how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

[stackz]

got all the paperwork from my grandfather on his old 13' fiberglass scout. once I get all that sorted out at the DNR and get updated stickers I'm going to go pick it up from him.

overall the boat seems to have sat up well and is still nice and sturdy but the top surfaces have to have SOMETHING done to them. as it is, when I was a kid, I remember getting fiberglass in my *** several times lol.

now the boat has sat for another 20 years and the top surfaces and inner surfaces have deteriorated even more.

I can actually pick at the seating areas and pull up bits of fiberglass cloth (just little pecks as in fibers though).

I know by this and my past issues with the boat I need to resurface it. whats the best way to go about this? kinda wanting to get an idea and materials together before I go grab it next weekend.

I'm "thinking" just get my orbital sander and suit up in a tyvex w/hoodie and toss on my full face respirator and sand all the surfaces smooth as I can and then skim over everything with a layer of resin. let that dry and sand it smooth and repeat for two/three layers.

then smooth it all out and paint it with the boat top side paint I see at lowe's as its half the price as what I see at the marine stores like west marine. then on the walking surfaces I want to do non-skid.

I'm probably going to do the inside and out in white versus the green it is now just because I know I need to repaint the outside as well.

basically, in the end I'm looking for it to look kinda like this only all white and without the coolers (but I really like the bimini top).

what do you guys think? or what would you do differently to address the hull issues?

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

well, it proves the adage that there is no such thing as a free boat.

You're starting with an old boat with no value, and one that didn't hold up well when it was new (I don't recall seeing a fiberglass boat splinter like that). Unless there is a huge sentimental value, you'd be better off buying any of the dozens of old 14' boats for sale for $400-600. You'll use that in materials and your time at $5 an hour. And you'll end up with an old boat with little value.

 

[stackz]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

I guess I used the wrong description.

its not splintered per say. my mom is going to take some pics I requested later today so I can post them up to better show it.

hmmm, how best to describe it before then? its basically like green tinted bare fiberglass on the seat surfaces and other hard hit surfaces by the sun. its still nice and thick and a solid boat. you just get fiberglass in your *** if you sit in it as-is, thats all lol.

here's about what the seat surfaces look like (just imagine with a greenish color). All I did was search "bare fiberglass" on google images until I found something similar.

but yeah, sentimental value is very high for me with this boat. grew up in it. my grandfather bought it from my uncle in 79 and my uncle had it since new. always in the family. lots of shrimping and flounder trips in it. I just wanna update it and make it useable again. the $$ going in doesnt really bother me that much. a couple gallons of resin and paint wont be too bad and going over the whole boat and adding things (modifying the way I want) will get it doing what I want.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

My friend had a similar situation with a sears hull. He had great results simply painting it with a gallon of something--I forget what-- from Cabelas. Although he painted it camo for hunting I'm sure they sell other colors too. If he sanded it at all, which I don't believe he did, I believe it would have been just light sanding

The paint sealed the glass fibers so now when you sit, your butt and legs don't get itchy.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

I believe I'd give it a light sanding to remove all the loose stuff, and then paint.

 

[thesledhead]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

automotive clear coat works great.

 

[stackz]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

hmmm I dunno why but I didnt think just sanding it and painting it would do the trick.

I guess after thinking about it, it would though. so water wont absorb through the topside paint into the fibers and swell it? I know on corvettes, you usually seal the raw fiberglass body with a sealer type paint, then use a high build primer to find any imperfections, fill/sand, then paint.

I was just going to do the layer of resin as my grandfather said that's what he'd do...though I dont think he had intentions of painting the boat lol.

how durable is the topside type paint? does it resist chipping, etc?? or do you need to paint with the topside paint and then paint with the non-skid in standing/high traffic areas??

 

[stackz]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

got my mom to snap some pics of it real quick to give a better idea of what I'm talking about with the fiberglass on the hull.

oh and yeah the 78 15hp johnson does run but my grandpa has a 98 15hp mariner which I'm going to toss on instead.

and yeah, thats about an inch of frozen water in the front portion. the pole in the middle is the shrimp light pole holder. I'll probably revamp that and move it to the side or something.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Stack,

I would simply sand and paint. You could use a light touch with a grinder and flapper disc on the rougher areas. Low spots could be filled and sanded prior to painting. It's not the QE II so you don't need to make more out of it than you need to. How's the transom? Deck? Seat boxes? Check for rot first. Like Home Cookin said, no matter what you do you will still have a boat with little value. Just saying make sure its worth it to you. Keep us posted.

 

[stackz]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

the boat hull itself is nice and solid when I checked it 3 weeks ago. no flex in the sides, transom, or floors. it just gives you the itchy *** from all the original coating fading off.

when I swap the engines out, I'm going to replace the rear wooden transom pad just because I can.

aside from painting it so I dont get itchy *** (I dont know why I like saying that), I'm just going to rewire the the bow/stern lights, do something with the shrimp light pole, add a couple rod holders, and "maybe" add in a small 2 speaker stereo, and bimini top since when I get out, I like to stay out all day and I dont want to fry.

here's a question...once something is incased in fiberglass resin, it should be good to go right?

my grandfather always just had the wiring for the bow light flopping around in the boat and we'd trip on it.

I'm thinking while I'm sanding/repainting the outside (boat flipped upside down). I'd run new bow light wiring down the underside of the outerlip and then just resin over it to hold it in place out of the way.

good idea? bad idea?

 

[bonz_d]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Myself, I would sand, paint, attach wood seats tops and probably use 1/2" PVC to run the wiring through. Keep it as inexspensive as possible and go fish.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

when I swap the engines out, I'm going to replace the rear wooden transom pad just because I can.

Good idea.

here's a question...once something is incased in fiberglass resin, it should be good to go right?

No not true. Resin by itself has no strength and will crumble and fall apart easily. You need to have a matrix (fiberglass mat or cloth) along with the resin to give rigidity and strength.

I like Bonz's idea of wood on the seats and using a conduit if some sort to run your wires in back to your switch panel.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

No not true. Resin by itself has no strength and will crumble and fall apart easily.

You may be correct, but then what is epoxy paint? I would think you could cover in epoxy resin to seal and then paint the surface with a good marine paint...Rustoleum enamel should work well. Heck, I sprayed painted my fiberglass jon boat with a couple of cheap cans of paint from Home Depot and it has lasted for over 5 years in the Florida sun and looks as good as the day I did it. All this fancy stuff is a waste of money sometimes. It's a simple little boat...keep it simple.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

You may be correct, but then what is epoxy paint? I would think you could cover in epoxy resin to seal and then paint the surface with a good marine paint..

I am sorry I should have been more clear. I was referring to "poly" resin. Epoxy resin is different since it is an adhesive and a very durable resin on its own. "Epoxy paint"?? I think you meant epoxy resin. You could use epoxy resin and cover with paint.

Honestly since you are going to repaint everything anyway, you could just glass the wires in along the inside the hull and then paint over. You could use less expensive poly resin also. You would barely see it and would look cleaner. Just a thought.

 

[idonthaveaname]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Nope. Epoxy paint, like in garage floor paint or appliance paint. I'd give the link, but it's a mile long...all you have to do is search Home Depot for epoxy paint. Anyhow, like I said, I used cheap spray paint on the little jon I use around the back yard canals and such and it has held up fine.

 

[stackz]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Honestly since you are going to repaint everything anyway, you could just glass the wires in along the inside the hull and then paint over. You could use less expensive poly resin also. You would barely see it and would look cleaner. Just a thought.

why cant I do it on the underside of the edge rail so there's not a bump on the inside going down one side?

I mean I know I want to do this cheap but I dont want it to look like an 8 year old did it...

 

[JupiterJoe]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

A really good paint I used on a 23 Angler Was A marine Paint Call MoPoxy (www.blpmobilpaint.com) workrd great and only 80.00 for a gallon with the reducer. Can be sprayed or brushed. It has great coverage and is a Epoxy paint. You will want to get their primer as well . Im gonna use the same paint on my 17 whaler and 23 cuddy.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Nope. Epoxy paint, like in garage floor paint or appliance paint. I'd give the link, but it's a mile long...all you have to do is search Home Depot for epoxy paint. Anyhow, like I said, I used cheap spray paint on the little jon I use around the back yard canals and such and it has held up fine.

We have been a little hesitant to recommend using the garage floor type epoxies for boats because we aren't sure they can handle the UV exposure.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

Idont,

Sorry, I think our comments were going crisscross to each other. Epoxy paint doesn't hold up to UV exposure like EZ said. I believe some on here have used it so do a search.

Stack,

You can do it however you want to. I just wanted to pass on the info about poly resin vs epoxy resin to save you any post work heartache. I think epoxying the wire under the outside lip is okay. You still have to run the wire either over the lip or through the hull side somehow to get it to a switch. The wire could be exposed to potential damage in either case.

 

[chrisroberts916]

Re: how best to restore a 76 13' fiberglass scout?

When I redone a small jon boat for my dad I had very good results form paint I bought at TSC Tractor Supply Center - it's there tractor & implement paint made by Valspar. The can reads Heavy-Duty Performance, Chip & Abrasion Resistant & Fade Resistant High Gloss Enamal. I just thinned and sprayed in with alot of hardner. I've also used the same paint for my trailers, four wheeler frames and never had a problem. It truly is a good product.
Like others said it a small simple boat, keep it simple. In my opinion if the boat not going to be kept in the water and going to spend more time on the trailer there is no need for expensive paints. By the way the Valspar paint is enamal that can be wet sanded and buffed to produce a really nice gloss finish. But with any paint project it's all in the prep. Good Luck and keep us posted.