79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

[dyerk]

Hi, first time posting. I have a 79 Glastron HPV165 and the transom is cracked and needs to be replaced. How bad of a job is it to pull the top of the boat off and reglass in a new transom? I had a quote of $2500 which seemed extremely high to me.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

For that kind of work $2500 is probably more than fair considering the number of hours of labor involved. But yeah, I wouldn't spend that on a '79 Glastron. You can definitely do this yourself. It's more time consuming than it is difficult. LOTS of threads on here to show you how.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Welcome to iBoats!

This is HEAVEN for DIY boat restorers. YOU can remove the cap of your boat and replace that transom.
I believe your boat looks something like this...

To remove the top cap you will need to remove the motor and all of the accessories mounted to the cap. Remove the rubber insert from the RubRail and then remove the screws or drill out the rivets that hold the rubrail to the hull. There are LOTS of them. The cap will probably have some adhesive/resin holding it to the hull and this will need to be broken loose either by chisels or sawzall or dremel tool. Sometimes NOT the easiest job, but can and must be done. Once everything is loose the cap just lifts off giving you access to the superstructure below. Be AWARE, that if the Transom is bad, there is a HIGH likelyhood that the Stringers will also need to be replace. Do a search here on the forum for stringers and transom replacements. You will find a LOT of information.

Welcome Aboard!!!

 

[dyerk]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Yea, it looks just like this only silver metalflake. I think I will give it a try. It is not worth dumping $2500 into and if I screw it up well it is not usable now so what's the difference. Maybe I can get a couple more years out of 'er. Thanks for the responses.

 

[dyerk]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

The top half is loosened and ready to lift off right after the 115 mercury is lifted off. After I cut out all the old, rotted wood is it ok to used the home depot type treated wood or do I need to get marine plywood. What about the fibergalss anything special that I should use there?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

The top half is loosened and ready to lift off right after the 115 mercury is lifted off. After I cut out all the old, rotted wood is it ok to used the home depot type treated wood or do I need to get marine plywood. What about the fibergalss anything special that I should use there?

Marine grade is by far the best...but a good exterior plywood is used quite often. Personally I wouldn't use pressure treated for anything on your boat. (or for anything else for that matter)

Fiberglass, use polyester resin. It's easier to use than epoxy and much cheaper, plus your boat is made from it now.

Good luck, we're here for whatever you run into.

 

[dyerk]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Well I finally started. The engine is off and hanging on a home made stand. The top half of the boat is broken free all the way around except at the transom. Are there any trick to breaking this area free? It appears the fiberglass top, horizontal surface and the inside verticle surface are bonded to the transsom. This is the are the motor mount stradles. What's the best way to break this loose? Do I need to cut the top of the transom off and refiberglass on later?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

A picture of the transom and splash well depth would help out a lot here, but most likely you're looking at a sawzall with a long blade.

 

[dyerk]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Ok. so the top half is finally moved out of the way and the old wood from the transom is removed. I will be buying 3/4" exterior grade plywood from Home depot and fiberglass and polyester resin from west marine. What else might I need to make things go smoothly?

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

CSM{chopped strand Mat}, 1708 Biaxial cloth, some cabosil or fumed silica and some 1/4" chopped strand, some mixing buckets, grinder with 24 grit sanding discs, respirator and goggles or a full face shield with built in respirator, preferably a tyvek suit, or at least long pants and long leeves, gloves, and a place to work that won't P-O your neighbors{long story}

Read up on the top of the forum where it says "How To's and Other Great Information", especially #2 and #11...

Ask lots of questions and post plenty of pics...

Welcome to the iboats drydock and best of luck,
GT1M

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Ok. so the top half is finally moved out of the way and the old wood from the transom is removed. I will be buying 3/4" exterior grade plywood from Home depot and fiberglass and polyester resin from west marine. What else might I need to make things go smoothly?

Home Depot for your plywood is fine, but West Marine is by far the highest priced place on the planet to get fiberglass supplies. Plus the resin could have been on the self for two weeks or two months or two years...you don't know and they don't either (I've asked) I would highly recommend you look for a local supplier for your resin and glass.

If not locally then there are several good suppliers on line.

Just trying to save your pocket change and mostly get you fresh material to work with. In the event you don't know polyester resin has a short shelf life.

 

[dyerk]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

So I tackled the transom and it turned into a larger job since some of the stringers had to be replaced as well but its finished floated it last summer with no issues. The job was more intimidating than it was hard.

My new question is that I have some floor that needs to be replaced. Can I expoxy a piece of marine ply right over the existing floor and just blend in the edges with glass and epoxy? The stringer are all good and it is just weak floor from stepping in the same spot.

 

[JB]

Re: 79 Glastron Bass Boat Needs Transom

Hi, dyerk,

I would remove that portion of the "floor" (proper term, "sole") and replace it with the 3/4" marine ply. Rot is a fungus, and it can spread into the sound stringers.