1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

[stu01]

NEWBIE, looking for some guidence, help, comments from the more "learned boat people" than I. New boat to us last fall, as a rookie, never looked for ROT, BLISTERS, ETC. Now for the bad news: I have found that the Gel-coat on the port side of the transom has "de-laminated" from the underlying plywood?
I found this when installing trim tabs. Starboard side: when drilling holes, wood was dry, and normal color. Port side: plywood was black and water seeped from drill holes, and gel-coat is moveable when pushed on. There are blisters on the transom, BUT, they do not extend around the corners to the hull. Only on transom.
Boat: 1989 Glastron Sierra 175 3.0 Mercruiser (motor only has 50 hours on it, replaced in 2005).
Boat is in real nice condition, economical to run, has provide the family with much fun this summer, fishing, tubing, and general sight seeing around Narragansett Bay, Newport, RI, and the upper reaches of the Taunton River.
1: Replacing boat could be a financial hardship on our families.(we bought this boat with the winnings of a $10.00 scratch ticket!!!!!NO LIE)
2: My son and I are up for a winter project.
3 The boat is stored on it's trailer in a heated garage, with enough space to work around it comfortably. Height is a problem, 71/2 foot ceiling.
4. Pulling motor and outdrive= no problem. tools and equip in garage.
5. My son is a commercial finish carpenter by trade, and I have a friend who is in the body shop trade, Specificaly, works on fiberglass.

For those to see what I want to save/repair:160156615820, this is the item number an identical boat, year, color and motor for sale on EBAY. My hull # is 0567 which makes it 10 boats newer.

Where do I start? I have looked on-line, while there are many articles dealing with out-board transoms, I have not seen any dealing with out-drives. I have looked at Sea-cast, and oher products similar, but don't know what is right for this application? Where to start? I believe in the old addage "measure three times, cut once".
Books to read? web-sites offering help and PICS.
Welcoming your thoughts and comments.
thank you in advance Stu

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: 1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1989...006QQitemZ160156615820QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


There is the boat you are talking about on ebay. I posted this as it may help others help you easier.

 

[Solittle]

Re: 1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

Stu - The only place you need to go is right here. Grab a cup and read away.

 

[redfury]

Re: 1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

Seacast has a pretty good article on using their product to replace a transom on an I/O...keep perusing their site, you'll find a lot of good info there on transoms specifically.

Welcome to Iboats, and welcome, fellow glastron owner. I am elbow and knee deep into my boat as it slowly progresses to completion. I fear my hopes for extended progress on the boat this year are going to be dashed soon unless I manage to find an enclosed canopy to put over my boat before too soon.

It's been a rewarding experience so far. Having a garage and people with know how will certainly speed up the process.

 

[OhWellcraft]

Re: 1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

I just re-did my transom all with help from everyone here(thanks again) Even though mine is an outboard do as mentioned above and start reading up here. There is more than enough info here for you to do the job yourself. I too am a carpenter (20 yrs in) which was VERY helpful in alot of the steps involved in the process. I hadn't done hardly any glass work so I decided to go with the epoxy resin over the poly. It is more expensive but is more forgiving to the rookie and from what a lot will tell you a better product overall. (stronger, bonds better, longer open time) The seacast is a good product but you would have to decide weather it is do-able on your particular boat design. On the I-O's you pretty much have to pull the motor to gain access to the transom, and probably the outdrive as well. Then all of the work can be done from the inside and you don't have to cut your hull at all from the outside. To do the work from the outside is way more work and tough to get the boat back to 100% strength wise. The blisters can probably be repaired easy enough but it is tough to re-glasss a whole transom back in unless you are very confident in your abilities and have done a few. The forces on a IO transome are far less than that of an outboard so that will help. When you are working back there you do need to really check the condition of the motor mounts and stringers as they are what are taking the brunt of the weight and force of the powertrain. The double 3/4" transom if done correctly will last a very long time. Make sure everything is well sealed when all put back togather. (thats why it failed in the first place) I also know that when reinstalling the outdrive and engine alignment is crittical so learn all you can on that aspect as well. Post pictures and ask lots of questions of the fine people here and you can be back on the water with a rock solid boat by next summer if you are ambitious through the winter... Good luck

 

[luckyinkentucky]

Re: 1989 Glastron Transom Long Posting

I thought Glastrons had Lifetime Hull warranties. You might want to check with the company before doing ANYTHING else. I sold them for several years, and that was a good selling point. The lifetime warranty on the entire hull.