Taking the plunge!

[reelapeelin]

Originally Posted by ludacrous999b

Well I located the bell housing bolts, boy howdy their in a tough spot. I had to spray them down with WD-40. Let them soak until tomorrow. Put some more elbow grease into the hull, slowly bringing that shine back to the gelcoat. At least I got the gunwale done on the side I'm hopping in and out of, keep that lovely white powder off my clothes when I just wanna get in the boat!

Lost my shade tree mechanic to another state. Found some guys at work, mechanics. They enjoy rebuilding engines. We'll see what the pain and suffering is on the block. I'm almost expecting to replace anything attached to it, (starter, alternator, steering, etc.) I can feel the dollars adding up already.

sorry to hear yer mechanic got away...good ones are hard to find...hope those bell housing bolts come out for ya the easy way....you got a torch?...and if you do, make sure no gasoline layin on engine somewhere...fuel lines, etc...

[ludacrous999b]

Well, more reading on here has taught me the value of inspection. When this engine comes out, the sterndrive is going to fall off and find it's self available for resale. After drilling into the transom I have discovered very damp wood and some rot. This has gone from a service the engine to get her running and float around a while to a rip out of the bastage and a transom rebuild.

Objective: Have the transom repaired and ready for an outboard when I return from Korea. I have all summer to complete the project so the only limiting factor is cost. Questions to follow...

Game plan to this moment...

1. Remove the engine and sterndrive and sell them for whatever I can get. Parts are hard to come by so maybe I can get at least a few bucks.

2. The thought kicking around in my head is to cut the cap about 1 foot from the transom, cut down the inside and across the deck, then just remove that portion of the cap. This will give me inspection of the inside of the hull to determine if I need to go further forward with a cap removal, and access to the rear of the boat for the transom work.

3... Guess I'll be researching designs that have been successful for outboard conversions. Cut the design and get my hands dirty with some glass work.


If I remove the entire cap I'll have a much easier time with wiring and interior work wont I? Previous experience is appreciated. Welcome to suggestions, advice and laughter.

[ludacrous999b]

I SWEAR!!! I'm not touching anything else on that boat until I've done at LEAST 40 more hours of reading on here... Looking through old posts about cutting the transom down for an outboard application has led me to believe that I may be keel hauled at the very least for the transgression!

http://www.dhcampingandfishingsupply.com/61012.html

Thanks for the low cost, high adaptability option. Having not owned an outboard before or had much experience with them I figured the splash well option would be best, but the word on here is keep that baby's behind in tact! Now off the research how much epoxy/cloth/etc. I will need for the transom rebuild.

[tartuffe]

Those jack plates are really nice. If you keep the transom intact, you will need the 10" extension to provide engine clearance when you trim the engine back.

I also have an 81 20' that I just took apart. Pics are under "here she is." I gotta say that while my boat may be the exception rather than the rule, for the amount of wood that did not have glass on it at virtually every cross-member, I would find it hard to believe your stringers do not have some issues.

I hope I am wrong but with that said, if you cut the back end off that cap and then find you need to take the cap off, you now have even more work to do to fix that cut. Also, you are now going to need to do nice looking work with grinding gelcoat back, fairing, in multiple radius. Taking the cap off on these boats is not a complicated process provided you have a means to lift it whether an engine lift or a come along over a branch. It probably weighs 400 lbs and is pretty stiff.

Regarding estimating materials, plan on wetting out 36 SF of 1708 with each gallon of resin. Plan on at least a half gallon for attaching the first layer of ply to the transom skin and then another 1/2 gallon to glue the 2nd layer of ply to the first. I also used 2 $20 bags of cabosil, 1/2 gallon of ground glass fibers from US Composites and around 3 quarts of 1/4" glass fibers. (all of this went into that gallon of PB mix) You will need two sheets of 3/4 ply as well. You can only get 1 layer of ply out of each sheet if you do not plan on cutting it. I found a $3 trowel from lowes with1/4" gap with every other tooth broken out worked good for spreading the PB with the 1/4" chopped glass.

[ludacrous999b]

Thanks for the info and the encouragement, I was concerned about the weight of the cap, I'm thinking you need to remove the windshield before you pop the cap. My comealong rig will pull 1200lbs and I have a good sturdy tree I parked the boat under. We'll see.

[Kracker Jack]

As Tartuffe stated about materials I started out with 12 yards of 1708 and 5 gallons of resin,a 3 pound box of cabosil,and I cut and chopped my own glass for chopped glass . Then what i did after that purchase was take it weekend by weekend on material purchases,I simply bought material as I needed it. Just remember a 4 1/2 inch grinder is your friend, if you don't have one then get one.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Kracker Jack

Just remember a 4 1/2 inch grinder is your friend, if you don't have one then get one.

And get a good one. Cheaper in the long run. It will last longer, vibrate less and run cooler.
And a little tip... take some cheesecloth and tape it across the air intakes of your grinder...it's far easier to replace the cloth when it gets loaded up with glass fibers than it is to take apart and clean the unit.