V21 Transom

[robmints]

Hi guys. New member, I came to get encouraged. I looked at a V21 (and want to thank the owner for his time and hospitality) that needs transom work. It looks to need the full monte and not just a hollow out and pour, or just doing the face of the bump out. Does anyone have pictures or insight into the repair. My hackabilly style would just come 2 inches in from all sides and cut the outer skin off, but the way the stringers attach is kind of mystifying to a new guy. Do you guys shave off the bump and go straight to a bracket?

I love the layout and I'm looking for a looooong term boat that will work well in the Chesapeake and fit into my type of boating. I have an off brand center console now and the dual console is a much better layout for us. I'm not scared of the work involved if the return is worth it.

Oh, I may have a million more questions depending on your answers and my wife's comfort level with a new project. Thanks in advance for any help, somehow I feel welcome here already. The current owner of the boat is a member of this site and was extremely helpful and kind, that may have a lot to do with my perception of the type of person that frequents here.

[bradford]

Welcome, no experience with a V21 transom re-do, but anything can be done. Great group of helpful and knowlegable folks here. Don't be scared of asking any questions, chances are a few of us have been down the road before.

[smokeonthewater]

If it needs a transom it likely needs stringers too

[robmints]

I guess a few things are going to build up to more confusion. The boat only being made a few years, the boat not being old enough for all of them to need transoms yet, the complexity of the design, and I guess things I haven't thought of.

It loos like the stringers come back and tie into the lower section of the transom, then step up to run back to where the engine hangs. I'm not getting the warm fuzzies I was expecting from the group??

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by robmints

I guess a few things are going to build up to more confusion. The boat only being made a few years, the boat not being old enough for all of them to need transoms yet, the complexity of the design, and I guess things I haven't thought of.

It looks like the stringers come back and tie into the lower section of the transom, then step up to run back to where the engine hangs. I'm not getting the warm fuzzies I was expecting from the group??

LOL... Warm fuzzies come with time and experience. So we generally take our time when answering questions that we don't have any or minimal experience with. Not a lot of us actually have V21's, so the experience is lacking, and even less of us have any experience with the transoms on a V21. I don't know for sure, but I may be the only V21 owner here that's had experience with the 21's transom, and even that was minimal at best.

My 21's floor was soft, because the wood on the underside was rotted out. It happened because of moisture and lack of proper ventilation. The previous owner just stored the boat in winter wrapped up with no hatches open, no air circulation of any kind down below. The result was the underside rotted out.

When I removed the deck one of the things I noticed was the way that the bump on the transom seemed to connect to the main transom. If you look inside the rear hatches, you'll see a gap of about an inch to an inch and a half between the stringers and the inside of the bump. My solution was to fill that gap with foam and then bridge the gap with several layers of fiberglass cloth. The resulting unified stringer is (I think) much stronger than the original design from Wellcraft.

More than that, I cannot help you with. If you want to know about how to remove and replace the wood under the floor, I'm your guy. But the actual transom is a mystery to me.

In all cases, welcome to the site. You'll find a lot of very knowledgeable guys here that can help you with just about anything you need to know about your boat. Welcome aboard.

[robmints]

The style of the boat/transom seems very modern and kind of "the shape of things to come", as it turned out. You do see many boats with a similar vibe to the way the engine is mounted, and the bottom/transom meld, but very few from 95-96.

[RidgeRunner]

Welcome aboard. I am not a stranger to fiberglass but have no clue how a 21 is built. Seems like Ferman or someone had one apart for the sake of redoing it. Hang in there. It has been a little slow on here. Destroyer notwithstanding, I don't remember anyone else going into one. Destroyer's work was excellent I might add.

As far as the transom goes--Is it simply plywood with a scrim that allows it to conform to the fiberglass? My concern ripping the outer skin is that the outer skin is typically much thicker on the layup schedule. In other words, if you cut the outside away, will the inside be sound enough, thick enough to allow you to replace the core and have it follow the curve/bubble. If it is a sheet of plywood that is used when clamped/glassed into place it would need something fairly stout or I fear you will loose the original shape. Not ideal to go into one. Ever think about pulling the cap and going at it from the inside? More work? Yes.. But then you will know 100%. Expose it all.. Not a quick or easy route. But it is expensive too.

Take a picture or three, that might stir em up.

[phatdaddy]

you post at 10 on a sat morn and expect "warm & fuzzie" in 4 hours, some of us actually go out in our boats j/k welcome

patience young jedi

i would avoid a 21 with transom issues. to many 20's to be had. if you really like the closed transom, get an i\o and put a bracket on it.

[robmints]

Originally Posted by RidgeRunner

Welcome aboard. I am not a stranger to fiberglass but have no clue how a 21 is built. Seems like Ferman or someone had one apart for the sake of redoing it. Hang in there. It has been a little slow on here. Destroyer notwithstanding, I don't remember anyone else going into one. Destroyer's work was excellent I might add.

As far as the transom goes--Is it simply plywood with a scrim that allows it to conform to the fiberglass? My concern ripping the outer skin is that the outer skin is typically much thicker on the layup schedule. In other words, if you cut the outside away, will the inside be sound enough, thick enough to allow you to replace the core and have it follow the curve/bubble. If it is a sheet of plywood that is used when clamped/glassed into place it would need something fairly stout or I fear you will loose the original shape. Not ideal to go into one. Ever think about pulling the cap and going at it from the inside? More work? Yes.. But then you will know 100%. Expose it all.. Not a quick or easy route. But it is expensive too.

Take a picture or three, that might stir em up.

The cap? I can't even remember i was looking at so much stuff but IIRC, it was a 2 piece hull. The cap would be the whole liner? If it did actually come out like that, that would be great in order to get to all the stuff under both sections. Rewire, check stringers, replumb, through hulls, transom, all at once. Skid loader at one end mini ex at the other, the neighbors wouldn't even blink, they are used to it by now.

I don't know about you guys but I tend to be a fixator. Once I get something in my mind I have to have it/do it. And I expected this boat to one of those things. I'm in love with the size, layout, and design but I'm not feeling this particular boat as "the one".

I was going to take pictures but I didn't. Now it's 1 1/2 drive to see it again. I think there must be pictures of it on here, a couple of you guys have owned it in the past. Dark blue hull, painted with a roller.

Scrim, not sure what that means/is. But it looked like it was some kind of stick built affair with separate pieces of plywood and levels of stringer and the glass made the radii. All I could think of was 3d model to design the liner/cap. A lot is going on in a little space. But they did not have the same attention to detail when they were glassing where you could not see. People sure do expect more now when they look in the bilge. Couldn't sell that now I don't think.

[robmints]

Originally Posted by phatdaddy

you post at 10 on a sat morn and expect "warm & fuzzie" in 4 hours, some of us actually go out in our boats j/k welcome

patience young jedi

i would avoid a 21 with transom issues. to many 20's to be had. if you really like the closed transom, get an i\o and put a bracket on it.

Starting to come around to your way of thinking. Why cut off the bump just to end up with a flat transom when you can get a flat transom to start with? I don't care about closed transom, I liked the 21 for the extra space the bump provided but it's not worth reinventing the wheel to gain such a small amount.

And I can't imagine anyone being so organized that they can have their boat ready before July 4th. Shoot for Memorial Day and some years it just turns out to be Labor Day.