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#11
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Thanks for chiming in! It's always nice to have people who actually know what they are talking about. So, to come back to the OP's question, if a transom is originally constructed with fiberglass skins and a plywood core, and some of the plywood is rotten, would it be OK to replace the rotten parts with several pieces of plywood butted together? Or would it be better to scarf in one piece of plywood to replace the rotten area? I guess another way of asking the question is, would butt joints in the plywood core significantly weaken the transom? I am thinking that they would not weaken the transom. --Mac If they are relying on the core for stiffness and strength, then butt joints would be weaker. I wouldn't do it on my boat for example. I would cut off the outer skin near the transom corners, chisel and then grind out all the plywood and rebuild the transom Evan Gatehouse |
#12
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- Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a
long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve |
#13
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"David Flew" wrote in
: I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
#14
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When I first watched This Old House on TV I was impressed by how easy they
made most jobs look. Then I realized that one of the things that made those jobs easy was that they didn't try to work around existing structures, furniture and possessions: they gutted the space they were working in and started the project anew. Remove the outboard and get serious about removing rotten wood before starting any repairs. You'll save a lot of time and it will be easier to work. "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . "David Flew" wrote in : I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
#15
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I've taken the advice and am in the process now of removing all hardware off
the back of the boat. Likewise, I took the outboard off (nice and heavy). As the boat top at the rear end will be in the way, I am next going to remove that part. My idea is to cut in at the narrowest point about 3 feet up from the back and then lift the whole rear piece off. (The entire top is the length of the boat, and I don't want to get into taking all of that off... so I can glass the sections where I make the cut after I'm done, its just glass now anyway ). That's the only way I can get to the wood on the transom and clean it out good. I tried laying in the cubby hole at the back (5ft wide x 3ft deep x 2 feet high) and found it would just be too hard to do the job that way, and I'd never get all the wood out. So, wish me luck, this is going to be a big job. I can see how paying someone to do it could cost thousands. Fortunately, I can handle this. "William Andersen" wrote in message news:YTCre.200$X71.151@fed1read07... When I first watched This Old House on TV I was impressed by how easy they made most jobs look. Then I realized that one of the things that made those jobs easy was that they didn't try to work around existing structures, furniture and possessions: they gutted the space they were working in and started the project anew. Remove the outboard and get serious about removing rotten wood before starting any repairs. You'll save a lot of time and it will be easier to work. "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . "David Flew" wrote in : I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
#16
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Great idea for a reality TV show: "This Old Boat."
They wouldn't need to do a different boat each week, because one aging vessel would keep them busy season after season! "William Andersen" wrote in message news:YTCre.200$X71.151@fed1read07... When I first watched This Old House on TV I was impressed by how easy they made most jobs look. Then I realized that one of the things that made those jobs easy was that they didn't try to work around existing structures, furniture and possessions: they gutted the space they were working in and started the project anew. Remove the outboard and get serious about removing rotten wood before starting any repairs. You'll save a lot of time and it will be easier to work. "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . "David Flew" wrote in : I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
#17
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On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:44:06 -0700, Evan Gatehouse wrote:
[I wrote] Thanks for chiming in! It's always nice to have people who actually know what they are talking about. So, to come back to the OP's question, if a transom is originally constructed with fiberglass skins and a plywood core, and some of the plywood is rotten, would it be OK to replace the rotten parts with several pieces of plywood butted together? Or would it be better to scarf in one piece of plywood to replace the rotten area? I guess another way of asking the question is, would butt joints in the plywood core significantly weaken the transom? I am thinking that they would not weaken the transom. --Mac If they are relying on the core for stiffness and strength, then butt joints would be weaker. I wouldn't do it on my boat for example. I would cut off the outer skin near the transom corners, chisel and then grind out all the plywood and rebuild the transom Evan Gatehouse Thanks. From elsewhere in the thread, it sounds like the OP is going to get serious about the job and replace just about all the plywood in the transom. Also, the OP mentioned somewhere else that there is almost no fiberglass on the inside of the transom near the top. This leads me to believe that it is essentially a plywood transom which uses overlapped glass as a means to attach the transom to the hull. This is a lot different than, say, a cored deck. --Mac |
#18
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There was a show called Ship Shape a few years ago - I don't think it's on
anymore. It was like This Old House: each week they did a project or an update on a continuing project, and visited a factory for boat stuff or had a manufacturers rep at the boat yard to demo a product. It was pretty interesting. "Auerbach" wrote in message ... Great idea for a reality TV show: "This Old Boat." They wouldn't need to do a different boat each week, because one aging vessel would keep them busy season after season! "William Andersen" wrote in message news:YTCre.200$X71.151@fed1read07... When I first watched This Old House on TV I was impressed by how easy they made most jobs look. Then I realized that one of the things that made those jobs easy was that they didn't try to work around existing structures, furniture and possessions: they gutted the space they were working in and started the project anew. Remove the outboard and get serious about removing rotten wood before starting any repairs. You'll save a lot of time and it will be easier to work. "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . "David Flew" wrote in : I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
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That's correct. On both the right and left sides (inside) you can see the
original plywood near the top of the boat. Almost looks like they didn't finish the job. "Mac" wrote in message news On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 21:44:06 -0700, Evan Gatehouse wrote: [I wrote] Thanks for chiming in! It's always nice to have people who actually know what they are talking about. So, to come back to the OP's question, if a transom is originally constructed with fiberglass skins and a plywood core, and some of the plywood is rotten, would it be OK to replace the rotten parts with several pieces of plywood butted together? Or would it be better to scarf in one piece of plywood to replace the rotten area? I guess another way of asking the question is, would butt joints in the plywood core significantly weaken the transom? I am thinking that they would not weaken the transom. --Mac If they are relying on the core for stiffness and strength, then butt joints would be weaker. I wouldn't do it on my boat for example. I would cut off the outer skin near the transom corners, chisel and then grind out all the plywood and rebuild the transom Evan Gatehouse Thanks. From elsewhere in the thread, it sounds like the OP is going to get serious about the job and replace just about all the plywood in the transom. Also, the OP mentioned somewhere else that there is almost no fiberglass on the inside of the transom near the top. This leads me to believe that it is essentially a plywood transom which uses overlapped glass as a means to attach the transom to the hull. This is a lot different than, say, a cored deck. --Mac |
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Taking the advice of "This old house", I've done a tear down job for "This
old boat".... Lets see, I cut 3 feet of the top half off to get at the transom from above. What I found while taking all of this top off was interesting. Wet wood, and more wet wood. The very tops of the two sides were dry, but it wasn't more than 6 inches down when the wood seemed wet. Not to mention, upon removing the hardware, almost every bolt or screw I took out had visible deterioration wherever it was in the transom. For example; the ski hooks would have been interesting, I could see a skier stuck with all the rope.. ha ha. I've now got all the old plywood out of the transom (2 - 3/4 inch pieces), and I'm going to clean / prep the area for the rebuild. It would seem logical at this point to take the advise of putting in whole pieces rather than parts. Clearly, without opening the top of this fiberglass pop can I would have never been able to get to take the transom apart. "William Andersen" wrote in message news:IrOre.312$X71.105@fed1read07... There was a show called Ship Shape a few years ago - I don't think it's on anymore. It was like This Old House: each week they did a project or an update on a continuing project, and visited a factory for boat stuff or had a manufacturers rep at the boat yard to demo a product. It was pretty interesting. "Auerbach" wrote in message ... Great idea for a reality TV show: "This Old Boat." They wouldn't need to do a different boat each week, because one aging vessel would keep them busy season after season! "William Andersen" wrote in message news:YTCre.200$X71.151@fed1read07... When I first watched This Old House on TV I was impressed by how easy they made most jobs look. Then I realized that one of the things that made those jobs easy was that they didn't try to work around existing structures, furniture and possessions: they gutted the space they were working in and started the project anew. Remove the outboard and get serious about removing rotten wood before starting any repairs. You'll save a lot of time and it will be easier to work. "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . "David Flew" wrote in : I agree with what David is saying here... Remove the O/B if you are going to do major work... But, that said... On my Mako, I had a similar circumstance where the wood in a triangle about a foot tall and 2 feet wide at the bottom of the transom was completely rotten. The upper 18" of the transom was completely solid. I drained the water and sealed the leaks, then watched it closely for flexing for two years prepared to do the repair job. It was still solid when I sold the boat. BTW, that pourable stuff is not for putting in through small holes... You remove the skin at the top of the transom and dig out ALL of the wood. You are left with the two skins. You plug all of the holes and put some plywood on the outside of both sides as a temporary support then fill up the transom with the sea-cast material. It sets, then you have a permanent wood-free transom. Redrill the engine mounting holes and remount the O/B. Check out the website, it's got a ot of useful info (just for truth in advertising's sake: I have no relatoinship with those folks whatsoever, I just did a bunch of research on that product and it looked like a great thing). - Fixing transoms is not an area I'm involved in, but looking at it from a long way away I'd say you can't do a proper job with the outboard still in place. My experience in cutting out rot is that it's easier to cut out a complete piece of wood and replace it rather than cut out 10% and try to fit something to fill up the hole. Wish I'd known this a while back. - Any time you spend in removing and replacing the outboard will be saved several times over by the time you are done. - you need to do ALL the demolition before you start to do the repair ( it's true of most things ) It's no more work to patch a little more area than it is to fill several more holes. - with the motor off and the demo done, try a small electric fan heater under a cheap tarp - 24 hours at 30 degrees C does a lot of drying. But control the temperature, too hot and it will be too dry. It takes time for moisture to migrate to the surface where it can evaporate. - read and believe the info from the epoxy suppliers David "Chris" wrote in message ... I'm trying to dry the transom out a bit before I dig further into it. Clearly several days won't be enough, and who knows if weeks will ever as long as it is outdoors. So, I may have to get digging into it sooner, regardless of the still wet wood. To recap, I've got almost 1 foot square cut out around the drain hole (drain hole and up), which was the really punky stuff. I've also got 1/4" holes drilled in various places on both sides to checkout the wood. (note that pouring something in won't likely help here with it exposed and open now). The outer hull is thick, really thick (fiberglass), but the inner side is almost done 3/4 the way up and pretty thin, I don't even think it adds strength. Currently the motor is still mounted (however many pounds of it). To visualize the transom on this boat, consider the typical outboard transom, but on a V type hull. Inside under where the motor mounts (centre), there looks like there is a big timber there, such as a rough cut 2" x 4", or maybe 2x6 or 2x8. Its hard to tell as I suspect it may go all the way through to the outer hull and be glued in. Below this timber about 2-3 inches down are the other motor engine bolts that tie it in lower. And below this for the next 1.5 feet perhaps is the area of the drain plug. To each side of this the floor is elevated clearly due to the V, as well the solid wall (inner/outer fiberglass) goes up higher to the full length of the transom. I can actually see plywood near the top as it wasn't covered in glass. I suspect so far that the wood beneath the timber is rotten, and likewise straight across from there on both sides. Above that things appear strong and solid, and a few drill holes have proved that there's nothing punky there. So, I either take the outboard off now, or leave it on. My guess is to clear the wood from under the timber level all the way to both sides, and then put new wood in right across. Glass it in, and to finalize it, glass a 2x4 or 4x4 to the outside of this new area (to the inner transom, and floor). Now it'll be strong. What do you think? "Steve Weingart" wrote in message .. . If the transom is suspect, check out http://www.transomrepair.com, they have a whole system for removing all of the wood in the transom and then filling the space with a pourable resin/chopped filler system. I was going to use this in my 21' Mako (the Mako factory approved), but sold the boat before it needed the work (just had a few rotten spots, but the majority of the transom has still been strong). Cheers, -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net/patandsteve -- Steve (remove anti spam XYX in return address for correct email) http://www.gulf-stream.net |
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