Re: 21' Checkmate Transom Rebuild
Transom jobs aren't bad to do, just labor intensive. There are a few different ways you can tackle it, but first you have to know just how much of your structure is damaged. A lot of people tear into the transom to find out that the floor and stringers are also bad. You first need to find all of your damage. Do you have any soft spots in the floor? No matter what, you still have to cut at least the first foot or so of the floor where it meets the transom, so that will tell you real quick if there is more rot. You will also find out then if the floatation foam is saturated. If it is, then all the foam has to come out.<br /><br />There are a few different ways to replace the transom. Some have cut the outer shell off, then replaced transom wood, then reglassed it in. I do not recommend this technique for a backyard builder, too much can go wrong with such an important area. Another way is to cut the upper shell across the top and remove that back section, splashwell and all. That is fine as long as you can repair the cut. You are going to paint it, so that may be the way to go. A third way is to seperate the entire upper section from the hull. This leaves the upper section in one piece, but is more labor intensive. Once you have the transom fully exposed, it is simply a matter of cutting out the old and glassing in the new. You can use marine grade ply, pressure treated ply as long as it is fully dried, or regular ACX ply. You layer it to the required thickness and then sheath the entire transom in. You have to also reglass the stringer ends and replace the floor section you cut out. There is also a product called Seacast that is poured into the empty void left when the wood is removed, but this requires a whole different technique to get the wood out but leave the inner transom glass shell in place. This is a very quick description, there is plenty of small details as well, but if you are even sort of handy, it is within your realm.<br /><br />I recommend you buy some books and read them a million times, and ask a lot of questions here. If you can post pics, even better. There are several people here who are very knowledgeable on this sort of thing, you should be able to get plenty of help. Good luck and keep posting...
