Not sure what to do?

[reelmess]

Hi, This is my first post here, I was told to look here and inquire before buying or starting a potential project I'm looking at.

I've been looking for a boat for a while, but can't afford much to start with. I've come to the conclusion that I want a trihull for stability, and I want something in the 17-18' range with an outboard. (I have a good running Evinrude 100 HP V4 which someone gave me almost a year ago now).

The boat I'm looking at is free, its a Glastron V 172 trihull which is in fair shape but needs a new floor and the transom is badly rigged with a 4x4 or something. It had a V4 OMC on it, it's been stripped of it's motor, seats, and controls. There is no trailer but I have a suitable trailer here too.

Who ever had the boat before added several layers of plywood and carpet and tried several ways to support the well rotted transom, but the good part is that the fiberglass itself is pretty much undamaged.
I was told that the transom in this model isn't that bad to do as long as the cap is off. The floor just needs to be stripped out and redone, right now there's at least 4 or 5 layers of wood there, plus carpet and whatever is beneath that. The windshield is also all cracked up, it looks like plexiglass panels in aluminum frames that's gone bad?

Does anyone have a pic of a Glastron trihull with the deck removed? Looking back into the bilge pump well, I don't see any real stringers, just plywood laying on the humps of the hull. The stringers may well have rotted away in the 40 or so years this boat's been around.

I don't have any pics, it's still at the guys place that has it now, its sitting on jack stands on a concrete slab, he said he got it for parts as did the last two owners, so I take it I'll find other items that are missing too, but I've heard good things about the early Glastron trihulls. The hull looks well built.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Not sure what to do?

It all depends on how much of a project you want to tackle, it will cost a few thousand to fix the hull, windshield, controls and all the other stuff that's been stripped off the hull. This means you may be using the boat by next summer, so if you want to go boating today, its not the rig you want.

For the same money you can probably find a running boat.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Not sure what to do?

Hi, This is my first post here, I was told to look here and inquire before buying or starting a potential project I'm looking at.

I've been looking for a boat for a while, but can't afford much to start with. I've come to the conclusion that I want a trihull for stability, and I want something in the 17-18' range with an outboard. (I have a good running Evinrude 100 HP V4 which someone gave me almost a year ago now).

The boat I'm looking at is free, its a Glastron V 172 trihull which is in fair shape but needs a new floor and the transom is badly rigged with a 4x4 or something. It had a V4 OMC on it, it's been stripped of it's motor, seats, and controls. There is no trailer but I have a suitable trailer here too.

Who ever had the boat before added several layers of plywood and carpet and tried several ways to support the well rotted transom, but the good part is that the fiberglass itself is pretty much undamaged.
I was told that the transom in this model isn't that bad to do as long as the cap is off. The floor just needs to be stripped out and redone, right now there's at least 4 or 5 layers of wood there, plus carpet and whatever is beneath that. The windshield is also all cracked up, it looks like plexiglass panels in aluminum frames that's gone bad?

Does anyone have a pic of a Glastron trihull with the deck removed? Looking back into the bilge pump well, I don't see any real stringers, just plywood laying on the humps of the hull. The stringers may well have rotted away in the 40 or so years this boat's been around.

I don't have any pics, it's still at the guys place that has it now, its sitting on jack stands on a concrete slab, he said he got it for parts as did the last two owners, so I take it I'll find other items that are missing too, but I've heard good things about the early Glastron trihulls. The hull looks well built.

for free, i would take it, get it home and assess what it needs. worst case scenerio is that if you decide not to do it, just give it away to someone else!

 

[reelmess]

Re: Not sure what to do?

for free, i would take it, get it home and assess what it needs. worst case scenerio is that if you decide not to do it, just give it away to someone else!

That's kind of what I've been thinking, but I wouldn't know what to do with it if it's junk once it's all apart. It might be hard to give away a boat that's in pieces. The way I see it, if I remove the cap, I might as well fix it.

The big plus to this boat is that the outer hull isn't compromised in any way and that i like the shape of the hull. I've ridden in one of them and they don't ride as bad as most trihulls once on plane.

The guy that has it said that he don't think it's as bad as most to do the transom since the transom panel is only a small section in the middle. (The transom don't extend to the sides, only a short distance past the splashwell cutout). He also said he's not sure if the boat uses real stringers, he seemed to think they only used open plywood floor supports towards the rear.

Right now it's got a pile of wood in the boat, there's got to be 4 or 5 layers of wood, maybe more. The last layer of wood all but trapped the batteries under the splashwell. That arear is also built up with a few loose pieces of wood. Material wise, I figure a sheet of 3/4" plywood, two sheets of 1/2" ply for the floor, and maybe another sheet of 3/4" ply to make any stringers. Then about 5 gallons of epoxy and some mat to seal it all up. The windshield panels won't be that bad, their all flat glass in aluminum frames, to I figure a half sheet of 3/16" scratch proof lexan there. A pair of seat pedestals from Walmart and two padded fold down seats would work fine so the seats aren't a big expense either. Then maybe some vinyl mat for the deck. I wouldn't be looking to restore it, just make it sound and reliable for fishing. It's heavy now but I'm sure it's well water logged and with all that wood, there's got to be an extra 1000 lbs or so in the deck. The transom has a huge chunk of lumber across it, so that will also be gone. Other than a few small knicks on the corners here and there, there won't be much to do as far as repairs. The cap shoulld come right off, the motor is already off, the floor is bare, and there's no wiring in the boat, so it's only a matter of removing 300 or so screws and lifting the cap off.

I"ve looked around and so far every boat I've seen so far under $3k has been junk, either it's just not a fishing boat, or it needs major repairs as well. I have a motor I know and trust, I have a rock solid trailer, all I need is the hull to match. I did look at a Starcraft 17' trihull which I liked but the guy didn't have a title. This boat is still registered and was in the water only a few weeks ago. So for what it's worth, that does mean something. (Even if it's only that it's not full of wasps and bees).

 

[thrillhouse700]

Re: Not sure what to do?

I would do it!!! Wish we got ours for free.

 

[vegasphotoman]

Re: Not sure what to do?

Hi reelMess!

If you are in a hurry, I would say try and find a another cheap boat, there are alot of em out there, many will have better floor condition, sounds like a total rebuild if you want to do a good safe job.

Post an ad in craigslist locally and see if someone will give you a another boat hull especially a tri hull

the tri hulls look good for small lakes, not sure how they ride in rough waters though, might smack alot off the waves.

here is our project, it was a basket case like yours...paid $300 but we got a good motor and outdrive, plus new trailer tires for that price

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=340617

Vegasphotoman

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Not sure what to do?

Material wise, I figure a sheet of 3/4" plywood, two sheets of 1/2" ply for the floor, and maybe another sheet of 3/4" ply to make any stringers. Then about 5 gallons of epoxy and some mat to seal it all up. The windshield panels won't be that bad, their all flat glass in aluminum frames, to I figure a half sheet of 3/16" scratch proof lexan there. A pair of seat pedestals from Walmart and two padded fold down seats would work fine so the seats aren't a big expense either. Then maybe some vinyl mat for the deck.

you are pretty close with the materials, but you are forgetting a few expensive things...

ss screws - NOT CHEAP!

LOTS AND LOTS of brushes, pails, mixing sticks, plastic spreaders, resperator, etc... you will go through them FAST.

just dont underestimate the amount of work or money. take a look at my project (link in my sig) and the work you see only took me 6 weeks... but that was working on it almost every day. there are many jobs that you will need someone to assist you. i cursed alot, sweat alot, threw a few tools and almost cried one time. 6 weeks and $800 later i have a fully functioning and halfway decent looking boat. by no means a show boat... but it was all worth it. these are all things you will have to consider.

oh and mines an aluminum boat, so no stringers to do, no tabbing the floor to the hull, no tabbing or glassing the transon either. the work for a glass boat is times 3 compared to mine.

Hi reelMess!

If you are in a hurry, I would say try and find a another cheap boat, there are alot of em out there, many will have better floor condition, sounds like a total rebuild if you want to do a good safe job.

Post an ad in craigslist locally and see if someone will give you a another boat hull especially a tri hull

Vegasphotoman

+1 to that.

 

[zorak]

Re: Not sure what to do?

This one sounds a lot like the boat crackedglass had.I may be wrong though.I would take the boat if it's free.Worst case scenario is you could cut it up with a sawzall and put it in the trash a few small pcs at a time an keep any usable goodies you find on it.

 

[Andy in NY]

Re: Not sure what to do?

This one sounds a lot like the boat crackedglass had.I may be wrong though.I would take the boat if it's free.Worst case scenario is you could cut it up with a sawzall and put it in the trash a few small pcs at a time an keep any usable goodies you find on it.

around here we take it out behind the gravel pit and tie it to a tree and yank the trailer out from under it and sell the trailer!

 

[drewpster]

Re: Not sure what to do?

I have to agree with ondarvr and the rest of the members here. It really depends on how much work you want to get in to. The bottom line is no matter how far you go, know, that it is expensive, dirty, frustrating, hard work. You really have to be insane to want to subject yourself to the pain. (I love every minute of it)
So by all means join the nut ward and dive in!

 

[mikastorm]

Re: Not sure what to do?

I agree on that statement.LOL