Just a word to the wise!

[MarkS]

Rebed (reseal) your hardware!  A word of warning to anybody putting their classic G'tron back in the water.  It never occured to me to do this, but here is my sad story.

Something snapped off my pitot tube for the speedo a couple weeks ago, and I had a new one in the garage that came with my new speedometer.  (Thanks Joe P!)  When I took the screws out of the transom holding the old one in, the screws came out with black, rotted wood stuck in the threads!  Since my Starflite takes on practically no water in the hull, I wrote it off to improper or aged leaking sealant on the screws.  Then I noticed cracks forming in the gunwales just ahead of the aft platforms, getting worried now.  Also noticed for the first time some soft spots in the floor in a couple places, thinking we have big trouble here.  Yesterday I pulled a couple of the motor mounting bolts, no evidence of sealer anywhere and more black wood!  (The holes still appear to have solid wood around them, but it's black and definitely the beginning of trouble.) To say that I'm bummed out would be the understatement of the year, looks like the 'tron is going to need major surgery.

I've become pretty "attached" to the old girl in the short time I've had her, I gotta do what I can to save her!  Pretty good at wood working, but since I have no experience with fiberglass I'm hoping I'm up to the task...   Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.

[Hyperacme]

BUMMER Mark ...
Soft spots in your floor is BAD !
Cleaning out the old stuff is the worst part of the job, and if your good with wood ( Ha Ha ) the glassing part is easy !
Read Rich's and others thread on CGOA about floors and transoms and get all cloth cut and sized before mixing.
I've never done a transom but pulling the deck and removing old wood look to be the worst part of that job as well.
Might want to check the side foam boxes for water also ...
When I had Pete replace my motor he told me transom was in good shape but my old motor wasn't centered, it was off by about an inch.
I also have smaller cracks in about the same spot as yours that have been there sence I got my boat.

It's a lot of work Mark, but if you have the space (garage) to do it in and take your time ( few hours after work every day ) it's no that bad, plus you have all the experts to talk you through every step of the way !

Good luck buddy and looking forward to your restro pictures ...


 

[Rosscoe]

Yes pulling the deck would be the worst part I imagine. There are plenty on here that have done it. I know Steve has at least once. We all will probably be looking at it as some point. I found a soft spot in my floor this year too, but I dont plan on going after that until I have another boat water worthy!
Youo likely do not have an emergency so you could probably do some sealing and keep it from getting worse but there is no way around it. Sooner or later...
Holes in the transom always concern me. I know there is a lot of stuff out there for sealing but dont know what is the best. Some kind of polyurathane? I know silicone is not a good choice.

[Glastron_GT160]

Those cracks shown are beside the rear seats in the gunwhale, likely a result of total hull flex.  Does the transom itself exhibit any signs of cracks yet?

If those are the only cracks, I'd not rush into a repair until it is a -convenient- time to do so.  I certainly wouldn't do it during boating season.

Stand on your cavitation plate and watch the transom for flex/movement.  Any movement in that area is not a good sign.

No doubt you have some rot in the transom, and likely the stringers but its rare to find a hull that old that doesn't have at least a little bot of rot.

[MarkS]

The transom is still solid as far as I can tell, I'm planning on using the boat through the end of the season, which down here will be at least mid-November!  I stood and pulled on the motor, no flex at all.  The wood inside the holes appears to be solid, can't really dig it out with a screwdriver so I think I'm okay to keep using the old girl for a while anyway.  The soft spots in the floor are undetectable, unless you're barefooted, but they ARE there.

I'm trying to work out something with Donrh over on CGOA to buy his GT150 project boat, as he's already split it and replaced the transom.  Would have to finish the stringers and floor, and reassemble, but the deck is repainted and he's willing to do the same with the hull.  This would give me something to ride in while I'm restoring the Starflite, and keep my sanity level intact.  I don't even want to try going through next summer without a boat, it's just become a necessity with me!  Not sure I can complete this big of a project in a just a few months, but we'll see.

Thanks for the kind words guys, I appreciate it.  If I don't have something on the water by next Aug., I may need to bum a boat ride at the Classic!   

[dorelse]

Coming from someone who's on his 2nd boat redo project, I can tell you this...its a lot of work, but when you're done, you know exactly what you've got from bow to stern.

The stress cracks don't really bother me much with your boat.  Its 40 years old...and that would be an odd place for cracks unless your stringers are completely & totally gone, which I'm sure they're not...so most like just hull flex like others have said.

There are tons of restore threads out there to look at.  Friscoboater (Jay) has a huge one on iboats, (sorry everyone), that has youtube videos and a million pictures.  He did a great job rebuilding his Glastron, and is a great one to look at.

When you do decide to do the transom, I had great experiences with Seacast pourable transom...strong as can be...no wood to rot...

If you're concerned about how far the rot is on your transom, drill a few small holed from the inside!  And see if the wood is coming out wet & mushy or dry...that can help tell you how bad it is...make sure you seal the holes with 5200 or another sealer.  You can get an idea of what you're dealing with...

Find something that motivates you on the boat...and use it to keep you going.  

[76bayflite]

Mark, I have those exact same cracks on my v-174, they've been there for years so I'm not really sure when they showed up.