transom crack

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

i just got your pm.......and i certainly understand your position.

but if the transom is rot....and the glass is cracking......the motor will fall of the boat. really ....it will.

if the wood is good.....and the cracks are due to design.....then we can have you on the water next weekend with little money spent.

but the real issue here is the rest of the boat and the condition of the transom core.... you mentioned that you found good wet bet delamination.... we can fix that quick !... as well the bulkhead ....that is a simple 2 hour job.

but we need to know the condition of the core of the transom.....in this case.....if the core is rot......the failure will be catastrophic.

if the core is good....then we can just re inforce the glass on the inner side of the pod ....then the outside .....and do the cosmetics. easy... !

but we dont have enough information to make that very serious call at this point !

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok bro...got it..

here is the outer top of the transom i am talking about in the last pm... about half is below the splashwell..half above..



i will wait to hear your answers to my couple last questions then get to cutting and core samples

 

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

actually the sides of the drive pod are not glassed like that... so basically my question is do you want me to de-skin the inside of whole drive pod or just rear stern transom piece?

]just the rear stern transom piece for now.

what i am thinking, is that if the transom core is good....then this is a design flaw.and we need to re-enforce the pod section with more fiberglassed wood core supports.

to do that.....an open core is going to give us the best bond to the core and the interior pod sides....
it will kinda like a transom replacement except the transom wood is already there.

btw.... did you get the motor off yet ? we actually need to see what the wood looks like in the thru bolt holes......if they didnt use any sealant in the drain tube holes......chances are they left out the motor holes as well

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

yes motor is off if you look at post number 39 you will see the one bolt hole that was sunk into the glass...they did use sealer on bolt holes..surprisingly, but strangely not on drain holes.. 2nd shift perhaps? ok i will cut off rear transom inner skin and report with pics when done...we are having some crappy weather here in New England next couple days so it might be until the weekend till i can get back out there..

are you saying it will be ok to just cut underneath the splash well area or do you want to see the top (above splash well) as well?
i am thinking if its rotten i will be able to tell just by removing inner skin under splash well compartment.. let me know

 

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

yes.... this inside skin......forget about the splash well......we are going to try and leave it in tact if we can.

and you will know in a second if the transom is rot when the inside skin is off.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok pal i have a real nice ingersoll rand angle grinder and about 4 other assorted die grinders but no air compressor to run them...damn i really need a garage, so i found nice dremel kit with cut off disks on ebay for $20...should be here tomorrow, hope this works.. any thoughts on if the dremel will work?.. i think it will work just burn through disks quick but the kit came with like 80 disks..plus i could prob use my shank for automotive grade cut off disks if it fits...

i see a dremel seems to be one if the tools of choice for a lot of guys doing glass crack repairs, so i figured better grab a decent one..

...cheap

thanks again buddy..you must be a saint from boating heaven sent here to earth to help diy boaters in need..speaking of that
what should i get for respirator.. or is n95 particulate dust masks ok??

ok i know i know im just being lazy.. i can go read your threads...i will get proper face gear before i do any grinding..safety first

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok got lower inner skin off





the white stuff in the bolt hole area is dust from the cut...the missing wood pieces peeled off with the skin..i know i its wet but doesnt seem rotted.. pounded on it with flat side of ball peen hammer not soft.. tried to tap a flat head screwdriver into where it looked the worst..didnt even sink in..i mean sure i could have got it to go in but, i could in brand new wood if you hit it hard enough...

any way im not sure if this level of wetness is acceptable... stiil seems strong as he11.. but will need to be filled to be smooth before re-glassing i would imagine...

the bulkhead in the rear of the ski locker is toast but the outer 3 or 4 inches are solid.. same for rear bulkhead..
also i tap on inner sides of motor pod with hammer kinda firmly - the sides to left and right of transom.. and starboard side sounds a little bouncy and isnt quite the dead thud sound the port side has... not sure if i should worry about it or if we plan to glass in entire new knees over the existing ones or if i should cut off the inner skin of the sides to get a better look..

let me know what you think thanks pal

oh and a bit of good news it looks like what i thought i felt behind the ski locker compartment carpet.. which originally felt like completely unglassed and rotted top of stringer turned out to be this under layer to the deck (second under layer of ply , i was touching the exposed side of it with out being able to see it) .. and looks not bad at all.. and the stringer is glassed all the way up and over the top..



you can see some one was nesting in here at some point.. man im glad i rescued her...

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: transom crack

wet wood has to be removed.

 

[gjmsd]

Re: transom crack

That is a nice looking boat and definitely worth the effort to fix. I recently had to do the same, had a rotted transom, floor and dash. And my boat is no where near as nice, I'm just to stubborn to give up. Anyway, I was able to cut the cap off the transom and remove all the old rotted wood and replace it with a pour in composite. Your transom looks far more complicated so not sure if you can do the same but it is probably worth looking into. There are several commercially available pour in transoms available but when I looked at hazmat shipping charges, it doubled the price. I did quite a bit of research including talking to composite engineers (I work at an aerospace company that builds composite aircraft) and decided to mix my own. I used epoxy resin mixed equally with microballons to thicken and chopped glass for strength. I borrowed and electric chainsaw from a friend to remove the old wood (this is the recommended procedure and works real well). The job went fast and now I have a really solid boat that will never have rot problems again. I started a thread some time ago but never finished updating, maybe I need to do that now. Good luck.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

thanks man

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

strike that post for today..ugly thoughts.. lots of work...miss whole season

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

ok looks like splashwell will have to be cut out to access whole inner transom and knees ( or motor pod sides) i dont see any other way except cap off and i would have to cut anyway to separate cap \.. any one have any pointers as to where to cut it... in corners on on flat parts? i would think i can cut it about half way up the splashwell, all the way around and might be ablt to re glass it from inside and out.. got to get working quick if i want to enjoy any of the season.. i think deck looks good and what i can see of the stringers look good... gonna do gas tank bulkheads also...any pointers?

can i glass over existing smooth glass (inside gas tank area stringer sides to tab in new bulk heads?) just roughing it up and acetone?

thanks

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

havent done anything yet ...waiting to hear from opps...hope all is well...must be super busy guy i would imagine..

 

[oops!]

Re: transom crack

ok... im back.....sorry ....my puter was sick....then good...then sick again.

your transom looks good.....

the few days prolly helped it dry a bit.

throw a fan in there and move the air around for a few days....

you mentioned that the splash well had to come out......why...

i think the cracks are caused by a structural defect in the design.
all you have to do is glass the carp out of it......possibly add some more wood support......and you can be on the water next weekend.

tomorrow or sunday if you wish.

you need to strengthen the side walls of the pod .from the inside.

i am referring to pic one post 47

first.....use cardboard to make a template of the side walls of the pod....

you want the template to touch the transom.....the pod side and then down to the hull.
almost all the sides that are visible in the picture...past where the pod sticks out...and down to the bottom of the hull.

use 1/2 inch ply....one on each side..... we are just re inforcing here.

grind off the top layer of flo coat off the side walls on the inside of the pod.....get down to the glass.

glass in the new plywood....using conventional glassing methods.
(personally i would screw the new plywood to the sides. and deal with any screws poking through the hull later but even if you used a few pieces of wood to wedge the new ply into place tight against the wall it will be ok.

use a structural thickened resin around the edges.
then glass over the whole area with three alternating layers of csm and 1708 with poly resin.

while that is curing.....go to the out side of the boat.....and start working on the exterior cracks.
grind off the gellcoat...add 2 layers of csm.......sand flat.....add gellcoat paste.....then gell....fair and finish.

go boating .....drink beer

pm me if you need clarification bud.
cheers
oops

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

great news.. im all over it..starting first thing in the am..thanks bro

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

itchy hands....should be done prepping pod sides and transom skin area by end of the weekend for reinforcements and to patch up transom skin ...already been at it about 9hrs..bout 1/2 done...dang, time consuming... how rough does existing glass have to be to lay up new glass over it.. im using 40 grit on a palm sander to remove the flo-coat and get down to glass...will this be to smooth of a surface?...i am trying not to have to buy any more tools at this point... i was thinking about roughing it up by hand with something courser...anyone with thoughts?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: transom crack

40 grit is good. You'll be fine to apply the new glass

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: transom crack

im using 40 grit on a palm sander to remove the flo-coat and get down to glass...will this be to smooth of a surface?...i am trying not to have to buy any more tools at this point... i was thinking about roughing it up by hand with something courser...anyone with thoughts?

Not a bad idea IMHO .. I would if all I had was a orbital sander and 40g ( normally I would use 24 grit on a 4.5" grinder to scuff ).

YD.

 

[78mfg79evinrude115]

Re: transom crack

thanks for the replies guys... got a bunch more flo cote stripped tonight after work..about 60% done..right on course to have everything prepped and reinforcements cut and mocked in by end of the weekend..all my glass and resin should be here Monday or Tuesday... i do plan to try and rough it up a bit more by hand..possibly hard bristled wire hand brush, or a quick hit with a wire wheel on my cordless drill... what do you think? also bilge coat is crazy expensive!.. can i use gray outdoor deck paint? or pool deck paint...that seems to be about $30 a gallon.. theres no oil or other petro getting in my bilge, its an outboard..what do the pros say?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: transom crack

I used 3 coats of Rusoleum Oil Based Professional Paint from Lowes with Acrylic enamel hardener added. Worked Great and it will last a LONG time. $35 bucks a gallon and $15 bucks for the hardener.