Transom Shops In the Boston to Cape Cod area?
 

Hi guys. I'm thinking about having the transom replaced on my 75 20SF. Any recommendations for good transom shops in the Boston area or Cape Cod? Im not looking to go crazy and lift the deck. I just want to raise it to 25" so I can re-power the boat.

Roger Carroll Boat Carpenter, Chatham, (508) 432-8481

Bill Pires Mobile Marine Fairhaven I believe, 508-264-8026

Both good guys who do good work for resonable $$$

Thanks for the suggestions. Haven't been able to get in touch with either of them but I got a quote today from a local guy who'll to do the job from the outside and raise the transom to 25" for $3,800. Does that sound about right?

Epoxy and composite or poly and MP?

I can't and don't do NE America mathematics. Way above my head. However raise it to 26".

Approx $750 total in materials for a 4x8 sheet of composite core (about $350), epoxy (about $300) and glass material (about $100) with about 30 hours of labor... hmm, sounds about right.
What does he propose finishing the outside with?
Spraying awlgrip I'd add another 3-500 to that quote.
A quick roll-on of gelcoat would be in your ballpark.
Labor could be higher overall depending on how easy/hard it is to get the old core out (i.e. falls out or needs to be ground out).

If he's using straight up marine plywood, and cheap polyester resin (I don't recommend it) than it could be a bit cheaper.

X2 on the 26". Been there done that.

Make sure the transom has not warped. My transom was so bad the weight of the motor created a sag and bubbled out the transom skin...also I qoukd recommend the guy wrap the transom quarters with A few layers of glass tYing the back and side. Epoxy is what I did miNE in cause of the mechanical bond

Also ask him to throw in a couple of knees, one centerline and two off the stringers.
Not that much more work, and a world of difference in terms of transom stiffness.

Poly and MP. Should I walk the other way and find someone willing to do Composite and Epoxy?

Why do you say raise it to 26"? Im looking at 25" motors.

Sounds like good advice but he's planning on doing the job from the outside. Is it possible to put knees in that way or would he have to do the job from the inside for that?

I put knees on my 75 SF 18 and on my new to me 79 23 Sceptre. Both transoms done from the outside.
However, on the 23 I had a lot of the interior stripped out which made three knees a lot easier. On the 18 I just did one big knee in the middle to a Coosa pad on the inside of the transom at the lower engine mount bolts.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/v3...=w1287-h961-no

Typically the motor anti-cav. plate will end up being about 1" to 11/2" above the bottom of the boat so 26" will work better to allow more freeboard at the transom. Raising to 26" is good and seasoned advice.

Thanks for explaining but do you mean the anti cav plate will be an inch below the bottom of the boat?. And will the extra inch of transom height affect how the prop pushes the boat at all?

No, an inch above for best and most economical performance. Won't affect how the "prop pushes the boat" but will allow you to get the motor height correct; and will give you an extra inch of splashwell height.

Finally got in touch with one of these guys and he seems pretty knowledgeable. I'd be comfortable giving him the job but but he wants to do it with Vynilester and Penske board. Would you guys consider that a good plan? Sounds like coosa and epoxy is the way to go from what Ive been reading around here.

Pretty much a toss up as far as materials go - never a good idea to try to make a craftsman use material other than those he prefers.

Penske and Coosa are basically the same thing. Also called Airex Pxc which is made by Baltek.
He wants to use Penske (Airex) because Composites One has it in stock and delivers on the Cape on Thursdays. :)
They don't stock all that much Coosa. Composites One bought Baltek or something and they now have a lock on the Airex product.
I've worked with legit Coosa and also the Airex (penske) product and they are identical as far as I can tell.

I would also be OK with Vinylester.
Vinylester has a much better secondary bond (new work to old work) than Polyester, which is really only good for new work, or for making parts from scratch. Polyester doesn't stick to old work very well.
Epoxy has the best secondary bond of all, but the slow cure times can really complicate things for a production shop.

I work for a boatyard, and redid my own transom this winter with epoxy, but that was over christmas when we were closed for a month, and I wasn't in a hurry.
I did some of the interior glasswork, and the three knees to the stringers with vinylester, with no issues.
Vinylester is a kind of hybrid resin that cross-links like a polyester and is peroxide cured, but has epoxy molecules in it to keep it from shrinking, to toughen it up, and to make it more waterproof than Polyester.
I use vinylester all the time. Hardly ever use polyester, and use Epoxy only on special occasions.

What he said...

Erebus - Are you getting vinylester in 5 gallon pails from composites one? or another supplier?

We get our stuff from Mertons primarily, he's cheaper and we can usually get it faster than from Composites One.

We use Composites One for our core material, duratec, and some other oddball sundries, a couple of times a year.

How do you guys feel about having the job done from the outside vs the inside? Seems like more work on the inside but the added benefit for my situation is that I have a wet stringer that, I think could be addressed easily by replacing the drain hose that goes through it and sealing each end.

Where the bottom of the hose lets out into the bilge, the seal is gone, Ive sealed it with marine sealant but the foam is still wet so Im thinking if I do the job from the inside I can dig out most of the wet foam and relpace it.

Here are some pics of the stringer that’s full of water. In the first one you can see the sealant around the drain hose where the water was getting in. The second one is at the top of the stringer wher the drain hose starts. Not sure why they did this but I'm sure its a pretty common problem on older Sea Crafts like mine.