Transom repair - Here we go..... (long)

[mauryc]

Folks,

Some of you may remember I posted a while back about my need for a transom and my intent to use the Arjay 6011 or Nidacore pourable compounds. Well, the time has arrived. I began the operation this weekend. As background, I purchased what I consider a very pristine 88' dual console from the original owner knowing it had a little flex in the transom. I had the transom replaced in my previous V-20 (75' cuddy with twin 115's). After visiting the shop over and over and seeing the finished product, I convinced myself I could do no worse. The last thing I wanted to do with my current boat was cut the inner liner or worse, the top cap so I said lets try the ceramic.

With the motor off, I drilled out the rivits on the aluminum transom cap, removed the swim platform and tow eyelets and had a look. The splash well and top cap wrapped around the transom, so I used my 41/2" grinder with a cutoff blade to remove these pieces so I could get to the wood. The wood on the upper part of the sides was mush. The hardest wood was actually where the motor mounted and I assume because it was compressed at that location helped it last longer. For those of you who laughed or were scared of the chainsaw method, let me put you at ease. VERY easy. You'd have to try really hard to cut through the inner liner much less the hull. You can very easily tell when the blade hits the glass. I purchased a $10 set of 2' wood bits from Harbor freight to aid in wood removal. Again, easy to tell when you hit glass. I've spent about 5 hours so far removing wood and I'd say I have 90% out. My 18" chainsaw is to short to reach the limits of the sides so I'll be borrowing a 22' this week to finish the removal this weekend. I plan on sanding the inside till its clean, applying a coat of polyester resin and pouring the Arjay 6011 that I ordered this morning while the resin is still green. It's messy, but my top cap and liner are still in one piece. Will it be as strong as a traditional job? Maybe, maybe not. The few times I'll take it offshore I think I'll be OK. It will be stronger than what I took out, that's for sure. (PICS TO COME)

Maury