restoring a 1974 glastron

[fishnohio]

Hi guys
I am new to this forum and this is my first post so allow me to introduce myself, my name is Mike and i live in Middletown Ohio and i just purchased a 1974 15 foot glastron tri hull open bow fiberglass boat, my first boat and it has the usual issues that a 34 year old boat has that has not been taken care of, bad floor, stringers wet foam in the bottom of the boat and so on, but i like to take nothing and make something out of it so here i am.....lol i have already taken the floor up and removed all the wet foam and have had a blower blowing in the hull for several days now and it has all dried out real well. Since this is my first adventure in boat building i have a few questions and a few statements first off this boat never came with a bilge pump and the foam in the bottom was shaped like 2x4's and laying right on the bottom on the boat so if any water did get in the front of the boat it couldn't get to the back of the boat so it just got soaked up by the foam and stayed where it was, and i do believe that they put the foam in there just to rot out the stringers so we as the consumers would have to pay to replace the components and the floor or buy another boat sorry about rambling on, now to my questions.
1. do i have to use epoxy resin or polyurethane resin to seal the new stringers and to laminate them with the fiberglass?

2. i have noticed that the stringers are 1x's and are not sitting flush on the bottom of the boat, how do i attach them to the hull?

3. i seen on here in another thread that there is a polyurethane type caulk that can be applied to the bottom of the stringers to mount them instead of using the peanut butter method is this true?

i have some pics of the work in progress that i will put up as soon as i find my cord for my digital camera also this is going to be my catfishing boat and it will be kept under a cover in it's new life and there will be a bilge pump in her and i will put a portable blower in the bilge area blowing from the bow to the stern every time when i return from a outing to take care of my girl and to keep her dry, any help would be greatly appreciated guys......Mike

 

[fishnohio]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

here is a couple of pics of her

by the way does anyone have one of these glastron emblems for sale???????

 

[watermellonI]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Hi mike welcome aboard, we don t sell things here, against the rules but check ebay,

Looks like you re off to a good start I dont know about any caulk, I mixed resin and ground fiberglass to make a putty, worked great, got all my info here. My stringers came out so solid I would kick them to make sure they set Before I glassed them in. This putty will help fill any voids you may have as far as your new stringers are concerned. Try to cut the new ones so that they will set flush with the hull. Bed them in with the putty and then glass over them, I used poly resin (cheaper)

Get ready to start scatchin

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Polyurethane in a caulk tube.

PL polyurethane construction adhesive here's the link, home depot and lowes both have it. been using it for years, makes thing a lot easier.
"http://www.stickwithpl.com/Products.aspx?ID=fef65cc9-47bf-4802-aaa9-a343f2ef9458"

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

hi there fishingohio and welcome, glad to see I not the only nut out there, I am working on a 1977 sporter , i got to get to work, but i will be back here later. John

 

[oops!]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

hey fishin...!

welcome to i boats..

this is boat university...as one mod calls it.

just about every subject about boats has been covered...just hit search...

awesome boat...love the old glasstrons...
my family had a t 156....a few years newer...we caught stupid amounts of fish in that boat......
actually i thought it looked pretty good below the deck.

and that blower idea is one that i was going to use in my resto...a little air movement goes a long way.

that crazy guy jcserca...(john) that just replied to you, is doin a bang up job on his resto. click on his name and see view all posts...it will bring up picks of his proj
another one you can look at...search skanky beast...here and follow the links to share a project.....its really laid out well..

cheers
oops

and john..... ...no insult intended in any way shape or form...
but if your really mad at me....ill fly down there and you can spill a beer down my throat as revenge

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

AHAHAHAHAHA none taken OOOPs infact just the opp, wanted to say thanks !!!!!!! fishinohio boy yours looks in a lot better shape then mine was, are you going to do the transom also ? I wast going to do mine then took out the tow bolts and it was rotten around them, so i just got it out on monday , tomarrow i am going to start cutting in the new transom !!!!! yeeeehhaaaaaaa lol are you going to add foam?? Ok i wlll help all I can john ps heres a link to the cheapest glass that i could find and they have the best price on foam also http://www.uscomposites.com/cloth.html ok have fun and keep us up todate john

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

oooooh OOOPs is budwiser Ok ????? lol john

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

or i could go get so blue ????hhaha john

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Mile i also really like the blower Idea!!!!! john

 

[fishnohio]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

John
what type and size of boat are you rebuilding?. also did you take the whole cap off to replace the transom? or just lift it up enough to get the rotton transom out? how big of a job is it to cap a boat? this is my first boat and i love the body lines of her and i have a transom that needs to be replaced also i do believe,and will the hull seperate once the cap is taken off?, heck i'm not even sure how to get the motor off of her......lol. any help from you or anyone else would be greatly appreciated......Mike

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Hay mike I going to work I will get on here when I get home. but i have a bunch of pic in my post [ pics of work so far ] check that out and I will talk yea later John

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Hay mike , I have a 1977 sporters , its a 15.6 tri-hull she is going to be our fishing skiing tubing toy for the lakes close to here, maybe some in saginaw bay, did you take a look at my thread [pic of work so far] i just posted some more pics in it , I think mine was in a lot worse shape then yours is !!!! my floor i just pulled it out with my hands , some one put new plywood over my old floor, once i got that off it just pull right off , I didnt see any foam in your pics ?? and getting the motor off isnt that hard , i have mine on a saw horse i made for it , its a 100 hp merc, me and my two kids too it off, how is your transom, is all the glass still on it ?? if it is you could use seafoam , or plywood , I am useing 2x12, and plywood , getting the top off wasnt that bad cutting it off the back was the worst. and had to use a jack to pry it up !!!!!! just be careful , when i did cut the fiberglass that held the top , back there, i did cut threw in two spots on the top . now on grinding , I had a mason cutting disk , and man that eat that glass just becareful again , take your time !!! ok mike hope this answeres a few of your questions , I am sure your going to have a lot more , I still do , there are some really great guys on here, I will help all i can to , John

 

[fishnohio]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

John
mine had the foam in it all down the center and it was saturated with water i had already taken it out when i decided to take some picks, the transom was wet and i have taken off most of the fiberglass on the inside and currently have had a blower drying it out for the last several days, i will take some more pics of it today and post them, i seen the pics in your thread and the one where you had the top of the boat propped up on 2 pieces of wood at the transom is why i asked you if you took the top all the way off to replace the transom? or did you just prop it up i wasn't sure how you did it?. and are you saying that the transom wood is secured to the outer hull?. i appreciate all your help and you are right i will have alot more questions and i hope i don't bother you guys on here with all i am going to ask you......once again thanks for all the help guys .....Mike

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

I have the 15 and 16 foot deep vee. On them, the stringer position is on a strake and the center one on the keel so it is set right on the hull. If the stringer is not set into a strake, then if you attach it directly to the hull, you will get a hard point and it will show through the hull. better to cushion the stringer with some closed cell high density foam between it and the bottom, then encapsulate the stringer in fiberglass. The fiberglass will then take most of the load anyway so be sure you get excellent bond to the hull. since the point of greatest water pressure while running is the last three feet of the hull in front of the transom, be sure to get the strongest bond possible between the stringers and the transom.

Transom is bonded to the rear fiberglass and the bottom of the hull. BUT--may I suggest if the transom is not totally punky, investigate the use of Git Rot or similar epoxy. I used it on my 16 footer and was WAY WAY satisfied with the result. Expensive, but saves work and the transom is in better than original condition. Be sure to use aluminum plates about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick behind the stern D rings--The bolts do NOT go through the transom wood in the 16 footer and the fiberglass is not as thick as you think.

Most people don't realize that the splash-well is an integral component re-inforcing the transom. One of the first signs of a punky, weak transom in Glastrons is cracks in the splash-well. So be sure to properly glass it to the transom on the inside of the hull. Then as a preventive measure, run a piece of 2 x 3 x 3/16 aluminum angle across the top of the transom and through bolted at (at least) three points--each end and the center. You should also see two wood boxes on either side of the stern, filled with foam. Their purpose is two-fold. The foam is high so acts to keep the boat upright in event of swamping or overturning, and the wood acts to help transfer thrust loads from the transom to the hull. Because of the shape of the back of the boat, the transom does not go fully across. It is more-or-less the odd shape you see at the stern so proper re-inforcement is important.

BTW: I was surprised to see the glass go all the way over the top of the stringers. On many Glastrons, they just ran the glass up the sides a bit. Of course, when the resin to wood attachment failed, then there was almost no reinforcement for the bottom. --Not that Glastrons were bad boats--They were entry level and built light. So they were faster than other brands with the same horsepower. And if you are a Glastron fan, watch James Bond -- Live and Let Die. Your boat will be in a chase scene.

 

[redfury]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Glad to see a couple of of others out there working on these glastrons. Mine's been a slow project, but I've tried to take some good pictures of my progress.

Taking the cap of the boat ( mine's a 17 footer @ 1100lbs dry ) is no easy task for one person, but it can be done depending on your circumstances. Take a look at my link and you'll see how I managed.

The hardest part was removing the transom bond and the corner aluminum bolts inside the rub rail line in the transom area. They are actual bolts, not screws...I had to cut mine out to get those aluminum pieces off. Then came removing the cap. The front lifted off, and the back was stubborn. Why? it's bonded with bedding compound. What it took for me was a sawzall with a fine tooth blade to weaken it enough so that the jack would crack the seal. Make sure you support both the bottom of the jack and the jack plate with a good sized piece of plywood/similar to distribute the force from the jack to avoid cracking your glass. If you don't plan on removing the cap to do any work under the deck area, you can usually get away with just sliding it forward enough to work on the transom, supporting it with long 2x4's. Careful though, the sides of these glastrons ( at least mine ) are thin and will bow out. You may want to strap the middle of the boat to shape so it's easier to replace the cap. When I replaced mine, I put the nose down first and worked my way to the transom. DO NOT DO THIS. The rear, because of its design, does not give you much wiggle room to snap the cap back on...it's a tight fit, which required many implements of leverage to get back together. If you want to save your gel coat, get a buddy, and drop the transom side first as a test fit with your new transom, then lift back off and put in your bedding compound and then set the cap. It's an involved job you don't want to have to do again, so do a dry run and save yourself the trouble, otherwise you'll potentially scratch up your gel coat trying to pry and poke that thing back together.

As far as the stringers go, from my summation, the spots that don't touch the floor were there to allow water to drain to the center and not sit next to the stringers for absorbtion. Didn't do us much good since water likes to wick the length of a board as quickly as it likes to flow with gravity...lol.

If you are going to redo the stringers and the floor, you could always look into putting in an underfloor fuel tank too. Lots of fun thinking about ways to up-engineer your boat. Keep the pics coming, they are helpful for anyone considering working on boats, and with so many glastrons out there, hopefully there will be more owners willing to restore theirs instead of throwing them in the landfill.

 

[redfury]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Oh! and as far as removing the engine.... Tilt the boat so the motor tilts to the ground and just tip it off and rotate it onto whatever stand you've got for it, or whatever you are going to move it around on. I learned the hard way that removing a 70hp Johnson is even too much/ and ackward for 3 guys to do. We popped a 100hp Johnson no problem with 2 guys onto a boat this way.

 

[fishnohio]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

thanks Frank and red
this is my first boat and i just like the body lines and it actually is in pretty decent condition considering it is 34 years old and has been neglected. I only gave 550 dollars for her and i bought her as a fishing boat so i want her to be safe and strong as can be, i just went out and took some more pics so here they are in a few when i get done rambling on, on mine the rings do go through the transom wood and the wooden boxes full of foam on the port and starboard side are shown in the pics at least i think this is what you are talking about Frank, and as far as the git rot... how do you apply it? with a brush or a roller and from the inside of the boat? i am planning on taking all the fiberglass mat off all the exposed transom and refiberglassing it in after i put on the git rot to reinforce the transom is this ok? and if so what oz and should i use cloth, mat, biax or woven i have no clue and also should i use epoxy or polyether resin for re-fiberglassing it and the stringers i am on a tight budget but i want it to adhere good and be safe also. thanks for all the help guys.....Mike

 

[redfury]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

Am I seeing 5 stringers in that thing? I've got 3...perhaps it's the shape of my hull compared to yours.

The Git Rot or Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer ( http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/product.html ) is injected into a mostly dried out piece of wood until saturation, then allowed to dry, then plug up the holes.

Some have drilled many holes partway into the transom, fitted with tubes and connected to a central hose and a shop vac turned on for a few hours/days to pull as much moisture out as possible. Some have saturated with acetone to help force the water out. Then the wood is dried as much as humanly possible and then injected. Usually involves having drain holes at the bottom and holes at the top for injecting the sealer. Once the sealer comes out the bottom, you know you've gotten saturation. It then cures IN the wood pores and has little chance to rot again, since you've effectively petrified your transom.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: restoring a 1974 glastron

The Git Rot or Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer ( ...head screw driver in to it?? or a pick ? john