I've been slowly chuggin along. I got the transom all cleaned up and ready for the coosa. My Dad will be in town this week so hopefully we'll get the transom glued up. The last time the fuel tank was replace they simply cut the top off the old tank and placed the new tank inside. I was able to remove both tanks today. It appears I'll be able to reuse the tank. Just so everyone know what level of noobie they're dealing with, the fiberglass patches on the counsel are the first time I've ever fiberglass...

Just in case someone else has to remove carpet glue. I sprayed Bean-e-doo let it sit for 24hr, then scraped with a puddy knife. Most of the big chunks came off easily. Then I sprayed Bean-e-doo again let it sit for 24hr and then scrubbed the deck with a stiff brush(non metal). Then pressure wash. It was a lot of work (and i'm not quite done), but I think it was easier than sanding and re-gel coating/awlgrip.

I have a couple of questions regarding transoms.

1. I had read on another thread that people were recommending building the transom at 26" instead of 25", is this typical?

2. If I install two bilge pumps, one at hull level and one elevated, do I need a drain plug? The only thing that will be draining into the bilge will be the anchor locker. It seems like if I get a little water in the bilge I can just pump it out. Not having a drain hole would be one less thing to forget/maintain.

3. I've read several post where people use side scuppers rather than transom or the original thru deck. What is the advantage to this?

I'm trying to finalize my transom design any thoughts or recommendation are always welcome.

The transom is dry fit and ready to be epoxied. The wildfires slowed progress but hoping to get a bunch of work done in January and have a motor on by end of February. You can see the amount of ash that was falling on Santa Barbara during the fires. The boat was outside for ~24 hours.

I've also posted and been reply to in this regard. Some saying 26 some saying even 30. I'd like more clarification on the 30. I like what you are doing, I have a lot of the same work to do to a 74 I have. Currently it's completely usable without the fear of catastrophic failure, but they're soft spots in the deck and one side of the transom has an eerie Hollow sound to it when knocked on. Although in my case, this isn't something I need to address immediately, but the check is in the mail.

Progress has been slowed more. They are saying that we won't be let back into the flood areas until the end of the month. Here are some shots from the morning of the mud slides. Been a crazy couple of months around Santa Barbara. The Whaler in the Airstream is my buddies boat he'd been looking for it for a while.

Wait! In the boat pictures below. You have to tell me what you did to the transom here.. are those pieces of composite inserted in there in sort of a jig-saw puzzle fashion? Is it two layers of those? Can you do that?

The Blind Squirrel floats! We did the maiden voyage today. Engine ran great and the boat is sooo smooth. I still have lots of work to do but at least I can start diving and fishing. The boat sure sits flat with the 90hp. With the aluminum prop I topped out at 35mph.

The Rebuild Continues
 

My long term plan for the boat has always been to gut, replace floors and possibly build a west coast style cuddy to accommodate overnight island trips. I ran the boat lots the last couple years and really love the hull. As you all know everyone that rides in the boat comments how smooth the ride is. Here are a couple highlight from along the way.

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