Boat Repair Journey -- Rotten Wood Removal and Repair

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I would love to hear stories of similar situations. If you would like to give suggestions or ask questions on the topic please contact me.

ncpappy@gmail.com

The Result

Brief Introduction

This blog is focused around progress tracking and illustration of an almost complete rebuild of a Glastron 1988 SSV-199 open bowrider. Shortly after purchasing the used boat we noticed rotten wood in the transom, portions of the decking, and at least one main stringer. Before beginning the dismantling of the boat, and after reinforcing the transom, my wife and I decided to take it out for a lake test for several reasons. Just a few of those reasons included ensuring we actually want this specific boat for the long term, discovery of more issues while on the water, and to get out of town for a short period. We ended up spending an entire day at the lake having fun on the boat (we DO want this boat), found some minor problems we did not know of previously (another bonus), and are now extremely motivated to get her back up to 100%; well perhaps 99.99% is more realistic. Here is a picture of the interior before we started dismantling things, and then a side shot of her with the cover still on the bow. I'll take a better side-shot sometime soon.

What it looked like before:

Acknowledgements

I must first begin with sincerest thanks to my wife who supports my crazy ideas when beginning major projects and then is (usually) very happy with the results. Whether it's an office desk being designed and built, or major remodeling of an entire portion of the house, she always supports the effort and contributes in every way possible. My sincere gratitude also goes out to family, friends and neighbors alike willing to give helpful insight, use of specialized tools or simply listening to rantings about the situation.

This project will be an interesting learning experience, no doubt, my thanks goes out to all of you in advance.

Disclaimer

I'm no boat repair expert, in fact both my wife and I are first time boat owners. We've been around boats for most of our lives though, one of us has an acute addiction to collecting tools, and we work well together on various projects not unlike this one.

Other Schtuff

Many resources are available for information gathering on the topic of fiberglass boat repair. I've tapped into online forums (http://forums.iboats.com/), other sites such as Dan's Transom Repair at (http://transomfix.dcpolk.com/), and also the public library. Since I don't plan on changing my career to do fiberglass work, I couldn't justify buying several books on the topic. I did purchase the engine and outdrive manual which has been very worthwhile. Without exception to the above resources, I hope you find this site helpful as well...

Ok with all that said, let's get started already...

Damage Assessment