Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

[Woodonglass]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

If it's fairly flush with the rest of the skin then fill it will PB and move on. If it's a bulged out area grind it on down flush with the rest of the area and if needed apply a patch of 2-3 layers of CSM

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Hello wog...its not flush or a bulge, its a crater. Missing material in that spot. The outer skin looks perfect...no bulges there or anything....the pic is of the inner skin (as you probably already knew) but this spot had a "hole" in it. The darker area is about 1/8 or 1/4 inch lower than the rest of the transom. I was just worried that if the area was down to the gelcoat I could have problems. Not really sure what the gelcoat would look like from the inside though.

Also,
I have multiple different looking layer of glass. Seems like a dark pink almost purple too layer going down to lighter pink. Any idea which I should be grinding down to? Is it a big deal if I laminate the wood to a previous pb layer or does that work too?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

At the lower portion of the transom, it's not uncommon for the resin to "Pool- Up" an be thicker than at the top and middle. You need to guage the thickness of the skin where you have ground it down to good pink glass in the middle portion and then attempt to grind it all to that level. That Void is probably a big air bubble from the resin Pooling up from either the original layups or a former repair. Like I said before grind it all down to what you think is the same thickness and if there are dips and valleys fill and smooth with pb Prior to the install of the new wood core.

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Ok I get what your saying. Im going to post a couple more pictures. I did some further grinding to investigate that area and found some ugly looking areas around it as well. Its no wonder why they say bayliners have weak hulls. Unless this is common (I wouldn't know at this point). Notice in one of the pics there is a black void at the bottom center of the bilge area. Some of these spots look very glass-like so I'm guessing its gel coat. I'm not trying to be redundant but I just want to make sure that I handle this right from this point on so I don't have a hole or crack on a choppy day! Any advice is appreciated and yes I realize I just asked this question....im just curious to what I recently found here. ...pics to follow

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Is anyone familiar with fiberglass looking this bad? Can you tell from the pictures if I am looking at the gel coat in any of those spots? Before I crack my $400 worth of supplies open (which will be tomorrow afternoon) id like to know if these spots are a sign of something bad...or something more serious that could be throughout the hull. I know fiberglass doesnt "rot" per say but these spots have me worried about throwing more labor and cash into this hull.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Your hull is in better shape than a lot of others I've seen on here Petey, at least you don't have a huge gaping crack going down the center of your transom like we see a lot of on here.

I'd skim those spots with hairy PB and then grind them smooth if they needed it, if you're really worried you could put a layer of 1708 over your transom but I don't think you need it. The hairy PB filler and then the PB adhesive and plywood glassed in will hold for decades.

 

[T748]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Is anyone familiar with fiberglass looking this bad? Can you tell from the pictures if I am looking at the gel coat in any of those spots? Before I crack my $400 worth of supplies open (which will be tomorrow afternoon) id like to know if these spots are a sign of something bad...or something more serious that could be throughout the hull. I know fiberglass doesnt "rot" per say but these spots have me worried about throwing more labor and cash into this hull.

Yep, I'm familiar with a transom that looks "that bad". I'm doing the transom on mine and found some spots just like that. It freaked me out at first. After looking at it, it seams to be easilly repaired. Your project looks like a good one. I cant wait to see how it comes out! -Tom

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Well thats relieving! Thanks for the reassurance...ill check back in tomorrow night with hopeful pics of an installed transom. Only problem is I didnt buy cabosil. I bought poly and milled fiber 1/2 lb. Figuring I could us3 the fibers to thicken and strengthen the poly resin. Do you think this will work or am I screwed without a thickener? I also bought some 4oz cloth. I could use that in between the wood and skin but was planning on using a pb mix. West marine might be open but id rather not $$$. Worst comes to worst I can always wait or use 1708 or the 4oz cloth but figured pb would be better considering its not 100% flat after grinding.

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Are there any household substitutes that I can use to thicken it? Remembering that it s poly resin.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Yeah, PB and wait until you have all of the correct ingredients. Rushing and substituting can get you in trouble... unless you just like tearing stuff out and doing it over again.

You can use Talcum powder (baby powder, make sure it's 100% talc) as a thickener, but some people say it can absorb moisture... but I doubt it. As long as it's mixed well and suspended in the resin there isn't anything to worry about. Even USComposites sells it for a thickener:
Fillers
Bottom of the page right hand side.

I personally would wait and get the best ingredients for my boat build.

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Sorry I meant 1/2 gallon of milled fibers not 1/2 lb. Yea ill have to think about what to do here. They say the milled fibers can be used for thickening. Maybe ill experiment with a little first to fill in those voids. I can always wait if need be. Just hard to find the time and weather which are both good tomorrow. Anyways gonna hit the hay....thanks for everyone's input!

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

I'd wait for Cabosil. Too much work and expense to half-arse it because you don't want to wait... And I know just how you feel. Get the right stuff and do it correctly; you'll be happier in the end. I think you will find that the chopped fiber by itself in resin will be too runny.

Can I ask a question? Those dark areas in your pictures... To me, they look like voids where thickened resin had been applied to attach the transom core to the hull. You seem concerned the the dark area is gel coat, meaning the hull would be quite thin at those spots. Have you tried very lightly sanding or scraping on the dark patches? I'd want to know if you can see glass cloth under the dark coloration. My hunch would be the coloration is staining of the hull where voids in the PB allowed moisture to collect, but I'd investigate those spots pretty gently until I was certain. Does that make sense?

Jim

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

It makes perfect sense...ill check that later today...another football game to go to right now...hope this kid ends up in the NFL for all the time I put into this lol. Ill check b a ck later

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Ok so I went to west and picked up 2 5.5oz containers of west system 406 colloidal silica. Also ground off the rest of the wood that was still laminated...pita. down to all pink(different shades) . Figured out that it looks like the voids are down to a layer of what would seem to be ( from my inexperienced and untrained eye) woven roven. Take a look at pics and correct me if im wrong.
HERES MY 50TH QUESTION Do I need to grind the entire transom down to woven layer (please tell me no) or can I build up voids with small pieces of csm to make it even with the rest of the light pink csm layer?
Im guessing the 2nd is correct. Anyone who knows can give their input. It has me stopped until further notice. Dont want to keep grinding until I get an answer. Thank you!

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!


should I grind the light pink down to woven layer or build up voids to be level with the light pink area?

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!


look like woven roven to you guys?

 

[Peteypablo25]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

The little white circles appear to be the top of a woven pattern.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Newbies first project...transom stringers and floor!

Mix up some PB like I said before, take a no do spreader a smooth and fill it all back to level