$500 1 Owner '78 Glastron Rebuild

[Downwindtracker2]

Here is the why fiberglass boats rot. First off polyester resin is water resistant not water proof. Look it up. Second is the construction method the companies used , they glued the structural components with glass mat and resin., not glass cloth. Water easily travels through mat . Mat is quick, less labour, and uses less of the expensive resin. And in the short term stronger.Guess how I learned this lesson.

Before you make a decision, go into a marine dealer and price out a new boat package.

BTW Spicer makes all sizes of U-joints, That coupling might even be off the shelf, but that's not a given, an engineer designed it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Well like I said, I have an 1981 sitting in the driveway right now that I have been stripping of parts and I have not found any rot in it at all, solid transom, solid floor and solid stringers and I have been cutting things out of it with the sawzall so all of those areas have been exposed. I am amazed it held up so well over the years.

 

[Onetype]

Same here. Transom is SOLID. I've checked it with a hammer and it feels as solid as it probably was the day it rolled off the assembly line. wood subfloor looks perfect. Not even a hint of any soft spots.

I'm ~$1200 in the boat right now. Needs another ~$150 in gaskets for the outdrive and bellows then it will be lake ready. I'll enjoy it for quite a few years. If it shows signs of rot down the line, i'll throw it away. Pretty simple.

Motor is done, head is back from the machine shop. Gaskets just got here from Amazon, so back together it goes tomorrow.

 

[Woodonglass]

Here is the why fiberglass boats rot. First off polyester resin is water resistant not water proof. Look it up. Second is the construction method the companies used , they glued the structural components with glass mat and resin., not glass cloth. Water easily travels through mat . Mat is quick, less labour, and uses less of the expensive resin. And in the short term stronger.Guess how I learned this lesson.

Before you make a decision, go into a marine dealer and price out a new boat package.

BTW Spicer makes all sizes of U-joints, That coupling might even be off the shelf, but that's not a given, an engineer designed it.

Just so we're clear. Polyester resin and Gelcoat are EXTREMELY water resistant. Properly applied, they will NOT allow water penetration to the inner wood core, Even if the resin is exposed to constant immersion in water it would take decades for water to be absorbed to the extent rot would occur. The KEY is proper application which most factories DON'T do. Bubbles in the resin, Wrinkles in the fabric. Fabric not having enuf resin, fabric having to much resin. Wood NOT being precoated with resin. NOT soaking the edges of any plywood structure. All of this is usually the case for factory builds. This forum talks about it all the time and if a builder follows the advice and techniques spouted here on the Forum, the boat will be better than factory and last a considerable longer time. the Other major factor in boats rotting is POOR maintenance and Care. Things like attaching things to the hull without proper prep and installation techniques. Storing outside with no cover and boat NOT tilted bow up. Keeping the hull clean and repairs made to any damage. The boat I found was 50 years old and transom, deck and stringers were ALL perfectly sound. Reason...It was stored in a barn most of it's life and never exposed to anything but the lake. When in the barn it was completely covered. It's hard for a boat to have issues when its properly cared for.

 

[Onetype]

This one has been in the water for at least the past 20 years, but it was stored on a boat lift out of the water for most of that time.

 

[smokerx]

I`m a mechanic, live in Austin and just got a 1988 Bayliner. stood on the motor. Towed from Dallas, tapped it with a hammer. Building confidence of no transom rot. Looks great absolutely no transom rot. Solid as the day it was built. Pulled the outboards chintzy rotted splash well drain tubes. Poked a finger in and soft as compost on one side, fine on the other and fine on garboard drain. Now I`m ready to take a drill bit for wood samples on the entire boat, But sometimes I say just let it ride or fill that hollow spot with thompson wood putty or resin mixed with sawdust. As a mechanic I recognize that plastic. It's put in places to watch it dry rot, like window motor gears.

 

[Woodonglass]

You don't use Thompson wood putty on boats. It won't last. A hammer is a useless tool to determine the condition of a transom. The ONLY way to know for sure is to drill core samples and check the shavings. If all truly is A-OK fill the holes with 3M-5200 and consider it a GREAT DAY!!!