Boom!! R.I.P. Excel

[Capt Terry]

Originally Posted by bmajvi

I kind of like the pourable core concept, but because of the distance from the transom top (no transom cutout for motor) to the bottom of the V, I haven't been able to visualize a method for removing the wood. Any ideas?

[IMG]http://www.classicseacraft.com/commu...pictureid=3169[/IMG]

Here is a pic of the transom tools I used after cutting the caps off all the top, sides and bottom of engine cut-out..
• 18” electric chainsaw (a longer one actually would have been better, maybe I couldn’t find one in electric, don’t remember)
• 3/8” electric drill (6 amp minimum to mix Seacast, best to use two and switch when the first one gets too hot stirring the mix)
• Redundant ear protection (didn’t remember soon enough that I had the Bose noise cancelling one, would have saved some right ear hearing)
• 1” dia drill bit (this bit initially had tapered threads on the tip which helped pull it through the wood, near the end of my drilling I removed the threads to avoid punching a hole through the hull, a 1.125” or 1.25” dia bit might have been less effort) and 18” extension (the PVC provided more control of the bit). I used the drill to make individual holes and then rotated it back and forth to connect the holes.
• A golf ball sized burr on the end of some ¼” extensions (however the extensions were so flexible the ball end followed the path of least resistance which sometimes was through the glass instead of the wood). Consequentially I had a few fiberglass scarves to fix. On another replacement I would use stouter extensions or not use it at all.
• A .120” x 3” x 3’ steel bar with a sharpened (and continually re-sharpened, chisel point at one end) to scrape the wood off the glass. Also some pre-bend to the bar sometimes aided access

This was my first Seacast transom replacement. The results are satisfactory but there are some things I would do differently on another boat and there were some lessons learned on Seacast, but for brevity I will keep this to wood removal. I am a mechanically handy guy who does almost all of my own work and followed Seacast’s advice as much as possible. I bet there are CSCers with a better technique. Some make it sound like removing the wood was a piece of cake. They must have had some serious damage. Mine had telltale signs of compromise including engine cut-out aluminum trim mismatches and moisture on the chips from all my exploratory holes (the only fiberglass cracks were short ones under the aluminum trim on the motor cut-out), however in some areas it was pretty solid. I spent nearly 80 hours removing wood. There were at least four locations where during the factory build there were nails between the two plywood sheets thereby hindering the drill and chainsaw. I realize you have a longer reach than I did. Perhaps use the drill with two extensions.

There are other approaches mentioned in posts. Think Bigshrimpin prefers cutting the aft sheet. Seacast does not recommend this, probably because that enable solutions avoiding a pourable.

Here is a pic of bracing I did and similar for the fwd sheet as well.

[Snookerd]

Originally Posted by 77SceptreOB

Well 2020 sure has been a crappy year! First - COVID-19, then Ken's hip, now my trusty Yamaha 225 2-stroke blows up!

Jim-Also sending my condolences.....Your vintage 2 stroke motor has defied the odds until now. I can see the POST-COVID world ahead where you are crossing over to the Bahamas with your NEXT trusty outboard sporting a new transom!! Good luck on the process.