Well , I already made the cuts into the hatch, and I will go ahead and replace the transom. Unfortunately I can't work on it today ( rain storm) and won't be able to for at least a week.

Well, I finally got the motor well out last night, it was a bear. I had to cut out one of the bait hatches out just to get it to move forward and use a multifunction tool to cut out the bottom of the well from the inside. The wood was rotted all the way down.

Good use of a kaiser blade

yep it don't come out in one piece. In my video you see I had the same problem.

Well , after a long break , the weather starting to cool off here in Tampa. Started back on my transom repair. 16 inch chainsaw and 1 1/2 auger drill bit, I got to do some rotted plywood removal. Liked the auger bit better along with a wood chisel. Still having issues with wood removal at bottom of transom especially near center. I think I need a new chain for the chainsaw. To get inside the deep ends. Advice always welcome photos coming.
Jet

If you need to go deeper and the chainsaw is too short, you may be able to get a longer bar and chain for it for it. A longer bar might overwork the motor cutting bigger logs, but just plunge cutting, it shouldn’t be a problem and you can shorten the new chain to use with your shorter bar when you’re done.