Big mess up or not so much?

[Afzape]

I have been rebuilding a 1986 Glastron/Conroy Z-16-S here is a link to the thread http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=509404&p=3432009&posted=1#post3432009 . I haven't updated the thread much because of work, but I finally made some progress, at least I hope.

I put the transom in a couple days ago, but I realized I messed up the "peanut butter" mix. I didn't put milled fibers in it. I don't know why I had it stuck in my head that it was just resin and cabosil. The transom will have "gussets" leading up to it for support so I don't think the resin will crack because of flexing. Even when the transom was rotten it barely flexed. Right now without the gusset pieces if I push all my weight into the transom I move the whole boat on the trailer. Let me know what you all think. Should I rip it all out again and mix up PB with milled fibers or can I get away with this one? I hope I can get away with it.

Here is a sketch as a side view of the setup




Thanks,

Alex

 

[93bayliner1800]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

Did you use PB as the adhesive to the fiberglass? I was under the impression PB is primarily for filleting, filling up holes etc...when you tab and cover the transom to the back with 1708 is what gives it strength I thought. Looking forward to see what the experts say about this.

 

[Afzape]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

I used it to glue the plywood together and glue it to the hull. The transom wood is wrapped all the way around with 1.5 oz CSM, glued to the hull, then tabbed in alternating layers of 1.5 oz CSM and 1800 woven roving from 4" wide up to 16" wide. Next I'm going to put a layer of CSM overlapping the layers I have all the way across the transom to the opposite side then one more layer of 1800 all the way across. Like one big fiberglass blanket. I don't think it will go anywhere. But thought I would ask.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

How long had the wood Transom Blank been glassed prior to installation? Did you scuff the surface and wash with acetone prior to installation? The Fibers is what gives the PB it's structural strength as well as additional thickening. Cabosil is primarily a thickening agent with no structural characteristics.

 

[Afzape]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

The wood had been glassed for about 5 days prior to install. I did rough and scuff the entire surface and thoroughly wiped it down with acetone. The glassed surface was slightly tacky to the touch prior to slathering on the semi-pb mix.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

That's good. There's no guarantee's however with the structure of your transom and since your prep was good, you might get by with it. The problem is Poly Resin, when fully cured is hard and very brittle. The milled fibers or the CSM fibers is what binds the resin molecules together and keep it from cracking. Since they are not in the mix, any transom flex in the future could cause cracking. If you want to be absolutely certain then....Well, you know the answer. I always lean towards the side of caution. I would re-do it. But that's just my Non-Professional Opinion. You might want to send a PM to OOPS and get his input.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

I used it to glue the plywood together and glue it to the hull. The transom wood is wrapped all the way around with 1.5 oz CSM, glued to the hull, then tabbed in alternating layers of 1.5 oz CSM and 1800 woven roving from 4" wide up to 16" wide. Next I'm going to put a layer of CSM overlapping the layers I have all the way across the transom to the opposite side then one more layer of 1800 all the way across. Like one big fiberglass blanket. I don't think it will go anywhere. But thought I would ask.

Its a friggin tank transom .. no worries .

You might want to send a PM to OOPS and get his input.

Why PM oops ?

Just keep posting like your posting and all will be good.

YD.

Pics would be cool too ..

 

[Afzape]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

I thought the transom was a tank too. To make things even better the cap encapsulates almost 4" from the top down when it is put on, the stringers run all the way to it, the gussets butt into the transom and floor, and it is only about 3.5 ft wide and 2.75 ft tall. Its not big and is way over built. The boat is 16' long and is rated for a max of 90 hp and will only ever get 90 hp on it.

I will pull tubes, skiers, kneeboards, etc with this boat, but I think with all the extra "beef" on the transom it will be fine.

Any other opinions?

 

[BillP]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

Here's my 2 cents worth...Don't worry about it...don't even begin to worry about it. Decades of history shows transoms hold together fine without "PB" or other structural stuff trying to bond them to the outer transom shell. Besides, the motor does a great job of clamping the center. It would be beyond sanity to pull the transom out to "fix" this anyway. If you want to so something for peace of mind, add a few countersunk screws in the field and embed them in epoxy.

If you think the outer hull shell is giving much strength, check how thin and flexible most are without wood. The outer skin gets it strength from the wood and the wood gets most of it's strength from the tabbing all around. If you are worried about the transom pulling out add screws through the tabbing to add a mechanical clamp to reduce the glass peel factor. I do this on every transom job and use #14 FHs plus one last layer of glass to cover and seal them in. That is for MY piece of mind. Many production boats fit the new ply transoin and do nothing more than spray the aft surface with resin before glassing in...and it's no worse for wear. Virtually none of them glass between the ply layers either.

bp

 

[Sea Stomper]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

It will be a problem in 45 years, maybe 50.

 

[Afzape]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

Sounds like it will be fine. I haven't glassed anything really before this and am trying to follow the advice given here to the "T". I went ahead and finished the tabbing today and patched a couple of small holes in the rest of the hull. Nothing over the size of a nickel. The floor and stringers are out, the hull is prepped and not I just need to to cut the stringers. I need to take more pictures and update the other thread.

Thank you to everyone!

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

Here's my 2 cents worth...EDIT:.. It would be beyond sanity to pull the transom out to "fix" this anyway.

I agree with this ^^ .. I doubt you could remove the transom at this point if you prepped everything right. You would end up Destroying your whole outer skin.

Sounds like it will be fine.

Its more then fine IMHO .. your not going to have that trans crack on its own any more ..

Your NOT going to get that 90HP twister fly off with the whole transom LOL ..

1800 woving..+ 1.5 oz mat between ( as long as it was applied correctly ) will Not go to far too fast .

Like BillP said..your ONLY problem would be in the Tabbing aspect of the repair. If that was done correctly then you are Golden ( TANK golden ).

Get some pics up please

YD.

 

[Afzape]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

Here are a few pics of the transom so far. I'm posting these on the actual rebuild thread I have too. Obviously it isn't complete. I have to get the stringers and the floor in first.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Big mess up or not so much?

By the time the stringers are in..and the cap back on..I doubt this thing will ever fail in your lifetime .

Good job.

YD.