Some progress pictures:

- Fixed some corner cracks on rear hatches
- Glued the vent boxes in with cabosil thickened resin
- Primed with Interlux InterProtect 2000e and topped with Bilgekote
- Glued on cap back sheets to transom with thickened resin
- Added tabbing

Looking ahead at the fairing and sanding job, anyone have any tips for how to best sand the fillets, especially where three corners come together? Is there a sanding tool with a ball tip?

For rough sanding, a set of cartridge rolls in a die grinder might work. (try grainger) Either an air or electric powered die grinder.

http://www.3m.com/product/informatio...dge-Rolls.html

I used to port cylinder heads with one. Once a finer grit roll breaks in and softens up, I bet it would do a rolling ball fillet in a corner pretty well.

Sheet sandpaper (or the sticky backed discs, which I like) and tough fingers.
If they're not tough when you start, they will be when you're done.
:D

You'll need to stay away from the ladies stockings/pantyhose though.
Lest you get scolded for ruining them.
:rolleyes:

Cap is glassed in, with two layers of 1708 on the backside, and one layer on the exposed side. Started to putty fairing work, and took some time off for Christmas. Getting close.

It may be too late now, but does anyone suggest doing anything to stiffen underneath the motor fasteners? I recently read how some repairs drill large holes in the transom wood prior to laying the fiberglass, fill with thickened resin, then glass over the top to create a stiff cylinder for the bolts to squeeze. I could still do something like this from the outside...

I spread the load on the motor fasteners with aluminum C channel. You could at least make 6" square washers out of aluminum. You can have a sawdust transom, and this will work.

http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...ad.php?t=24398
http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...5&postcount=11

That is a good idea. It helps beef up the bolt holes and keeps the wood from crushing down. It also gives the wood a thicker barrier to help keep water out of the wood. I was going to drill my 1/2" holes to 7/8 then refill with thickens epoxy so they could be re drilled to 1/2". That would stiffen the holes up and seal them well. I saw a post here showing some one doing this but can't find it now. I didn't do this but probably should have. I just coated the slightly larger holes with epoxy and redrilled. I did add a piece of 3/8" thick by 4" wide aluminum flat bar down the entire length of the bracket mounting lip on the inside of the tramsom. That helps a ton. I had a 17' skiff with a rotten transom that ran a year with a piece of 4" channel across the back threw bolting the motor. It was the only thing holding the motor on. Once I pulled it to replace the transom you could grab the motor and move it 4-6" in and out flexing the rotten transom. With the channel it was much stiffer. The things I Don as a kid to be able to fish.....The outside skin had two cracks a foot long either side of the 1980 70 hp from the flexing. It's amazing that motor didn't end up on the bottom of the sound.

Finally finished the putty /sanding. Day job has been getting in the way.

I've bought Interlux epoxy primer and perfection topside paint. Anyone have an opinion on whether to drill motor mount holes and thru hull drain holes prior to painting? I was thinking I'd prime and paint inside the holes for a little extra protection against water intrusion. If the edges are rounded, I figure the paint will hold.

I would drill them now. Most people will take resin or better yet thinned resin and apply it in the holes and let it soak into the wood grain. Paint won't protect nearly as well as the resin will. Some will even over drill holes to 3/4" or 7/8" then back fill them with thickens resin then re drill the mount holes. This gives you a 1/8" or more of barrier to protect the wood. It also beefs up the holes where the bolts will not crush the wood in if over tightened.

This is may be too late and I'm not sure if it would work for you but here is my plan - I am getting some 1" diameter fiberglass rod from McMaster-Carr and am cutting it to match the thickness of my transom core (I'm using 1.5" Coosa). I am putting those short pieces of rod everywhere in the core where a bolt goes through (tab attachments, platform bolts, etc.) before I glass it in and redrilling afterwards - these make compression columns so that the core does not get crushed and they seal the core off from water. Where my sterndrive goes through there will be a 12"x24" solid fiberglass plate in the core before it gets glassed in - for the same reasons. At first I was only going to use the rod on the bolts there too but I want the extra stiffness around the drive hole.