What does it mean to "cap" a boat?

[great_white_fisherman]

I was looking for quotes on rebuilding my transom and one of them said my boat would have to be "capped" in order to do it. Does this mean capsized? Or does it mean remove the top half?

Either way, how would I go about doing it myself because their quotes are pretty pricey. I thought I could just skin the transom, replace the core, and glass it back in. But now I'm told there's another piece of the puzzle...

This boat has a stepped transom so I suppose capsizing it would make the job easier but that's pretty much impossible for me to do at home!

 

[bobeast]

Typically the top of the boat fits over the bow, sides and transom much like a bottle cap or a shoebox lid. It provides much of the structural integrity of the boat. I believe they are referring to removing the "cap" so they can repair the transom.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

Is this difficult to do myself? Could I pry it up at the stern and support with wood so I can get at the transom? And once I go to put it back together, how does it stay on, glue?

 

[Chris1956]

Generally caps are caulked at their seam with the bottom mold and the rubrail is screwed thru both bottom mold and cap to secure it.

They are not difficult to remove. Simply pry out the rubber strip and remove the screws and rub rail. Now cut the caulking.

The tricky thing is to support the cap so it doesn't break.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

How would you suggest doing it with a windshield? Should it be removed?

 

[Baylinerchuck]

So one size does not fit all when it comes to boat restoration. Do you have pictures of the boat?

If you really do have to decap the boat, you absolutely have to support the hull so it does not move or change shape when you pull the cap off. If it does change shape the cap is extremely difficult if not impossible to line back up when you reassemble. The cap needs to be supported while you store it so it doesn’t change shape.

Some caps depending on the style of the boat are glued to the other half, but most are fairly easy to remove.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

This is beginning to sound like something I shouldn't attempt and have a shop do it...don't want to ruin my boat. Is it not possible to redo the transom without removing the cap?? I've seen videos of skinning the transom and then reglassing it. But they said that's wrong.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

This isn't my actual boat but I found it online and it's identical.

My first question is how far out does the transom extend? Is it just the flat area in the center or all the way out to each side. If it's all the way across, I don't know how because it is curved...If it's just the center, couldn't I just remove that strip on top? Avoiding the whole capping ordeal?

My second question is the stepped part of the transom where the drain plug is (and other inlets/outlets on mine) is obviously rotted as I could see when I replaced the livewell pump. How does one replace this area?? I figure that would require doing it the "wrong" way in order to get to it.

 

[Chris1956]

See if you can repair the transom from the inside, without removing the cap. You will need to dig out the old fiberglass and wood from the inside, down to the outer fiberglass skin. Now laminate a new transom and glass it back in, again, from the inside.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

Doing it from the inside is impossible. I'd have to be the size of a toddler to get any kind of decent result. There is a hatch about as long as the width of the deck and about 2ft wide. Very difficult doing anything through it. Replacing the livewell pump was a chore in itself. Nevermind the angle, leverage, and detail required to do this job. Even if I removed the gas tank in the way, I still only have a couple feet of headroom and ya, gotta be tiny for that

 

[Chris1956]

cut out the hatch?

 

[great_white_fisherman]

What about placing a piece of plywood the same shape and size as the transom on the inside on top of the fiberglass and bolting it in? Similar to a jon boat transom...at least until I can get the money for a professional job

 

[Chris1956]

That would be a patch. I would first get a price, as a professional may charge much more than you could bear.

Another choice would be to remove the rubrail, cut the caulk, and slide the cap forward on 2X4s, plywood or what ever works. If you can move it forward 3 feet, maybe you can get in behind it to replace the transom.

If your cap includes the finished decking (cannot tell from photo), it may need to go directly up to be removed.

Just a guess.

 

[great_white_fisherman]

It does appear that the entire inside of the boat is all one piece. Except where it meets the floor, the fiberglass that makes the "furniture" is screwed to the floor. Other than that. It appears to be seamless.

As far as getting a price, I did. It's gonna be about 3k. I would love to be able to do it because the shop uses composite for replacements. Never have to worry about rot again. But way out of my price range. I was expecting closer to 1k when I first started asking around...

 

[GSPLures]

I'm doing the transom on my boat right now which the transom is almost complete. It is alot cheaper doing your own work

I have to add a little more glass to mine and I will be right around 3 gallons of resin 2 4x8 3/4"ply, and when I am done around 5yds of 1.5CSM and 1708.

​​​​​​​I'm right around 3 or 400 in materials which you can get cheaper than I did, I knowingly overpaid for my supplies for the convenience of getting them down the street.

I did not have to decap my boat so I cannot be of help there sorry. But there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum that will help you along the way to make sure you do it properly.

 

[kcassells]

To CAP a boat means to SHOOT it out of frustration.

 

[oldboat1]

Cut the stern end of the cap at a point you can patch, and remove that portion of the cap to give you transom access. Sounds worse than it is.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I used ratchet straps and the rafters in the shop when I R&R'd the cap on the Avanti.

easy for one person.

 

[kcassells]

How about you start posting some pics.instead of this babble?

 

[great_white_fisherman]

I've read about the possibility of having rotten stringers along with a rotten transom. Would that turn the project into several thousand or is it a relatively easy fix?