Transom replacement

[71mako19]

Started the transom replacement, pictures speak for themselves:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2419.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2420.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2421.jpg

Its a 73 center console. I leveled the boat out. De-rigged and removed the console, rub rail, and unscrewed the cap. Lifted the cap, cut across the inner liner and separated the inner liner from the outer liner using a wonder bar. Pryed up on the flor and popped the inner liner up and out. The Transom is toast and I was able to remove most of it by hand, literally. Just got the epoxy resin and glass. Im gonna start laminating and will post more pics. After the transom then the stringers.

[macojoe]

That has to be the worse transome I have seen yet!! :o Looks like you will be doing stringers and bulk heads also!!

Good Luck!!

[tsubaki]

MJ, the eternal optimist. ;D

[tsubaki]

Oh, plan to install inspection hatches in various places or make a drawing of ribs and runners in case you want to spray foam.

[nipper]

It's toast. Buy my Formula 20 footer with a huge cabin and start over.

[msbhammer]

WOW, another hardcore transom guy here. ;D
Its a mess, but dont give up. Will look better once you get her cleaned up.
Question: in your first picture, look like you can slightly see the cap...???is the cap still on ?????
Word of advise, some may disagree. A top knotch fiberglass guy watched me as I redid my transom. Everything went well, but when I went to put the cap on, somehow the transom got twisted out of shape by 3/8" to a half inch. I personnally think I should have put in three seperate peices of wood instead of one piece of wood covering the whole transom. The fiberglass guy told me, the strenght isnt in the wood, but in the fiberglass...and fiberglass is stronger then steel.
So, maybe if I would have pieced in the transom, it wouldnt have become slightly twisted. Actually, thats how wellcraft did my transom. Using three pieces of wood and not just one.
Either way post alot of step pictures or the rebuild. ;)

[71mako19]

Yes, transom, stringers, bulkheads, the whole shebang. Actually the srtingers are not rotten, just delaminated, so I will re-tab those in and add some knees in the transom area. Replace the bulkheads. The floor core is good as well. The rest of the hull is asthetically in great shape and that is why Im bothering to fix it.

I was careful levelling out the hull and have been taking measurements to aviod distortion. I popped the cap up to get out the liner I cut but then popped the cap back on and threw in some screws to keep the hull shape together. May be unnecessary.

As for the transom core Im undecided. I am going to get 1/2" ply and cut it to shape, 3 pieces. See how easy it takes a bend and go from there. If it looks like its putting too much pressure on the hull I will cut it into three sections and scarf them in. That is what was there originally.

[msbhammer]

Sounds like a plan. Or run the saw down the wood, like an 1/8" to give the wood more flex. ;)

[msbhammer]

MAko, Give us an update on your transom rebuild. With Pics. of course. ;D ;D ;D ;D

[71mako19]

I cleaned the surfaces with a grinder, and cut a template from cardboard. Ill post some pics, hopefully I can cut the ply and start laminating this weekend.

Does anyone know if its OK to use stainless deck screws, leaving them in the wood as I laminate? Im hoping to screw the plys together as I go but I do not want to worry about taking them out.

[macojoe]

You can use screws to hold things toghter while it drys, but they MUST be removed !!

[71mako19]

OK, any idea why? Just curious.

[macojoe]

screws will rot and or corrode from the moister in the wood. Also so will allow moister to get in around the screw.

[71mako19]

Even stainless screws?

[msbhammer]

I removed some of my screws. Didnt want to install something, drill a hole and hit a screw. :-/
But also left a few in, counter sunk, glassed over on both sides. Shouldnt be a problem.....I hope.

Any more work on the transom...Pics. ???

[bradford]

I would think that as long as everything was glassed in well it shouldn't be a problem for at least 20+/- years. ???

[bigshrimpin]

Let me tell yah . . . The more rot the easier it is to remove!! Consider yourself lucky!!

you can get brass wood screws at ACE for under $20 a box or just use cheap drywall screws.

Leave the screws in there and laminate over the heads . . . as long as they don't stick out you're fine. That transom will last longer than the boat. If you want to be extra careful . . . you could remove them and fill the holes, but I don't think it's necessary. Screw and glue

Don't worry about getting the wood template perfectly to the edges. When you dry fit all the core . . . You can have 1/2" gap . . . just buy a big bag of Cabosil (aerosil) from composites one (10lb giant dog food bag is under $40 . . . and maybe some choped fibers) and mud the edges. Then you can laminate your skins . . . if you use multiple layers of ply wood (like 3 or 4 sheets) wet out both sides before you stick them together.

[71mako19]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did get a few tubs of cabosil to bed the core. I will try to remove the screws as I go, I was only going to use them to help my three 1/2" sheets of ply make the transom curve, just didnt want the laminate to come apart if I remove them prematurely. If I left them in they will be covered by 4 layers of mat and 4 layers of biaxial glass (not in that order) and sealed in epoxy.

[Blue_Runner]

Good info there BigShrimpn! That is exactly what my glass guy did on my '73. ;)

[msbhammer]

Have no idea what you guys are talking about. Post alot of pix so I can understand. ;D

[71mako19]

Here are some pics:

Cleaned up with grinder, cut out all voids, wiped down with acetone

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2484.jpg


Made a cardboard template, traced onto 3 pieces of 1/2" ply, cut ply, then started trimming the glass mat, 3 layers of 1.5oz mat, 2 layers of 0/90 1808 biaxial stitch mat, and two layers of +/- 45 1808 biaxial stitch mat

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2485.jpg

On the boat I laminated pieces into ground out voids, then applied epoxy, wet out 1 layer of 1.5oz mat and let that sit while I went to work on the core.

On a bench I wet out one sheet of plywood, laid down one sheet of 1.5oz mat, rolled/wet out, laied second sheet of plywood, wet/rolled out 1.5oz mat, laid third sheet of 1/2"ply. Now I had a 1.5" thick sandwich of ply/mat/ply/mat. Took this over to the boat, troweled on a thickened mixture of cabosil/epoxy to the transom perimeter and the inside face of my transom slab ( the face that will be laminated to the Hulls skin. Everything is still wet and sticky at this point.

Dropped the transom core in and began clamping and screwing. I should be able to remove all screws as none are trapped in the core. I began clamping and screwing starting at the transom center line, hoping to get an even/equal bend

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2521.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2522.jpg

Everything seems to have pulled snug. I ran out of time and could not laminate my biaxial sheets onto the face of the ply. Will hit it all with a grinder and finish lay up hopefully this weekend if there is no rain. The overall lamination schedule is:

1.5oz mat
1/2"ply
1.5oz mat
1/2"ply
1.5oz mat
1/2"ply
0/90 1808 biaxial stitch mat
+/- 45 1808 biaxial stitch mat
0/90 1808 biaxial stitch mat
+/- 45 1808 biaxial stitch mat

[C YENSEN]

dam, between you and Hammer, you two are the transom brothers. I have learned so much watching you two, I am thinking of doing my own. ;)

[macojoe]

Looks great and sounds like a awsome job!!

But I have one question, The V20 has a curve to the transom, and if you glassed all toghter on a bench then put in boat, how did you maintain the curve??

[71mako19]

Thanks. Hammers picture prodding is what has kept me motivated, and Im trying to beat the weather at this point.

I figured and was hoping that the 1/2" ply was flexible enough to make the bend even with all the glass and resin. It seems to have worked. All the layers were still wet so as I clamped and screwed the ply was able to "slip" and conform to the transom bend. I clamped everything as best as I could first, putting a bolt with washers through the transom drain hole on the bottom to suck in the bottom of the transom, and clamping along the top. Then screwed through the motor mount holes, and scupper holes bracing with the plywood backers. Then lastly put screws into the other side (inner hull side) to tighten everything together.

I think starting the clamping screwing from the center of the transom and working out toward the edges is important to help the slip. If I started throwing screws in around the edges things would have had a harder time bending. Im just making this up as I go but so far so good.

[msbhammer]

Mako, great job brother. I'm glad that I inspired somebody. ;) I was inspired to do my transom by Skool, Stinky and Bigshrimp. Why pay someone else to do it, if we can do it ourselves. Plus all the member support here kept me going. Thats why we have teh best site online. ;) 8)
Love the pics. ;D

[msbhammer]

CY, you aint having transom problems are ya ???

[wpearch]

what isit with msbhammer and picks next he will want vido lol

[THEFERMANATOR]

what isit with msbhammer and picks next he will want vido lol
He likes those to, but most of us can't make decent videos. We can take decent pictures though with a cheapo camera. But don't be givin him no ideas about video's, then we'll really be in trouble. I don't want to imagine a STINKY video :o.

[msbhammer]

Did somebody say Video. LOL. I miss the old Stink videos. ;D ;D

[macojoe]

Did somebody say Video. LOL. I miss the old Stink videos.

I DON"T!!!! :o

[msbhammer]

Amko, what are your plans on the stringers. They dont look that bad with the old glass pulled off. Resin in wood on both side of te old stringers, then tie them in to the transom and glas over. ??? ??? or are you yanking out the stringers ???

[71mako19]

The stringer wood is good, as far as what I see. Im gonna retab them to the hull and to the transom, maybe add a little knee in the transom area. At least the aft bulk head (under the console area of the floor) is rotten and that will be replaced. Hopefully when I cut out the rest of the floor the stringers/bulkheads are still good.

[71mako19]

Here is pics of the finished transom layup. Next the floor is comming out!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2578.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2577.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2576.jpg

[macojoe]

Looks nice and solid!! Good Job! Keep it up!

[msbhammer]

A job well done. ;) *Whats your next step, you gonna glass the stringers to the transom ??

[71mako19]

Thanks guys! I think the next step is to cut out the floor. Im only gonna cut up to the forward casting deck, removing the deck would be too much work for me right now. After the floor is off Ill have a good idea of the stringer situation. Ill take out that rotten bulk head and cut new ply for a a new one of those. Then hopefully I can just re tab in the bulk head, then tab in the stringers. Last thing will be to connect the stringers to the transom. Ill try to cut that deck out tomorrow. The deck is solid so Im gonna take it out in one piece, leaving a good perimeter to retab it back into the boat after the stringer work.

[msbhammer]

Sounds like a plan. You gonna wrap the edge of teh transom, right.

[71mako19]

Yup, before I put the liner in Ill cap it with some glass. I cut the floor today, that sucker is heavy. Gonna need a couple a beers in me to lift that out...

[71mako19]

Here are the latest pics. Had my brother up on thanksgiving and had him help me lift the floor out. Too out the rotten aft bulkhead. Used a hand saw to cut the flotation foam in half and removed it in two big pieces. Im gonna try to reuse the foam.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2628.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2630.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2631.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v416/srzee/IMG_2629.jpg

Next Im gonna cut out any loose pieces of glass and hit the surfaces with a grinder to get ready for re-tabbing.

[msbhammer]

Lookin good. I need to do the same to a 2x3 section of my floor. Not sure if the wood is soft or it flexs because its no longer glued to the stringers. Keep up the Great Work !!