TOPIC: Mystery boat hull condition

After a good cleaning it is apparent there is some damage. I found two of these crunch marks, probably from the multiple times the boat was moved in the last 10 years. There is also major spider web cracking in the floor of the hull. I dont see any in the sides, but it is covered in cloth. I also found a few round holes about 1/4 inch diameter. At what point does this job get out of hand? Can I fix this hull?

Sure, anything CAN be fixed... It's just a question of how much time, money, & resources you want to pour in to it. You are looking at 100's of hours of work and 1000's of dollars.

Do you REALLY like the boat? If so- By all means go for it. But, if you aren't really attached to that particular boat for any reason, you might want to look elsewhere.

I agree with Andgott. With these Old classics you have to WANT to restore them. They must be a labor of love. Without that they just aren't worth it. The guys on here can and will teach you how to fix anything and everything you run into. Like Andrew says...Just a matter of the double D's Desire and Dollars.

The lay-up in these pictures looks very poor. A good fiberglass layup has more glass than resin. Resin "rich" lay-ups are failure prone, because the resin by itself has little to no strength. When resin is applied too heavily, it tends to crack like a dried lake bed. This hull looks as if the builder thought more resin would make it stronger - but it does the opposite. What does the rest of the hull look like?

All of the advice is right on. You don't have a picture of the whole boat. If is a real classic you want to keep, then by all means "dig in". If the bottom layer is salvagable, then it's possible re-laminate over and under. If not, then you might want to look on craigslist or the boat recycler. You might get lucky and find another boat that will cost you the same as the whole repair would.

It would be easier to find an old Glastron with a trashed deck and see if your deck would fit.

One other thing to consider is the Redfish and Glastrons that have this same body style are a dime a dozen. Especially the Redfishes because they pumped out so many of them and shipped to so many dealers across a wide variety of states. I've bought Redfishes for anywhere from $50 to $300 and have passed on 4 or 5 more in that same price range over the last 3-5 years.

I'm not saying anything to degrade this style boat, they are awesome looking boats, just want to make sure you know there are plenty of this style out there if you are determined to keep along these bodylines. I would probably hang onto this one for a while and be on the lookout for another one in better shape. It's fixable with a lot of labor and materials, but if you're not experianced in this type of work it would probably be best to look for another project. There's nothing more disheartning than to spend a lot of time and money on a project, get halfway through, and then realize it's just more than you can handle... Especially with you might could have found a nicer one for 200-300 bucks...

I am no expert, but the rest of the hull does not look as bad as the bottom. There seems to be much more cloth along the sides and the transition to the floor. The hull sides all feel strong, along with the bow. All of the "lakebed cracks" appear to be on the bottom back half of the boat. I have been in possession of this boat for a while, and I plan on fixing her. If she was a Glastron or a Redfish she would have continued to the landfill, but being what she is not, I want to keep her forever. It seems like my focus needs to shift more towards hull repair before woodwork. This might be out there, but is what about remolding the hull, just like all the knock-offs did in the day?