[parallaxbill]

I picked up this 18' 73 Glassmaster 800 XED Tarpon for a mere $500 with a nice running 165 Mercruiser and Cox trailer. It's basically a one owner in great shape. Floors are solid, hull is clean with no damage beyond scratches.

It runs really good but has had a prop change to a longer (13.75x21") pitch prop which kills 400 or so WOT rpms. I just ordered a replacement (14.5x19") prop to get the rpms back with the power range. It won't go any faster probably but it will at least run the correct WOT rpm numbers for a change.

I fished with it a little on Cane Creek Lake this past Labor Day and although the boat did fine, the fishing was poor.

Hope these pics show up.

 

[sinker man]

Nice old classic. I'd say you got a bargain. It looks like you must have spent quite awhile cleaning it.

 

[Topsail Angler]

Wow - looks and sounds liek you got one heck of a good deal! I'm sure you will enjoy it. Hope you "christen" it with fish soon.

 

[parallaxbill]

Believe it or not that's pretty much how I bought her...

..see hasn't been covered for a year and the deck paint has oxidized pretty much but a deep cleaning brought back a lot of the color. Next plan is to lightly hand buff it with white polishing compound then a good coat of wax to hold the shine for a while.

The plywood in the bottom of the seats is pretty rotten but easily replaceable since the fabric is in good shape. I'm missing one jump seat but I may end up leaving the odd one out for more fishing room aft. My 16 year old daughter is going to re-cover the cushions from the bow area. The foam was in fine shape but the covers had come apart at the seams.

I had to do a lot of retuning on it since the previous owner apparently tried doing the tuning by ear. Lot's of little things were off-spec. I have a lot of experience with GM motors and carbs so it was actually fun getting it back to a state of fine tune.

Kinda looks like an old Game Wardens' boat.

 

[parallaxbill]

More pics of my boat on the water.

 

[Topsail Angler]

Looking good! How's she running?

 

[Dave B.]

Pretty good shape for an oldie! Just helped a buddy of mine with an ol 68 Century I/O.
His floors were ate up and he had a leaking/rusting metal 15 gallon tank in it that had to be pulled. Lucky for him it was a fresh water only boat, so it was a good project boat to put a little $$ in.

3M Fiberglass restorer worked good on his and he had a heavily oxidized gel coat. We spent 2 days straight restoring the exterior and a day and a half trying to polish the rails and stuff. try 3M restorer and follow directions on the bottle. One tip though, we dampend the wax applier, not wet, but just damp to make the paste rub a little easier. Also we used a low speed buffer to finish her off after a good coat of wax, try to use lowest speed possible and keep the wool pad clean so it wont gunk up.

Looks good! have fun with it!

 

[zooker]

dave question
do you know of a site that helps you restore old boats?? i only know of one but it aint much help..

zooker

 

[parallaxbill]

iboats.com has a restoration forum that includes member's projects. Good site, just not local like this'un.

 

[parallaxbill]

She's running fine!

Thanks for asking Topsail Angler.
I had a problem with lower rpms than I expected at WOT but it turned out to be an easily fixed problem with my tach. Seems the previous owner had inserted a replacement light bulb to deep in it's grommet and the end of the bulb was stopping the mechanical rotating parts inside the tach.

Engine runs strong and that old heavy Glassmaster will just jump out of the hole. No idea what my top speed is as I have no GPS or speedometer. I figure it should do 40 trimmed up right.

I'm hoping to try out Blewett Falls, Badin or Tillery in NC and Fishing Creek, Lake Wateree in SC as soon as I can find the time.

 

[sundrop]

I just picked up a 1977 15ft walk thru Chaparral myself. Wood was rotten in seats but vinyl was good. Floor and transom are great!! So I just peeled the seats and rebuilt them with treated plywood. Swapped the Evinrude 70hp from my old 66 Avalon for the 85hp that was on it and didn't run. I'll play with the 85 while I enjoy using the boat. I'm looking forward to fishing from the bow while my wife enjoys the back... my other boat is a runabout so it is crowded to fish in.
I picked up boat, motor with new steering cable,nice galvanized trailer with new tires and lights, 2 anchors, fresh ropes, life jackets, waterproof box, and manual on the V4 85hp for $650. The 85hp will turn over and has spark but doesn't spin fast enough to start. I'll pull it apart and "tinker" on it this winter. Boat was a donation to Carteret Community College in New Bern so they don't know much about it.
Projects are ok if you can do the work yourself, but they aren't for everyone!
I'll try to get some pics up soon of both boats.. Looks like I've moved from years of race cars and Hot Rods to outboards!!
Thanks for the post about the fiberglass cleaner, that's my next task...

 

[Dave B.]

Hey Zooker,

There's tons of books on boat restoration and plans, building, etc.. but I learned by experience. Feeding off local marina guys, and by gettin hands dirty... for some reason that's the only way I can pick up stuff, is by doing.

There's a few sites on the web that are great resources for what to look for an how to do things right that I always refer to, so here's a short list for ya.
If trying to restore larger boats, survey is probably a necessity... but on smaller boats (definition loosely determined) survey may or may not be feasible... anyway,, here's some links for ya Zook,

Yacht Survey Online: David Pascoe, Marine Surveyor by Dave Pascoe

Fundamentals of Restoration Projects: This Old Boat
Fundamentals of Restoration Projects: This Old Boat

The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Boat Restoration

Greg's Boat Restoration Project (cool project!)

Small Boat Repair - by Dale Hedtke


J. Kelly's Boat Restoration

What's really cool about this last link is the project, very similiar to a Bertram 25 project. There's one motivated individual that's getting ready to buy a fixer up Bertram 25 with single inboard (gas) Mercruiser 454 (motor is HUGE) old style sport fisher. He's gettin the boat for like $10,000.. when restored out, it will be a priceless classic. Lot's of blood, sweat and $$ not to mention time to take on projects.. but the end result if done right is usually very rewarding. (i.e. ooh and ah comments and such).

for me, wiring and rigging is my deal, I have a bud that's really good with doing hatches and trim work and another bud that does floors, stringers, bulkheads.. but we're talking smaller boats (under 25 ft). It's a fun hobby, but man the wife(s) might think it's a loosing battle/waste of time especially if the project to be sits in the yard... (i.e. what-a-ya need that part for,,, why-do-ya need to spend another $100 on that??.....)

 

[Big_Squeeze]

Nice looking boat. Mines a 1989 Sunbird Center console with an 88hp Johnson. Its' been at the Holden Beach Marina more then with me this past season. I think I have spent more on repairs than purshas price. Just got a hole in gas tank and replaceing steering cable. I belive the saying "Brake Out Another Thousand" take the 1st letters and you have boat.

 

[zooker]

now now we all know that a boat is a hole in the water you throw money thru..

known fact..

zooker

 

[parallaxbill]

Just installed what I hope will be a nice addition to my boat..

It's a Motor Guide W45 wireless remote trolling motor. It's a foot operated system that can be used from anywhere in my boat. I will probably purchase the hand held key fob controls since it would be even more convenient.
I just installed it today and it seems to be a fast responding motor. Now to take it out for a test run at Cane Creek Lake.