I continued with stripping the boat down this weekend. Here are some pics......
It appears that during the previous restoration there were inspection holes drilled in the stringers to check the foam and then sealed as shown with drops of some bonding material.
As I continued removing fiberglass at an attempt to access the transom I discovered that the last repair had boxed and glassed the stringers in but didn't fill with foam. Before I bought the boat I had read in a post on this forum a comment that someone made about "taking it down to the hull so there are no unanswered questions". I decided then that would be the approach I would take and I am glad I did.
Looking into the end of the stringer where the foam had been removed.
I removed the center knee brace between the transom and center drain that runs from one of the forward compartments. Wood was rotten as can be seen.
I cut the tops out of the stringers so that I can pull all of the old foam out and replace. It may be overkill but I felt I should do it anyway due to some of the holes that were visible that could have allowed moisture in.
I knew going into this weekend that removing the transom would be a chore due to it having been replaced and not "mulch" like some of the more fortunate people have had. I used my skill saw and set the blade depth so that I wouldn't cut through the exterior skin. A checkerboard pattern was developed as can be seen. I then used a hammer, chisel and flat pry bar to remove.
Coming out one piece at the time.
You can see in this photo that the copper drain from the old motor well was corroded and broke when being removed.
The bottom of the transom was wet when removed.
After about 2 1/2 hours I had it out with the exterior skin intact. I have some final grinding or sanding to remove some thin pieces of ply that stuck to the skin but that's for later.
Previous transom - Good Riddance!
