Rebuilding Wet Transom

The question I have is if you glass over the hole how much glass should go over the inside edge of the hole? I figure there will be some compression in the area thus a thin coat might crack? Of course and regardless of glassing it should be covered with epoxy once the cut is done and verified correct. So yes, coating the keyhole with epoxy would certainly be a good idea. Again, if you coat it entirely before installing it, clean off the blush and sand it with 80 grit (see West System tips).
So this replacement has 3/4 over all of the transom and a double thickness around the keyhole that does not extend to the hull sides? If this is the case I might assemble the two pieces outside the boat. If it does go to the hull sides, consider checking the template or making another prior to cutting the second piece.

On an aside, West Six10 tubes are expensive but for filling voids/cracks they are worth it. Forget about using the empty caulk tubes West sells unless you can slow down the cure enough and find a way to load them.
 
How did SR seal the edges? If there will be compression maybe a more flexible sealer than epoxy would be better.
 
BB, correct, the transom was 2" nom thick only around the keyhole, actually 30" wide overall but all the to the top and bottom. The rest of the transom was 1" thick beyond that. I plan to use just epoxy to encapsulate the edges of the cut.
 
Bruce,
I kinda didn't want to get into it again because I ranted and raved about the absolute joke of manufacturing technique of searay...throughout the boat. But to answer the 'sealing of edges', NO WOOD WAS EVER SEALED except maybe what was accidently sealed where some plywood touched the uncured resin of the hull as it was placed.
 
OK, after dealing with my own shoulder surgery in September and now the Admiral's hip replacement 2 weeks ago I've finally got a chance to do some work on the boat. I'm now grinding the old epoxy and scraps off the transom; messy as hell but its coming off using an angle grinder and a 40 grit ceramic flap wheel. The problem I'm having is an area where the old wood was not rotted. Getting that off will take some effort. Any suggestions?
 
Yup, nasty job. I got away from grinding whenever possible. Try a wonder bar, sharpened, that can get under the wood.http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-55-515-12-3-4-inch-Wonderbar/dp/B00002X1XT
 
Or nip away at it with a multi-tool. What I did was slice under it between the gel and balsa, and then do a vertical cut into it to meet the under cut. Make sure you know the depth you can drive the tool into vertically. Once close enough the pry bar will probably pop it out when you jam it into the under cut.

Harbor Freight has a variable speed MT for 40 bucks. Best 40 I spent on tools (maybe).
 
Charlie:: So often failures can be traced back to somebody skipping a simple and cheap step originally. Probably wouldn't have taken one minute to spread some resin around the edges.
 
Poopers! They didn't have multi tools when I did mine.

Bruce,
Exactly! And in some cases as in Sea Ray Arizona, they completely left out basic, common sense construction practices to save the all mighty buck.
 
Yes, I was using my multi-tool from HF for all the cutting of the transom and stringers. Worked like a charm. Then I switched to the scraper blade to try to get to the epoxy between the wood and the glass outer shell. That's when I smoked the tool. Trashed. The HF tools are 1.5A tools which is OK for most DIY stuff around the house. I'm going to spring for a 3A name brand tool now. Vertical cuts followed by some use of power and hand tools under the wood is what I was thinking. Thanks for giving that idea some real life support. I'll keep you all in the loop as this progresses.
 
I found that leaving the saw blade in worked fine as long as I had a flat surface enabling a smooth flat cut as opposed to one that would penetrate the topside. As long as I held the tool in a manner that kept the blade flat I was good to go. Occasionally I had to go back over a spot here and there or sand it down with heavy grit paper.
 
What you want to be ready for, is the layers of glass and old glue left behind. I am thinking you will see some places where the glass and glue have separated due to the water. In other words, you get all of the wood out and you feel you have a good surface to glue the new wood into.
STOP!
Look for areas where delamination of the glue and glass have occurred. Hopefully you don't find any between the glass and gel coat. I used a 3 inch hand trowel blade to get in and peel the old glue out. It came out in chips pretty easily and every chunk scared the heck out of me because I thought the paint on the deck surface was going to crack. So far so good.
Make sure you get all of the delamination out.
 
I have used a 14" electric chain saw to remove coring from the fiberglass. You just lay it flat and run it back and forth.
 
That chainsaw deal has me a bit nervous.... maybe I'll try it....or not....
 
Mike what ever you do, don't let epoxy drip through a hole in a tee shirt and land unnoticed on arm pit hair.
 
BB, I don't even want to know why you brought that one to mind!! Hell, having recently had shoulder surgery and been shaved chest to pits I've only now got to the point where the itching has stopped so I don't need to tempt the need for any further "man-scapeing".
 
Mike I am working overhead glassing in new core that was pressed into the deck. One got away and nailed me exactly where it had to. The one freaking drip that was not planned for fell into a hole in the T-shirt and waited.
I'm wearing the disposable suit all the time now...
 
Yeah, I'm planning on TYVEK suits when the epoxy work starts.
 
Yeah, I was sanding my bottom and found a 2"x1/2" void/bubble in the hull. I won't rant any more about Searay, but upon trying to seal the inner surface of the void with epoxy, being such a small area I didn't put on my safety goggles. Yup! epoxy in the eye and a trip to the emergency room.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top