Transom rebuild started

[cpbrocke]

1977 Cobia bowrider 15ft.

Engine cracked the outer fiberglass wall and the wood was wet and rotten. I took out about 1000 screws to get the cap off the thing. Somebody has been in there before me.

I just have a few questions that hopefully somebody else's experience can answer. I attached a picture of the current phase of pulling out the old wood from the transom. It's fast when the wood is that wet. My question is about the two fiberglass boxes just in front of where the transom is. What are these for? The inner side of the transom wood was glassed and sat right up against these two boxes. Are these there to support the transom or to help the boat float or are they just benches? If these two boxes aren't important, would it hurt to cut them out? I'm not sure how to get all of the wood out from in between these and the hull and properly prep the surfaces for the new wood without cutting off the back of the hull to get in there.

In the meanwhile, I'll keep digging.

 

[redfury]

Re: Transom rebuild started

I would guess that they serve a 2 fold purpose. One being structure for the deck, the other serving the purpose as Knees for the transom. Good chance they are tied in with a stringer on each side. My glasstron has a similar type of structure in it, I believe there are pictures in my second link.

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Transom rebuild started

The only reason I want to cut them out is to have easier access to get the rotten wood out. It wasn't hard getting it out when there was nothing in the way. But I've gotten to the point where I can't get to it anymore.

What are some good ways to get the rest of it out in the hard to reach places?
I've read the drill/chainsaw method works. But what about down in the corners to get the last few pieces out so the new wood will fit.

And if I ever get all the old wood out, how do I go about preparing these hard to reach places so that the epoxy/resins will bond as they should? I can easily sand the old wood with a power sander on the exposed part, but what about the places the sander doesn't fit?

More pics. That's the cap hanging in the trees behind the hull.
http://picasaweb.google.com/cpbrock3/BoatRestore

 

[oops!]

Re: Transom rebuild started

4 inch grinder....

acetone.....

if your really stuck.......dremmel......bit .....thats only when your really tight.....that tight is just about paranoia....


i dont know what boat that is....but i think thoes boxes are someones dream

 

[cpbrocke]

Re: Transom rebuild started

The boxes aren't actually attached to the inner fiberglass transom wall. Maybe somebody stuck them there because they wanted some boxes to eat up a lot of deck space.

When the engine pushes and pulls on the wood in the transom wall, where do all of those forces get distrubuted? Is the hull strong enough to take those forces or does some of it go to the stringers or some other part?

I'm trying to figure out if I cut these boxes out and go out on the water and give it full throttle, is the engine going to be laying next to me in the boat with the transom still attached because it ripped it from the corners of the hull.

Maybe if I cut out most of them and leave 2 inches around the edge to help support the transom when it's under full throttle load....

I've seen other boats that have much bigger engines without the huge space wasters in the back. What keeps their transom from coming off the rest of the boat?