Re: My boat restore project (pics)
Thanks for all the complements guys. I bought the boat real cheap form a guy that had it just sitting in this storage for years. I was looking for a boat that wasnt too big and didnt cost a lot so I could do some fishing. The boat was sitting under a cover for most of its life and used 99% of the time in freshwater. I took the boat out a few times before I bought it and liked the way it ran. The day I got it home, my girlfriend and I stripped the whole boat. The carpet was fairly easy to remove because the glue broke down due to the heat under the cover. I read a lot on the net and purchased a fiberglass book, then went to town. The first few pieces of glass I messed up but after that it was easy. I drilled a few holes in the deck and the wood was so dry that it was hard to drill. I didnt want a boat that I had to replace the stringers or transom so I bought this one. Since the boat was kept under a cover and dry I felt it was a good deal.<br /><br />The boat had woven roving glass visible after I removed the carpet so I laid down two layers of mat and sanded to smooth it out. I called Tuff-Coat and talked to them about their product for a while and felt it was the coating I wanted. At the beginning I thought it would pull up or be weak but thats not the case. After the 5 day cure time this stuff is as hard as nails but feels great when bare foot. I used a hopper gun like the directions say to but after I had to fix a few runs with a roller I ended up using the roller for most of it. One gallon of the product covers 50sq ft. Right before the second folder of photos the inside of the boat was nasty with dirt, oil, shoe marks, and stains. I took the boat to the car wash, sprayed some cleaner down, and washed out the boat. To my amazement the boat was clean again. The manufacture stated that the coating chemically cures and nothing sticks to it, not even more of the same coating. For repairs you have to sand it down re-prime and apply the coating. <br /><br />This was my first time to ever tackle anything like this but I think it turned out just fine. My main goal was to have a nice boat at a low price. I searched the web and EBay for parts and saved hundreds on new parts that would have broke the bank. Thanks to my dad, who encourages every project I take on. He let me turn his ranch house and barn into a boat repair shop. As you can see there is my much larger Glastron CC behind the barn. I had to buy the little boat so I could learn to navigate the big one. The Glastron was an impulse buy but I didnt know the rules of the water so I bought the little one to learn. <br /><br />As for my girlfriend; she really like doing the things I like to do and gets excited when I get excited. She has rolled up her sleeves many times and helped me out on a project. She really wants to get out on the water now since I got her into fishing and she caught her first fish. <br /><br />The next thing I want do is paint the hull white or just buff it out.
