Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

[Watermann]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

Your off to a good start now with the deck demolition, there's no going back. Most of the guys in the restoration forum have been where you are right now and if you notice there's no "I told ya so" rather the guys post up ways to start the repairs.

First off get yourself a motor stand built and stuff the motor in your shed for later. Roll up your sleeves, take a deep breath and tear into her with a vengeance.

It's not like your foot is going to punch a hole in the hull but its best when walking in the bottom to use a plank to trod on, especially if there is existing hull damage. Your going to need a plank to put your stool on while working away inside on that transom.

 

[JNormV163]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

How do I get to the transom when half is under the rear seats and half below them? I pulled the motor then the steel plates off (which was held on by only silicone :/ ) and the wood as you guys guess inside the fiberglass transom is pretty much non existent. I HAVE to do the transom but you guys say to access it from the inside the boat but Im having a hard time seeing how. I really feel like I can do the deck no problem but like I said I dont even know where to start.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

You'll need to remove the top 1/2 of the boat, the cap, or at a minimum the splashwell & those seats....

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

To get to the transom you have two choices. One, remove the top cap of the boat or two, cut the gunwales just in front of the splashwell to remove the back 1/3rd of the top cap. Something like this...

 

[JNormV163]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

is it easy to put back together without making it obvious its had previous repair? These hulls look like one big giant mold to me but what do I know lol

 

[JNormV163]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

Do you just use a standard cutting wheel?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

It really isn't to bad. Fiberglass is really easy to patch back together and make a seamless strong joint. If you are going to Paint then it will be invisible. If you're planning on just patching and matching the gelcoat it might be a bit harder to make it look perfect.

 

[JNormV163]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

To replace the stringers do I replace one at a time or can I pull them all and basically build a whole new frame from scratch and drop it in?

 

[GWPSR]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

To replace the stringers do I replace one at a time or can I pull them all and basically build a whole new frame from scratch and drop it in?

Either would work, but most folks prefer to do all of the mucking, tab cutting, grinding and washing completely then switch to wood cutting, shaping, bedding and glassing mode. It works better to be able to get all the dusty stuff done and have a clean hull before trying to adhere the new stringers and tab them in.

Make sure to take pictures of everything. Twice. And measure everything. Some make sure to have the measurements be part of the pictures.

Read a few threads and ask the folks here for ideas on best stabilizing the hull during the demo and rebuild. Many build cradles,while others have trailers with sufficient support or they add support.

 

[JNormV163]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

I didnt even know the boat had a top. I want to take the whole thing off. Is there a risk on taking the top half of the boat off?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

No risk in De-Capitating the boat. Just a bit more work. As previously stated, you should do some forum surfing to see what others have done and familiarize yourself with the process and procedures.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

Just 1 hazard: World implosion :faint2:


You need to add adequate support (a cradle) for keeping the hull in shape while you work on the stringers, transom & deck even if you don't remove the cap (the top 1/2) but ESP if you do remove the cap....

Demo & put back can result (and has) in distorted hulls w/ 'permanent' defects fiberglass'd in place when the hull isn't well supported.

WOG's got a great 1 posted in his thread.

 

[chconger]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

I am one of the few that did stringers one at a time. Just coming out the other side of that now (see by build link below)

I can say that you are in a constant state of dust; as there is always one grind just completed, and one grind ahead. But you just vacuum up what you can and wipe the area with acetone your about to glass.

I think it takes longer to do them one at a time.

On the plus side, its less overwhelming, the hull will tend to keep its shape, and you always have 3 stringers (assuming there are 4) as a reference for the one your working on.

Either way, if you follow the advise of the awesome folks here, you will have a boat that is better built than any factory can put out.

 

[73Chrysler105]

Re: Hull and Transom integrity questions. Several photos attached.

I am glad you are planning on tackling this. When I was looking at your pictures I think I saw a crack in the transom next to the plate at the top. What you had on there was the typical backyard quickfix to make a bad transom seem good. Unfortunately what ends up happening is that the entire section where the plate is attached eventually breaks off. Best case scenario is then you have a motor hanging by the cables off the end of your boat. Worst case scenario it swamps your boat and it sinks since the floatation foam is probably just as shot. Anything in between those could also happen.

I removed the cap on my Chrysler SIII Rebuild because although the transom was not as hard as one for an outboard to get to the sole under the front deck would be a major pain. In my cause I had to drill out a ton of rivets to get the run rail off and then a ton more to separate the top cap which was also siliconed on.