Missile (Vintage) by Brian Lawson, Ravena, New York
8 September 2009
In February 2007 I was called by a marina in Saugerties, New
York to come and get an old boat out of their yard. Turns out it
was a Glen-L Missile that had been started and never finished.
It has never been in the water. It needed a lot of work but
that's what I do. After looking the boat over and figuring
out what it is I decided to convert it to an outboard. I tore
out the old transom and built a new 2" thick transom.
Lowered the engine stringers to the floor, etc. It is nearing
completion. The dash board is the original. Never has had a hole
drilled in it. I'll be mounting a 1971 Mercury 1350 short
shaft on it.
15 November 2009 Update
Big weekend here...mounted the Mercury 1350 on my Missile.
Looks sweet! Got the front lifting ring installed too.
Really starting to look like a boat now.
3 August 2010 Update
We've had it in the water for a week and a half now. It is
fantastic! This is the first time this boat has ever been in the
water. It was started years ago and never finished until
now.
I removed the inboard transom as there was some bad wood in it
from outside storage over the years. I had a 135 hp Mercury tall
stack short shaft that was looking for a home, so I decided to
convert the boat to outboard. I built a 2" thick transom, 2
layers of 1/2" plywood laminated with MAT and resin, and
then a full 1" thick layer of mahogany on the outside of
that, also laminated to the plywood with MAT and resin. I did
NOT angle the transom as is typical with outboards because I
think it would have destroyed the beautiful tumble home lines on
the Missile's transom. I built an enclosed rear deck with
hatch that hides 2 fuel tanks and the battery. The Missile has
automotive style seating with everyone facing forward. I lowered
the inboard engine stringers to the floor and through bolted
them with white oak bolting blocks to every frame. I built very
large transom knees that attach to the transom and are bolted to
the stringers. The new transom was bedded in 3M 5200, screwed in
place, and then a full filet joint of 5200 was added to the
inside seam. The boat is bone dry.
When I mounted the motor it was clear the engine was canted up
pretty significantly. This was Glen's main question about
the conversion. To counter that I used composite wedges between
the outer transom and the motor before tightening it down. It
still is canted, but it works beautiful.
First time out I had a 23 pitch 3 blade prop on the motor. It
would not go at all. Any throttle at all and the prop just
aerated. So I switched to a 22 pitch 2 blade 14" wide
stainless steel prop with cups. Viola! The boat starts to go,
the prop slips for a few seconds, and then once it gets its bite
that boat is onto the water like a rocket. It rides beautifully
flat, no porpoising, and is fast as blazes.
Here's a few photos. This photo of the boat underway was
taken with a cell phone last night coming back from our favorite
restaurant in the 1000 Islands. It's not the best photo but
at half throttle you get the idea of what a hoot this boat is to
drive.
People have stopped and stared at this when ever we dock, want
to know what it is, etc. It is going to be in the Antique Race
Boat Regatta in Clayton, NY Aug 11-15th making its formal
début. I will have a story board of its history and
conversion.
I am thrilled with the boat, and love its clean lines. Please
let Glen know how well this conversion worked.
Best to you all,
-- Brian Lawson
Return
|