starting my 1972 20' seacfrat

[dandub20]

does anyone know if i should cut out my boxes on the transom to help free up the gunnel cap?? thinking of closing in transom.

[WillyC]

In the following pict you will see where I cut out the transom boxes and removed the last two feet of inner liner to redo my transom. The "back rest" part of those box seats were glued to the transom with thickened resin. There was also alot of thickened resin on the top edge of the transom. I had to cut the side edges of the transom and use long chisels and pry bars to break that thickened resin loose. This was a huge pain in the ass. I had to get creative and use the straight tire iron from my chevy truck to reach in and get the parts farthest from the inside edge that I opened up. It seems some people didn't have nearly the trouble I did. I guess it just depends how much thickened resin the builders used when dropping in the inner liner. Good luck. You might get lucky and it will come out easy.

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by dandub20

does anyone know if i should cut out my boxes on the transom to help free up the gunnel cap?? thinking of closing in transom.

Is there some reason you have to remove the cap? If you have to replace the transom, why not go at it from the outside? Just cut thru the outer skin about a 3" from the edge all the way around to leave a flat surface to fair the new skin to. Much easier than removing all that stuff on the inside.

[dandub20]

there is a weak spot on the corner of the casting platform near the fish box. i was recomended since the floor and fuel tank was out that it would be a good idea to remove gunnel cap, flip it upside down sand it and put a new layer of glass on the bottom side of it. i want to do it once and do it right and was told that to remove the cap was a good idea, trust me i am not looking forward to doing it.

[dandub20]

got the gunnel cap out last sunday. now going to start the cleaning up process. Going to replace the transom and make it 25". No bracket. Any suggestions on what wood to use for new transom??

[fdheld34]

I used AB fir ply on my transom rebuild...Also PLEASE read Strick's "Here we go again"..... read it about 10 times!!!
You need to build a jig for your hull or get some type of support on hull to keep sides from "ballooning" out on you...might want to measure cap and get sides back to square one before continuing!!
-Fred

[gofastsandman]

Originally Posted by fdheld34

I used AB fir ply on my transom rebuild...Also PLEASE read Strick's "Here we go again"..... read it about 10 times!!!
You need to build a jig for your hull or get some type of support on hull to keep sides from "ballooning" out on you...might want to measure cap and get sides back to square one before continuing!!
-Fred

Sage advice right there.

[dandub20]

got some more sanding/grinding done today, but damn it was hottt!!!!!

[Max_Florida]

First off, congrats on your Seacraft!

I bought mine and ended up making a lot of repairs to it. This forum was a tremendous help. Like others have said, READ as many threads as you can that relate to what you are trying to do. In particular the aforementioned "here we go again" thread. Take your time and focus on getting it done RIGHT, not just getting it done.

If you are unfamiliar with working with fiberglass, epoxy, etc. Go read the West Systems How-to manual(available on their website for free). Read through all the different projects to get a basic understanding of the different techniques. For your first project try to do something simple. For two reasons: Something simple will obviously be easier, but also if you screw up you will not have wasted hundreds of dollars of materials and a ton of time if you have to re-do it.

I would highly recommend US Composites for your fiberglass/reasin needs, as they are much much cheaper than buying your epoxy at West Marine. Their tech guy is also super helpful and will give you advice on how to do it and what materials to use. I have been really happy with their products and customer service.

Good luck with your restoration!

[dandub20]

got the transom out last night. Looks like about 80 percent of it was replaced but the old part near the floor was very rotted and am glad i am replacing it. the wood stopped about 1 food from gunnel and was filled with foam. i am going to put the new one all the way to gunnel and floor all around