GT150 Resto

[turbotadd]

Hello,
I figured I should start a thread to document my project. I purchased a 1978 GT150 this last spring for $900, and had a blast all summer in it. I knew it would need a new floor and transom, but upon pulling the carpet up, I found a lot more would be needed. Once I got the floor up, the stringers could be seen floating in the fiberglass mat that was once bonded to them. I should mention the transom was also SHOT, someone had constructed a framework of 2x2 angle iron and threaded rod to try to keep it connected to the hull. I just got the deck off last night, and have pulled out all of the foam from the stern.
At this point, I need to figure out how to support the hull while I replace the stringers and transom. I would leave the rearmost section of floor in, to hold the shape, but will need to remove it to get to the stringers. Unfortunately my garage is sloped down to a floor drain making any effort to level tricky. My original thought was to build a platform I could level, then build some bunks up from that. The trailer has bunks and rollers, so my other thought was to extend the bunks, then level the trailer. What have you guys done in the past?

Tadd

[Riverman]

What type of trailer do you have? A good bunk trailer will support a boat like that.

[turbotadd]

It's a Dilly trailer. It has bunks that support the mid section of the hull and two bars that swivel with a total of 8 rollers supporting the stern.

[Riverman]

If it is a roller trailer you best build a cradle to sit the boat on while doing repairs. Is this a cored hull? If not (I don't think it is) it should be thich enough to hold its shape while you do the repairs.

[oldskier]

Turbotadd, I don't think hull distortion would be the problem on the Glastron hull. It's not cored and is very substantial compared to a cored hull with the core removed. I did transom. stringers and floor in my '69 Skiflite while on a trailer and the hull was very strong with the wood removed. It was built with roven woven, real thick.

Cool boat! My first love was Glastron, I still look for GT-150's, 160's or CV-16's for sale around here....hope I don't find one or my wife might just leave me...

[raymar]

How did everything go with the "new" yellow Viper this past summer? All your pics look really good.




Raymar

[oldskier]

How did everything go with the "new" yellow Viper this past summer? All your pics look really good.




Raymar

Don, The boat is fine, the driver needs some work! Working out the setup and learning to handle it, seen 68 so far on the GPS got work to do! You and/or Scott gonna make the Ally rally next year?

Bernie

[raymar]

Bernie, Scott & I have been talking about making it to the Ally-Rally in 2009.
I hope it works out so we can go. How about You??

I apologize for using this thread on the GT-150; They are great little boats and well worth rebuilding. One of the best boats I ever owned was a 1972 CV-16 Glastron/Carlson. Almost 70 MPH with a 1972 1400 Merc & 28 pitch
2-blade hp stainless prop. Wish I still had it.

[oldskier]

Yeah, turbotadd, my apologies too.

Yeah, right in my backyard Don, I'd love to see somebody I already know! I'm sure that Ally of yours would be a big hit too. If you guys are going, short of unemployment I'll be there!

[turbotadd]

Yeah, turbotadd, my apologies too

No problem guys!
I've been slacking in maintaining my thread.

I got some time Saturday to work in the garage for a little bit. I leveled the trailer, then made longer bunks and removed the rollers for the time being. One of the roller spindles had broken, and the load was distributed among the three existing rollers on that side. It looks like this resulted in a dish or crater in the hull in that area. Is this something I should address while glassing in the new stringers, or from the bottom of the hull? I I'll post pictures later that illustrate the issue.

The front-most section of floor still needs to come out, as does the keel stringer and transom. My question at this point is Where should I start in terms of rebuilding?
Since everything needs to be replaced, should I start with the transom or stringers?
I plan to add a couple of knees to support the transom, and am also curious about adding some additional support to hull in the form of a couple frames.
Any recommendations?

[oldskier]

TT, I would see If I could do something about the dished area first. I don't know what that would be, but here's a couple of thought that the 'glass experts can laugh me to shame over....

If you can get the distortion out by weighing it down with sandbags or something, then install the stringers/ frames and hopefully they will keep it out. If not, that section of the hull may be stretched so bad that you have to cut it out and rebuild the area from scratch. Another thought is if it is not too large, layer some chopped strand mat from the outside until it is smooth. If it is a large area, filling with 'glass will make a heavy repair....

I put the transom in 1st and then bonded the stringers/knees to it.

The real fiberglass guys will be along soon to tell me I'm full of it....

Thanks for your patience, Raymar is the guy I bought my boat from.

Bernie

[turbotadd]

Alright,
Its been a while, and I've been busy sanding and trying to get rid of the ich. I've roughed out the two outer stringers using the old ones as patterns. I plan to glass in the port stringer, then the starboard stringer, then tear out and replace the keel stringer, followed by the transom and floor. I plan to use polyester resin due to cost.
At this stage, I need to figure out how to go about glassing in the stringer. What materials should I be looking for for this part of the project? Can I set the stringer in place onto some type of filler or resin, then come back and cover the wood itself with mat and resin? Reason I ask is the original outer stringers have a slight bend to them, and I don't know how to hold the stringer in place.
Also, should I be replacing the transom before the stringers, or does it not matter?
Lastly, can someone recommend a general list of (and amount of) materials for this type of project? I would like to make as few trips as possible to the composite supply shop.
Thanks!

[oldskier]

Tadd, Mertons makes a polyester filler that worked great for bedding in the stringers on my Viper. I'd get a gallon of that and start with 2 gallons of resin for the rebuild.

http://www.mertons.com/Epoxy/polyest...ins/putty.html

I would put the transom in 1st and bond the stringers to it. Should make it easier to get a tight fit.

Yes, set the stringers in the filler and filet the joint so you can use some 1 1/2 oz. mat over the stringers to get a good bond to the old glass (leave the old glass rough from grinding, don't try to make it smooth, the new poly will get a better bite). Then I'd use stitchmat over the mat to get some real strength.

I used 1 1/2 oz mat between the layers of the transom on mine and stitchmat over the whole transom from the inside, overlapped on to the old glass about 6 inches.

Looks good so far! keep us posted.

Bernie

P.S., The itch will go away...about a week after you're done with the boat .

[rollerzonlyone]

hey skier i dont want to gt you in trouble with the mrs. but there is a cheap cvx 16 for sale up here in michigan with no motor doesnt look half bad http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/971069437.html

[Riverman]

You can mix up a filler for cheap and have the thickness you need for the task. Mix the appropriate filler with the resin you are using to the thickness (viscosity) that you need.