New To Boating With A Project Boat

[Wolfe64]

Hello everyone,
My name is Mark and I live in Fisherville Ontario.
I just purchased my first powerboat, a 1971 Glastron V163 with a Johnson 100 engine.
The boat was cheap and needs a bunch of work.
The floor has been removed due to rot, the engine hasn't run in a few years and there is no interior.
With all that said,I have restored cars, built tube frame dune buggies, did my fair share of drag racing when I was younger (legal drag racing at a track) and my kids raced Jr Dragsters when they were younger.
I am a fairly handy person and have all the confidence that I can complete these repairs with the help and guidance of this forum, which I have been lurking on the last couple of days.
My wife, who grew up on Lake Muskoka at her Grandparents cottage is very excited about this, as am I.
I have never restored a boat before, so this is a new direction for me and I am looking forward to the challenges it will bring.
The pictures are where I bought the boat, I am going to pick it up Tuesday or Wednesday after work.

Mark

 

[Texasmark]

Check out the restoration section. Doesn't have to be Glastron. Any brand FG deep V hull work should suffice in giving you some ideas and tips on how to handle your project.

 

[Wolfe64]

Thanks Mark, I have been reading in that section tonight and have picked up lots of information.
This boat will be a long drawn out work in progress. I don't expect to get it anywhere near water until next spring............Hopefully

Mark

 

[roffey]

Sounds like an exciting project. Take lots of pictures. You will have lots of help along the way. BTW, I spent time on lake Muskoka when I was younger. I now boat in Central Ontario.

 

[Wolfe64]

Will do, I hope to bring the boat home tomorrow night.
We haven't been up to Muskoka for a couple years now, should go up this year and stop at Webbers for a hamburger on the way there.

Mark

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Hi neighbour, I live down the road from you just west of Fisherville Rd at Hoover Point. You have come to the right place. We are in the home stretch of splashing a rebuilt Star Craft. It has turned out so well I think we should enter it in the Star Craft Splash of the Year contest

Mod EDIT

They like beer! I have learned so much here for boats it's ridiculous. Without this site we would have wasted much money and more time guessing. Nice boat by the way.

Small world eh?

Johnny D/Selkirk Ontario

 

[Maclin]

Welcome!

Check out this site, many members there contribute here as well. Many Glastron fans and some own and have restored that exact boat.

Classic Glastron Owners of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin

http://www.cgoamn.com/index.html

 

[mxcobra]

first thing I would do, is check compression on that motor - and try and get her to fire. good looking boat though..

 

[Wolfe64]

Hi Johnny,
Wow what a small world. Live that close and meet on an internet forum.
I'd like to see that boat sometime and all the other ones too.
Harrison's auction sale is this coming Saturday, maybe there's some tools there that would come in handy.
We are leaving in about 1/2 hr to go pick up the boat.
It's in St Catharines.
I'm pretty happy there is someone close because this is my first boat and I really don't know too much about them.

I just finished fixing up a Pelican paddle boat and it will be going in the lake sometime on Saturday I hope

Maclin, I registered for that site last night, just waiting on the Admins to ok my application lol.
We have a long weekend coming up so I would really like to get started, that motor hasn't ran in a few years but I did turn it over by hand. And I'll have to rearrange the garage to get this in there.
I forsee a busy weekend ahead !!

Edit: Oops it wasn't the Wisconsin website I joined but http://www.classicglastron.com/phpbb/index.php

Mark

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Hey Mark,

I just came through Fisherville a few minutes ago on my way back from Caledonia and was keeping an eye out for your boat, not a huge village.

Mod EDIT

Tell him I know you, sort of, he will have a laugh. I don't know if you are a local, if you are you two are probably related, most everyone out here is. You know what they say about folks from Fisherville, if you divorce your wife you always will love her because after all your sister is still your sister.

I am heading up fishing to Parry Sound area for the Walleye opener but will be back Monday. Let me know when you are around next week.

Mod EDIT

A job without a plan is a plan for disaster.

See you soon.

Johnny D

 

[Wolfe64]

Hey John,
We didn't make it back from St Kitts until about 8;40 pm.
I am near Wilbur, I'm south of the Fire hall on the same side. I have know him for a long time and worked with him for a while at the steel mill.
I'm not sure if I will make it to the sale, we want to put the paddleboat in the water on Saturday and I may have to go and pick up a trolling motor too.
I've lived in Fisherville area all my life, only I married a girl from Binbrook.
That's the same saying we use for people from Selkirk LOL
I am usually around after supper and the boat is sitting in the driveway now.
Have fun in Parry Sound !!!!

Mark

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Mark, I know exactly where you live. I recognize that truck and your home.

I worked at Nanticoke too. Thus the handle.

JD

 

[Wolfe64]

The trolling motor is on an auction so I won't know if I got it yet.
I'm in no hurry for one, if I win the auction i was going to adapt it to our paddleboat, just in case we get tired of pedaling lol

Mark

 

[jbcurt00]

I worked at Nanticoke too. Thus the handle.

JD

JD, check your PMs

 

[Wolfe64]

So Our trip home.......
I didn't post much last night after we got home, long day and tired.
Last night as mentioned about we brought the boat home.
My Son, Son on Law (his truck) and I went to get the boat in St. Catharines. It was about 1 hr 20 min drive for us. I brought along a tool box, extra tie down straps, a trailer plate and ownership I have.
We stopped at a Canadian Tire in St. Kitts to buy an adapter plug for the lights as his truck has the 7 pin connector and the trailer is a 4 pin flat plug.
We get there and the guy is making sure the tires have the proper air pressure.
I actually grabbed the trailer and pulled the unit out of his drive way on to the road, swung it around and hooked it on his truck by myself.
He had a rope around the back on the boat and also the boat was not all the way forward on the trailer touching the roller at the winch.So we pulled the boat forward and I put 2 straps on the rear of the boat where the tie downs were and was now satisfied that the boat was secure.

I have iboats to thank for this.......it pays to do your research !!!!

Looking down there was no plug on the light wires so no trailer lights.
We tied a red rag onto the bottom drive and I asked Devon (Son in Law) if I could drive it home because of no lights on the trailer. I felt more comfortable with me driving it this way instead of him and he agreed.
So we take off down the street only to find out it's a dead end with no where to turn around.
I backed it up to the stop sign, which was quite a ways and around the corner to continue the trip home. Now I was taught way back when to back up with mirrors and from all my experience towing drag cars with an enclosed trailer and a 23' motorhome this was not a problem.

The rest of the trip was pretty well uneventful. I stopped a few times to check everything over and checked the rims to see if they were getting warm, which they weren't and got back home about 8:40 pm, still light out,which was good since there was no trailer lights.
The boat pulled nice, you barely noticed it was behind the truck.
Not much tongue weight with the big motor back there, but the hitch fit in the ball fairly tight, so I wasn't really concerned too much

So it's finally home, now a re organization of the garage will be done and a game plan of the work must be drawn up. I don't expect this boat will be fully operational until next summer, I want to take my time doing this restoration.
After all, it just takes time and money to do this.

Time and Money ........... Sounds like a great boat name to me !!!!

Mark