Reinell Transom

[cantaris]

After stripping out everything off of the transom, I did some evaluating. The transom is rotten the bottom 15 inches. The entire transom is 45" tall. The upper 30" is solid. I have read some other threads where just the damaged sections were replaced. Is this feasible for my transom? If I can have a solid transom without having to remove the entire thing would be nice and save some money Also read that someone used 3/4" exterior ply laminated together. Would this be a good repair choice or should I go ahead and buy marine ply?

 

[legoman67]

Re: Reinell Transom

where is the leg in relation to the rot?

Is your goal to restore this boat? or just get through another season or 2?

 

[cantaris]

Re: Reinell Transom

the leg is in the center of the damage. The lower 15-20" is water logged and rotten. I actually have good access to the transom without having to remove the top cap. but was understanding that good wood would be a real pain to separate from the transom fiberglass.

 

[legoman67]

Re: Reinell Transom

Thats not good. The leg is what needs the transoms support. To do it properly i am afraid you will have to rip the entire thing out.... Good wood is a little harder, but not impossible. Im just finishing the transom on our 28'fter. It also had patchy rot sections. You may also consider seacast or alternative.

 

[cantaris]

Re: Reinell Transom

I looked into the seacast and it would cost $1400 just for 35 gallons needed to do my transom based on their calculation worksheet. and that does not include shipping. I can get 3 sheets of 3/4 marine ply for $300. Was reading other threads and they were just replacing the leg area.

 

[legoman67]

Re: Reinell Transom

yeah, we spent $640 on our transom, and we have a fair bit of cloth leftover. 2 sheets of 3/4 is plenty...

 

[83mulligan]

Re: Reinell Transom

I just tore my transom out and some of it was good. Though, without doing a ton of core samples, it was hard to tell what was good and what wasn't until I pried it all out. Some looked good on the surface, but wasn't when I got in deeper. Anyway, I set a skill saw to depth and cut a grid into the transom and pried it out in 6 x 12 sections, roughly. Once you have a good edge, even the dry stuff comes out pretty easy with a good pry bar and a hammer.

 

[donnyskz1]

Re: Reinell Transom

If you are thinkning about using seacast than please consider using nidacore. It is $ 120.00 per bucket almost half the cost so that would save you money that way. Beware of there seacast calculation worksheet. I used nidacore on my boat and just finished it yesterday. I will be posting pictures soon. I don't know if I calcualted wrong or what happened but I had calculated using 27 gallons from them. When I contacted nidacore with the same numbers they told me I would use about 23 gallons and since you can order it in only five gallon buckets I ordered 25 gallons the total from them was $ 802.00 with shipping which still sved me quite a bit. I only used 15 gallons in my transom so now I have 10 gallons left that I dont know what to do with yet. I can ship it back to them but by the time i pay the shipping and 20 percent restocking fee it would not be worth it. I am vary happy with the nidacore so far and was very easy to pour. It took about 2 hours at most to pour.

 

[cantaris]

Re: Reinell Transom

The problem that I have is that there is no inner fiberglass shell. the wood is totally exposed except the bilge area. The wood was painted. it is attached to th hull with about 4in wide csm tape, then the floor was attached to the transom with the same stuff. The bottom of the transom under the floor was not even touching the floor. In fact I can stick my fingers under it and touch the outer hull fiberglass. Oh Well! Guess I will just pull the entire thing out and reconstruct a new one with 2 sheets of marine 3/4. though it looks thicker than 1 1/5". when I go to put new in How do I get a solid interface between the wood and the transom fiberglass? I do not have to pull my cap off as everything is accessible from the inside. Can I drill and put wood screws in from outside the transom and then fill and seal the holes after the wood has dried to the fiberglass?

 

[jonesg]

Re: Reinell Transom

Yes you can do that (screws) , some guys use nutsnbolts with a couple 2x4's on the inside to pull it tight to the glass. Do a lot of test fitting, then when the resin is mixed it will go together quickly.

use glass matting against the transom wall,
it will fill any imperfections in the wood to glass joint.

Pre-seal the edges of the ply really well before installing.
I like to thin out unwaxed resin with acetone, let it soak in then a final coat with waxed resin to seal, sand it when cured.
I buy my poly resin with the wax packaged seperately, no need to buy 2 types of resin.

Unwaxed resin saves you from sanding between coats, use waxed resin for final coat for a hard dry finish.

 

[danond]

Re: Reinell Transom

I just finished a transom that sounds similar to yours. Check out the link for more info. Maybe it'll be helpful. Easier than it sounds, more time consuming than you expect.