In article ,
"Joe Blizzard" wrote:

Not the metal part, but the part of the boat that the metal attaches to.
To
make a long story short, I found that the wood that my front motor mount
is
screwed into is rotten. (The long version, with illustrations, is he
http://users.adelphia.net/~blizzard3/boat/mm.htm) It's an old fiberglass
runabout, 1977 Thunderbird S-18, to be precise, with a Merc 165 IO. The
pad
that the front motor mount sits on is basically a big block of wood
encased
in fiberglass. I've dug it out and I'm getting ready to rebuild it. What
I'm
wondering is whether I should try to duplicate the original wood and
fiberglass construction or would there be something better to make the
mounting pad out of? (I don't want to have to do this job over every 27
years.)

When my Baja needed a new mount, the shop skinned the top of the FG and dug
out the wood, leaving the FG enclosure sides. Used pressure treated lumber
(the original was not - "encapsulated" obviously wasn't adequate) and made
it match the other side. Took it out, scraped it up really well, rotary
sanded the vertical parts (inside and outside) of the FG to expose the
glass, and slathered resin on both (FG and PTWood) internal parts and put it
back in, clamping both sides. After letting that set.they then went over
the top with new roving and resin, finishing with white (don't know if it
was just color added to resin, gelcoat, or paint).

That, and every other wood part I could get to (all the seats and bases,
deck supports, etc.) which I've replaced are now PT. Whoever buys that boat
this spring (getting on the other boat, ya know) won't have anything but
upholstery issues with the interior/structure for the next 20+ years...

L8R

Skip
--
"And then again, when you sit at the helm of your little ship on a clear
night, and gaze at the countless stars overhead, and realize that you are
quite alone on a great, wide sea, it is apt to occur to you that in the
general scheme of things you are merely an insignificant speck on the
surface of the ocean; and are not nearly so important or as self-sufficient
as you thought you were. Which is an exceedingly wholesome thought, and one
that may effect a permanent change in your deportment that will be greatly
appreciated by your friends."- James S. Pitkin