First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

[fishinfinn]

Well here it is
1989 glassmaster S187 cuddy
3Lmerc Alpha one leg 18ft6in in length
puchased a couple years ago and began reworking the interior got it out on the water and she runs and rides nice
Stripped out the carpet and discovered a soft spot in the floor from water leakage.
Previous owner didnt seem to have paid much attention to her in the past just ran it ...
Have done quite a bit of work already ad pics will follow
As our boating season is done here and fall temps are dropping I will do some exploration under the floor to see if I can get a good idea
what i will be getting into.
The intent is to start by using a hole saw in the floor and cutting some 2 " holes and taking a look.
May use an inspection camera too if I can to help with the process
The boat is 24 years old now and has some prettty nice lines in it
A lot of people who have seen photos have made positive comments, and cant believe it is as old as it is
However with glassmaster kind of disappearing shortly after the 89 production year and information hard to find on this model
I know little about there construction techniques etc. I have only found 2 other photos of this particular model on the web and not much for
information other than that.... would love to find some more.

This lack of information online led me to iboats and this forum where I have read and read threads about almost everything.
and so far it has helped a lot. and god I have read a lot. But in reading I also realize most of this work is fairly easy to accomplish if
one takes the time and follows the steps.

So over the next week or so as I dig into it and get goin I will post my findings and take it from there.
I look forward to thoughts and suggestions and any relevant information that this sommunity has to offer and take it from there.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Not sure how much below deck inspecting you're going to be able to do with 2" holes, even with a camera. I'm pretty sure your decking will be supported by floatation foam and laying directly on top of it.

You will be able to core sample the foam to check for saturated foam though, and with a soft spot in the deck you may have some wet foam.

That is a nice looking boat, and being 24 yrs. old with a soft spot in the deck I would be more prone to just going ahead and lifting the deck out for a complete inspection of stringers, foam, and lower transom. If all is good it won't be that big of a deal to lay and glass in new decking.

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Very True there there are a few things that I am concerned about and will post some pictures later on as I take them.
After reading a lot of your replies to others posts as well as the other members here I am sure that I will get a lot of good advice
from those who partiicapate.

I have quite a few pictures already on my tablet to post but the sizes are much too big and will have to resize them first so I can post them successfully. I just want to check the size to post with so that the are easily seeable but not too large.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Get a free photobucket (or other online pix site) and post the pix there. You can bulk upload them there & just gut & paste the image code IN your posts instead of as attachments that need to be opened:

 

[jigngrub]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Get a free Photobucket account and you can post nice big pics like this:


They automatically resize when you upload them to photobucket so you don't have to worry about what size they are.

Dang! JBC beat me to it!

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

lmao too funny I will work on that for sure

There are a couple things that do concern me so far
One is the front engine mount ...
The front mount is just sitting on 3/4 ply that has deteriorated and the right bolt is loose.
the frame around the engine bay I put on there and mounted to the stringers to support the floor plate aroud the engine.
It too is coming off and getting glassed in later. 2 layers of 1" meranti plywood epoxied together then lag bolted into the stringer.
The temporary floor plate I have made is 1" meranti ply as well . I wanted to create a very solid base for that filler plate so that when i made the new doghousei could make it a bit smaller and gain a few extra inches of floor space.

The port and starboard oval portlights , winshield,and a car radio antenna that werent sealed properly allowed water into the interior of the hull and must have been doing so for a while. After I first bought the boat and parked it I raised the bow as high as I could to allow any water that got inside to drain.
The carpet has been torn out from off the floor and the inside of the hull.
I am leaning towards white gellcoat on the floor and then Kiwi grip that I already have purchased for masked out panels ..... white gell grey Kiwi.
Getting ahead of myself there but only discovered the soft spot when in the process of install new interior panel I had fabricated.

Getting back to engine mount and bilge ...
Need to investigate that front mount as well ....... hoping that it isnt a massive undertaking to replace or repair

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration


Gotta get into a pix site so I can post bigger photos .... man these are tiny
but from where i am working it is aslow net connection.

When I first bought the boat I did notice the the hull in the section where the gell coat was stained has little bubbles in it.....
Started thinking about osmosis and reading about it as well as looking at it up close.
The little blisters are about 1/8" in diameter and the ones broken reveal the red layer of gell coat underneath.
No visible damage to that surface ( the red gell coat ) so as I do the work on this project I am also hoping that grinding this affected area out to a visible sound surface and repairing either by painting or gel coating again will be a task that is do able.

I had installed the transducers on the transom this summer just b4 going fishing with it for a week and when i drilled into the transom the shavings came out clean and yellow ..... no sign of black..... I did also make sure that I used 3M 4200 when installing the screws so as to gt a good seal.
There is some gell coat cracking up the keel of the hull that I discovered after cleaning the lake scum from the bottom after it was purchased.

It is a few days until I can get after exploring the floor ..... the foam and the stringers ..... however expecting I will be getting into more than that.

From what has been mentioned though in the various Glassmaster threads so far these boats were made pretty solid.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Those little blisters in the gelcoat can be problematic to 'fix/cure'

Do an advanced search for:

gelcoat blisters

from the main forum page. There will be quite a few hits. Google will also provide LOTS of info.

There may be red gelcoat under some of the white because of the way the boat was built using a mold. The red area (showing now) may have been masked off when the white gel was sprayed onto the mold 1st. Then the masking pulled, and the red gelcoat sprayed. The overspray onto the backside of the white wouldn't make any difference, originally. Once the hull gelcoat was finished, the hull's fiberglass could be laid up....

Looks like it's rigged for some serious fishing:

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

it is rigged for that
a lot of goodies still to go on the arch but no point yet until I get er done lol
mostly to keep stuff off the floor and accessable .... dont want to trip over it
18 ft sounded like a lot of boat when I first looked at it but get in it for a day and you realize how much room it consumed by the cuddy.
My wife and I fish a lot ..... and the cuddy gives us the option to spend the night on it too
It is big enough though for the first boat and gives me something to hone the skills and learn on for the next one

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

been doin some research into that already and reading
Thanks for the search tip though will look at it some more

The goal this fall is to get the floor out ..... old foam out ... inspect and plan .... and cover to keep everything dry ..... I want to ensure that I get any moisture out of it and let it dry out good.

From what I have read too and one of you can correct me if I am wrong it appears that sealing the below water line area of the hull with epoxy is an effective way to help preserve that portion of the lower hull. The key would be to solving the problem first or youd be just sealing it in there I suspect.

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

okay lets see if this worked

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

The motor mount that needs investigating as mentioned before

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

ok cool thanks guys i figured this out
I have a few more pics that show what I started with and what has been done thus far will post them tomorrow
much nicer when one can see what i am talking about

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

question
At the point when I do the motor mount work, the plywood plate that you see under the mount ( last post) will need replaced. I am sure more than that is needed as the bolt on the right is loose.
I did purchase apiece of 3/4 starboard for fairing pads behind the fishing arch mounts but will have gobs of it left over.
Is the starboard suitable for replacing that wood strip?
I wouldnt want to put it there if it couldnt stand up to the heat or stresses it would be subjected too in operation ...... never workedwith this stuff before

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Depends on why the plywood is there. It might be a spacer, to raise the front mount 3/4".

Problem w/ starboard is getting an adhesive to stick to it.

Are those motor mount bolts or lag screws?

If screws, what are they screwed into? Not 'just' that piece of 3/4" plywood, correct?

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

not sure yet about lag bolt or bolt i didnt want to mess with it until i got it home from fishin
The portion raised above the mount that I can see looks like the shank of a bolt about 1/2 or 5/8 inch in diameter
will know fir sure when I investigate when i get home from work
the fastener is definately through that ply wood sh8m though and into the glassed in bulkhead below

Didnt even think of the sealant sticking to the starboard ... but also thought that some 4200 or 4500 sealant under the starboard and worked into the hole the fastener is in would seal it ....
All I know is that as I do this I want to do it in such a way that it will long outlast me and someone else may get to enjoy it for years worry free ......

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

ok so this post will show where it started a few years ago when I bought it and leads up to where it is now.

Just bought it and in the garage in Ontario

Interior vinyl over plywood panels were torn rotting and ugly ......... torn out and tossed

after fabbing staining and varnishing new mahogany panel .... lucked out on the stain colour for a match

The white panel under the dash on both sides is tired and beat up too from leaky port windows looks good on the outside but not under the inside this right corner under the side panel is also where the floor is soft next to the hull ..... the step down into the cuddy where the cuddy floor drain is ... is also soft ..... will be tearing that out too and investigating .... carpet is now all torn out except for under the cuddy ...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

The boat looks real good overall, but I'm afraid you're going to find some ugliness when you start lifting decking... but it could be a lot worse. You'll be able to put her back to better than new when you're finished.

Losing that carpet will be a good thing, I hate that stuff in a boat.

You should consider a different better installation on those seat pedestals when you put her back together, pedestals are notorious for killing decks in fiberglass boats. There's a method of epoxying a wooden (plywood) plate to the deck with "T" nut inserts and the glassing it to the deck for zero possibility of water intrusion at the bolts.

 

[fishinfinn]

Re: First boat 1989 Glassmast S187 cuddy restoration

Carpet hide a lot holds a ton of moisture and is probably one of the most evil items every put into a boat.

Being far less boat smart when I bought it didn't help either.... but like others here I bought it ... my conscience wont allow me to sell it in the condition it is in and I wouldn't get my cash back out of it if I did.
However I can fix it ... make it better than new ... and the amount of use I get out of it will outweigh the work.
The plus side is that when we are enjoying time on it we know its safe for the family to be on and it will be in good shape to sell later when I upgrade to something different.

Hoping for the best .... but definitely expecting surprises along the way.