My first boat

[bassman58]

Well I bought my first boat. It is a 1971 aero glass. It has a 50 hp mercury,center console, and came with a trailer all for $100.00 pretty good deal i hope. The floor was rotten so I have started to remove it,all the wood is out including the stringers and foam.I want to raise the floor in the front for a casting deck,about a 36 inch deck.I'm going to remove rear pedestal seat and replace with a casting deck on the rear with a seat built in.any help would be great.

 

[bassman58]

Re: My first boat

 

[kfa4303]

Re: My first boat

sweet find for $100 bassman!!! check out the restoration threads and you'll find TONS of jobs similar to yours. holler if you have any particular questions, but you're on the right track by getting all of the old, wet, rotten wood and foam out.

 

[boatnut74]

Re: My first boat

Welcome to iboats bassman! Atleast the boat wasn't free, those are the most expensive kind

 

[wlg]

Re: My first boat

That's my kind of deal! Good luck with the build. Keep us posted.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: My first boat

Welcome bassman58,

You are in the right place to get all the help and info you will need to do a bang up job on your boat.

The best way to get good advice is to post tons of pics and ask tons of questions of what you want/need to do.

The experts on this site will be along soon.

Your plan sounds like a good one, just make sure you do a thorough core sampling of any suspect wood, especially down low and in/around the transom...

Most of us here have been where you are and if the rot is in the deck and the stringers, it most likely has gotten the transom also.

No worries, though, that is easy enough to replace and by the time you are done, you will have a better than new boat...


And just a thought, make sure the Motor is in great running condition, first...just because that is one of the most expensive items on the boat, and if you have to get an engine, you will be starting out with a large hole in your wallet.

You can also read through some of the threads that show up in the signatures of the guys and a great primer is this link... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288451 especially #'s 11 and 15.

Regards,
GT1M

 

[bonz_d]

Re: My first boat

Welcome aboard bassman58! Looks like it will be a nice comfortable fishing platform. $100.00 fair price too.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first boat

I would highly recommend you do a thorough inspection of the transom. Best way is to drill core samples down low from the inside and see what the shavings tell you. Do NOT drill all the way thru the transom. You only need to drill about an inch deep. If you get dark damp shavings the transom will need to be replaced and that means the top cap of the boat will need to be removed as well. Lot's of pics and help here on the forum to aid you in the rebuild. Keep posting pics and questions and we'll be right there with you all along the way.

 

[glnbnz]

Re: My first boat

Congrats on the great find...with the help of the this forum you will be fishing in no time.


Good luck with your build!!!

 

[bassman58]

Re: My first boat

well i have good news and bad news good news i built an engine stand a put the engine on it .bad news is i could inspect the transom i haven't drilled it yet but i tapped with a screw driver sounds hollow on the top left side. will work on drlii it tomorrow. if it is rotten what do you guys think of the pourable transom repair stuff. i really don't want to remove top and cut out the transom. also i was checking out another thread of a boat close to my mine and seen that he put thee stringers across and bulk heads . mine only had two stringers and bulk heads between them,not to the edge of the boat.here are some pics of the days work.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first boat

Pulling the cap on that boat would be a walk in the park. A Seacast transom would be 3 times the cost of a wood transom and a lot of fabrication goes into making the inner skin. You need to really think about it. JMHO.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: My first boat

Sorry bassman58 but I have to agree with Woodonglass on this one. No real way to short cut it and still keep a peace of mind. What you have there to start with would still be a worthwhile project from my point of view. Sure it would be a bigger investment but one I think you would be happy with when completed.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My first boat

That's a great little fishing rig. I think it would be worth pulling the cap and doing a wood transom. SeaCast is great but I really think it's most ideal for a boat that is otherwise perfect but needs a transom. Since yours is pretty well stripped at the moment anyway, I don't think it would make good financial sense to do a pourable. I'm a bit concerned that your trailer is way too short for the boat. The transom needs to be properly supported or hull damage can occur.

 

[bassman58]

Re: My first boat

ok thanks for the opinions on the transom. I was just going to get rid of this hull and find an aluminum boat .but my son seems to be enjoying working on the hull. he has been doing all the grinding. shocking since i cant get him out of bed to do anything any other time. so how do we pull the cap without damaging anything?

 

[kfa4303]

Re: My first boat

no worries. a wooden transom is pretty easy job and your son will be able to help you measure cut, seal, drill and install it; all the basics of carpentry. All you really need to do is glue two pieces of high quality, 3/4" exterior grade plywood (such as Arauco available at Lowes/HD) together with PL 400, cut out a new transom, then seal it with some epoxy and bolt it on the boat with stainless steel hardware coated in 3M 5200 marine caulk, and voila! you're done. epoxy is a little pricey, but most folks find it's easier to work with than polyester resin and fiberglass, and you can use any left over for all kinds of stuff. If you do go the epoxy route, be sure you paint it afterwards to provide UV protection. As far as getting the cap off, it depends on how it's attached. Some times they're just screwed into the rubrails with a million little screws, which are usually rusted out, of course. Others are joined to the hull using fiberglass, in which case you'll probably need to cut it off from the underside. Either way, add some horizontal braces to the hull to keep it from flexing outward when the cap is removed. good luck. keep us posted.

 

[bassman58]

Re: My first boat

ok pulled the trim off and pulled all the screws cap seems to still be attached on the inside there is a wood raill around the cap does this need to come out? also do i need to get this thing off the trailor like i see in most of threads.?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: My first boat

Post some pics so we can see the connection at the joint for the cap. Sometimes the mfg used resin in spots to secure it. Like EZ says your trailer looks like it does not offer much support so I would strongly advise you to build a cradle for the boat to do your restoration on. Do some searching on the forum for cradles to see how its done.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: My first boat

no worries. a wooden transom is pretty easy job and your son will be able to help you measure cut, seal, drill and install it; all the basics of carpentry. All you really need to do is glue two pieces of high quality, 3/4" exterior grade plywood (such as Arauco available at Lowes/HD) together with PL 400, cut out a new transom, then seal it with some epoxy and bolt it on the boat with stainless steel hardware coated in 3M 5200 marine caulk, and voila! you're done. epoxy is a little pricey, but most folks find it's easier to work with than polyester resin and fiberglass, and you can use any left over for all kinds of stuff. If you do go the epoxy route, be sure you paint it afterwards to provide UV protection. As far as getting the cap off, it depends on how it's attached. Some times they're just screwed into the rubrails with a million little screws, which are usually rusted out, of course. Others are joined to the hull using fiberglass, in which case you'll probably need to cut it off from the underside. Either way, add some horizontal braces to the hull to keep it from flexing outward when the cap is removed. good luck. keep us posted.

I think there's a little confusion here. I don't think you bolt a new transom into a fiberglass boat. You fiberglass it in. In my opinion, for a glass boat, stick with poly resin and glass. It's cheaper and is what your boat was built with in the first place. If you do use epoxy, you may as well use it for gluing the two pieces together as well. You'd be hard pressed to find a better adhesive. If you use poly, then yes, PL Premium is an excellent adhesive for gluing the sheets together. Woodonglass has some good illustrations for how to do this stuff.

 

[bassman58]

Re: My first boat

ok i found that cap is glued and screwed. I will buy some wood and make cradles . before removing. i will extend the trailer to support transom

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: My first boat

You don't have to pull the whole cap. I would cut it just beyond the splash well and lift it off. You can then do the transom repair and then set the cut off peice back in place and fiberglass the seams.

What you replace the transom with imo depends on how long you want to keep the boat.