New to boats and have NO idea where to start!

[Garay73]

Hey Guys! So, long story short (kinda), my family was given a 1973 Glastron Bayflite, yearrrrrs ago, when I was a kid. (like 1993?). The boat had just had the engine totally rebuilt when the guy gave it to us. I think it had like 20 hours on the new engine when we got it? We never took it out (my parents never got around to getting a truck to get it anywhere). Anyway, when I was 21 they gave it me...I never used it. It sat forever. Gave it to a guy in a trade. He gave it to another guy, in another trade (who turned out to be a good family friend of ours! lol). He took it on as a project boat for his dad and him. He fixed a few mechanical issues that happen with 25 years of sitting, replaced the wood flooring and used something to waterproof its? (feels like rhino liner maybe?), and replaced the seats.

Fast forward a bit, his dad passes away without finishing it up, he doesn't want or have the time to deal with it anymore, and so he GAVE it back to us! for free. Now my husband and I are more in a position to actually use this sucker. We have a truck and live about 15 minutes from a lake, and we've got kids at a good age for it. buuuuuuut, now what?!?! We don't even know how to start a boat properly!! (I've head you dont ever dry start a boat....do we just run water hose over the propeller?!?!). I don't want that rhino liner flooring (if thats what it is), not sure what or how to put down new stuff? The paint job has tiny little cracks (I'm assuming sun damage and just years of sitting around), and some discoloration. How do we fix that?

Can someone point us into which forum we should start in? or where we should start? Supposedly this boat is in great working order (from what the guy could tell), but it hasn't been in the water for 25 years? Pointing us in the right direction, any advice, or tips, would be amazing! Thanks!

 

[Scott Danforth]

welcome aboard.

a permenant project that is questionable as well as not being stored indoors for the past 25 years.....may not be the best boat for a family.

what motor/drive is on it? ourboard or I/O

sitting that long, at a minimum, all the rubber bits will need to be replaced. that includes the raw water pump, etc. most likely the whole hull needs a restoration.

you are correct, starting a motor would require a set of muffs. the correct muff will depend on what you have for a motor. however you will have a lot of work prior to hooking up water and attempting to start.

each of the forums have stickies. I suggest you do a lot of reading.

here is the sticky from the hull restoration forum. at a minimum, read link 14 for hull restoration https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boa...r/295740-how-to-s-and-other-great-information

 

[southkogs]

I would also recommend that you make a couple of more posts (you need 3 total) and then put some photographs up of the boat, motor, floor, etc. ... all the stuff you have questions about at the first. We can make some suggestions from there and do our best to tell you what you have.

Photo upload tutorial HERE.

:welcome:

 

[JASinIL2006]

Also, after you have posted 3 times, you can put up some pictures that show the condition of the boat. That will be very helpful in giving everyone an idea what you're facing.

Just a warning: most boats of that era were make with fiberglass-covered wood stringers (the ribs under the deck) and transom cores (the large slab of wood inside the rear of the boat, where the drive is). The deck is probably the same material, too. Since the boat is over 40 years old, and since it sounds like it has been stored outside uncovered for at least some of that period, there is a very good chance that some or all of the wood structure is compromised. If that's the case, the boat will need a LOT of work before it is safe to use (especially for a family).

It may be the cost and/or time required to make the boat usable is more than you're expecting. I (and Scott above) are not trying to dampen your enthusiasm, but to prepare you for what might be some unpleasant news... almost any boat can be restored, but depending on the condition and type of engine/drive, it might not be cost effective.

Anyway, welcome to iBoats. You are at the right place to get some help.

 

[ahicks]

THEN, there are boating safety courses available that would be a VERY good idea for a total amateur. You might add something like that to your "to do" list. This to prevent being a danger to yourself and others once the boat leaves the dock.

 

[Garay73]

Thank you guys so much for the input!!!

Scott, its an outboard, I just went out and looked and it says Volvo Penta on the side of the engine. The guy that gave it to us didn't have many hours on it. I've been water skiing on the boat when it was his . And yes, anything rubber looks like its shot! We knew this was not an easy fix.....which is why we gave it away the first time!! LOL! Now we're in a different point and figure we'll give it a shot.

 

[Garay73]

Southkogs, Yes! I'll definitely get some pics up ASAP! (I'm replying individually to get my count up :tennis

 

[southkogs]

Cool. Volvo Penta would likely be an I/O (Inboard Outdrive or Stern drive).

 

[Garay73]

Jasin, No worries about bursting my bubble! I know its never as easy as you initially think it is! LOL! I'm pretty sure the guy who last had it replaced any of the rotted out wood when he replaced the flooring....at least when we were talking to him that's how I understood it. I'll have hubby double check with him. I know he did a lot of work engine wise, and flooring/body (is that the right word? or would it be hull?) wise. he mentioned that a couple lines needed to be replaced, the battery needed to be charged and that we'd have to siphon the gas and put fresh. he said everything else worked great........I just need to find out how to make sure, before we actually get in the water and float away to our death! :lol::lol::lol:

I will say that it was only sitting in full sun unprotected for maybe a few of those 25 years and always had a cover on it. It was in a covered carport and a hangar for a good amount of that time. still neglected, but not in a weed infested lot....for the most part. LOL

 

[Garay73]

Ahicks....THAT is a definite!!! I am not a "fly by the seat of your pants" kinda gal when it comes to this type stuff! I wanna make sure I know, AT LEAST, the basics of how to not die! LOL

 

[Garay73]

Here's some of the pics that I managed to upload. Sorry If they're massive!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thank you guys so much for the input!!!

Scott, its an outboard, I just went out and looked and it says Volvo Penta on the side of the engine. The guy that gave it to us didn't have many hours on it. I've been water skiing on the boat when it was his . And yes, anything rubber looks like its shot! We knew this was not an easy fix.....which is why we gave it away the first time!! LOL! Now we're in a different point and figure we'll give it a shot.

Volvo made very few outboards, and most were sail drives.

most likely its a volvo outdrive. with that stated, really need to know what motor is in front of it.

the drive will be a 250, 270 or 280

the motor could be anything. however there will be an AQ123 or AQ130 or other such number.

pulling the bandaid off here. seriously, you are looking at about $1-2k in motor and drive work and up to $4k in hull work and who knows how much interior work to get the boat to a safe and fun condition. I love wrenching on things, i love projects and I love boating. However I probably would part out everything and use the money for a water-ready boat.

 

[Garay73]

Scott, The drive says 270, I'll have to look for the AQ number you mentioned. I guess we'll have to find out exactly what our friend did on the engine work. and how much he did on the wood, after he got the flooring up. I think once we find that out, maybe we'll run it into a boat place and have them check it out. From what our friend said, he said they did most of the heavy lifting and did a lot of the hard work, but didn't get to the more cosmetic stuff. I'm hoping thats the case. I can handle cosmetic work. But if we have to rip up all the flooring, that he just put in, and they didn't get the mechanics up to par, then yes, you'd be right, that its more than we can handle!

 

[Tassie 1]

Volvo made very few outboards, and most were sail drives.

most likely its a volvo outdrive. with that stated, really need to know what motor is in front of it.

the drive will be a 250, 270 or 280

the motor could be anything. however there will be an AQ123 or AQ130 or other such number.

pulling the bandaid off here. seriously, you are looking at about $1-2k in motor and drive work and up to $4k in hull work and who knows how much interior work to get the boat to a safe and fun condition. I love wrenching on things, i love projects and I love boating. However I probably would part out everything and use the money for a water-ready boat.

Actually volvo made quite a few outboards, up to at least 80 hp,
there is even a 60hp turbo diesel outboard listed,

they were much better known in Sweden/ Europe etc etc obviously
just watched youtube videos from 70's boat races,

a year or so ago my son was thinking of buying a 6 hp aux locally to go with his vp tamd40 but l didn't know anything about other than they were older,


anywho, getting back on track to the original post re engine id,

it is extremely unlikely that a skiboat of the day had a diesel motor but it's easy to check,

red motor is petrol,
green is diesel,
Extremely unlikely to be diesel but ya never know...
just saying

 

[Scott Danforth]

Actually volvo made quite a few outboards, up to at least 80 hp,
there is even a 60hp turbo diesel outboard listed,

they were much better known in Sweden/ Europe etc etc obviously
just watched youtube videos from 70's boat races,

a year or so ago my son was thinking of buying a 6 hp aux locally to go with his vp tamd40 but l didn't know anything about other than they were older,


anywho, getting back on track to the original post re engine id,

it is extremely unlikely that a skiboat of the day had a diesel motor but it's easy to check,

red motor is petrol,
green is diesel,
Extremely unlikely to be diesel but ya never know...
just saying

many were painted black in the early 70's

 

[tpenfield]

Based on the one stern pic, I think we are talking an I/O Volvo-Penta (right?)

the replacing the floor stuff is a little scary . . . usually that means the mess below was just covered up. No way to tell but take a look where you can see below deck. Open up hatches, etc and take some pictures and post them.

If the structure (beneath the floor) is good, then you have a chance.

Since the engine has not been run in a while, I'd pull the spark plugs, get some fogging oil in the cylinders and see if you can turn the engine over by hand. Drain the motor oil and put in new oil and oil filter.

How about the fuel? Still some in the tank? Probably more like jelly than fuel, so that has to come out.

I would take the carburetor off and give it a good cleaning or rebuild.

How about the battery . . . probably needs a new one. you will also want a portable battery charger.

Once you have new oil in the engine and if you found that you can rotate the engine by hand, see if you can 'spin' the engine with the starter to the point where you are seeing oil pressure on the gauge.

If you get that far, maybe try putting the carburetor back on the engine, get the fuel line hooked up and some fuel in the tank, and water running to the 'ear muffs' on the outdrive and see if you can get the engine to start for real.

If it does not start, you can check for spark by putting one of the ignition wires near some metal of the engine and in clear view and hit the starter again to see if you are getting an ignition spark.

Do you have some friends that are familiar with engine, boats, etc than can provide some first-hand guidance?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Scott, The drive says 270, I'll have to look for the AQ number you mentioned. I guess we'll have to find out exactly what our friend did on the engine work. and how much he did on the wood, after he got the flooring up. I think once we find that out, maybe we'll run it into a boat place and have them check it out. From what our friend said, he said they did most of the heavy lifting and did a lot of the hard work, but didn't get to the more cosmetic stuff. I'm hoping thats the case. I can handle cosmetic work. But if we have to rip up all the flooring, that he just put in, and they didn't get the mechanics up to par, then yes, you'd be right, that its more than we can handle!

with the 270 drive. they are pretty much bullet proof with the proper maintenance

the raw water inlet casting will need to be replaced, the bellows (both of them) will need to be replaced. as your taking the drive off to inspect the u-joints and the PDS shaft, look at the shift cable. most likely the cable is shot

back to the motor, need to know what it is. some of the early volvo power plants are expensive to maintain as parts are NLA

 

[Garay73]

Based on the one stern pic, I think we are talking an I/O Volvo-Penta (right?)

the replacing the floor stuff is a little scary . . . usually that means the mess below was just covered up. No way to tell but take a look where you can see below deck. Open up hatches, etc and take some pictures and post them.

If the structure (beneath the floor) is good, then you have a chance.

Since the engine has not been run in a while, I'd pull the spark plugs, get some fogging oil in the cylinders and see if you can turn the engine over by hand. Drain the motor oil and put in new oil and oil filter.

How about the fuel? Still some in the tank? Probably more like jelly than fuel, so that has to come out.

I would take the carburetor off and give it a good cleaning or rebuild.

How about the battery . . . probably needs a new one. you will also want a portable battery charger.

Once you have new oil in the engine and if you found that you can rotate the engine by hand, see if you can 'spin' the engine with the starter to the point where you are seeing oil pressure on the gauge.

If you get that far, maybe try putting the carburetor back on the engine, get the fuel line hooked up and some fuel in the tank, and water running to the 'ear muffs' on the outdrive and see if you can get the engine to start for real.

If it does not start, you can check for spark by putting one of the ignition wires near some metal of the engine and in clear view and hit the starter again to see if you are getting an ignition spark.

Do you have some friends that are familiar with engine, boats, etc than can provide some first-hand guidance?

Tpenfield, Awesome! Thanks! This gives us somewhere to start checking. I'll double check with our friend about EXACTLY what he replaced when he replaced to flooring. From the sounds of it, it was a group of guys (friends and relatives) working out of a hangar repairing multiple boats/planes and sorta helping each other out with their projects. So, I'm thinking that theres hope that they were thorough!! Our friend rattled off a bunch of stuff that he replaced, checked, and fixed with regards to the engine. he mentioned a couple things that should be double checked or replaced. Fuel he said definitely needed to be cleaned out and changed. My impression is that most of the hard stuff is done. Its mainly the cosmetic left (Which is where we'll need help, i.e. flooring, putting in the last two seats, replacing the little wood slats, and the paint is chipping on the dash......thats IF! the bulk of the work was done.) I'm thinking I'll contact him in a day or so and see if he can give me a list of what all he did and then take it somewhere to have a once over. if its all on the up and up, then we'll do the rest.

 

[Garay73]

with the 270 drive. they are pretty much bullet proof with the proper maintenance

the raw water inlet casting will need to be replaced, the bellows (both of them) will need to be replaced. as your taking the drive off to inspect the u-joints and the PDS shaft, look at the shift cable. most likely the cable is shot

back to the motor, need to know what it is. some of the early volvo power plants are expensive to maintain as parts are NLA

Scott, Thanks! I found a manual for the Volvo penta in our year, on this website. We'll definitely be picking that up, and your info will help us know where to check!

 

[Scott Danforth]

you can view the manuals on-line for free http://162.144.28.33/lib/library.html