Seacast time! (Was: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?)

[danond]

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

Well it's Seacast time! I got the drive off tonight and the wood in the lower area of the transom around the bilge drain hole is mush. I think the wood elsewhere is OK. It was time to go veg on the couch, though so I'll poke at it with tools tomorrow night and find out for sure. I'm not positive how much of the lower section of the transom is bad at this point. I'm prepared for the worst!

For those of you saying that knocking on the outside would produce a different noise - that was true, but only when knocking on the inside. The outside doesn't sound any different.

So now that I finally know what it is, I can stop obsessing about what it might be!

I'll post a few pictures as I go along.

PS - removing the boat engine and drive is a piece of cake. Other than getting a lift tall enough to clear the boat sides, it's easy. Nothing llike removing the engine from a car.

 

[Uraijit]

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

PS - removing the boat engine and drive is a piece of cake. Other than getting a lift tall enough to clear the boat sides, it's easy. Nothing llike removing the engine from a car.

Ain't THAT the truth!

 

[jacko137]

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

*bump*. Any words of wisdom on the transom bracket/gimbal housing removal question?

did you end up having to take everything off the transom plate inside before you were able to remove it?


I'm facing a similar task tomorrow...I have engined pulled, and my plate was completely loose. I'm going to fix a torn shift bellow for sure and put the drive back on and and splash it, but I'm prepared for the worst. My loose bolts/plates are probably the result of some seriously swelled transom wood too.

Any suggestions on removing transom assembly would be awesome!

 

[jacko137]

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

Re: Updated: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?

*bump*. Any words of wisdom on the transom bracket/gimbal housing removal question?

did you end up having to take everything off the transom plate inside before you were able to remove it?


I'm facing a similar task tomorrow...I have engined pulled, and my plate was completely loose. I'm going to fix a torn shift bellow for sure and put the drive back on and and splash it, but I'm prepared for the worst. My loose bolts/plates are probably the result of some seriously swelled transom wood too.

Any suggestions on removing transom assembly would be awesome!

 

[danond]

Re: Seacast time! (Was: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?)

I didn't, it can all stay on.

Disconnect the steering (both from where it mounts to the plate and where the steering arm connects), open the pressure relief valve on the hydraulic trim lines and unscrew them from the manifold on the gimbal housing (from the inside) and that's about it. Take off the 8 nuts and have someone hold onto the gimbal housing from the outside while you tap the bolts from the inside (mine required a bit of a whack with a rubber mallet before it'd come off). Everything else can stay connected (gimbal ring, pivot housing, bellows, etc).

 

[danond]

Re: Seacast time! (Was: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?)

Update for those of you who care to watch me enjoy all this pain (yes, I get a kick out of basket cases). I tore into the transom this weekend and found that it's not all bad and my stringers appear to be in great shape, but the storage areas to the sides of the engine bay are covering the area I need to dig into, so I cut into those, too.

The next step is to hog out all the foam (which was dry - good sign) and get the rest of the wood out of there so I can finish cleaning out the bad wood and start working on my patch pieces.

I decided I'm going to rework the storage areas to accommodate more storage. With the foam out, I'll skip installing the "box" the foam was in and carpet the floor of the box (the new one I'll have to install), giving me more depth in the engine compartment.

For those of you reasonably OK with wood and fiberglass and are contemplating your own rotted wood repairs, this isn't horrid and not all that scary. So far I've (yes, kick me) enjoyed this. You will need many beers!

The Seacast people are awesome. I haven't bought a thing from them yet and they've been helping all along.

Luckily all my friends have boats so on-water time for our family has been decent.

Pictures to come later.

 

[Don S]

Re: Seacast time! (Was: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?)

IF you want to post your boat repairs, I would suggest you post it over in the Boat Restoration and Building forum.
Might want to check that forum out before you start, no reason to re invent the wheel with your repairs..

 

[danond]

Re: Seacast time! (Was: Water in the bilge...got suggestions?)

IF you want to post your boat repairs, I would suggest you post it over in the Boat Restoration and Building forum.
Might want to check that forum out before you start, no reason to re invent the wheel with your repairs..

Good point. I'll do that.