Re: transom
Cutting out the transom is not that bad ( or, maybe my memeory thankfully has faded a bit ).
You need to get the rotted transom material out from between the stringers/ motor beds and the glass. I did it without cutting the stringers back, although cutting them back is no big deal - they are just approx a 1/4" of glass covering foam. You can cut them back and re-glass them easy! Getting behind the stringers to remove the rotted or even good wood is a bitch, but do-able. Thinking nback, I would cut the stringers back to give you some room - I beat myself up squeezing between that space to get the wood out. At that time, I did not realize how much glassing I was to do, nor did I realize the ease to which it is to make repairs as good or better than original.
Getting the transom out: Buy a Tyvec suit ! Make sure it has elastic feet and wrist cuffs - or tape them ! Also, for any length of time grinding/sanding - wear a mask!
The way I did it, and I'm sure there are alot of ways, was to first cut out the top layer of glass so you can see the actual wood transom - I did this w/ a special elect fiberglass tool I borrowed - just the edge part of a grinding wheel from a hi speed grinder to cut through this top sheet will work great too. Peel that f-glass all off. Some places will stick better than others. Use a crow bar, or a wonder bar, long screw drivers etc.
Then, I used a circular saw, set at about 3/16"-1/4" shallower than the depth of the transom - remember, the transom is comprised of (2) 3/4" of ply glassed together. But, measure it anyway and be careful. I then cut horiz and vertical cuts from top to bottom - making 4-5" size squares to be removed. Then, I removed these squares one at a time w/ a wonderbar, crowbar, long screwdrivers ( used as wedges ) - sometimes just (2-3) pcs of ply wood would come off. Sometimes (1) 3/4" pc of plywood would come off - sometimes the whole 1 1/2" would come off. It's a bitch and tedious, but I did the whole thing in about 8-9 hours labor. Once you remove ALL the wood from the back glass - you must grind it smooth .
SHEET. Gotta go. Let me know if you need more - or if I was vague ( which I'm sure I have been )
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