Transom repair

[phatdaddy]

whose amputated bloody finger is that in the second pic?

[Striper80]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

I'll be glassing and painting inside the splash well.
I'm hoping to do the structural glassing from the inside, since I have access to the inside of the cuts through hatches.

For the very visible cuts in the stern of the cap, if I can get away with it, I'm going to try and just fill the outside line with Marine Tex. If so, I don't have to paint the entire cap.

I'm up in the air on this as well. I was hoping you were going to say gelcoat and you had a place to purchase it locally already tinted. I've messed around trying to tint gelcoat to match my Grady and its been a royal pain, and I do it all the time with cars.

[SkunkBoat]

So! A question about the hardness of cured ceramic compound has come up from another guy on the forum who just poured a transom also, saying
"it is supposed to be as hard as a rock and you can’t drive a nail into it”.
His is not. Mine is not.

Now I figured that, as a core material, it would not be that hard.
There is no official info about it on Carbon-Core's site or Arjay's site

I have a hockey puck shaped piece that I made in a measuring cup during my pour.
It is dry. Not tacky.
It seems solid to me but it can be easily screwed into, easily drilled, and while I can’t get a finish nail into it, a cement shingle nail goes in readily. It does not split or chip at the nail hole.
The edges can be shaved and the shavings hold together somewhat.
I drilled the drain hole in the transom with a 1 inch spade bit and it was like smooth fine grained wood.
It is not brittle and it certainly is not “hard as a rock”.

The transom itself is solid, no flex with my 200 lbs jumping on it.
It got really hot so it definitely kicked and it is not tacky.

Before I glass everything back together and hang a 429 lb motor on it, can anyone with first hand experience set my mind at ease (hopefully) or tell me not to put the motor on without more life insurance.

[SkunkBoat]

For anyone interested in how they built these transoms...

Yo can see the flat center where the motor goes is separated by glass from the angled sides. The sides are multiple pieces. You can see 4 vertical pieces (3/4" ply)on each side. They cover 2 horizontal 3/4" layers on each side.

It appears that they built the hull with a full transom and then cut the notch for the motor. Its a shame they didn't glass over the cuts. You just gotta wonder what bean counter decided that was a good idea.

[phatdaddy]

same on who told them not to glass the drain holes in the stringers

[smokeonthewater]

you gonna explain the finger or what?

[SkunkBoat]

Originally Posted by smokeonthewater

you gonna explain the finger or what?

rubber finger...my daughter was playing a joke.

[smokeonthewater]

:P

Lol

[Striper80]

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

For anyone interested in how they built these transoms...

Yo can see the flat center where the motor goes is separated by glass from the angled sides. The sides are multiple pieces. You can see 4 vertical pieces (3/4" ply)on each side. They cover 2 horizontal 3/4" layers on each side.

It appears that they built the hull with a full transom and then cut the notch for the motor. Its a shame they didn't glass over the cuts. You just gotta wonder what bean counter decided that was a good idea.

Same thing on my Grady. I guess it was just par for the course back then.

[Redloon]

The first picture (above the bloody finger picture) looks like a lot of the structural integrity of the splash well and top cap has been cut away.

I saw where you had a plan to repair it:
"I'm hoping to do the structural glassing from the inside, since I have access to the inside of the cuts through hatches."

I'm repairing the transom of my latest project, a Glastron HPV-175, from the inside. I've removed the gas tank and rotten wood and am basically laying on the floor of the boat working with outstretched arms and in cramped quarters.

Good luck on working thru the hatches on yours.