Transome rot

[Rick-101]

Re: Transome rot

The Snow has melted and I will be back at it shortly.

Got the I/O, engine, gas tank and trim pump in at the end of last summer. Had some trouble with the thickness of the transom after it was glassed in and gelcoated :facepalm:
I was about 1/2 inch too thin, so i ended up adding another thickness of 3/4 ply for the I/O to bolt onto with an additional 3inches border and gel-coated over it so it would not rot over time.

I've got some the battery, some wiring and the interior to finish up.
Another mistake we made earlier was on the side panel cushions, we did not use stainless or alum staples. We should to redo them but considering they were such a pain, i might just smear silicone over them and call it a day.

Now to learn to re-pollster, I had a friend who's studying in fashion design give me a hand on sewing a few pieces but I'm now back on my own.

Anyone know how to change the thread title? Also might want to make correction, the boat is a Bonito which i now know after some research.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Transome rot

Had some trouble with the thickness of the transom after it was glassed in and gelcoated :facepalm:
I was about 1/2 inch too thin, so i ended up adding another thickness of 3/4 ply for the I/O to bolt onto with an additional 3inches border and gel-coated over it so it would not rot over time.

The transom was too thin by a 1/2" & you added 3/4" to fix it????

I can't visualize the additional 3" border, but 'just' using gelcoat likely won't be sufficient to keep water & rot away.

The silicone may not be a long term rust preventative for your non-SS staples. Monel staples are good for marine upholstery work too...

 

[Rick-101]

Re: Transome rot

The transom was too thin by a 1/2" & you added 3/4" to fix it????

Sorry I had done all this about 8 months ago. I was raised on metric being Canadian and not imperial, I'm uncertain to the exact imperial thickness it was. I was using CM's to measure and adding a third thickness of the ply 3/4 "shim" got me right in the middle the 2" to 2-1/8 (or 2.25") tolerance. The third layer of plywood is does not along the whole transom only where the gimbal bolt up and a bit more.

The gelcoated shim should hold off the rot for a couple of years. It can be simply replaced or glassed in next time i pull the engine. i have easy access to a crane at the marina they use for dry-sail boats to launch.
Up here we only get about 4-5 months a season and i spent last year's in the dry-dock learning. I'm 23 and plan on keeping her for a few more years. But once i get into the working world, I will be upgrading.
Maybe another restoration since i might be hooked :joyous: a real ski boat or wake would be nice.
The few side panels are removable so i'll get around to changing the staples in the off season, I'm just trying to make sure they do not rust in the few months I get to actually use this boat.

Thanks for the tip on the staples, hopefully they have them north of the border!