Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

yeah i looked at all the seacast stuff and videos...and the part of the transom where the motor mounts is no problem whatsoever...its just the splashwell wall thats liek 1/8"of ply so kinda hard to get seacast in and also the tops of the wigs are like a continuation of the rails from the sides of the boat...with 1/4" ply on top...so if I cut those off it would be like reconstructing the whole back of the boat....kinda hard to explain lol...but I do love this boat and esp. the unique look of it,so I really don't want to give up on her.

heres a few more pics maybe they can explain better.

 

[Smokin'Mo]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

I am working on a boat very similar to yours, only 21ft. I love the boat because of the size. Goof for ocean fishing, Lakes, and overnighting in the cuddy. Anyway I have just spent the last year cutting, grinding, more cutting & grinding, fabricating 4 stringers, a new transom, floors, floor drops, re-attaching splashwell ( I opted to cut it out instead of removing the huge cap), glassing everything with 2 units matt/roving and I am at the point where the only thing left is bodywork and paint. Lots of work. More than I ever anticipated. But all worth it so far. All of the work I put into it was because of this forum. I have never worked with fibreglass in the past, (and hope never to again) but lots of questions or just reading the posts and advise is enough to inspire the confidence you will need to stay the course, so to speak. If you like the boat, and have the confidence and some skills with tools, the only reason you shouldn't do it is if you're not prepared to spend lots of $$$$$$$. I'm into mine for about $3,500 - $4,000 so far. I'll probably spend another $2,000 - $2,500 to complete for a total of $6,500. That includes new pedestal seat, guages, & rhino lined floor & splashwell.

Good luck

 

[jonesg]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

its just the splashwell wall thats liek 1/8"of ply so kinda hard to get seacast in and also the tops of the wigs are like a continuation of the rails from the sides of the boat...with 1/4" ply on top...so if I cut those off it would be like reconstructing the whole back of the boat....kinda hard to explain lol...but I do love this boat and esp. the unique look of it,so I really don't want to give up on her.

heres a few more pics maybe they can explain better.

Mine had the same problem, the splashwell wall formed the (top of) back wall of the transom, it fell apart and I pulled it out by hand ..literally.!

I cut the splashwell off, following lines that are easy to conceal when glassed back. Once I had access to the inside of the transom it was simple to clean the wood out.
I traced the transom outline onto ply from the outside and glassed it both sides with 6 oz cloth to seal, heavy resin all around the edges to seal.
Then slipped that inside the transom w/ resin to form the back wall, glassed the edges all around to seal w/ matting and cloth and poured the seacast in. No seacast leaked out when poured so its a decent seal, except where I forgot to plug the drainplug hole and a quick dash to grab a broom handle plugged it (there I was with the transom full of seacast and my thumb stuck in the drain hole trying to hold it back).

Used about 6 gallons. The seacast looks to be about 2 inches thick in the transom and solid, I mean solid!

I've still got an unopened 5 gal bucket of seacast so I cut the deck off and am replacing the stringers and bilge walls, it should all be done in the next 10 days.

The alternative was pull the cap, do a complete reno and spend how long? and how much?
If it was a 20' boston whaler I would.

I had to consider the wisdom in spending $3K+ to fix a $700 boat.
My total cost so far for the fix is 5 gals of seacast at $220 and 2 sheets of plywood, glass and resin I already have.

It kinda helps to keep in mind "never love something that can't love you back" when playing with boats.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

Well went back today to resume some more of the tear down. last day I think for a while...getting very bitterly cold and won't be getting my bigger power tools until christmas

started to tear up the carpet and to my horror..the whoel rear deck is just regular old plywood,untreated and no glass on top! and started to break away some on the inside of the transom on the port side and it was all brittle and all the core was just a mess of rotted wood.

Posting a few pics so you guys can see...also noticed that the few holes on the transom that were "sealed" it was just with houshold grade caulking.....damn who ever had this boat before me just wanted a bunch of quick fixes and didnt do anything correctly!!!!

First pic is my beautful HOLY transom.

Second is the inside of the boat with the splash well exposed and the "upper" bilge.

and third pics is below the deck where i'm pretty sure the old below deck tank used to be and the new one will reside....notice the regular exposed wood...its all new and not rotted but given 2 or so seasons would prolly fair just as well as the transom!

and yes when i get the plywood deck up ill cut through the glass and try to find the stringers which im sure will be rotted also!



and on a side note had a dream last night where i was repairing the transom and the whole boat about 4 feet back just cracked and hung off the hull....LOL ran right the the dreamland message boards and asked you guys if you thought the hull repair was possible!!!! gee am I obsessing with my boat too much!

 

[jonesg]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

You could cut the transom top and chainsaw the transom wood out easily enough then pour a seacast.

or pull the cap and do plywood.

Its just a choice, in for a penny , in for a dollar.

Considering the rest of the sub deck needs going over it might make more sense to pull the cap and do it all once and for all.

The previous owner might have been working out of an apt in a parking lot, I would want a garden and garage to do the whole thing.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

Yeah ..on Sunday I have another chance to work on it so I'm going to try to remove the whole floor....I'll also shoot some videos so you guys can see exactly what I'm talking about.

Dont think the seacast will work because as Ill show in the vide the intte rlayer of glass to the left/right of splash well is VERY brittle and pulls apart with my hands so I think i just have to reply the whole transom....but like I said I think vid's will help me ellaborate a little bit better.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

Gut it and rebuild everything back right.

 

[wannabeamedic]

Re: Rotted Transom

Re: Rotted Transom

I am working on a boat very similar to yours, only 21ft. I love the boat because of the size. Goof for ocean fishing, Lakes, and overnighting in the cuddy. Anyway I have just spent the last year cutting, grinding, more cutting & grinding, fabricating 4 stringers, a new transom, floors, floor drops, re-attaching splashwell ( I opted to cut it out instead of removing the huge cap), glassing everything with 2 units matt/roving and I am at the point where the only thing left is bodywork and paint. Lots of work. More than I ever anticipated. But all worth it so far. All of the work I put into it was because of this forum. I have never worked with fibreglass in the past, (and hope never to again) but lots of questions or just reading the posts and advise is enough to inspire the confidence you will need to stay the course, so to speak. If you like the boat, and have the confidence and some skills with tools, the only reason you shouldn't do it is if you're not prepared to spend lots of $$$$$$$. I'm into mine for about $3,500 - $4,000 so far. I'll probably spend another $2,000 - $2,500 to complete for a total of $6,500. That includes new pedestal seat, guages, & rhino lined floor & splashwell.

Good luck

smokin --
would like to see pics of your project mainly the rhino lining, everyone tells me that t will be to heavy I am not so sure anyways thanks

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND stringers (NEW PICS)

Re: Rotted Transom AND stringers (NEW PICS)

Well tore up the floor! the stringers and everything was rotted also =\ looks like he made a secondary stringer screwed to the old one to attach the deck...what an idiot. also had no idea there would be foam but there is. I thought you only needed to have foam for boats 18' or less??? do I need to have it there again when I rebuild the stringers??

well have fun with my pics and let me know your thoughts!

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

Do you guys think that using Carbon Fiber/Kevlar is overkill on Stringers and Transoms?

 

[fuzzeywiggler]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

Do you guys think that using Carbon Fiber/Kevlar is overkill on Stringers and Transoms?

Yes + very expensive and harder to use.

Fuzzy

 

[oops!]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

Do you guys think that using Carbon Fiber/Kevlar is overkill on Stringers and Transoms?

you will never ever ever use the stregnth that epoxy will give you....none the less carbon or kevelar....(you use epoxy with those composites....)

the other thing is they are not water impervious....if they get wet and then the water freezes, the structeral integrety of the transom will be compromised.

do not worry about the stregnth of poly and fiberglass....it is as strong as steel.....

have a look at the hull ext thread....i hit some left over fiberglass that had cured.....i hit it as hard as i could about 10 times....didnt even crack it !

cheers
oops

 

[keepNitreel]

Re: Rotted Transom AND stringers (NEW PICS)

Re: Rotted Transom AND stringers (NEW PICS)

Well tore up the floor! the stringers and everything was rotted also =\ looks like he made a secondary stringer screwed to the old one to attach the deck...what an idiot. also had no idea there would be foam but there is. I thought you only needed to have foam for boats 18' or less??? do I need to have it there again when I rebuild the stringers??

well have fun with my pics and let me know your thoughts!

Forgive me if i'm wrong but that foam looks like the one that comes from a can (called Great Stuff) I say that because of the little random cheez doodle looking ones on top. That's the same little cheez doodle string I saw when I used it in my house to seal some cracks. So that would leave me to belive that if it came from a can and was done by the same person who laid the sister stringers. NO

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

hahah yeah you noticed that too...no thats "aftermarket" foam when a prev owner laid the new deck..also notice the 2x4's to support the deck that are laid on the foam.....the oroginal foam is there its the hard looking brown stuff...not the white household foam.

yeah i was talking about the original foam that are between that rotted stringer and hull...and also whats with that rotted piece of plywood in the middle of all that? my thought is just to keep the original foam in place?

 

[keepNitreel]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

hahah yeah you noticed that too...no thats "aftermarket" foam when a prev owner laid the new deck..also notice the 2x4's to support the deck that are laid on the foam.....the oroginal foam is there its the hard looking brown stuff...not the white household foam.

yeah i was talking about the original foam that are between that rotted stringer and hull...and also whats with that rotted piece of plywood in the middle of all that? my thought is just to keep the original foam in place?

Well we all know that the rotted wood has gotta come out. As for the foam, Have you done a core sample all the way down to see if it's wet? As I've read on here plenty of times foam never dries. BTW way I thought the the orig. foam was the hull looks so hard, like dirty fiberglass.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

I'm not even going to core sample the foam...every piece of wood on the boat is rotted and the foam has to come out to replace my stringers and bulk heads anyway....I am thinking about laying more fiberglass mat on the gunwales because they are so thin...if that foam is there for strength then I will more than likely have to replaceit with new foam.

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

Hey guys had a plan for modifying some stuff and was wondering if anyone had a reason why I should not do this? (safety,strength etc...) if you can see from some of my pics on the top of my splash well there is a board...well with the motor fully trimed up there is a ton of room in my splash well.

I'd like to cut the splash well where that board is and gain about a foot of deck space....my plan is to built a storage box on either side of the splash well for battery boxes,outboard oil etc...and then add a bench seat (possibly with built in cooler (ya know for essentials like beer =) ).that way with the cut splashwell and the seat installed i'd still have a rather roomy deck.

 

[oops!]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

a lot of the back side of the cap is structural.......if you shorten the splash well.....add a layer or two of thick glass (1708 minimum) to the area under the splash well.....

im having a hard time visualizing what you intend to do........are you just gonna cut the bow side face of the splash well off and put a board there and attach a bench to it?....kinda leave the front edge jagged?

or were you thinking of cutting a peice out and glassing the finished edge back on to the shortened section?


if you go the jagged edge way.....you will have to glass the board to the splash well thus making a new "face" for it......the face will have to be quite rigid.

if you choose the take a strip out way........there is a lot of areas to cut......so you have to make sure that all cut areas are well glassed from behind

i hope that helps

cheers
oops

 

[lucid484]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

here are some pics to try to explain oops....What i want to do is cut the back half of the splash well off and reglass a new part onto it...this would make the splashwell 1' shorter. The board on top was just a piece of stained pine the prev. owner screwed on to make a "seat". The whole splash wells core 1/8" ply is all rotted out also so i figured i could do this while rebuilding stringers and transom.

and i would attach the beck seat to the splashwell....would just butt it up against it and fasten it to the deck.....hope this makes any sense lol

 

[oops!]

Re: Rotted Transom AND Stringers (NEW PICS)

wow.....that is one monster sizes splashwell !

no problems with what you want to do......i had envisioned a shorter splash well you could even gellcoat the inner surface of the well for a totally stock look........

just a few things......if you cut off the forward edge......inside the well you will have sharp corners......you dont want them.....use peanut butter to make a smooth corner........if you really thicken the pb.....you can get it so dry its allmost like a dry cookie dough.....that would work well in that situation....just make sure you grind the area well so its glass on glass bond....and not gellcoat to glass