Mike in Tac
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- Joined
- Aug 27, 2010
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Hi all - I am brand-new to this site, so I hope that I landed in the right place. My boat isn't tin, but I heard that this is a glass-friendly site too, so here it goes....
I recently bought a 14' Larson (1968 All American), trailer and 2-year old fish-finder from a friend of mine for $200. The motor had been stolen last year, and the boat had spent the last few years uncovered in the weather.
I've never had a boat, and figured that with some work, I could get it out on the lakes and Pt Defiance area next summer (I live in Tacoma, WA).
The hull looks to be in good shape except for a few dings here and there. Nice controls, windshield, etc. The first thing I did was strip the whole boat down - took out the seats, the garbage, tanks, and that plastic stuff that they put over the deck and gunnels. Underneath that plastic covering, I found a plywood deck with fiberglass resin (I think that is what it is called) painted all over it. In one spot (about 3'x3') the plywood appeared to have been replaced and then re-glassed over.
About 10-15% of the surface of the deck had cracked or peeling fiberglass, and there was enough rot to give me a headache. By the transom, there is a little "well" (a low spot, lower than the rest of the deck) that has two holes in it - one is the drain out the transom, and the other is a tiny hole that goes into the hull. I was getting about 12 oz of water draining out of this "hull hole" every day. I'd sponge it up, and get more water in the "well" the next day.
After a couple of weeks of staring at this thing in my driveway, I went ahead and cut out most of the deck. I found about a gallon of water, which was easy enough to sponge up, and this is how the rest of it looks.
Like I said, I've never had a boat before. But, I'm pretty sure that I've got a chore on my hands. I'm not ready to ditch the boat - not even close. However, when I first saw the condition of the deck, I was thinking that I could get away with treating the deck with some high-tech chemical, painting more fiberglass stuff on it, and moving forward. Of course, I'm well beyond doing that now.
If anyone has any suggestions on how/where to go from here, I would really appreciate it. It's gonna be a do-it-myself project for sure, and I've got a lot of time....
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this,
Mike in Tacoma
I recently bought a 14' Larson (1968 All American), trailer and 2-year old fish-finder from a friend of mine for $200. The motor had been stolen last year, and the boat had spent the last few years uncovered in the weather.
I've never had a boat, and figured that with some work, I could get it out on the lakes and Pt Defiance area next summer (I live in Tacoma, WA).
The hull looks to be in good shape except for a few dings here and there. Nice controls, windshield, etc. The first thing I did was strip the whole boat down - took out the seats, the garbage, tanks, and that plastic stuff that they put over the deck and gunnels. Underneath that plastic covering, I found a plywood deck with fiberglass resin (I think that is what it is called) painted all over it. In one spot (about 3'x3') the plywood appeared to have been replaced and then re-glassed over.
About 10-15% of the surface of the deck had cracked or peeling fiberglass, and there was enough rot to give me a headache. By the transom, there is a little "well" (a low spot, lower than the rest of the deck) that has two holes in it - one is the drain out the transom, and the other is a tiny hole that goes into the hull. I was getting about 12 oz of water draining out of this "hull hole" every day. I'd sponge it up, and get more water in the "well" the next day.
After a couple of weeks of staring at this thing in my driveway, I went ahead and cut out most of the deck. I found about a gallon of water, which was easy enough to sponge up, and this is how the rest of it looks.
Like I said, I've never had a boat before. But, I'm pretty sure that I've got a chore on my hands. I'm not ready to ditch the boat - not even close. However, when I first saw the condition of the deck, I was thinking that I could get away with treating the deck with some high-tech chemical, painting more fiberglass stuff on it, and moving forward. Of course, I'm well beyond doing that now.
If anyone has any suggestions on how/where to go from here, I would really appreciate it. It's gonna be a do-it-myself project for sure, and I've got a lot of time....
Thanks a lot for taking the time to read this,
Mike in Tacoma
