another transom job in the works -

[stoney]

Here's how I pulled the reinforcing up to the transom.
Beware, keep the transom flat!
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...repair5_15.jpg

[oldbluesplayer]

might as well run thru a string of photo's -

boat as seen / purchased - very oxidized hull


after getting it home, I spent a weekend wet sanding with 600 grit, then again with 1500 grit, then compounding and buffing, then waxing and buffing - cleaned up pretty well


however, the two hour tow home took it's toll on the transom - what appeared in the yard to be sound, with a minor crack inside the splash well, was significantly worse by the time I got home, cracked inside and out - and reading thru CSC back threads made me decide to pull the motor and start looking closer -


so - a serious crack in the left lower corner of the outboard notch, and a really wet transom, time to go to work


decided to go in from the back / outside


the cracks and soft core induced deformation left me with an inside skin which was not flat, so went to work on that first


(now, I don't know how many pix I can stuff in one entry - so we'll stop here for the moment -

Bill

[oldbluesplayer]

moving right along - used the last seen clamps and block, wrapped in wax paper, to hold several layers of cloth/resin in place inside the transom upper lip, flattening and reinforcing that area, while at the same time putting a plywood reinforcement plate on the inside surface of the inner transom, in the area of the lower motor mount bolts, also pulling that area flat, results as seen


this effort successfully pulled the inner transom wall flat, so that I could beginning shaping plywood plates for the transom replacement. In the original transom, between the outer skin and the face of the plywood, was a very heavy, and highly troweled / grooved layer of putty - the outer skin was not uniformly bonded to the core, and this also made for an offbeat thickness, so my transom layup looks to be 3/4" / 1/2" / 1/2" - I have the first two plates in now -


last night, after a good 24 hours cure, I pulled the bracing off, and checked thru the bolt holes, and a couple of taped off interior inspection holes, and I have a good solid mate and bond all the way across the transom.

and right now, I'm bushed - gonna take a break for a few days.

Added to the punch list:

the gas tank appears to have slid backwards during the tow home, stopping against the bolt / bracket in the keel for a thru hull transducer - that needs help.

the gas fill line looks ancient (well, 32 years old !) so some plumbing is in order.

I'm going to add a knee brace from the keel up to the transom.

I like the accessability I created with the hole in the splash well, so I want to dress that up for keeps.


Yes, I still think I'll get this in the water this season, yet....

I hope !!!

Bill

[oldbluesplayer]

but no pix till this evening -

the third plywood plate is now installed, another 1/2", bringing the installed transom thickness out to 1-5/8".

I spent about 4 hours yesterday, in between the showers, grinding the inside surface of the transom outer skin smooth, getting rid of all the original lumpy, grooved, and highly fractured putty layer that had been between the outer skin and the original plywood transom core.

The gas tank had come free, and had slid backwards about 2", stopping against the thru hull transducer mounting bolt, which come up thru ( !!!) the keel stringer, so I'm also plotting how to reinforce the keel stringer and fill the 5/8" thru bolt hole left from the old transducer, now removed.

Like working with the West System epoxy - running the 105 epoxy with 206 slow hardner, and 403 filler for paste batches; plenty of working time.

Anyone who does this, plan on plenty of measure twice, cut once, and trial fit, again and again. It seems to take hours of prep work, and getting all the little details ready, before starting the 30 minute rush of mixing epoxy and installing a part, and getting it clamped in place, but the quality of the result is directly dependant on the prep work.

It's getting there.... slowly.

Bill

[oldbluesplayer]

first - this ought to be lesson number 1 in how Not to install a thru hull transducer...


next, the ground down rear transom skin... 4 hours worth of grinding dust everywhere !!


and a shot of the transome with all three layers of plywood now bonded in -


tonight I started patching the keel stringer / transducer hole - starting with plywood plates bonded on each side with epoxy/RW, tabbed out to the sides, then I'll plug the hole with thickened epoxy, then add a layer of RW over the whole works, again tabbed out to the sides, farther than the first layer.

progress, slowly.

Bill

[BigMike8o9]

Wow thanks for such great detail and photos. I'm going to check out my transom when I pull the motor off for rebuilding and I was worried if I had such a repair ahead.
Definately going to store this thread in favorites.
What is the best way to check for rot. I normaly drill small hole to see if the wood is solid. I also inject west after wards because of its anti fungal tendency.
My wife says west system is my windex ( my big fat greek wedding is her faverate movie)one time I used it to glue a big cut closed, just to piss her off. I know that was bad...

[oldbluesplayer]

and gave me a lot of guidance and inspiration to tackle this job - I had built surboards years ago, and was used to working with fiberglass, polyester resin, which kicks so hard and so fast compared to the West Systems stuff, so that didn't scare me off, but - doing a transom... I think I read every thread on this site, and over at classic-mako, that I could find, along with the West Systems book... also, my brother took a 23 Seabird, a couple years ago, and pulled the I/O out, filled and reinforced the transom, added a bracket, and mounted a 225 OB, so I had a little direct hands on experience to refer with.

best way to check wetness is undoubtedly with one of the meters - completely non-invasive - but if you're pulling the motor off the transom anyways, check the bolt holes out - how well were those bolts bedded, how long were they in there, was the boat moored in the water all season, or did it sit on a trailer between uses. If there is an aluminum trim piece in the transom notch, see if you can pull that off (mine came easy - others reported great difficulty) and check the fit between the transom outer skin and the motorwell cap - mine was sloppy - 1/8" - another source of water entry into the core.

More to come, but taking tonight off to go out with my girlfriend.

Bill

[ScottM]

also, my brother took a 23 Seabird, a couple years ago, and pulled the I/O out, filled and reinforced the transom, added a bracket, and mounted a 225 OB, so I had a little direct hands on experience to refer with.

Bill,
Does he still have the Seabird? I've got a '72 that was converted from I/O to notched transom OB.

[oldbluesplayer]

my bro definitely still has that - he keeps it out on the Vineyard, if you ever are off Oak Bluffs you might see it - "Bad Boy", probably with 4 or 5 guys fishin out of it !

It was originally a cuddy cabin, but he pulled the forward cap off, and converted it to a CC, had an old and problematic Mercruiser, pre-Alpha series outdrive, which after several years of headache went away, in favor of the OB on the bracket - he picked up an Armstrong bracket for cheap.

It moves !!

Bill

[ScottM]

Bill,
Where on the Vineyard? I fish the Derby every year and stay at a house in Oak Bluffs.