" The first cut is the deepest."
 

After removing all hardware and transom boxes and going to my local SeaCraft guru (FAS) for some reassuring motivation I dug in armed with a skill saw, Sawsall, hammer, 2 wonder bars,size extra extra large screw driver, and all the appropriate safety gear. It was hot as hell but I got a lot done. Tomorrow I attack all the rot thats behind the edges I left. Most important info. I got from FAS was You can always make the cut bigger, you can't make it smaller, so thats why 4" edges all the way around. More to follow.

there you go! you're on your way....make a bunch of saw cuts and keep chiseling.leave a huge cut around that vin number,and put it aside,safely.

I've seen that "wonderful" visual before, brings back fond memories. Don't you just love the smell of rotten marine plywood first thing in the morning?

Best advice of the Day!!! "Save the HIN" ! My recently purchased 77 Seafari did not replace the HIN and registering here in South Carolina with a Florida title, DNR wanted a photo of it. Well it's not there. She wanted to reassign a new HIN to the hull. When I explained to her "That would be like reassigning a VIN to a vintage Ferrari, depreciating the resale value to that of a Yugo." It registered, and shortly thereafter was registered in SC. Valuable lesson.

Part II

Yeah, I had a feeling it was important to save it. So far it's still in tact on the boat. Maybe we can work around it but probably have to cut it out and install on the new transom.

work continues.
 

OK So the boat has been moved to Hampton Shipyard for the glasswork to begin on the transom of my 23' cc. We dismantled a little bit more of the rub rail and wiring and control cables ,pumps etc moving them further forward and out of the way. Freddy enlarged the cut out and cut out the loose inner wall of fiberglass that really wasn't attached to the motor well or the hull too well.

Day 1 continued.
 

The more we cut the more we could see. These are shots looking forward under the deck port and starboard. Note the blob of foam next to the stringer just out there not contained at all. also note the 4x4 Port glassed ,starboard not that house the vertical scuppers. Now both are glassed.

Day 2
 

In these pictures i'm showing all the wood that we're encountering that Freddy(FAS) says doesn't look factory. Any thoughts?

Day 2 continued
 

You'll notice this fiberglass panel where the engine was mounted. Has anyone run into this in other rebuilds? We have removed it so we can get the transom as flat as possible. Freddy and Louie wetting out the 2nd layer of fiberglass tabs between the hull and the inner transom. Stronger is better!

Day 4
 

Fred's father,Fred sr. made the template for the new transom as work continues.I am honored and very lucky to have a "Master boat builder" offer his expertise in my project.
the bracket on the back is an outboard template to show hole location. It is set at 30"we've decided to raise it to 31"-31.5"as the lower bolts would be real close to the well directly under the motor that will also be built up with new fiberglass. Getting there.