Transom fishbox

Can anyone tell me if the fishbox located in the splashwell on a 23cc 1978 have any stuctural effects on the transom/splashwell area. my fuel tank is so long it comes to within about 6 inches of the fishbox therefor not allowing any real access to the bilge area of my boat I don't use the fishbox and the previous owner completly sealed it off anyway. So what I'm trying to get at is if I pull the fuel tank and cut out th fishbox from under the splashwell are there gonna be problems?

[Scott]

I don’t really know how it would affect the integrity of the transom … but it is molded into the splashwell and the cap. It’s also bonded to the transom. There is a small area where the thru hull’s for pickup and draining are located that is also bonded to the hull. The well may also give some support the deck outside the splashwell. I would think you would need to support the deck in the splashwell after removal.

I know what you mean with that access to the bilge back there ... not very good

Guess I should have posted my question under repair/mods sorry guys. Would still love to know if has directly addressed this situation or has any input. thanks Scott I wonder if maybe i angled my cuts on the sides as to leave a triangular shaped side still connecting the splashwell to the transom for support, or maybe I should just leave well enough alone until I rebuild and enclose the transom next winter.

[Finster]

I thought I had some pic's of my splash well but unfortunately I don't. It doesn't have a bait-well just a flat piece that went across the engine well to the transom, and it was cut up pretty good. So far as integrity goes I would have to say not much, most of it seems to come from the sides of the engine well and spreads out into the liner.
The only reason I know this was running the boat in the condition it was in. It was actually a tad scary seeing the way the aft end of the boat flexed around. But under those conditions you could really see what held her together and where the stress points were and it all seem to integrate from the transom to the inner liner to the top cap.
If it was me I don't think I'd worry too much about cutting out the bait well and running it.

[Scott]

Finny
In hindsight ( after seeing the pictures of the "powder" core) your lucky that big BlackMax didn't rip right out of the transom.

[Finster]

Duh??? There was ample support. Go look at the pic's again...chain and everything. Where was it going to go?

[Scott]

Duh??? There was ample support.

hehehe I forgot about the chain !!! That transom ...well it was a thing of beauty

scothawk ...what you dont want to happen !!!

[stoney]

I removed the transom livewell last year and it is no small task. I believe it provided some stiffness to the transom. It was well bonded to the hull with what appeared to be resin cabosil mixture that was hard to remove. I put in three knees to stiffen the transom and others have done the same. I tied the knees into the splashwell to stiffen that and epoxied the lower piece to keep water out of the bilge. The end result is worth the effort. Make sure you remove the old battery supports while youre in there.

[strick]

I'm sure that it add some stiffness to the hull. Like the previous poster said it is no small task removing the fish well. If you do it then you should take advantage of the situtation by removing the splash well and either adding some support knees or a complete transom re do.

http://www.casdvm.com/photos/SeaCraf...he%20Begining/

strick

[FELLOW-SHIP]

I removed my live well from that location and made a new one, moved it forward to where the newer SeaCrafts have theirs now a days. To remove it is not all that bad “IF” you were redoing the transom or the deck arrear back there. But trying to remove just the live well without tarring up other stuff back there would really be a hard job. I also moved the gas tank forward during that time as well changing the center balance of the boat and opening more area back in the transom area like you are thinking.


FellowShip

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