TOPIC: A new project!

I had been sort-of been looking for a new project. It had to be the right boat and had to be doable, reasonable and accessible. A lot of 2 out of 3, but never been full deal. That is until the 59 Glastron Seaflite with hardtop showed up in Glassifieds a few weeks ago. And it was 1-1/2 hours from my house.

However, there was a problem. I had been contacted by the owner of the Winner Corsair and had been offered that for free and was seriously considering it. The owners were very interested in the boat going to me as I would restore it and it would be local. After about a month of mental ping-pong, I decided I had to go with the Glastron and pass on the Winner, but I had to help find that a home. The other posts in the Forum detail that and the outcome.

So this morning I drove up and brought the Glastron home. Didn't get any pics as I wanted to hurry to get back before the teeth of the nor'easter arrived. We floated it off the other trailer and on to mine at a local launching ramp and I made it back without much time to spare.

Most all of the hardware is there and I have sources or potential sources for what isn't. One of the cool things about this boat that you can't see from the pic is that the back of the original front seat, with the Glastron logo embossed into the Naugahyde is intact. I will used those panels in the new seat cushions, as best I can.

Right now it is parked on an undersized trailer between my house and garage with a tarp on it (something it hasn't seen for a while). Tomorrow I'll put it in it's spot and begin the clean out process. Now all I need is a trailer, motor and a few hundred hours of work and we should be all set.

Wish me luck.

todd,thats a very cool project,i cant wait to see the thread on its progress,good luck,but you dont need it,john

Good for you Todd, that's going to be a Great project, you do fine work and I can't wait to see how she comes out.

Bob

Very Cool looking project.

Congrats on finding a great new project boat Todd, lots of character and style in the ole Seaflites IMHO, especially with the hardtop! Hoping you share the restoration process with us, I for one would love to watch as you bring her back to glory.

Any help with hardware procurement or particulars on your boat, the gang over on CGOA has been great to me. Very knowledgeable, helpful, and always supportive on everyone's project. Kinda been my second boat house home (FG is my first, of course) since I went Glastron CRAZY!
Factory brochures and images courtesy of CGOAMN, another great bunch of folks BTW!

Looks like a great project- I've always liked the look of those old Glasstrons- And a hardtop makes it even cooler!

-Andrew

Nice project, you may know that I restored a Surf flite.
I have the logo's digitized if you're interested.
Cheers
Bill

Thanks everyone for the great comments. I can't wait to start tearing it apart and put the list together of what needs to be done. The weather should be better tomorrow and I plan to put it in the outside work area and begin. A lot of what needs to be done now is clean it up and dry it out. Stabilize it. I'll post some pics, probably tomorrow night.

Mark, I'm already dialed in to CGOA and will most likely start a thread under the Seaflite section of Projects.

Bill, you did a sweet job with that Surflite. I hope mine turns out as good. Did you have to replace the Mylar? I need to do that and would love to know a source. Do you have a template of he shape? I may try to do that and if I can digitize it, I'll make copies available. I would love a digitized copy of the seat pattern. I have a friend in the marine canvas field and I may talk to him about re-using those panels in the new seats.

Love the twins. Still thinking about power.

Going to try to get it registered in the next week or two. the last registration was in CA in 1971, so it could be interesting. I think I have all the paperwork squared away, though.

Not time to get dinner and stop thinking about it.

I only had about 1/2" of snow and never lost power, so I am in good shape that way.

Started cleaning out and emptying out the boat and trying to stabilize it. A bunch of leaves and about 30 gallons or water. What happens when you don't put a tarp on it. I'll dry it out over the next couple of days and vacuum out what I can and that should make it so it won't be getting any worse. I knew going in that it is a transom and floor project.

I removed the plywood that had been covering a part of the floor that had been cut out. Fortunately, the stringers are fiberglass boxes that look to be intact and solid. Got to love that. The flat part of the floor shouldn't be too bad, but I want to try to preserve the drain channels along the side. The wood is rotted (at least in the starboard side), but the glass is intact. I may try to remove the rotted wood on that part and reinforce under the existing glass.

I'm going to have to take the deck off at some point, which I have never done. I'll start a thread on that at some point.

Yes the Mylar is new. Bob Beers located the original stuff. Haven't heard from him in a while though. I did not use a template, just applied it & trimmed to size
Cheers
Bill

todd,great progress!i havent seen or heard from bob in about 2 years,but heres what i found its a chrome vinyl,it has an outdoor life of over 5 years and thats being uncovered,i like the stuff,and its inexpensive,john www.metrorestyling.com/category-s/23.htm

Morning Todd,

The multi-tool from Harbor Fright is the tool of choice for seperatign the deck from the hull. I used mine to seperate the deck/hull on my Shark Capri and will be doing the same on the donor Shark giving up her hull for the Capri. The half round and long straight blades are the ticket to cutting through the glue that binds the two together.

In return for the great deed you did for my nephew and I, I will be bringing you a multi-tool next Sunday when we come to pick up the Corsair. Its the least I can do to partially repay your kindness.

John,

Thanks for the heads up on the Mylar. I've ordered a sample, I can compare it to the fragments that are still on the boat (under the trim).

If I remember correctly, Bob Beers lived in Monroe, CT, the same town where I bought the Seaflite. I never got a chance to talk to him. My mother's family is somehow connected to the Beers family and I wanted to see if we are related.

Todd wrote:

Morning Todd,

The multi-tool from Harbor Fright is the tool of choice for seperatign the deck from the hull. I used mine to seperate the deck/hull on my Shark Capri and will be doing the same on the donor Shark giving up her hull for the Capri. The half round and long straight blades are the ticket to cutting through the glue that binds the two together.

In return for the great deed you did for my nephew and I, I will be bringing you a multi-tool next Sunday when we come to pick up the Corsair. Its the least I can do to partially repay your kindness.

Todd, Thank you for you generous offer, but I have had a Multimaster for years and use it a lot on boat projects. No need to repay, just pay it forward.

I don't know if I will be there on Sunday, but if not, I will bring the stuff up before hand. I haven't heard from Jon since the transaction, but my guess is they do not have power right now. They are about in the center of the mess.

I've heard from Jon since, so he can at least answer email. He's probably just busy with all that is going on. Email him and give it a day.

Hey Todd,

The offer still stands, if you change your mind. I appreciate your sentiment and agree with the "pay it forward" mindset. Wouldn't it be great if everyone thought that way?

Like I said before, I will gladly transport anything you need to John Gibson's place.

I am sorry to hear that John in CT and his family are in the middle of the power outage. I wish I had an extra generator to take them. I have the house wired to hook up to mine. The next place will have the mother of all Generacs parked next to it with a huge gas bottle nearby and an aoutomatice transfer switch. I don't even want to know if the power goes off.

Todd,

Sent you a private email. Don't want to hijack my own thread.