transom rebuild help
 

The plot thickens, planed to just do some patch work but as I dug into it the whole thing was wet so I decided to rip it all out from the inside.
looking as I pulled it out looks like wellcraft made the transom out of 1.5'' thick plywood and put 2 relief cuts to let it curve a bit.
so I was think of just using 3/4'' and epoxing it one piece at a time and clamping it to the back of the transom?
any suggestion?
I have seen some pictures where other members make it in 3 pieces.

That will work fine....in fact, if you want it to bend even easier, use 1/2 inch ply and just add more layers...thickened epoxy will work great....pre-wet both sides. Use a notched trowel about 1/4 inch deep and sweep it in one direction to allow air to escape and the putty to spread and clamp it in one at a time...use as many clamps or through bolts as you can to spread an even load, just don't squish everything out...just enough to see the resin ooze...then the remaining layers can be glued and screwed with self tapping screws and fender washers....just like you see being used on boats being built over a frame with wood...when cured, remove the screws and do the next layer. Since your prepping/grinding the existing glass, I would replace what you ground out with a layer of 1708 to make up any lost glass thickness and uneveness....don't need anything between the layers of wood except epoxy. Post some work in progress pics!

Here's the start need to grind the thin layer of wood off so the epoxy has something good to bond to.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10312-1806.jpg

Looks really good.......you're going to need to grind the sides of the gunwales as well to allow you to wrap around each layer of glass for the inner skin.....probably 4 to 5 layers with a 2 or 3 inch progressive overlap on each layer...you want the same total skin thickness or a little more than the original. Also once you get the core in place, make nice fillets around the perimeter with epoxy putty and then tab the perimeter with a few layers of 6 inch tape, then put on your full sheets over everything.

Yes, I'll grind the gelcoat on the sides to get a good overlap, fill in any voids with epoxy puddy. I have a a 60'' roll of 40oz cloth with heavy mat then a heavey cloth on top of that, looks as thick as what wellcraft used.
With fiberglass it is best if I do the edges then let that dry then do the large skin?
Meaning if you cover up something you just glassed after it has started to kick will it be best to let that cure out or can it be layered by another?
Thanks for the help, and I'll keep this updated

Actually, its better to go wet on wet to keep the chemical bond going....just because the resin begins to kick, its still considered wet on wet for a few hours...depending on who's resin you use, they will tell you how many hours you have to continue layering before its required to sand again.....if using slow hardener, you can go several hours after its kicked...even up to 12 hours on some brands depending on temperature....it usually takes up to 24 hours to fully cure.

Once the core is in place....pre-cut all your glass, the tabbing and full sheets and have them ready......then make your putty fillets and let it just start to set up and then add your tabbing tape...if you do it right away, you may squish out the fillet, so just let it set up a bit but still tacky. Wet out your tabbing and let the layers overlap a bit...in other words, if using 6 inch tape, one layer has 4 inches on one side of the joint and 2 inches on the other, then the second layer would be layed on the opposite side, creating the 2 inch overlap......let that start to tack up so it doesn't slide on you when putting on the full sheets....then pre-wet the core, let it start to tack and then add the glass and wet out completely.

The 40oz glass is pretty heavy...I like using 17oz for the sheets and 12 oz for the tape..you will use a lot of resin and it will take some time to completely wet through that heavy material, so be patient......make sure you have resin rollers, bubble rollers and plastic squeegees to spread the resin and remove the air pockets.....you will need to wait until each layer tacks a little before adding the next because of the weight of the glass.....it may want to slide on you being in a vertical position.....maybe you can use some type of plastic to clamp and hold the top of each sheet until it kicks.......but i wouldn't sweat it.....read the working and curing tables of your resin....you should have plenty of time....even overnight if you do a last layer late at night and continue the next morning.....all else fails, just let fully cure, sand with 80 grit, wipe with alcohol and keep going.

I have nothing to ad but somebody has a truck exactly like mine. color and all. lol

That is my boat pulling truck. 06 F350

Update, dry fiting first layer of the transom waiting for epoxy to come in.
still have to do a bit more grinding to do.
Has a HF bisket joiner that I took the guard off of and that did a great job of getting the wood out.
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10314-1316.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10313-1554.jpg

I saw a good description by someone on a forum, might have been thehulltruth forum, where they wrote up a lengthy description on how to make the transom repair. I can no longer find it! Does anyone recall where that might be?

Update, 2 layers of 3/4 inch epoxyed in, will glass in today. Man that 2nd layer of 3/4 was a bear, I ended up having to use a fork lift with some weight on it and lowerd the forks on top of the wood to help push it down. also got the floor glassed in, used 40oz woven looks like what wellcraft used, it took 3 gal of resin to wet it out.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10319-1722.jpg

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looks great. i can't tell from the photo, but if those thru-hulls are plastic, change them to stainless while you can get to them. they are a pia later.

What are they called and where can I get some?
Mine had brass one but I couldn't salvage them.

find the one that matches what you had and bed it good with 5200 or something similar

sorry couldn't get the link to work, go to west marine and type in" thru hull fittings" in the search box.

Finished glassing the floor and transom, had to use heaters to keep the temp up at night as it has been dropping down to the 50's

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10320-1629.jpg


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How much glass did you put on? Looks good, but a little light....you shouldn't see the wood as clearly as that...what was the original skin thickness? What type of glass did you use? Also, I would probably put a few more layers where the transom meets the stringers to tie it in a little better.....thats a key element for strength in a transom and allows transfer of load to the rest of the grid.

I used 38oz plain weave with 1oz chopped strand stiched to the bottom of that, it measured .040 thick with some calipers.
I know it is thick as it took 3 gal of VE to wet out the floor and 1.25 gal of epoxy resin to wet out the transom.
I got the fiberglass direct from a mill here in SC that makes fiberglass products, it was for boat building, it was a 50'' wide 50' roll, I was suprised that you can see so clearly after resin was applided, the floor I used VE and the transom I used epoxy. So being so clear I guess that is just the good quality of the glass and resin from US Composites.
I used epoxy putty in all the gaps and used that to glue the stringer ends to the 2nd layer of the new transom.
I also used 6'' wide strips of that 38oz glass to tie the transom on the sides, bottom and around the stringer first, then covered the whole thing with one big piece of the same glass.
I think this should be very strong.
Let me know what you think.

Here is what I used the woven measure .025 thick and the chopped mat is about .012 thick
And the stiching to the woven I think adds strength.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10321-0900.jpg

Looks like good quality material.....and you got great wet out on the tabbing and full sheet...no bubbles......but IMHO I think one or two layers isn't enough... .040 skin thickness is light.....decks are one thing, but most transoms are .125 to.250 thick, depending on the MFG'er and boat/engine combination....what was the original skin thickness you removed? You want to match and/or exceed the OEM skin thickness.

Inside transom thickness from the factory on my V was thin (One layer of heavy woven into one oz matt). They didn't throw too much at it and they didn't spend any time filling in the gaps with putty to smooth out the transitions. To me 38 oz. sounds about right with what the factory used. I don't recall them using much if any reinforcement around the perimeter where the real loading is. The outside (hull) on mine was about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. You could debate for hours on the layup schedule. What Richie Rich said, thumbs up!! I personally like to layup wet on wet if two or more layers are used. If the 1st layer is allowed to kick off and set, you then have to grind it out again to get a proper bond(at least with VE, not sure about epoxy). So you would be grinding away some of the long woven strands in order to layup a second layer and that would deminish the strength of the first layer. When wet on wet isn't possible and where weight isn't a concern I like to lay a layer of 1.5oz mat into the roving as a sacrificial layer that can be roughed up for the second or third layers of glass. My .02
IMO what you have done so far looks great. You need to spend some time on the top of the transom to ensure it is waterproof. With respect to the heavy weight fabric, it is very difficult to get it to make the tight radius where the upper edge of the plywood core meets the upper lip of the transom. You may want to get some lighter glass to reinforce the edges and push into the corners at the top sides and bottom of the transom. You have come a long way fast. Don't rush it too much, take your time and the results will be spectacular.

I'm surprised the inner skin was that thin....even more surprised that the outer skin was that thick....usually, the skins of a core are closer to being equal....I guess not with the wellcraft.....With epoxy, you don't need to grind the new glass...just sanding with 80 grit and a wipedown with alcohol will make it ready for a new skin, if needed.

Yes same on mine as outer skin was pretty thick and inner skin looked like what I am using but the gel coat they sprayed on it makes it look a tad thicker.
I think with thick epoxy I used to glue in the 2 3/4'' ply's and the extra tabs should be good but I do hang a 200hp off of this sport 20, so I might run a sheet where the motor bolts go and tie into the stringers and add a few more tabs to tie in more to the sides again.
I do want to beef this up as I do want to venture a few miles offshore.

On another note do you think I will have any issues adding a 30 gal tank directly in front of the original tank? There is an empty space that I want to add another tank to give me more distance for longer trips.

My V has a plate on the inside where the motor is attached. It was put on by the shop where the previous owner had his boat maintained. The core is still ok, so I'm thinking there was a little flex issue. And its a 150 motor.

Anyway, if you're thinking about beefing it up at the bolt area and tabbing the corners, you might as well just run another sheet across the whole thing and come around the corners and be done with it....sanding a flat, wide area like that won't take much more time with a ROS and 80 grit.

And an additional tank?? You can probably fit one but you're getting to the "slim" area of the boat...not sure you'll have the room for 30 gallons...that's also another 240lbs of weight sloshing around the nose of the boat....not sure what that will do the the boats handling and balance...maybe someone else has done this already and has some feedback on how it went.

New picts, I added another 3/4'' piece in-between the stringers and attached it to the transom, and added more tabs, I am waiting to get more epoxy resin in to do a big sheet across the back. This should make it strong as ever.
I also was able to add another 30 gal Moeller tank directly in front of the old tank, as I cut a few access holes in the floor that I just reglassed but they will be under the console.


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http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10323-1641.jpg

Nice, glad you added some more glass. Now tough as nails/never need to worry with it again. You have a bulkhead that I didn't have on my 1983, just in front of the fuel tank. I installed a 13 gallon fresh water tank and pump there. No ill effects on handling that I could see. I moved some weight up front for the addition of a bracket, hoping the balance was right. Is there enough room to run the fill and vent lines under the liner? or are you going to do something else?

Yes as you see the bulkhead inbetween is about 3'' lower than the deck, then there is a big cut out in the stringer on starboard side which both gas fills and vents will fit.

Is the old tank the bigger poly tank and the new 30 is on the right? I never knew they came in poly from the factory...mine is aluminum......is there enough room for expansion? I think you need to expect about a 3-5% expansion of a poly tank...and you need to vent the compartment as well as the tanks actually breath and emit fumes....thats great the way you fit it in......this is gonna be a nice rebuild.

I'll post a new pict later but the 30gal tank is on the left it is the lighter color one and it sits in front of the stock tank.
The old tank is twice as deep as it is a 60gal tank. There is room to put rubber straps around the tank like the original. I guess it will just vent from the cut outs in the floor under the console, that's all the stock tank has.

Update Got the new 30 gal tank in and top lid glued down good.
now touching up gel coat and starting reassembly.

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Moving along pretty well. What is next?

Looking good!!

That's really coming along nicely!!...:clap:...you'll never regret the additional fuel tank!!...

Are you doing this work in Greenville or C'town?...

Almost looks too easy! Nice work....should be ready for the season pretty soon.

i know it's late now but you had enough glass first round, more is not better when it comes to glass, that will add tons to much weight. but looks great. the glass wasn't used to add strength it was only to seal up the wood on the inside the transom and under the floor. the wood is where your strength is.

New almost finished pictures.
Made a stand thru t-top to help with sight fishing.
Thanks for everyones help.http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10615-1514.jpg
http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/...10615-1515.jpg

WOW!! That is some beautiful work right there! Powder coated aluminum is like the cherry on top. I have your pictures saved for future reference....in a few years Im looking to do a simular rebuild.

Yea, there is a power coating business 2 doors down from my printing business and I was able horse trade a powercoat job on my tower and leaning post, for a sign for the front of his building. Came out sweet.