Question about condition of old fiberglass (now w/old Dorsett pics)

[yabuoy]

Hi everyone, I am a noob here and know nothing about fiberglass boats but I have lurked here awhile and this place seems to be a wealth of knowledge. I need your help because I have found a boat that I want to work on, and I have looked it over and taken crappy cell phone pictures of its condition. Btw it's a 63 Dorsett Fleetwood

I don't know whether or not these things are fixable. The fiberglass has some really small splits in some places but mostly along the bow and along the rubrail area...generally small ones all over. I hope these pictures load ok

There is also these bilge drain looking things on the hull and I am wondering if this is bad or good or fixable (I know everythings fixable with enough money thrown at it).This is the port side

Pictured below is the starboard side

I don't want to throw alot of money into it, but my friends and I think it'd be a great boat to fix up. We do have experience doing body work on classic cars and stuff but fiberglass boats seem an entirely different animal alltogether. Would this be a deal breaker or can a relative novice like myself do this stuff? Thanks everyone. Any help is much appreciated

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Your pics did not work. Check out my signature for a link on how to load your pics.

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Your pics did not work. Check out my signature for a link on how to load your pics.

Thanks I relaized I messed it up. Should be fixed now

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, the Above the waterline pics show Normal to be expected Spider webbing cracking in the Gelcoat. Not a hard fix. Something you could do realtively easy. The pic of the hull is a bit more concerning. The circlular area... Not sure what that is showing. Think a closer pic will be required to sort that out.

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, the Above the waterline pics show Normal to be expected Spider webbing cracking in the Gelcoat. Not a hard fix. Something you could do realtively easy. The pic of the hull is a bit more concerning. The circlular area... Not sure what that is showing. Think a closer pic will be required to sort that out.

The circular area on the starboard side has that grommet looking thing I don't know what it is. The port side is in the exact same spot but it looks like they removed the grommet and filled it in. I don't know what it was originally for nor why they decided to fill it in.

 

[Decker83]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Hey yabuoy,
The starboard side has a thur hull spout in it. Looks like it may have been a drain for a live well.
The other side looks like a bad patch job to me.
Is there anything in the boat over the holes?

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Hey yabuoy,
The starboard side has a thur hull spout in it. Looks like it may have been a drain for a live well.
The other side looks like a bad patch job to me.
Is there anything in the boat over the holes?

Dang I didn't bother to look. The cuddy has some junk in it and the boat hasn't been touched in about 10 years so I need to get up the courage to go in there and check it out again

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

The cracks in the raised area of the deck look like they're from thick gel coat. On the mold this would be a low spot and somewhat more difficult to spray, so having gel coat puddle there wouldn't be uncommon. They are a cosmetic issue that can be fixed with a little work.

The paint or gel coat needs to be removed from the repaired spot on the hull so you can see if it was done correctly, correctly means its thick enough and still sticking to the hull. Also, can you see these from the inside and post a pic.

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

The cracks in the raised area of the deck look like they're from thick gel coat. On the mold this would be a low spot and somewhat more difficult to spray, so having gel coat puddle there wouldn't be uncommon. They are a cosmetic issue that can be fixed with a little work.

The paint or gel coat needs to be removed from the repaired spot on the hull so you can see if it was done correctly, correctly means its thick enough and still sticking to the hull. Also, can you see these from the inside and post a pic.

So it depends on if it is thick enough to determine whether or not it would be an easy fix? That makes sense. How do I remove the paint/gelcoat to do this? Also, I don't own the boat yet so I'm not sure whether or not I should be doing this. I don't know if this is a rare boat or not, but the guy wants to sell it and the trailer to me for $300 so should I just jump on it anyways or should I really investigate this further bc it could be really costly?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

It depends on the condition of the trailer and motor, these are what cost money, the boat itself has almost no value, they can be found for free. Most old hulls will need all the wood replaced, transom, stringers, floor, etc, so they are all a project and most people don't want to get involved in the repairs. Even a "rare" fiberglass boat from that era wouldn't have much value, people just aren't that interested in them.

Yes, the thicker the gel coat the more work there is, each crack needs to be sanded down and filled.

Do you have pics of the whole boat?

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well the trailer is included with it, and would need new tires and lights and possibly a winch but everything else on it seems to work. Oddly enough the trailer has bearing buddies on it. The trailer also seems pretty beefy; I hope my Explorer can haul it. The motor is included for a couple hundred more, but I don't want it as it's an I/O converted from an original outboard. I already assumed I would do transom and stringer work on whatever boat project I picked up, so I wanted to switch this old thing back to an outboard. It's such a cool old boat and I really want it but not if the repairs are damn near impossible to do. I was going to remove the I/0 before taking it home and the guy would keep the I/O

yes I have more pics I will post some below:

Front view

Floor damage (already wanted to gut a project anyways tho)

Cuddy view:

From the stern (note it's name was "Padillac"):

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Is there a live well in the boat?

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Is there a Live well in the boat?

There may have been at one point but the rear deck only has a bay for the engine and the seats in the cuddy would be the only place I could think that the previous owner may have put some. The guy who is selling it ony picked it up years ago, I don't think he actually used it, but instead bought it and then parked it here and it's sat ever since

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, From what I can see There's a LOT of work there, but like you said before, Everything is doable, but I'm seeing some $ signs.

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, From what I can see There's a LOT of work there, but like you said before, Everything is doable, but I'm seeing some $ signs.

Yeah I know lol. I just have so many other hobbies, cars, guns, guitars and fishing and I want to do something different. I like fixing and creating and this boat looks like a fun way to do it. Sometimes this restoration stuff can be frustrating but other times it's therapeutic. I just have never restored a boat, but I want to try it. I just think if this boat is a total loss, like to the point that the hull couldnt be salvaged or it costs more than $5K to get anywhere with it, I may be a bit overwhelmed and would want to find something else to wrench on

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

How much do you plan to spend? This won't be cheap....or quick.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, My ROUGH Guess-ti-Mate is...

Minimum 150 hp outboard to power her. USED $1,500.00
Wood and Fiberglass material to restore her $2,000.00
Paint & or Gelcoat to finish her $500.00

Time 250 Hours

This doesn't include the trailer, and finishing the cuddy cabin etc... I believe you'll easily have 5K or MORE before she's back to her beautiful self. BUT on the positive side. When you are done she will be solid and sound and you CAN'T buy a boat like that for under 25K sooooo. IF you like her lines and style and don't mind investing the time, effort and bucks, then I'd say dig in and "Git er Dun!"

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

How much do you plan to spend? This won't be cheap....or quick.

I am thinking of maybe $4-5K, but amortized over a 2 year period. I'm assuming it will take a couple of years, but I have a place to park it for a very long time.

 

[yabuoy]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Well, My ROUGH Guess-ti-Mate is...

Minimum 150 hp outboard to power her. USED $1,500.00
Wood and Fiberglass material to restore her $2,000.00
Paint & or Gelcoat to finish her $500.00

Time 250 Hours

This doesn't include the trailer, and finishing the cuddy cabin etc... I believe you'll easily have 5K or better before she's back to her beatiful self. BUT on the positive side. When you are done she will be solid and sound and you CAN'T buy a boat like that for under 25K sooooo. IF you like her lines and style and don't mind investing the time, effort and bucks, then I'd say dig in and "Git er Dun!"

Wow thanks I appreciate that kind of estimate. You guys obviously have experiences with this stuff. On a side note, I was reading about these old Dorsett boats and I read that an outboard anywhere from 65-85 would be ideal for this kind of boat. Would that work and would it be a cheaper engine?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

Re: Question about condition of fiberglass

I was reading about these old Dorsett boats and I read that an outboard anywhere from 65-85 would be ideal for this kind of boat. Would that work and would it be a cheaper engine?

I don't know the length of this boat. My buddy has a 21' Starcraft Chieftain which is an aluminum cuddy. It's got a 90 on it and it's quite a turd. I'd think you'd want a 140 minimum. That's still a 4 cyl at least. 150s are usually V6's.