Restoring a Classic Fiberglass Runabout

I have owned, repaired, and restored a lot of boats over the years. I love taking something that was probably bound for the junk heap and 'breathing' new life into it- Bringing it back to like new, or better, condition. My latest project is my first venture into the world of early fiberglass runabouts, also known as Fiberglassics.

Boats from the early fiberglass era just had really cool style. The designers of the time followed automotive trends- Fins, fake taillights, the works. Even more conservative designs, like the Glasspar that I am working on, had a lot of elements that would have been equally at home on the highways as they would on the high seas.

Restoring one of these old classics can be a pretty rewarding experience. You can often get a great deal on the boat, and if you are willing to do a little (or a lot) of work, You can end up with a great boat as a result. It will also give you a chance to imrprove upon the original design, and make it 'work' beter for you. In all but the strictest restoration projects, there is room for improvement and modernization.


My Latest Project


After some looking around, I found a 1960 Glasspar Citation, and decided that I needed it. I bought it pretty much sight unseen- The first time I actually physically saw it was when I went to pick it up. Other than that, all I had seen of it was cell phone pictures and the description from the previous owner. It was in the condition I expected it to be in- Badly faded, VERY dirty, and just about all the wood in the hull was rotten beyone salvage.

Despite it's poor condition, It did have several things going for it. First of all, I liked the looks of it. This is important- You aren't going to want to put a lot of time and sweat into something that you think is ugly! Also, all of the really difficult to replace 'stuff' was there- it had all of it's original deck hardware, nameplates, and even it's original builders plate. It was also sitting on a vintage (and probably original) Gator trailer, which was in excellent shape. And, It had an original 1959 Evinrude Starflite 50 HP outboard to push it along. The outboard was probably original to the boat, as the matching dashboard panel was still installed. So, I could see past the grime and rot and see the potential.

This boat is going to celebrate it's 50th birthday in style, but it will be a long road to get there... I better get started!

Part of this page will deal with the boat itself- A little bit of history of the Glasspar brand, and some research that I've done on the boat. This is part of the fun of working on an older boat like this- tracking down any information that might exist about the manufacturer, the particular model that you have, and even about prior owners. You'll find that information in the 'Research' section.

Other sections will deal with the restoration work of the boat itself, and eventually the trailer and the motor as well. I'll share as much information as I can about how I do things, in hopes that it might be useable to someone else that is attempting, or thinking about attempting, a project like this.

Some Previous Projects
These are a few of the other boats I've worked on in the past... I don't have photos of all of them any more, though!

16' Swampscott Dory
This swampscott dory was built circa 1982 by Michael Porter, in Maine. I traded it for a Venture 17 sailboat that I had repaired and rerigged. I had to do a lot of work to this one- Wood replacement & refinishing, Rerigging, etc. It is one of my favorite boats, but I had to sell it to go to school. Last I knew it was somewhere on the East Coast.

Cape Dory Typhoon - Before
This is a Cape Dory Typhoon, I think it was a 1974 or so. I bought it for a portion of the back storgage that was due on it. What the photos DON'T show is the hole in the keel- It was a BIG one- Just well covered with old bottom paint. I did a total restoration of this boat.

Cape Dory Typhoon - After
After the restoration. In addition to all of the structural repairs to the hull and keel, I sanded and refinished all of the brightwork, and repainted all of the non-skid. The Gelcoat on both the hull and deck was decent enough to wet sand, buff, and polish. It didn't shine quite like new, but looked pretty good.

I also made the canvas work for it... I shared the outboard with the inflatable tender that's on the deck in the first pic. This is- hands down- the BEST sailboat I have ever sailed- It had incredibly refined sailing characteristics, even in heavy weather. But, I had to sell it to pay tuition....
I Bought and rebuilt this Newport 27, and actually lived on it for a litte while. It was a flush deck, with great headroom. I don't have any after photos, though- I lost them all when a hard drive crashed. I sold this one to get a down payment on my first house.

Other Boats I've owned & rebuilt
A Disclaimer
I've done a lot of work on boats before. All of them have eventually made it back in to the water, and when they did, they remained on the surface, slimy side down. So, I must have been doing something right. Everything that I do on this page works- But there is often more than one 'right' way to do something. I'm not saying that I did it the BEST way, or even in the right way- but I did it in a way that works just fine for me. You should remember, though, that a lot of the things you will be working with when restoring a boat are pretty nasty. There are chemicals in the paints and resins that you should probably just avoid all together if you were really smart. There are the endless piles of fiberglass dust, sharp edges, high power tools- PLENTY of chances to harm or even kill yourself or some innocent bystanders. Just be careful!