Slowly But Surely

Sorry about the long gap in-between posts. I've been EXTREMELY busy with school lately, which has direly set me back. Anyways, I've gotten all of the rug out. All I can say is that it is not a pretty sight. We're going to have to get some marine plywood for the flooring after cleaning out the hull and then fiberglass over the plywood to make it durable. We also removed the engine off of the transom after about two hours of problem-solving. Finding where the wires were connected to was more than just a 'hassle.' Our main problem was finding where the wires were even connected to in the first place! We haven't marked anything, so that job ought to be knock-up. Besides the wire troubles, the bigger problem on our hands is trying to fix the transom. The transom needs to be COMPLETELY re-fiberglassed. On top of that, we're going to have to replace the metal reinforcements that held the Merc onto the transom. So, that's my entry this week. Sorry for the shortage of them, guys! I guarantee there will be 1-2 a week, if not more! The minute I get out of school next Thursday, I am biking over to the marina, taking the old pontoon out onto the Onondaga Lake, and just anchor and sleep; reflecting upon my year. After that, it's off to work on my Glastron!

Logo Painting ( For Newbies )

This is a perfect example of what happens when you get a newbie to do complicated painting work on an old logo. On the left is a picture of the first three black coats I applied to the Glastron logo to cut the corner of having to paint the interior of the 'G.' I, then, got some glossy light-blue and light-orange spray paint (and don't forget Scotch Blue!) to paint the opposite sides of the 'G.' After about 1,000,000 pieces of tape, I finally got to spray-painting the top and bottom sections of the 'G.' I applied about 2-3 coats on and let it sit for about and hour or two. After that, it was good to go... UNTIL I realized that the border and 'Glastron' lettering was to be painted white. This turned out to be a disaster. I ended up smearing the white enamel all over the black surface which, to me, is grounds for starting from scratch once again. This is all part of the restoration process, though, I guess. Anyways, preceding my failure to paint the Glastron logo, I moved onto ripping out the rug and old paneling. At last, I got all of the insulation out. Next, me and Papa have to get some fiberglass mesh, marine plywood, and some epoxy resign for the flooring. This will ensure a nice solid floor underneath the rug. I, then,  discovered foam where there was supposed to be fiberglass. To make it better, there is a plethora of rotting wood adjacent to the transom and bilge. I figure that a Dremmel took should be able to separate the rotted wood from the useful wood. After ripping out as much wood as I could, I started on the foam insulation. It is some nasty stuff. Black dust comes out of the material when it is moved arsed to a flimsy one like the preceding owner had. Nothing personal, Matt! We tried to activate the power, as well. The lights worked for a fraction of a second and then the wire burned out. On the bright side, though, the bilge pump is operational! The hull looks pretty stable too. Anyways, I shall continue on my restoration quest on Friday. I have Memorial day off, so what better to do than restoration work?

Please Sign My Guestbook!

Hey, guys! Just popping in to say that I will be inserting a time capsule inside my Glastron. Everybody that has signed my guestbook by the time of the launch will have their name put into the capsule. Thanks for signing, guys!

http://www.a-free-guestbook.com/gb/Nixcilak/

Papa got all of the supplies we needed to haul the boat today. He got pins, safety chain, light tape, etc. He also made it to the DMV so that he can pick up the license and title for the trailer. In the picture is our sick attempt at trying to hitch the boat & trailer upon the 1'' 7/8ths pain-in-the-butt ball hitch. We finally got it loaded onto the trailer just to find out that the taillights were not operational to any extent. No directionals, no brake lights, and no emergency blinkers. We were dead-in-the road. But thank GOD papa made the executive decision to go on the 4-mile haul to Elmcrest. Luckily, we made it with no problems. (Other than non-functioning lights.) After a quick back-up job into the side-parking lot, it was set. We put the old trailer onto a few concrete blocks and set it into her final resting place; that is, until, winter comes. We've been thinking about cleaning out a division of Riverside's garage to work on it over the winter. That'd definitely speed up the restoration process. Greatly. Anyways, after inspecting the boat, I felt the floor dip down into a squishy section all around the border of the hull. Upon further inspection, there is foam insulation underneath the carpet.  So, our first journey is now to patch the hull from inside and to add new plywood to the floor. After we've completed the chore of re-fiberglassing and painting the gel coat, I'm going to install a new red carpet with some subtle white dots inlaid into the fabric. It's going to look wonderful when we're done. This blog is to follow the long and complex journey of restoring old boats. People may use this as a guide if needed. That's why I'm doing it; for future reference for people who love the restore boats and may need some help restoring this specific model; a 1971 V156 Glastron Aqualift. I hope this helps some people and entertains some as well. I will be posting at a pretty constant pace with, possibly, a few days of inactivity. So, enjoy and I hope I benefit somebody by doing this in the process.

 Some pics of the new-found project. We went to Matt's to go check out the boat today. So, here it is in all of its old, 1971 glory. 

Today I received the signed papers from Matt. He did a great job at getting them signed. He was very prompt upon the signings. We, then, payed him the money for it, and then we were set. My pa  just has to hit the DMV real quick tomorrow to get the plates for the trailer and the registration transferred to a title. His greatest fear is the trailer disintegrating in mid-trip. I think he is over-thinking the situation a bit. The trailer is in rough shape, but I'm pretty sure that it can make the short, intermittent four-mile trip to Elmcrest. The only doubt I have on the trailer are the lights actually functioning. I believe that we'll have to make quick work of the trip, just because of the condition of the thing. We'll make it, though. I'm ninety-percent sure of it. If we don't, then I'll be to blame, because I have a feeling myself that I'll be the one that 'forces' him to actually make the trip. Lets hope for the best!  

First post of the Blog! Going to get the paperwork straightened out and then we're going to bring it over. It's in rough shape, but, hey. That's the fun of restoration! The first job is going to be fiberglass work on it. It is patched in many places, so, I'm just going to replace the entire body. Although it is a little rough around the edges, it is a beautiful craft, and will look even better when she's done!