how to: replace transom and floor.

J

jonsthedrummer02

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Joined
Jul 23, 2006
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22497
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Hay all. I am putting a new floor in my 19ft seaswirl. I was just hoping some of you could tell me how to do this. Is it just lay marine grade plywood down and fiber glassing it?
I would like to know how to lay fiberglass.
How should I go about fixing my transom. I have a I/O mercruiser 470. The wood on the transom where the out drive bolts thu is rotted.

any help would be mutch helpfull. thax
 
Most of the deck can be removed with a circular saw. Set the depth no more than 1". You can do the same with the inner transom, but set the depth to 3/4" so you don't cut into the outer fiberglass skin.

There are a few of the guys that have done it so when you need more info, just ask.
 
there is a web site showing use of PVC board for this purpose. matbe somebody will know the address.
 
Jon, laying and laminating fiberglass is something that takes practice and proper tools. The squeegee used must be soft and pliable enough to saturate the cloth properly and remove excess resin, otherwise you'll get a weak layup that will cause problems in no time.
We can probably talk you thru a lot of it....have you ever tried glassing anything? You'll need to practice on small areas before doing a floor.
I see you're in Vanc. Wa. I'm about 30 miles from you...could probably help, but you'll need warmer temps. or indoors (70-75 degrees min.) for resin to set up. Snow days like today, big no-no!!!
Buzz
 
Jon,
Been there, done that on both accounts. Here are some pics of my transom replacement done with the SeaCast composite transom kit. I can email you pics of my floor replacement job, just let me know.

Pics:http://www.boatered.com/forum/photo_album_view.asp?cname=Transom&mid=1372&cid=30806

For Floor & Transom how-to I used "Runabout Renovation - How to Find and Fix Up an Old Fiberglass Speedboat" by Jim Anderson.
 
The Rotdoctor product is essentially epoxy resin thinned with a solvent. Save yourself some money and buy West System epoxy resin and thin it down with some MEK. They carry West System at Boatfix which is a lot less than a place like West Marine.

What type of floor do you have now? Just wood with carpet on it? I would use epoxy resin over polyester resin for the floor since it is more flexible.
 
If structural wood has been weakened by rot, replace it. The epoxy products may kill the rot and replace a little strength to the wood, but it won't be as strong as sealed wood in good condition.
 
I would replace the wood too. The epoxy resin was mainly for preventative measures to prevent rot in the future.
 
Hay thanks guys. Im sorry I did not give a how lot of info. I will start on the floor. The boat had sit for 3 years with no cover on it. It was sitting under a tree. The first thang I did was pull the old floor out. I put 3/4 inch ply-wood on the floor and put the old carpet over it. Its been that way for 8 months. Seems to work good. When the weather gets warmer and the wood is good and dry. Do you think I could just do the fiberglass. Or should I replace the wood to? On the transom. Its a I/O. I pushed down on the out drive and you can see the stearn flex. Is this normal to have some flex or should it be stiff? If you could tell me how bad it could be for me not to replace it right away?
Buzz that would be great for some help. Im in the coast guard AUX. and some of the guys said they might be able to help to.
So thanks for the imput. I will get some glass and pratice. Im rebuilding the engine cover so that will give me somthing to work on.
 
That stern should not flex at all.

I would think you could have a catastrophic failure when you accelerate from a dead stop.

If that were my boat, I would be parting it out rather than putting more money into it.
 
yeah, that doesn't sound good.
there was info on dockside reports.com that covered the basics of laminating fiberglass but I coudn't find it just now. Resin must be worked into the fiberglass with, if I remember, a 40% ratio of resin to glass. Search that site for the numbers. What this means is some texture of the Fg should remain after glassing, with no air bubbles and no dry spots, either. It is tricky and takes practice. You really should use laminating resin for the first steps, too.
I suspect you may have deeper problems than just the floor, such as wet foam under the floor, in which case you have a true POS project boat. It's a good thing, keeps you busy and out of trouble, but it's a massive amount of work. You don't want to cover up wet foam with a new floor, so do some checking...Charlie, stand by...
Buzz
 
Like the guys said, depending on how badly you want to keep the boat and/or how much work you want to put into it. Wet foam has to be removed. It could easily cost 2K+ for a comprehensive R&R. I spent over 2K in epoxy resin alone...but I tend to go overboard.
 
Hay thank. I have been debating on scraping it. I have put to mutch money into it to just sprap it. I have check the foam. Is dry from what I can see. But I have not checked the bottom of it. I will do that. I got the boat knowing it was going to take time and money to fix. I just cant wait to see what it looks like when its done. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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