Another 20 resurrection
 

So have a sad neglected 1971 20 super fisherman sitting in my driveway.
The current plan:

Onto a dolly and into the garage

Transom job
from the outside, due to wanting to keep the storage and livewell
6 inch lip, the wood is REALLY gone so I don't have any fears of having issues removing it all
epoxy and marine plywood

Deck job
gonna raise the deck 2 inches and make the old scuppers go away and plumb through the transom.
foam core, could use some advice on what thickness to use, most likely polyester resin instead of epoxy due to amount and cost.

A little work done so far:

Console shaping up
http://i.imgur.com/ipFkqEGl.jpg

Dolly half built, still have some reinforcing to do, and maybe add a center 4x4 for support
http://i.imgur.com/UyDGDnHl.jpg

Bad transom, really really bad transom
http://i.imgur.com/QDum7BXl.jpg

Let the fun begin!

Lets do this.
Tuesday I cut the outer skin off after work, and started digging.

http://i.imgur.com/oeA0LyXl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nXwlIZrl.jpg

Quick bash this AM

http://i.imgur.com/H2jaYqXl.jpg

Hoping to get the skin area wood out at lunch today.

Started drilling holes with a hole auger into the plywood to start cutting between the skins. Still need to cut the cap off the transom so I can work from the top down with chisels.
(That notch on stbd the previous previous idiot I mean owner figured it'd be easier to notch the transom for a kicker instead of just putting a kicker mount on)

Core thats left: meet chisel. Time to cut the tap off the transom area so I can start from the top down.
http://i.imgur.com/efHd4WCl.jpg

Whats up with the staples?
http://i.imgur.com/0ozeD0ql.jpg

So I decided bleeding was overrated and have been using my Oakley tactical gloves. They're a damn godsend.
http://i.imgur.com/z1OaJmfl.jpg

I think they were used to hold the two sheets of plywood together during cutting and assembly

I'm happy you mentioned the lower starboard side of the transom, I thought I had a couple too many scotches!! :)

Clearly someone from the past had a couple too many something....

A little shopping this morning

http://i.imgur.com/Wu6fFa1l.jpg

And a little more digging.

http://i.imgur.com/rc83w5Bl.jpg

The last batch I got of that for a transom had Formosan Termites in it. They ate the dang stringers out of my Wellcraft I guess because the boat broke up. Weird!

That's why I got the Marshtackie boat and am on this site - four sets of fiberglass box stringers in the '67 Moesly's! Termite proof!

Boulter are the gods of plywood up here, doubt that issue would happen with their stock. You sure you didn't get knockoff fake marine ply?

Check this out: http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...-Plywood-Tests
Termites had no interest in Meranti.

71's have 4 stringers that are glass too.

Stringer termites!
 

Rock on Brother, you'er set.
It might have been the 1X12 pine stringers in the V-17 Wellcraft that were half ass, half glassed or somethin' like that too. The boat had a 1/4" hull with a 3/4" plywood core on the floor liner - felt solid as an 8" monolithic concrete slab when you stood in it. Gelcoat and amenities were spectacular. It helped sell a lot of those boats. We work boats 10 months out of the year in Florida. If things ain't right it shows up soon here.

Why is there sand and errant ring terminals in the stringer? :eek:

Also does anyone have the dimensions of the tanks they put in the boats from 72 on?

Did you save the Hull ID#, I hope.

Yup, also 71 is pre HIN.

And thats all the core removed. Onto the sanding and marking areas that need to be ground and glassed.

http://i.imgur.com/LGRsgO1l.jpg

When I get the funds, I am planning on repowering with an ETEC, and I think I want to rebuild my transom at that time whether it needs it or not.

I have been thinking either the Coosa Board for the transom repair or going the Seacast way. What do you guys think about these alternative methods to Marine Plywood.

Its all incredibly strong, its just how much you want to spend.

seacast is only 200 bucks for 2 gallons, based on the instructions if your fiberglass on both sides is still good, which mine is would seem to be pretty simple.

http://transomrepair.net/

$200 for 5 gallons, you need 15+ gallons for the 20's.

really? I didnt realize that, well yeah, that is too much money!

It says a 5 gallon bucket will fill a transom space of 1000 cubic inches, so our transom is 3,000 cubic inches?

I did the calculator, I might be able to find the sheet I wrote down the numbers on.

sounds like you did your homework, so how much is the Marine Plywood way going to cost you?

2 sheets of 3/4" Meranti was $225
I have 5 gallons of West Systems epoxy already
Need to get some 1708 for reattaching the outer skin/beefing up the inner skin where the outboard sits (you can see the 2 holes where the lower outboard bolts pulled through the inner skin).

Break on the transom until I move it indoors at my friendly neighborhood boat yard and knock out the transom. Lots of filling old holes and fairing the console. With the temps dropping the epoxy cure time has gone way up. Adding a little heat (heater in the garage) while I work to hopefully help the initial cure roll along a little better.

For what it's worth, when I was planning mine I posted my plan to use the high-end marine plywood and SHINE suggested that, if I was going to use wood instead of Coosa, I should go with the cheap fir marine plywood instead. He has quite a bit of experience with stitch & glue construction and felt the transom was not the right place for the Meranti. The fir is heavier and harder, more suited for lots of weight and stress. Fir also would hold up better with the eventual water intrusion from holes drilled through it to mount accessories on the transom. I did a little more research and found he was spot on - as usual.
I chose to go with the Coosa but I also slowed my project to a crawl because of the added cost. I will eventually have the rot proof transom I want though (in 5 years, maybe...).
Good luck with whatever you choose.

Fir is over 15lbs lighter per sheet than meranti... (more veneers to create each sheet in meranti than fir)

The whole thing to do is ensure you overbore and fill with epoxy properly, then it doesn't matter what your core material is.

Choose what you want based on what information is available, and what you feel comfortable with :)

2 pieces of 3/4" anything is too thick for doing a 20 transom from the outside. I had to use a 3/4 and 5/8 piece.

So harkening back to the days of yore when boats were built like brick shit houses, things were done one at a time, and by the seat of their pants.

There's many a story of rags and tshirts being found in the foam of Makos, and my SC had a couple screws and nuts and some wire terminals floating around in inaccessible places.

So that is to say, don't count on your experience being the same as someone else on any of the classics year to year. Things were changed on the fly, things were changed because they ran out of something and wanted to finish.

You could fit 2 sheets of 3/4" and a school bus in mine. One experience is not law. ;)

This is correct ^^^

I've done a few 20's and two 3/4" sheets won't work. It's too wide.

By all means, come on by and look yourself, and wouldn't that be too thick, and not too wide?

http://i.imgur.com/4j6q3Anl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/m4VHIgSl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PhQJbQll.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zVkLlYHl.jpg

whether this transom was redone at one point or another, good question, it could have been, but thats 1 1/2 inches worth of plywood in there.

Also measuring 3/4" ply, it isn't 3/4" ply, its usually 23/32, sometimes 21 or 22. So will two "3/4 inch thick" plywood sheets fit? Yes.

But I digress because this completely retarded.

Progress in the past few weeks, all cap holes have been drilled, countersunk, and filled. Bigger ones will get glassed over soon enough.
Gonna have to suck it up and spend a couple hours a day sanding all the nonskid off the cap so I can finish fairing and filling so it'll be ready for paint when time comes.

Trying to decide how to do deck fill and rod holders that are towards midships, do I tape them for paint because I need to cut an access hole? Or I could just build backers, glass in stainless T nuts, and and be able to paint then install without any holes showing.

That must have been redone or maybe it's a special seacraft :)

I've done more 20 seacraft transoms than I care to count and I've never come across one that was two 3/4" sheets thick.

Given the silliness that was boats built in the early 70s, who knows. It could be the odd boat out.

Found any tshirts or any random crap like that under decks in the SCs? I know a ton of Makos have been found with that stuff. Is there anyone left alive from that time at SeaCraft? The owner of Mako boats son still posts now and then on classicmako and shares all kinds of amazing info. (The 23 IBs from The Deep were on CM a while back)

The transom on my 1975 18SF swallowed up two sheets of 3/4 coosa with a couple of layers of glass in between, easily...
:confused:

Just means your gonna have a thicker/stronger transom Ted!

Bastard black sheep seacrafts? :eek:

2 locking latches from Gem showed up. Gonna pull the hatches and modify them to fit. :)