1977 Glastron HP154 Bass Boat restoration.

[RStewart]

Hi guys. Man I'm amazed at the wealth of knowledge & the skills of the people here. I've been reading through some of the restorations here & I'm impressed. I hope I can ( with the help of you all) do a good job on mine. I have a 1977 Glastron HP154 bass boat. My dad bought it in 1984 & I fished out of it as a kid. It's been sitting for the past 5 years because it's in bad need of a rebuild. I know the transom is rotted & I'm sure the stringers are as well. I currently fish from a modified 14 ft aluminum jon boat. I really wanted a bigger bass boat but since I'm not willing to finance one, I will just rebuild the Glastron I have. I love a good project anyway. I've never messed with fiberglass before, but I've already learned a lot just from reading through some threads here. I was unrealistically thinking I would have this done by spring, but after reading here & the weather & my time & money, it probably won't be done that fast. I will be working on it at my father-in-laws place so I will pretty much be limited to weekends only. With winter here I plan to get demo & prep done so when the weather warms back up I can lay the fiberglass since it has to be above 60 degrees, if I'm remembering right. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello & I look forward to getting this project started. I will post pics as soon as I get the boat moved to my father-in-laws. Happy New Year everyone!

 

[gm280]

Well welcome aboard :welcome: good to have a new project to watch along the way. Picture posting IS the number one best way to get everybody together on the same page when you need assistance. And this IS the best place to get professional assistance too. So glad you joined us... I await for the pictures myself to see what you're dealing with.

 

[alldodge]

Hi guys. Man I'm amazed at the wealth of knowledge & the skills of the people here. I've been reading through some of the restorations here & I'm impressed. I hope I can ( with the help of you all) do a good job on mine. I have a 1977 Glastron HP154 bass boat. My dad bought it in 1984 & I fished out of it as a kid. It's been sitting for the past 4 years because it's in bad need of a rebuild. I know the transom is rotted & I'm sure the stringers are as well. I currently fish from a modified 14 ft aluminum jon boat. I really wanted a bigger bass boat but since I'm not willing to finance one, I will just rebuild the Glastron I have. I love a good project anyway. I've never messed with fiberglass before, but I've already learned a lot just from reading through some threads here. I was unrealistically thinking I would have this done by spring, but after reading here & the weather & my time & money, it probably won't be done that fast. I will be working on it at my father-in-laws place so I will pretty much be limited to weekends only. With winter here I plan to get demo & prep done so when the weather warms back up I can lay the fiberglass since it has to be above 60 degrees, if I'm remembering right. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello & I look forward to getting this project started. I will post pics as soon as I get the boat moved to my father-in-laws. Happy New Year everyone!

:welcome: to iboats

Look forward to seeing your project and as gm280 mentioned, we all like a good picture show

 

[RStewart]

Thanks guys for the welcome. I know all about the picture show. LOL. I've got a few before pics to post. I haven't started tearing it apart yet, I've got a couple small vehicle repairs to do before I dig into this boat. Yeah, basically this is premature thread starting.

The boat is a 1977 Glastron HP - 154 Bass Boat. The deck extension was built & installed by my Bro-in-law & I. I'm thinking about redoing the cap & extending the deck with glass, putting in rod storage. Anyway, Here is a couple pics.

 

[RStewart]

Oops, didn't mean to post yet. Here's is a pic of the back deck.

I have a question for you guys. I'm going to keep it on the trailer through this rebuild. I took a pic of the bunks & the outside bunks are shorter than the inside bunks. I'm going to add side support for the hull, but I was wondering if these bunks would support the hull ok or should I make them longer for the build? Thanks

This pic shows how far forward the inside bunks run.

 

[GA_Boater]

Welcome to the iboats drydock, RS. It sounds like you have a good plan to put your Dad's boat back on the water. You aren't premature - You're planning and dreaming! Staring at the boat counts as planning too!

 

[nurseman]

Can't wait to see you get going on her RS! Never a problem to post some boat porn, we all love it!

 

[Woodonglass]

Based on your pics, I'd say the bunks on the trailer are setup pretty good to support the boat during the rebuild. You'll get a better idea once you start the demolition and the deck and stringers start coming out. If she starts feeling a bit flimsy you can always beef her up a bit more.

 

[RStewart]

Welcome to the iboats drydock, RS. It sounds like you have a good plan to put your Dad's boat back on the water. You aren't premature - You're planning and dreaming! Staring at the boat counts as planning too!

I definitely like to stare & ponder. Lol.

 

[RStewart]

Can't wait to see you get going on her RS! Never a problem to post some boat porn, we all love it!

I will get more pics up when I get to start the demo process. It's going to be in the high 50s & low 60s this weekend, so maybe I can get some demo done.

 

[RStewart]

Based on your pics, I'd say the bunks on the trailer are setup pretty good to support the boat during the rebuild. You'll get a better idea once you start the demolition and the deck and stringers start coming out. If she starts feeling a bit flimsy you can always beef her up a bit more.

Thanks Wood. I plan on running 2x4s under the trailer, perpendicular to the boat & then uprights from there up to a 1x4 laying flat against the side of the hull (hope that makes sense) to support the sides of the hull.

 

[Capt. Willie]

Welcome aboard RS. :welcome:

You've come to the right place....I've only been a member here for 2 weeks, and I've learned alot.

It's looks to be in fairly good shape. I just started tearing off my deck today, (1976 18' Omega). 'The more you look-the more you find.'


Good luck on all!

opcorn:

 

[RStewart]

Welcome aboard RS. :welcome:

You've come to the right place....I've only been a member here for 2 weeks, and I've learned alot.

It's looks to be in fairly good shape. I just started tearing off my deck today, (1976 18' Omega). 'The more you look-the more you find.'


Good luck on all!

opcorn:

Thanks Capt. Willie & :welcome: to you as well. This site is great. So much wisdom & help here. The ole boat is in decent shape I guess, but it's seen better days. Lol. I will have to follow along on your resto.

 

[GT1000000]

Welcome to the iboats dry dock, Ron.
I would like to hang around and see what develops.
All the best in your upcoming project and rest assured that you will get all the info and support you'll need to bring this bass boat back to better than new condition.
GT1M

 

[RStewart]

Thanks for the welcome GT1M. Please do hang around & offer your wisdom. I have no doubt that you guys here can & will lead me down the right path on this journey. I've read through a few threads, yours being one of them, & I'm impressed. I hope this is as much fun as it looks like it is.

 

[RStewart]

Well I got the project started by completing the first two steps, which are going to be the easiest steps I'm sure. I got the boat moved to my father in law's & I built the engine stand that's in the "how to" section here. I learned at least one of the livewells doesn't leak because the plug was in it & it was full of water. When I got in the boat to drain it, I thought I was going to step through the floor. No real surprise there. I was hesitant to drag the boat so far because I was afraid the motor would fall off. The transom is so soft & the part of the cap that sits on top of the transom is cracked on both sides of the motor. My transom saver worked like it's supposed to & I didn't have any issues on the trip to my father in law's. I will post pics of the cracks.when I get the motor off. Actually I have a quite a few pics to post because I found a lot of stress cracks at the bottom of the transom around the drain holes. Now about the engine stand, it sure looks too short for the motor. The plans called for it to be 31 inches tall & that's what I followed, but it looks too short. Maybe the motor isn't as tall as it appears. Anyway, I should be going back out there today & I will get some pics of something to keep you all entertained.

 

[nurseman]

Off to a good start! Looking forward to seeing the pics!

 

[gm280]

Sound like you're make some forward progress already. Also sound like the transom, flooring and stringers are going to be replaced. Not really surprised. Seem most glass boats have those same problems after a while. But don't worry, the folks here will treat you right. And you're already reading some project rebuilds. There are so many that you could read for days and not finish reading... Post those pictures for us to see what you're seeing... We love pictures. They can tell more then you can type lots of time... :thumb:

 

[RStewart]

Ok guys. I got a few pics today. First is my engine stand. I got the casters on it & it's going to be tall enough.

The other pics are of the cracks on the cap where the motor sits & the stress cracks at the bottom of the transom. I hope all these cracks can be fixed.




Crack on cap



Crack on cap, other side of motor.



Stress cracks at bottom of transom

 

[RStewart]

Got pics to load.