My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Hey Arch, unfortunately, I did not take video of the rotten stringers before I removed them.

Here is what I came up with today....



or this.....



bout all I got done today....hope you all had a good weekend!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Hmm. Not sure why a vertical stringer between the 2 main stringers wouldn't be in contact w/ the deck.....

Did this GT160 have a typical bilge recess below decks at the transom? About where you're bucket is sitting in that last pix?

Or was the deck flat across the transom & there's a drain plug hole for both below decks & above decks?

My FireFlite had 2 box/trays molded into the deck for both battery & portable gas tanks, that actually sort of blocked any deck water from reaching the above deck drain hole.

Was there a slightly recessed area amidships at the transom, to keep a portable gas tank &/or battery in, and recessed so water could get into the recess & out an above deck drain hole. Perhaps that was the intention of the slightly shorter central stringer......

 

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

JB, the first pix in post 117 is what it had....at least thats what it looked like when I got it. I put the bucket of micro balloons there to kinda show what it would look like with the bilge bowl (not sure if thats what its called)

It appears as if the deck would have been solid to the transom, with a cut out of that bowl.....not sure.....

Dont know if there was anything to capture the battery or not. I plan to glass in a 1 inch tall box for the battery to sit in with some sort of a tie down.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

I wouldn't build UP for a battery tray, unless your positive it won't prevent water from getting into the bilge opening.

 

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Happy Thanksgiving All!!!!

 

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

A little progress today..... started fitting the deck!

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

cool....I spent some time making sawdust today also! There is nothing like standing on the new deck for the first time once it is installed!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

It won't be long now...you get to do a little dance...I think we all did...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Deck, hey we got a deck going in over here!

Congrats. A deck 2-step is definitely in order...........

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

boomer!

 

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

SOONER!!!!

Question for you guys....when I cut out, what remained of the stringers, I had a couple pretty good sections that I was able to use as templates. So, I think the stringer height is correct. The question is, when I have the floors sitting on top of the stringers, I have about a half inch distance from the hull on the outer edges......is this correct? would this be a floating floor? Or, should I trim down the stringers in order to get the floor to rest on the hull?





Thanks again for the help!!

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

That doesn't sound right, my deck sat right down on the bottom of the hull. I haven't seen one that was "floating". Are you sure you have stringers in the right place? Maybe they were further forward in a deeper part of the hull?

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Was the old deck tabbed in? I can't see where it was in your pics.

 

[Daniel1947]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Is the straight line that is on the side of the hull in the pic where the original deck was? Was the top of the deck lined up with that line? Looks like it is closer to an inch too high if that is correct. Just my 2 cents and I am nowhere near as smart as archbuilder on this or as far along as you are.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

I went back through your thread and tried to figure out what you had going on with the deck...
After looking through all the pics, I came to the conclusion that in a sense you do have a deck that was "floated" along some of the edges because the design of the hull is similar to a bass boat hull...You have a top cap that makes up a majority of the interior...
The center of the deck, which is actually part of the cap, at least that's what it looks like in some of the pics, is supported by the stringers, while the outer edges are suspended from the top cap...
If you are going to build it the way you have it now, meaning that you are altering the original design by not making the deck part of the cap, you can just add some short stringers along the edges/chines to support the outer edges of the deck...
Just remember to take that into account when trying to fit the cap back on...you will have to cut the original deck that is attached to the cap completely out and just tab the original inner gunwales to the new deck with tabbing...also, keep in mind that doing it this way you will have actually made a one piece hull/cap...not that you would ever want to remove the cap again, but if you did, you would have to cut the joint between the deck and the gunwales to separate the cap from the hull...
My boat is essentially being put back together this way...the deck and superstructure are becoming a permanent part of the hull and when done, what is left of my cap will basically become a monolithic part of it, also.
OR, If you want to keep to the original design, you can flip the cap over, remove the bad deck wood from the underside of the cap, laminate new wood to it and make it like the original...
At least that is what seems to be happening...
Let me know if I even came close...

 

[Corjen1]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

Arch, GT, the rest of you guys, I really appreciate your help. The floor/(deck) was completely gone when I got the boat. So I am trying to figure out where stuff was before it all rotted away.

Arch, I think the stringers are in the correct position. This is judged by the "clean" stripes on the hull. This is where I ground the old glass out of the hull.

GT, in the next two pix, you can kind of see how the top cap worked......I mean that I dont think the deck was the full length of the boat. Only about the aft half... forward of this kick plate (dead center of the pix) is where you see the top cap structure forward of the windshield in the second pic.....





After looking at the old pix again, I think the stringers are too tall...... in this pix, you are looking at the kick plate or where your feet would rest when sitting in the cockpit



Here you are looking at what was under the seat.....looking to the port side.....



In both pix, the remains of tabbing would indicate the outside edges of the deck rested on the hull.... do you guys agree????

Again, thank you for the feed back!!!!

 

[banshee owner]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

would putting the cap back on even help you get an idea of where things need to be. i know its alot of work but may save time and expense down the road.

im kinda to the point in my rebuild i was actually contemplating dropping the cap back on just to make sure i have things in the right places and everything i gonna fit nice snug. Especially my transom and the angel of it.

i figure it one heck of a task to install and remove but might be a necessary step for me anyways

if your like me your gonna want that cap going back easy when its all said and done, last thing you want is it sitting an inch to high cause the deck is to high due to stringers to tall

i might be out in left field. just a thought i was mauling around in my head.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

From the pics you just posted, I see that the original deck definitely looks like it rode along the chines, meaning your stringers are too tall.
The other thing I see is that the deck seems to have originally been part of the cap, similar to what I described above...
You have the option of building it back the way you are doing it now and that will create more deck area to support the cap, of course after you adjust the height of the stringers...
The biggest thing you will have to deal with, by doing it this way, is cutting any access openings in the new deck to allow use of the original ski locker, which may also require the removal of the deck section in the forward part of the cap to accommodate the new full size deck...
Unless of course, you are only going to build the deck up to the where it is in this pic...

Just be sure to check the structural integrity of the current existing fore deck and make any repairs to it prior to re-attaching the cap...
In which case you might want to consider a couple of other things...
1- how to drain the front ski locker to the bilge and still provide a floatation cavity
2- cutting out a section of the rear of the deck for the bilge
3- what section or sections of the space between the deck and the hull are going to be "sealed" off for the addition of floatation foam...

 

[Auger01]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

I think the stringers are too tall. When I put the deck in my t-160, it was resting on the tops of the "curves" that defined the tri-hull. I put a thick bead of epoxy-PB down the tops of the curves to glue the floor down in addition to the stringers and tabbing along the sides.

 

[archbuilder]

Re: My 1968 Glastron GT160 rebuild......

I agree with putting the cap back on and studying it. Also making sure the bottom half of the hull is supported and isn't warped. I just have the feeling something is out of whack.....measure twice and cut once as they say!