1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

[RotaryRacer]

I bought this boat at a local auction back in Oct. 2007. I got it very cheap and I kinda knew that the transom was rotten when I bought.

It is 1981 FourWinns Marquise 180 Cuddy. It has a Mercruiser 165HP I6.

I felt comfortable enough to use the boat for a season to confirm it was a boat worth putting a new transom in.

We used the boat a lot and enjoyed every minute. It is a big enough boat that I felt safe out on Lake Michigan and it is small enough to use on most any inland lake also.

Somebody had just done a lot of maintenance on the engine before I got it. It runs strong and I can't find any issues with it. I love these I6 motors.

I worked on a lot of small things in the spring of 2008. I refinished most of all the wood work and cleaned everything I could get at. I buffed the hull and got the shine back on most of it pretty well.

So, last fall I started taking it apart to assess the true condition. I was actually suprised how solid every thing is. I can't find any rot in the the stringers or sole anywhere. There is rot in the front motor mount. It is pretty solid for now but it is rotten and will get replaced. I removed the carpet because I plan to paint the floor.

Here is my basic plan for the project.

Remove Motor/Gimbal/Transom assembly (done)
Assess Transom condition
Remove rotten wood (transom and motor mount)
Replace wood
Fiberglass
Paint bilge and inner transom
Paint floor with non skid
Finish all wood work
Enjoy

So now the real work begins. Here are a few pictures. More to come.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Here are a few more pictures.

The wood in the transom isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I'm actually starting to wonder if it will be neccessary to replace all of it. I wonder if a partial replacement with SeaCast would work well?

I'm going to try and remove all of the soft wood without disturbing the inner or outer fiberglass skin. If it seems like it will work I may consider SeaCast. However, I am still thinking I will probably replace it all with new wood. We'll see.

 

[danond]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

That boat is really clean. Rare to see one that old and that nice once the carpet comes out. Nice find!

If you can replace it without removing the cap, it's the same amount of work to patch as it is to put a full replacement in. You're on the right track - replace the whole thing!

 

[No Clew?]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Hey Rotary- Looking good! How did the non-skid turn out if you dont mind me slightly changing thread. I have a 1981 Marquise 17.0 and the carpet is getting a little loose and beat up in the high use spots.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

I haven't made much progress since I posted this the other day. I got some wood dug out through the outdrive hole. It was moist but not nearly as rotten as I expected it to be. I probably could have held off for another season on this project. However, it would have needed to be done regardless. So I guess now is as good a time as any.

I am more seriously considering doing a partial seacast transom. I am convinced that the vast majority of the transom is perfectly solid. I haven't fully thought this out but I am thinking I could simply remove the wood from the center area where the outdrive goes through and pour seacast in for a good solid repair. I really don't want to seperate the hull and cap. I am concerned that with the way the stringers and sole join the transom, doing the full transom in a single piece of wood will be really tough.

As far as non-skid is concerned I am still weighing the options. I know I will not be putting carpet back in. I haven't decided if I want to go the UltraTuff/rhinoliner type non skid or if I want to use a deck paint with sand/non skid additive. I used an interlux non skid paint on a previous boat and it seemed to work ok. It was a little tough on bare feet though.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

I haven't posted in a while, however, I have been working on and off on this project.

I have decided to replace all of the wood. It has become clear that due to the fact that a majority of the wood is still solid that this it is going to be very tough to get it out.

Here are few pictures.

The only rotten wood is at the bottom of of the outdrive hole. It is rotten in sort of an upside down V pattern down to the bottom of the boat.

I worked to try and get all of the rotton wood out from the outdrive hole.

At some point a previous owner tried to repair the rot.

After I drilled some more inspection holes it became clear that I would need to remove the inner fiberglass skin.

This boat had a 1/2" plywood piece stapled and glassed to the main transom to make the overall thickness correct for the gimbal/transom assembly.

That was easy to get out.

Now I can see all the rot.

I removed all of the hardware from the transom thinking that the remaining wood would just pop right out.

I was wrong. It has become a lot of work getting the solid wood out.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Yup.

I have to split the hull and cap to get enough access to the transom to do a proper replacement.

I was hoping I didn't have to do this. However, I was prepared to do it.

I raised the cap just high enough to move the hull on the trailer forward far enough to get at the transom.

The cap is supported by boards resting on the hull.

The back corners have posts going to the ground.

Now I can get at the top of the transom and start digging out the wood.

I think an electric chain saw is in my future.

I have a lot of work ahead of me. I don't think I will have the boat back on the water until later this summer.

I'll post more as I progress.

 

[keepNitreel]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Your boat does look very clean for her age. Great pics.

 

[getusummm]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

I just went through the same thing on my transom, removing mostly good wood. It was not fun by any means. I would opt for either the electric chainsaw or an attachment they sell at harbor freight. It is a round chain saw blade type thing that attaches to a 4 1/2" grinder. It worked quite well for cutting the wood into managable sections. Just make sure you follow the instructions and use the gaurd. It will also cut the inner skin for you, but be prepared to sharpen the chain several times if cutting anything other than wood. What I did was cut the inner skin and the first layer of wood into 12" x 12" squares and used thin chisels, nail removers, and pry bars to pull the inner skin off and then the first layer of wood. I then did the same thing on the remaining layer of wood. The layer of wood next to the outer skin popped of much easier, especially where it was wet and close to rotton.
I feel your pain and good luck.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

What you coulda done, still can, is mold up an oblong section from seacast , insert that where the outdrive opening is, either leave the good wood or install new wood around the seacast,
epoxy/cabosil the seacast panel to the outter skin.
Glass over the whole inside transom w/poly resin and sawzall the cutout for the outdrive, the benefit is you'll never get rot again around the outdrive....even if it leaks.

That engine looks brand spankin new, I'd say it is.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Seacast was considered and I thought about doing a partial seacast transom around the outdrive hole. However, after I pulled that 1/2" plywood piece off and saw the rot at the bottom I figured I would be best off getting all the wood out. The rot looks to have spread behind where the stringers come into the transom. Luckily is seems that the stringers stayed dry and did not rot at all.

I am now committed to getting all the wood out and replacing it. The thought of doing the whole transom in Seacast still crosses my mind once in a while.

The engine is original to the boat for sure. It is well preserved and runs like a top. That is one of the main reasons I decided it was worth fixing this boat.

Thanks again.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Two months have passed and I haven't worked on my boat much at all.

I haven't been able to get the last of the wood out of the transom. That frustrated me to the point of setting the project aside for a while.

I am going get started on it again soon. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.

Any suggestions on getting the last of the wood off of the transom?

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

I spent an hour working on the boat Saturday. I got a little more wood out.

The toughest part is the solid wood that is between the perfectly solid floor and transom on the left side of the boat. If I were doing the floor and stringers at the same time this wouldn't be a problem.

It is impossible to get the electric chainsaw down into the area without destroying the outer transom skin. Same with a sawsall. So I am left with chiselling away at it little by little.

Maybe I have sensitive skin...maybe I am a wuss. I was wearing a Tyvek suit, leather gloves and safety glasses. After that hours worth of work I was itchy for a full 24 hours even after a cool shower right after I was done.

This isn't my first restore. The first one was put on hold after I went to the urgent care facility for a rash caused by epoxy that covered 1/3 of my body and was starting to make it hard to perform normal activities. I finished the project 3 years after I started and it took two or three courses of prednisolone steroid treatments to get through it. I will never use epoxy again.

This project will be done with polyester...maybe vinylester if I can find some cheap enough. That doesn't help with the glass fibers irritating my skin though.

I've decided I'm not cut out for this kind of work. The current restore is the last one I am willing to tackle.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

All the wood is out of the transom now. Yeah.

I have a little more clean out to do then the rebuild will begin.

At this point I'm not sure when I will get the project done. I hope to have it done early next spring.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Well, this project still exists. It is just very slow. I guess I've been distracted. I like the boat too much to just cut my losses, so I will hang on to it until it is done. I'm still sort of kicking myself for digging into that 90% solid transom. I'm sure I could have use the boat for several more years with no real issues.

Here are a few pictures of the boat that I took a while back. It isn't really any further along than that.

 

[produceguy]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Hats off to you for not takeing the easier way out. Hang in their.

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Hey RJ,

Shes gonna be awesome when you're finished... Nothing wrong with taking your time, and getting recharged. I'll be watching this thread with great interest dude!

Great talking to you today!

 

[dirtdiver]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

did you fall into the epoxy? Good luck on your project. It'll be worth it when its done.

 

[RotaryRacer]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

did you fall into the epoxy? Good luck on your project. It'll be worth it when its done.

No. I'm just extremely slow....

On my previous restoration I found out that I am actually very alergic to epoxy. So, I'll be using poly from now on.

Thanks for the words of encouragement.

 

[djpeters]

Re: 1981 FourWinns Transom etc.

Just read your thread neighbor! That is a sharp boat. Hang in there and you will be able to enjoy it once again.