, chances are you will be replacing the whole thing. I havent had to cut out a floor yet, but many here have and can help you.

You can test for water logged foam by pushing a screwdriver through the floor and seeing i it comes out wet.........................BUT if the floor has a hole already you will be replacing foam.

The hull should be okay........take a good look at it from the outside to see if there is spider web cracking and or stress cracks.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

don't drill any thing from outside. put a piece of 1/2 ply over the hole so you don't break your neck, enjoy till sept/oct then tear in to the floor and fix it. if you like the boat and like boating, fixing it is a lot cheaper than replacing it, and you resale or trade in value drops tremendously with a hole in the deck.

 

[tschamp20]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

glad you posted!i've got a 1976 glassmaster. i just got done painting the outside tonite.mines an 18' but looks identical.please keep us posted. i'm really looking forward to following this project good luck
DOUG

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

glad you posted!i've got a 1976 glassmaster. i just got done painting the outside tonite.mines an 18' but looks identical.please keep us posted. i'm really looking forward to following this project good luck
DOUG

cool...I think it's a really fun boat. I want to paint mine too eventually, but I'm just now in the preliminary stages of trying to work out a plan of action on the restoration. I think I want to wait on the deck until ~Sept since I don't think I can go without the boat these next severl weekends on the lake. It's such a great way to relax after a week of working.
I'm only going to fix small things now like the navigation lights, the securing/redoing the battery connections and fixing the gas tank.
I'll keep you posted though!
How is the deck on yours? Is it pretty solid?

 

[Kevin70]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

tschamp20

It is against the law to say "I just got done painting the outside tonight" and not post any pictures. If they are not posted by tomorrow evening, the proper authorities with be contacted....d

Chachi420,

I don't blame you for wanting to wait out the season. But, if you enjoy working with your hands, a full restore can be fun. I'm having a great time with mine (I could do without the 100 degree heat). And when your done, that could be a sweet float.dd

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

well, I started to work on the internal gas tank today.
I bought a new gas cap since the old plastic one was melted shut. The new one is stainless steel.
I took off the hoses because of their deteriorating quality. I will need to replace the fuel inlet hose, the fuel line that goes to the engine, and the vent hose. I think it shouldn't be that hard. The 12 gal 1976 metal tank appears to be holding gas and not leaking.

I tapped on the exposed stringer that is showing through the ~8" hole in the deck, and it appears to be solid, so I may not worry about the deck just yet.

The anchor and navigation lights are working now after I put in new bulbs, but I need a new red/green filter since the old one is missing. I will also by a 2million candle rechargeable spotlight.

I've tested the battery with a voltmeter and it reads about 12.4 - 12.5 Volts. When I was running the engine today on muffs at idle speed in my driveway, I then tested the Voltage while at idle and it was still 12.5V. Does this mean I don't have an alternator, or if I do it's not working possibly?? I don't know what an alternator looks like, so I don't know if I have one or not. I have a 1976 115hp Johnson engine if that helps. I did not put it into gear since I believe it's only supposed to be on idle speed when on muffs, but I don't know if the alternator works at idle speed either.

I just need to know if I have an alternator or not so I will know if I need to wall-charge my battery or if the alternator will charge it (if I have one). Also, in a pinch, if I hypothetically lose battery power, could I start the engine using my deep cycle trolling motor battery? or does that really hurt the batter?

I'm headed out on the lake tomorrow with my girlfriend and will camp tomorrow night on a sandy portion of the lake side.

Thanks again for all of your help!! (I still have much to learn from ya'll)

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

you don't get a lot of charge at idle, you can start with trolling battery, if tuned properly you can also rope start that engine, should be notch in the fly wheel to hook knot of 3/16- 1/4 rope., don't let any one stand behind you. good luck, safe boating, mosquito repellant.

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Thanks for the advice tashasdaddy...

I now have a new problem...
When I tried to run the engine off of the inboard gas tank (which had been unused for minimum 1yr but probably more than that) the engine ran for about 45 sec then stopped...I tried to crank it a few more times but it wouldn't get going, just the onset of cranking but never fully cranked....after a little longer it didn't even crank anymore...

After reading these forums this morning along with scoping out the issue, I think that the problem is that there was water in the bottom of the tank. I took off the cover to the carb, and it looks like some milky substance is in there.

I should've siphoned out the bottom of the internal gas tank first, but I didn't know at the time.

So, now what should I do to get the engine to start again now that I've got pure gas in the tank?

Thanks so much...I was hoping to get her started soon so I can go out on the lake today (I've been planning on the lake trip all week!)

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

I'm very happy right now to hear the engine purring while running on the internal tank. I'm about to put the tank back in and consider this task complete.
I had to siphon the rest of the water out of the bottom of the tank, and there was ~1L of water in the 12gal tank. Since some water got into the engine last night, it was somewhat gunked-up as a result, so it was very difficult to start today. I think the battery may have also been weak from trying to start it so many times unsuccessfully last night, so I wall-charged it up and then the starter turned and the engine cranked with a little difficulty at first. I sprayed some Gum-out brand cleaner into the carb and now it's sounding good. I also put some gum-out additive into the gas tank.
Cross your fingers for me that it continues to run as well as it has over the past few months.

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Hi all, I just got back from the lake and had an incredible time. The lake was awesome and the camping very enjoyable. The internal gas tank worked well and I've used 2 full tanks so far. I wanted to cruise around and burn it up to clean out the tank with the gumout additive in it. On a small number of occasions, the engine would stop becuase it wasn't getting gas, and I could see the primer bulb was collapsed which means there was probably some small clogging on the gas tank nozzle to the hose. Every time that happened though I was able to re-prime the engine and get her started again easily.

Also, the fuel guage on the gas tank is missing the floater (presumably floating in the tank somewhere?) and I need to replace it. What type of material should I use and where to find it? The local Napa auto store did not have anything to use as a fuel guage floater and I would just like to replace the floater and not the whole guage since I'm tying to conserve money because I know I need to spend a lot more on various other repairs.

I checked the voltage of the battery with the engine off and it was 12.5V...with the engine running at WOT it was also 12.5V, so does this mean that I don't have an alternator or if I do have one that it's not working? I'm still trying to get to the bottom of that question.

 

[mbische]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Sounds like a fun project. I'll chime in and say a few things about the electrical system, first though I'm not a marine mechanic so take the following with a grain of salt. You may also want to post your question in a engine forum in case their members don't lurk here.

The 12.5 volts sounds about a volt low from what I've been told a starting battery with the engine off should be at (~13.5). Not a big deal but one way to verify the battery is to take it to a place that can test the battery, either pull the whole boat down or pull the battery. The franchise I use in my area is Batteries Plus, they may be by you as well.

As for the alternator, they *look* the same as car alternators, but on an ouboard they will be belt driven off the flywheel or crankshaft.

Hope that helps.

 

[Chachi420]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

Sounds like a fun project. I'll chime in and say a few things about the electrical system, first though I'm not a marine mechanic so take the following with a grain of salt. You may also want to post your question in a engine forum in case their members don't lurk here.

The 12.5 volts sounds about a volt low from what I've been told a starting battery with the engine off should be at (~13.5). Not a big deal but one way to verify the battery is to take it to a place that can test the battery, either pull the whole boat down or pull the battery. The franchise I use in my area is Batteries Plus, they may be by you as well.

As for the alternator, they *look* the same as car alternators, but on an ouboard they will be belt driven off the flywheel or crankshaft.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your reply, however it is my understanding that it is a 12.5V battery. Any thoughts from others? Also, I just found that the engine has a 6 amp stator under the flywheel acording to the brp part catalogue. Maybe that is what charges the battery instead of an alternator?

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Re: I'm thinking of restoring my (new) 1977 Glassmaster...

:'( Hmmmm have you learned to hide your wallet yet........?