1974 glas-ply gauranteed rot or maybe OK?

Tugcapitan

Tugcapitan

Well-Known Member
1974 glas-ply out of town on trailer, 19' enclosed mini bow, mini cuddy. Haven't seen it yet but it looks nice in pics. Will get survey done, just wondering what some of you knowledgable stringer and floor replacers think. Guaranteed soft spots and rot? Or maybe ok?
It has an inboard, would like to run on that for a couple/few years before deciding if it's worth podding out.
Thanks in advance for opinions.
I know I'll get at least a few 'go aluminum' posts lol
 
The boat is forty years old. Unless it was never in the water, or parked in the weather, it will have rot. Fibreglass techniques have developed for the better in forty years. If it used foam as flotation, you can almost be sure that it will be broken and be absorbing water. You will have a long and expensive project on your hands. IMO walk away.
 
I was told awhile back from a guy that worked with fibreglass and was fairly knowledgeable that fibreglass has an approx shelf life of around 25 years... it's kinda like concrete and continuously hardening. after around 25 years it will start cracking regardless of how well it's kept, garaged, heated environment, etc... just something to consider since this boats around 40 years old...
 
My guess would be if it is original i.e never been re-built, then yeah I would say 90% chance there is rot somewhere. How much?? Well that's a tough guess. I ran my boat for 11 years before tearing it apart. It was surprising how bad things were in certain areas, but in all that time I would say the boat never felt that bad. It just goes to show you how tough and strong fiberglass is even if stringers and transoms are rotten underneath.
 
How much would it cost to redo stringers and transom in a 23ft boat? What materials would you need. Thinking of pulling the floor on a project boat this fall. Never done it before and just wondering what some of the pros think on cost and materials. Going to do it all by myself, been looking at YouTube videos and learning what I can on the net. Sorry for the high jack
 
If you haven't seen them already look up Friscojarret on youtube. This guy has been there and done that and done it very well. His videos are great and very informative, I've watched just about all of them even though I don't currently have any need to. LOL. Ballpark on a 23' boat if you do it right.....$5000 and a metric butt ton of time! Hard to say really. All the small stuff adds up quick.
As for the OP I'd say I agree with the others, its 40 years old, there WILL be issues, not necessarily a deal beaker if you are capable and go in with eyes wide open.
 
casper5280 said:
How much would it cost to redo stringers and transom in a 23ft boat? What materials would you need. Thinking of pulling the floor on a project boat this fall. Never done it before and just wondering what some of the pros think on cost and materials. Going to do it all by myself, been looking at YouTube videos and learning what I can on the net. Sorry for the high jack
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I have been there. Bought a 1981 21 ft K & C. Transom rotten, floor soft, stringers rotten, Podded it. This was 5 years ago. Suffered physical setbacks and its not done yet. Will be this year.
Dumbest thing I have ever done. The flotation foam was full of water. Itchiest sh*t known to man. Tons of grinding scraping prepping boat for new fiberglass. Now doing the install of the new fiberglass. This project will cost me an arm, a leg, half my heart and five years of fishing.
Sure it will be awesome I hope when its done, and I will know for a fact what's under my feet, but I could have bought new and been fishing. Yeah I would still owe for it, but if die I CAN'T GET BACK THE LOST HOURS. I always tell everyone I meet to not do this. Get a mortgage and buy a boat. Go fishing. Please listen to what I say. If I stop one person from doing what I did, then something good will have come from my mistake.
 
I'd say maybe ok you'll have to see it and find out what's been done. Not sure a 40 year old hull holds any value but if your offer covers the power, trailer and gear you'll hopefully get some good years out of it and then move on.

My hourstons from the 70's my plan is to fish it as long as i can without putting any money into the hull. Got about 5 years so far fingers crossed for a few more.
 
Get a mortgage and buy a boat. Go fishing. Please listen to what I say.
Click to expand...
You Da Man!

I actually know someone who bought a Glas Ply in northern Alberta- always stored inside and only fished in fresh a couple times a year.

This was over 10 years ago and it floated like a cork went like hell and was all kinds of fun to fish.

But he sold it and moved back to Alberta and a few years ago I saw a pic of it in Telegraph Cove-sitting quite a bit lower in the water-wouldn't go near the thing now.

Jo Jo in Telegraph Cove.jpg
 
Thanks for responses. I love old stuff, classic trucks, old boats ect. Just when I thought hey I'd like to rip out the floors one day and project that thing right up, I read Island Idiots post...
"Get a mortgage and buy a boat. Go fishing. Please listen to what I say"
And bigdogeh's point about 25 year shelf life of fiberglass.
Certainly gives a man pause.
I have a little bit of that "I've seen a boat I like fever". Better get it in check!
Still want to go look at this thing though... "Promise honey, we'll just look..." Hahahahahahaha
 
I have done transom, stringer, floor on a 21' fiberglass boat of similar vintage, and I looked at the bills and I was into it for about $4000 on structure alone. If you go for it make sure you look for volume pricing on resin and cloth, trust me you will use a lot more than you figure. I am not totally bitter as some are on doing a job such as this, but I do like a project. Do you have a shop and the time to take on this kind of a project? It really depends on the condition of the boat, and what you want out of it. I figured I would re do the floor and tidy up the mechanicals, add some electronics and go fishing. It snowballed. Ground hull to bare, new stringers, new bulkhead, new transom, two new fuel tanks, all new wiring and plumbing, paint, starter, fuel pump, manifold.... Like I said I am a bit of a sucker for a project, but I am sure for the money I would have smarter to buy newer!
Alan
 
I structurally rebuilt my 17.5" Campion and it was a messy and not-fun job. I used epoxy throughout and while I am happy with the result I would not do it again. It think the figure above of $5,000 is realistic if you want to do it right. I'd say, if you really love this boat then do it. If you could imagine owning another boat - stay away. Wood is an organic material that WILL rot sooner or later. And after 40 years it will have rot even if it stayed bone dry - that's called dry rot.
 
Sangster21 brought up the point I was going to mention and that is: Do you have a shop to do this in? I am assuming you plan on doing the work. Because if you don't have an enclosed shop WITH heat to do a major project like this then stop the madness right now!!! You will curse and swear till the time you are complete. And if you were thinking of paying somebody to do this, well then, you really have lost your mind!

Second question is: Is this the boat of your dreams? Because if not you will be doing a lot of work and be lucky to get your money out of it.

Third point: There is ALWAYS more work than you plan on. Just like a reno on a house, so to a boat. Once you start it's tough to stop without fixing all the other stuff you encounter.

Lastly, I did mine 3 years ago. Ballpark for structural work, $3000.00 I paid a buddy $2000. to do the actual fibreglass work. Then the motor got rebuilt, then the seats got re-upholstered, then the top was replaced and then I re-wired it....... Now I might be done for awhile.
 
I dont know about the 25 year shelf life of fiberglass. Mines 35 years old and very solid. I wouldn't rebuild an older boat again though, like the others said its a big can of worms and way too much time spent working when you could be fishing!
 
Last winter I replaced rotted deck, stringers and transom in a 1980 Lund FG 19.5'. There were no visible flaws in the outer hull fibreglass and gelcoat but the internals were completely gone. I have a heated shop so I did the tear out work myself, as well as cutting open the gelcoat to expose the transom. It was nasty, unpleasant back breaking work, but it did save a lot of money in shop time. I removed every speck of the waterlogged flotation foam, dumped several hundred pounds of weight from the hull in the process. I found a fibreglass guy nearby who did the rebuild work for a very reasonable rate and I supplied plywood and foam. I made it easier for him by giving him a three month period to fit in my project as he could. Now I have a dry, light hull with a deck covered with textured gelcoat instead of spongy old plywood covered with outdoor carpet. Cost me $2800 and several weekends of tearout and re-fitting time, but this was a $1000 project boat a couple of years ago anyway.

I might consider doing it again if the conditions were right (ie, otherwise seaworthy hull acquired cheap/free due to engine failure or structural rot). Just bear in mind that virtually everything is a hidden condition until you commit to the job and start tearing out. Labour is the biggest cost by a mile, I can't see this being a viable proposition if you pay someone to do tearout as well as the glass work.
 
I'll be starting another project boat next week. Transom,stringers and floor. I'll keep track of it and let everyone know how much it cost
 
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