so I started on my transom

[iplayz]

Hi all new here but been reading site for a while getting valuable knowledge, great site!
after buying a boat I had to replace steering cable, long story but I had to knock out tilt tube due to bent rod, of course with my luck as I went to put tube back in I had to move motor to line up hole all of 1-2 mm and it turned into epic day of sweat. It ended up with motor almost hitting ground pulling bolts thru inner skin, I then had to rip over and hire a engine hoist to get my 5min job done.

So...
I had no idea transom was toast as it seemed ok but either way I would rather find out now instead of mid jumpinpin bar..

So like I said I reserched site for all the tips etc

I started last sunday by taking motor off but after a massive downpour the hoist sunk into soft ground so I had to improvise on where motor was going to be stored.


Today I marked and cut off arse end of boat
It was hard to prise off outer skin but managed to get it off in one peice with no issues.
Started to dig out some of the loose stuff....all going ok

pics

[iplayz]

What, if possible I did need is some advise on what to do... so far from pic above it looks like a normal transom (to me) like most if not all the others I looked at before starting mine...but after digging out some wet stuff I find this



Im no pro, so this may be common but there is a big empty void.
looks to be a sealed area, and dry enough in there but what sould I do when rebuilding?
add glass on wood on inside to keep dry, could I add pump, and cut hole for access in floor above under splash well. Leave alone....?

Sorry if this is just a stupid question/s....
Im only a simple bloke

Cheers

[iplayz]

did a bit more digging today, kinda wish the whole transom was wet, as the dry sides and corners are kicking my butt.
Not sure on best method to get out this stuff so I been using a chisel mainly.
Getting there slowly

[Dignity]

Hi Iplayz, you sure have a job ahead of you. The only time I have seen this done was to cut the entire transom out and glass a new one in. Not sure the way you are tackling it is the right way, are you trying to salvage the glass on the inside of the cockpit.

[Casey Ison]

giday mate when I did my transom I did convert it to full height for pod aswell tho. but I left the rear glass in tact and cut the well out and over the gunnel and u can reglass on a small section over the gunnel and down the boat in line with the well corner. plenty of glass over the transom and stringers and floor keeps her nice and solid. very easy to get old timber out doing this aswell plenty of better experts on here but that's just what I did mate

cheers good luck with it all quick pic of my cruisecraft all done i resprayed and redid floor etc aswell and built a hardtop on her

[Rip it up]

To help remove the timber set a circular saw at a depth that won't cut the internal glass. Then make cuts 1" apart vertical and horizontal.

Should make popping 1" squares easier with the chisel.


Damo's dodgy boat building repair centre.

[iplayz]

Thanks for the tip sounds good, and obvious when some one else points it out lol.
Ive got easter off so get back into ripping the skin off my hands again then.

I was looking at removing inner skin and replacing it that way but looked to be too much to chew for me ie scary more scary than this way. To much cutting boat apart.
Way i see it if all goes to pot then nothing lost nothing gained as it wasnt going into water and risk my family and I life if motor fell off, so either pay thousand or do it myself or let it rot in yard.
Right now it feels like when you been to sizzler and going back for 3rd desert after smashing salad bar, yer I know ill polish it off but its gunna hurt and take a bit of time.

[odes20]

You're method is great. Cutting out the back leaving that margin is the way I have done 5 transoms in my time and I have never had a failure.
The key is to rebuild using epoxy as it is super strong, and completely seal over the top of the timber at the top of the transom when finishing.
Is the current old transom measurement for a short shaft motor or a long shaft. If its the old short shaft you may be interested in raising the height of it 100 mm to fit a newer donk with long shaft.
If you PM me your phone number and email, I can send you some pics of how to put the outer skin on effectively without fear of failure. Happy to help, as Ive been down this track and you can get a great Job.
Don't worry about the critics of this method. The last two I have done have 175 Suzuki 4 bangers hanging off them since 2009 and the are rok solid!
Also a very important point is to grind off all the old gelcoat wherever you plan to lap your your matting and epoxy . You need to allow 90mm lap on all areas where you join your new work to old surfaces.

PM me

Cheers
John

[gazza2006au]

odes, how did u tie in the transom to the stringers,floor,bottom,sides of hull if u only removed the rear skin?

how did u glass the front face of the transom?

u need to tab right around the inner transom to glue it all in or nothing else is stopping your outboard giving u a hair cut at wide open throttle

[odes20]

For a start the new panels go in behind the margin he left around the edges so it can't fall out
when that's all packed in with epoxy and rovings or chop strand it becomes very strong
The other main strength is returned to the outer skin when you reglass it to the engine well, and reglass the cut out join. I grind out in a graduating fashion about 100 mm either side of the original cut so the overall joint is now about 200 mm. So its deepest point is at the original cut line and it tapers out to outside edge of you ground joint. Now, starting with very narrow strips of matting, lay up the joint making each new layer of matting a little wider till you have filled the whole width of the ground joint.
Do this all in one session with epoxy and it will be tank strong!
Sand , belt sand, or grind it flat. fill, sand etc to get it all smooth for re painting
As I've mentioned, this method had never failed me over 5 transoms. On the inner face, if he glues the new panels to his inner skin with integrity, it will be held fast there as well.
Hope that helps😊

[PROS]

Out of curiosity to understand the process;
how is he going to insert the new panel behind the margin since it will need to be a lot bigger than cut off area?

[gazza2006au]

i cant really see that working odes, there is no way of putting pressure on the inner transom skin to bond to the new plywood because there is no access

[odes20]

i cant really see that working odes, there is no way of putting pressure on the inner transom skin to bond to the new plywood because there is no access

You can't see it working? That's Ok. I have seen it 5 times. I have more than theory, I have experience and I've seen others do this method well. I will help him.
So, as I mentioned I have done this rebuild 5 times and never failed. Some are over 10 yrs old now. It's very hard to explain every detail on here. He has started this and I'll help him finish.

[odes20]

Out of curiosity to understand the process;
how is he going to insert the new panel behind the margin since it will need to be a lot bigger than cut off area?

Good question. It's the most difficult part of this process.
He will need to remove more at tops yet. I'll explain it too him. I wasn't there to control his initial cut, but that's ok. I helped another bloke on here who made his cut much wider out than this. I'll find the thread for him. It has a lot of detail, and and he did a great job in the end
cheers

[iplayz]

Holy cow man....sorry to all that dont like this way

One major influence in doing this way is the west system guide. I figured if the folks that make the sticky stuff guide you in doing this way it should be some what acceptable.

Anyways, spent a bit more time chipping away side lip area and while slow progress starting to make in roads.
Took a week holidays so back i to it over next week, hope to trail fit by middle to end of the week and make decision on the need to make any more cuts to make life easier.
I do have a plan to make install easier but Ill try it 1st in dry run.

Thanks for help and I guess concern, feel at ease over choice either way.