Re: 87 Bayliner capri cuddy restore(Actually Citation Caprice)
I am having trouble replying with my android (anyone know a good forum app?), so had to wait until I had time to get to a computer.
It looks like you have a decision to make. I will be testing my transom this weekend. I have to pick up some 3M 5200 before I do this. Have you been using this stuff to seal your test holes? From my research on here, it is supposed to be the best stuff to seal any holes that are created. You should also download the epoxy/fiberglass book from west systems, they show some nice techniques, especially to reinforce and partially replace bad wood. Either way, I am not even thinking about replacing the transom until next fall. This is because I have a good outboard already mounted on there that hasn't given the previous owner any problems in the past three years, and I just don't have the time to do it. It has soft spots in the floor, but I ripped out the carpets and I want to do the whole thing (even though the bow is almost perfect).
Did you put the CEPS in yet? I would (from my researching) dry it out as much as possible before using it. Seems like the best way to do this is with an IR light. I have one left over from an old reptile cage. I am planning to re-fiberglass the transom. I will sand it down; dry it all out with IR light. Then I will do some soaking with Propylene glycol. This is the old school anti-freeze, not Ethylene glycol (that you find at Pep-Boys). It is way more expensive, but way more toxic. The more toxic the better for rot, as you have to literally kill it to end it. Seems like the CEPS attempt to make a barrier to seal it from spreading. So I figure why no try to kill it too. I will do several soak intervals while I am prepping my deck. I will also do some small cross-drilling on the transom and stringers and reinforce with epoxy. This will act somewhat like rebar that is used in concrete slabs. From what I read on here, over doing things will probably do no harm. However my opinion is that transom replacing is over-rated. If it is holding the motor (doing its job), then don't worry much about it. You will see warning signs, it won't just fall off. I am sure others on here will totally disagree with perfectly good reasoning. It is your call.
I am curious, how many gallons of epoxy did you use? I think I am going to order 10 gallons to be on the safe side. I have not decided if my wood used for the vinyl seating should be epoxy/fiberglass completely. The original wood was not fiberglass but definitely was treated with some cheap looking water-proofing sealant which still looks/feels really good for an 87. It's all the vinyl that is cracked, so I am redoing the all of the seating.
I learned a lot about boating on here. I started on here just to get tips on outboard engines, then came across the restoring forum and decided to buy a project boat. The best thing is to use the search tool on here to save time. About 99% of the time I only search in the titles. I used broad terms like deck, floor, transom, etc. They will mostly come up with something related to repairing/replacing. You should also try search strings of just your make and/or model. This gave me a lot of ideas on the final look of the boat that I want. For example, this one guy (forget his name) on here used this paint called Durabek and snap on carpets. It is the most impressive looking floor restoration I see on here. He also has some nice pictures. You might get lucky like me and find someone else on here who is restoring the same exact boat (his boat condition was totaled). Also, when I get a lot of hits from searching, I just click on the threads that have pictures (paperclip icon).
I have to get a few pics together and post my own thread (will try to do by next week).
Keep posting, it is very interesting.
Rich
