Glastron SSV-153 project

[haventaclue]

The gear-box will take the prop as it's the max RPM's that govern prop size.So if the 13" X19P aluminum was giving max rev,a drop to 17P for the S/S would be in order.Less give in the stainless

[solitaire]

For what its worth, Solitaire CVX16 on a similar hull came with a 19" prop and over revved - dont forget the 90hp engine is mapped differently to the 115, 140 150 and develops peak torque at a lower rpm - above the recommended max rpm the power curve takes a downward turn - Solitaire hit the sweet spot = two up, 1/2 fuel, and a tad trimmed out with a 20" Laser, (the Laser sizes are in even numbers for the small diam gear boxes. 18, 20, 22)
Glastron are not deep V or high performance - more a wide bodied lake and river boat, helm on the r/h side corrects any prop torque that you would get when you take off and more noticeably when you land- the boat would be thrown to one side - which unless your racing you dont want to be doing in a Glastron.
Offsets and jack plates are great for a narrow bodied deep V racers with tandem seating, but if you want a comfortable ride with the family aboard having then have the engine central and the cavitation plate no more than 2" above the bottom as the per OEM recommendation.

[De Novo]

Thanks everyone for the useful info. It is obvious that testing will be necessary to get the set up right for me. This boat has been bought particularly to provide a boat which will tow easily to all the CMBA rallies whether bay,lake or loch! A tachometer seems vital too.

The speedo is an Airguide- you can get a whole book about how to restore them. Mechanically it functions, so just another item to take off /reseat/and test. It is missing the grommet seal for the glass (available) and the rubber knob off the fine adjuster (N/Av) so a trip to a car breakers to find something off an odometer I think.

I want two 5 gallon ish tanks side by side under the aft deck, so the battery will move forward into a box mounted centrally near the front bulkhead.I can reinforce the floor there as I am replacing the whole floor.

[haventaclue]

When moving the battery forward,be sure to use a heavy enough gauge wire back to the engine..It could get very hot very quick

[De Novo]

I have decided to take all the fittings off, the base for the light pole had to come off and it had no bedding sealant. I am looking for a light pole.

I will have to take out the front half height bulkhead to make floor replacement easier and that will enable me to get to the bow light and 'Hidden horn' as boasted about in the U.S. brochure. The black plastic grill behind the bow light is missing and I can't find replacements yet. The holes will be filled and maybe a black decal put on.

The classic four wooden stripes have been off before as they have woodstain top and bottom. They are real teak so will go back on once varnished.

The last time they came off some of the screws must have been hacksawed off as there are scratches in the gelcoat. I have done a test patch on the bow to see how well the gelcoat comes up using Ferecla G3 and sponges. Very good on white surfaces. I know several superyacht crew and one suggested that the scratches will improve if I rubbed G3 in them going along the scratches with a soft toothbrush. This works. I will use an acrylic sealer on the GRP once the boat has been polished all over.

[kgarla]

Hi, Just seen this, Looks a Great buy. Speak soon.... Engine offset as someone already said to offset torque steer.... Power Trim Tilt will be the hard part. Took us a year to locate one and think that was the last one ! Kgarla

[De Novo]

Three weeks ago I started to take the floor out, it and the longitudinal stiffeners were crumbling; whilst lying on the floor of the boat I had opportunity to poke about to see how much of the plywood in the transom would need replacing; easy, all of it. the lower half was rotten as was a pyramid shape below each engine drain well 'through transom' outlet. With this much water about, I sat in the boat, stared at it a lot, then decided that everything had to come out and I would need to split the boat in two to get to the transom. You simply pull out the rubbing strip, unscrew the aluminium strip, take out all the screws that hold the top moulding to the hull and pull. It is not glued together at all! This may change when I put it back.I hit a problem with the transom, and had to saw the only glued section, where the engine bolts on,from within the hull, this took 40 hours of sawing/ chiselling/ prying etc.Not so simple.

The boat eventually parted and I could start removing the transom plywood reinforcement, the topsides have been moved forward for easy access.

This is the transom. From top to bottom- just grey resin paint on the inside, then 19mm of ply, one layer of chopped strand mat, then another 19mm of ply which was bonded to outer grp hull. Part of the ply was good as new, another 20 hours of careful chiselling.

To get the floor out I machine cut around the joint between hull and floor which is more 19mm ply. Judging the depth of cut is tricky, I did stop and make sure I wasn't going right through the bottom of the boat once or twice. 19mm marine ply on order.

[Rapier]

Been there, done it and got the badges (especially the one cutting bouyancy foam out, while sitting in freezing stale water). Tremendous amount of work, so very impressed with your progress

[De Novo]

Here is my foam moment. At first I thought I had made a mistake as it was all good, dry and crispy, but the last bit came out wet and stinky.

This is the Hidden Horn as promised in the U.S. brochure and it works. Made in France.

Looking aft after the floors are all out. Pyro225 (Dan) This is what my boat has . Two longitudinal stringers made of softwood from transom to forward bulkhead. Spaced equally from centreline. Wrapped in GRP. 3 softwood braces 80x20mm between the two, helping to brace the cutout for the ski locker. The plywood 18mm was I think untreated on the underside and had a thin sheathing of GRP over it. The transom was just grey resin painted on.

This is the inside of the transom all ply removed. There was a 100x100mm plywood pattress presumably to mount the bilgepump on. Although covered in GRP it too was wet.

[De Novo]

I cut the top most section of GRP off both the stringers. The wood stringers were 70 per cent rotten but they came out sufficiently intact for a couple of templates to be made from the remnants. The yellow ratchet straps are to keep the hull in shape whilst all the floors and stringers are out. I also supported the hull on the outside. It is amazing how much flex you get in the now empty hull.

Looking forward there is a 4 inch wide plywood reinforcement that was fairly strong but by this stage I had decided to take everything out.

I have de-greased everything, sanded it all and then one last wash out. The boat is now drying out. I am busy cutting new ply sections.
They are:
Main floor with cut out for ski locker. 18mm ply ( originally 19mm which is 3/4 inch but I could only get 18mm) This is most of a 8x4 sheet.
Lower floor by the transom where the fuel tanks sit with a cut out for the bilge pump. 18mm.
Forward floor section in front of the small bulkhead. 18mm
A strip 4 inches wide for the bilge forward. 9mm.
Two thicknesses of the 18mm ply for the transom.
A pair of triangular transom supports that run forward on to the lower floor. 18mm.
All these will receive a coat of epoxy resin all over before fitting.