73 arrow glass RESTORE

[sharab85]

Hello all,
I have been lurking around here for the past couple of weeks and finaly decided to dive in. I recently bought this 1973 arrow glass cougar. the seller told me he had had it on the lake just last summer the 65 hp merc worked great then and that the boat had a fairly new floor. The transom is exposed at the top but seams solid. The engine does not start but after two days of tinkering i finally got it to turn over just no spark. I bought the whole get-up for 500.00.

I decided to pull the floor up and take a look and much to my dismay found this. the floor was just screwed down with no fiberglass or any sealer. As you can see they just put some 2x4's around the old wood (that could probably just be vacuumed up).

Looking closer i found these cracks in the hull.

So i am looking at a complete rebuild this would be my first and i will be working outside the whole time. So i guess my question is is this a doable project for someone who did not know what a transom was tell a couple weeks ago and on a tight budget. My first actual rebuild question would be how do i remove the cap, i have tried to use the search feature with no luck.

Thank you in advance for all of your help. this forum has already proven invaluable.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Welcome to Iboats! To remove the cap you are going to need to remove the rubber insert on the rubrail. Underneath that, you should see a series of rivets or screws. You need to remove those and the two halves should be more or less seperated. If they are rivets as opposed to screws, you will have to drill them out.

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Thank you, i have a feeling i have a long road ahead of me. does anyone know how much a project like this will cost using polyester resin and rustoleum paint. I know there are a lot of variables just a very vague ballpark number. Also how would i go about fixing those cracks in the hull.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Welcome to iboats.

Boats are easy to find.....motors not so much.

I would concentrate and make sure you can get the motor running first. If the motor runs then I would proceed with the restoration.

Right now you have $500 invested and trust me the fiberglass, resin, wood and supplies will set you back allot more than $500 more. You need to step outside the box and decide if it is worth spending your summer doing that.

I know my post is not a bundle of good news but, take a look at the projects going on. Look at the date they were started and where they are at today. I am just trying to save you some grief...... on a boat that is over 35 years old...:redface:

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Welcome to iboats Sharab85! Looks like you have a bit of a project there. The first law is that previous owners usually SUCK, as you now can see.
A restore is absolutely doable, but you need to decide if it's worth doing. A few months ago I first heard the work Transom, then the next thing you know, I've built and installed my own. I had never even touched fiberglass, but now it's no big deal. Many of the guys on here are absolute newbies like me doing their own restos. As far as the tight budget is concerned, marine stuff is always more expensive, but on a fairly small craft like that, I think it can be done fairly inexpensively. Those cracks in the hull may be a buger, but I'm sure you can find the answers here on iboats. I have no experience with that type of repair, sorry. To remove the cap, pull the rubber out of the rubrail that goes around the outside of the hull. Under the rubber you will see either rivets or sometimes screws. Drill out the rivets or take the screws out and the cap will be free. Don't forget you'll most likely have wires and shift cables attached to the cap so disconnect them if you plan to reuse them. Have fun and good luck.

 

[tdrudd87]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Just as a point of reference, I have $500 in hull materials and I just finished glassing stringers back in. I am expecting that much again to get the floor glassed and foamed. Then it will be time to buy paint, seats and rigging. On a shoesting budget $1000 may be doable to get you back on water.`

Not to be negative, I am positive I am going to enjoy the snot out of this boat when its done. Just a long road there.
Terry

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Thank you for all of the quick responses and help. I think I am going to dive in and tackle this project, I don't currently have any other projects i am working on and i enjoy a good challenge. I remember running across a recent thread of some one working exclusavly with polyester resin i was wondering if anyone could post a link for that. I guess i am going to need to change the title of the thread from HELP to Restore .

 

[fauxmeister]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Ha! I have almost that same boat! (mine is a '75) and I am in the same boat. I had started tearing down but have been considering a couple other boat hulls I have come across and using the 115 Chrysler and trailer mine has instead of the total restore I would be getting into otherwise. I guess I am just too impatient to get out on the water... Good luck and welcome to iboats!

 

[tdrudd87]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Good to hear you are going for it! Many on here including myself use strictly poly for cost reasons. If you can make it thru oop's hull extension thread you will know how to pretty much do anything!

Best of luck!
Terry

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Thank you for all of the quick responses and help. I think I am going to dive in and tackle this project, I don't currently have any other projects i am working on and i enjoy a good challenge. I remember running across a reasent thread of some one working exclusavly with polyester resin i was wondering if anyone could post a link for that. I gess i am going to need to change the title of the thread from HELP to Restore .

Changed

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Re: 73 arrow glass HELP

Definitely get the motor running first. Make sure this is the hull you want to fix up. Maybe there's another freebie on craigslist you'd rather have. Once decided, go for it. You can do it with the help available here. Welcome to the madness!

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Well some bad news on the motor front, after three days of trying to get the engine to start i borrowed a buddies compression tester. The number three cylinder was 118 the second was 120 and the number one was 0 . It looks like i might be dead in the water. I still want to Continue with the restore but i guess i did not get as good a deal as i thought.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

ouch

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Well i had to work all day today so i was not able to get any work done but i thought i would pick your collective brain's about those cracks at the bottom of the transom. I was wondering how i might tackle those, I know i am getting ahead of myself i just don't want to get too far into this only to find out that they are game changer.

Thank you again for all of your help.

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Welcome sharab and good luck on your build. Great looking boat you got there. Take your time, have fun. And don't be afraid to ask questions. You will find this site a great resource of knowledge and fellowship.

 

[alaskanassassin]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

The cracks in the hull are likely due to transom and stringer rot. Be prepared for a big job, but shouldn't be a problem to fix it. I think $1000 is possible, but I'd plan on spending more if you want it nice. The nice thing is you know your boat is solid after everything is done. I have just learned to accept that any older glass boat will need new transom/stringers, and get the boat you want to keep before you tackle the job.

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Sorry I have not posted in a while but in-between work, rain, and heat progress has been slow, but i have made progress. I have removed the rest of the floor and built a stand for my motor using the plans from iboats. I have seperated the cap but i have been unable to remove it because i am waiting for some help.

After seperating the cap i found that on one spot the hull has begun to delaminate. I was wondering how i will go about repairing this, i hope it is as easy as injecting some resin and clamping it together. If an alternative method is needed plz let me know.

It seams the further i get into this the more problems i find this is truly going to be a challenging project.

 

[sharab85]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

The real fun has just begun.

 

[74arrowglass]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Hello, just thought I'd show you what you can do with one of these boats. Mine is a 1974 and was originally bought by my grandparents new. I pulled it home from our lakehouse where it had been sitting outside, uncovered for 10 years after my grandparents passed away. It had weeds growing in it it was so bad. The stringers and floor were totally shot, vacuumed most of it out. Transom was still strong, but wood was damp, so I replaced it as well. I started back in summer 2008 and am just now nearing the end of my restoration. By the way, I started this project when I was 17 and am now 19. So really anybody with patience and time can complete a boat project. I have spent many nights up until 3 am trying to get something finished. For me it has been a blast! I have learned so much thanks to the brilliant people here on iboats. I did every bit of the work by myself, minus things that requred two people, such and flipping the hull and rolling and tipping for the paint. As for a round about figure on how much it costs, I honestly probably have about $3500.00 invested in this boat and over 1000 hours of time. Bu then again I am a perfectionist. Here are some pics of the boat now (sorry for the cell phone pics). I will start a thread in the restoration section soon.

Up where the glove box used to be I built in a self-draining ice chest. The seating in the boat will be an L-shaped wrap-around seat with a captains chair.

 

[tboltmike]

Re: 73 arrow glass RESTORE

Hope the restore is still in progress.

I have a 75 Cheetah. Biggest problem I had was floor mounting screws rusted and let water in the deck ply and the rubber bilge plugs came out and allowd water to get in the below deck voids. Luckily the deck rot at the screws was localized and only a foot of stringer rotted on either side of the bilge. Just spliced in some scabbs. In mine the stringers did not attach to the transom and the transom is fully encapsulated in resin and glass.

Arrow Glass has a Yahoo site that is monitored by a former employee that knows the boats inside and out.