Seacast Transom Repair

[drj]

Ya I could go with Arjay. But I am not sure I could raise it the 5".

[drj]

I started with the chainsaw today. I was wondering how you cut through the fiberglass between the sheets of plywood. My saw would not make it through them.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by drj

I started with the chainsaw today. I was wondering how you cut through the fiberglass between the sheets of plywood. My saw would not make it through them.

If there is glass in between the sheets of wood, then it has been replaced before. Never heard of the factory putting glass in between the sheets before. They normally would use the little squares of wood like they did on the decking in the transom.

[drj]

Yes i think it has been done before. The chainsaw really didnt do anything to the glass it just bounced off. I didnt realize that the arjay was half the price of the seacast and it seems to be just as good or better.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by mauryc

I think the Arjay 6011 and Nidacore pourable transom compound are exactly the same thing. Both are ceramic spheres in poly resin. The cured samples look exactly the same. The Arjay was from Fiberglass Services in Saraota for $106/ 5gal pail. Nidacore from their website is about $115. Shipping is what kills you. I got three 5 gal pails plus a quart of MEK-P shipped to Baton Rouge and the shipping ran about $130. Seacast was expensive and looks lumpy when poured. The Arjay ran like butter. We hammered the hull for air pockets but there was really no need. I guarantee every void in my transom was filled up by this stuff.

This is a quote from the member who just did his transom with ARJAY 6011. $130 a 5 gallon bucket shipped don't sound that bad. Last I heard SEACAST was going for $220+ shipped.

[tsubaki]

Originally Posted by drj

I started with the chainsaw today. I was wondering how you cut through the fiberglass between the sheets of plywood. My saw would not make it through them.

Drill bits and extensions, experiment with different types to see which is most useful.
Find out what size file the saw needs and sharpen the chain.

[mauryc]

Just my .02 again. Seacast markets the heck out of their stuff so people naturally see it more and think its the standard. The boat manufacturers use the Arjay and Nicacore pourables. I doubt any boat manufacturer uses Seacast. DRJ, if you have the small transom (like the one in tsubaki's post), I guarantee you'll use much less than I did. Just guessing, I'd say you'd use around 10 gallons. Do what I did, measure the transom and lay it out on grid paper and use 1.75 inches as your width. The smaller transom means you have the luxery of probably reaching the limits of the entire inside of the transom with an 18" chainsaw. I had to resort to the metal pry bar method which was labor intensive, and would be moreso if your wood wasn't completely rotten. I was lucky, my wood was shot. Finally, if you can't get the middle piece of fiberglass out, leave it in there. You want all the wood out. It will make it difficult to shopvac the pieces out but pour around it. Once you coat it with resin, the pourable compound should adhere to it fine. Call around - you may be able to pick up the Nidacore or Arjay locally and save shipping.

Maury

[drj]

Originally Posted by mauryc

Just my .02 again. Seacast markets the heck out of their stuff so people naturally see it more and think its the standard. The boat manufacturers use the Arjay and Nicacore pourables. I doubt any boat manufacturer uses Seacast. DRJ, if you have the small transom (like the one in tsubaki's post), I guarantee you'll use much less than I did. Just guessing, I'd say you'd use around 10 gallons. Do what I did, measure the transom and lay it out on grid paper and use 1.75 inches as your width. The smaller transom means you have the luxery of probably reaching the limits of the entire inside of the transom with an 18" chainsaw. I had to resort to the metal pry bar method which was labor intensive, and would be moreso if your wood wasn't completely rotten. I was lucky, my wood was shot. Finally, if you can't get the middle piece of fiberglass out, leave it in there. You want all the wood out. It will make it difficult to shopvac the pieces out but pour around it. Once you coat it with resin, the pourable compound should adhere to it fine. Call around - you may be able to pick up the Nidacore or Arjay locally and save shipping.

Maury

well I did my calculations and I was able to find out that I am going to need about 15 gallons. I tottally agree with you that seacast is marketed more heavily and my first thought was that the arjay and nidacore weren't available to non boat builders but then I checked out the supplier you said you got yours from and it turns out I am within range of their same day delivery service. That it my concern now that I won't be able to get all of the wood out because it is only rotted right where the motor is but where I drilled first the chainsaw had no problem handling. mauryc do you happen to know the item number of the drills that you mentioned from harbor freight. I got some auger bits and they seemed to work well but I couldn't find my bit extension so I want to try to get the same drill bit you said worked well for you. thanks guys for all your help and for answering my questions.

[mauryc]

25'' LONG x 1/2'', 9/16'', 5/8'' WOOD BIT SET

ITEM 33450-3VGA

As far as the quantity, I'm not knocking your calcs, but if your transom is as thick as mine, there is no way you'll use 15 gallons unless you spill a third on the floor. I had calculated 16-17 for mine but only ended up using about 14. I guarantee my transom has more surface area than yours (if you have the older style transom). On the other hand, you'd hate to start the pour and come up short. If I recall correctly, I ended up calculating about 3900 cubic inches of void using 1.75 inch thickness.
maury

[Airslot]

I've had this question in my head for a long time now...

If only the center section were rotted, and you removed all the roted wood, leaving a very rough jagged surface on the remaining wood, could you just pour that section?

Or would that leave you with a "3 Piece transom"?