76 23 restore

[martin]

Okay guys I have started on my 23 this year. as I have a bracket and twin 150s ready to be installed.. But first I wanted to address the transom. I noticed the vent in the stern were cut a bit deep for a 2.5" thick transom.. well I got to pulling on the back and well. the plywood came apart... so then i started the begining of a transom tear out.. I am cutting the out side skin and laminating from the inside out. I did not want to pull the deck cap so i figured it would be easier this way... we will see..

[martin]

You can see the pic of the vent box and what happened when they cut into the transom.. I never thought to pull the vent cover to see the damage.. I probably could have bargained a bit on the price..once I pulled the cover you could put your finger all the way down the transom... just a thought if you are going to buy a fixer upper..
spent a half day measuring and then cutting and gutting out the transom

[martin]

Never thought i would see termites holding hands.. LOL.. I hope the freeze got them last night if not I had a nice de-greaser bath for them..

[Entourage]

I thought the same way as you when i did mine. I will never cut the outter skin again. It is much easier just to cut the inside cap and work from the inside without cutting the outter skin. Are you going to put new laminate for the outside skin or reuse the old one?

[martin]

Originally Posted by Entourage

I thought the same way as you when i did mine. I will never cut the outter skin again. It is much easier just to cut the inside cap and work from the inside without cutting the outter skin. Are you going to put new laminate for the outside skin or reuse the old one?

Yea i know what you mean... I thought long hard about it, trust me .. But i am not cutting the deck out just re- coring so that to me would be a p.i.t.a... And i did not want to cut the top deck cap..... I am going to use epoxy on the transom as this is going to be strickly a mechanical bond.. Rather than chemical... I am going to skin the inside skin with two layers of 1708.. Then 1.5" 20lb high density with reinforce glass fibers.. Like coosa board.. Then layer it out with 1808 and 1708, wrapping the glass around the edges of the stern quarters.. And it will be vacuum bagged

I was planning on using the outer skin at first but i think that the plan is to just wrap stern with new glass.. But that could change.. Planning on a teak veneer so we will see how this will shape up

[bigeasy1]

Hey look! Peat Moss with fiberglass over it.Now where have I seen that before? LOL

I did my transom(also an I/O) from the inside, I removed the rub rail and cap to hull fasteners just forward of the hawse pipes,and made a cut on each gunwhale at that point.
I was able to lift the whole section off.
Cut the inner rear pane out exposing the inner transom.

Also found the same conditions as you with the vent boxes.I cant figure out why they didn't just move the vents a half inch forward when they made the hull.In order to get them back in,I had to grind down the transom thickness at the rear.

I laid up a couple layers of 1708 on the inside of the outer glass skin,before I put the new transom core(Marine Fir plywood) back in.
On the inside I laid up a couple more layers of 1708 over the new core overlapped a good distance on the inner hull sides.
It's definitely a lot more work to do it from the inside.

I used Epoxy to glue the plywood together,and vinylester on the transom layup.Anywhere else like hatches and a little bit of deck rot,I used polyester.

Good luck with the ongoing work,keep the pictures coming.

[scowman]

Originally Posted by martin

spent a half day measuring and then cutting and gutting out the transom

That's good time for that work and your result looks clean and professional. May I ask what tools you used to clean the inner transom skin? Looks like power tool marks. Maybe an angle grinder? What blade?

Can you also tell me how you got the wood out from around the edges? That can be real PITA.

Cheers,

Ken

[GodsReel]

what kind of bracket ? what type of 150's . good luck and looks tight so far.

[martin]

Originally Posted by scowman

That's good time for that work and your result looks clean and professional. May I ask what tools you used to clean the inner transom skin? Looks like power tool marks. Maybe an angle grinder? What blade?

Can you also tell me how you got the wood out from around the edges? That can be real PITA.

Cheers,

Ken

Hi Ken,
First I measured the width of transom at Top, Middle, and Chine to chine also from Port gunnel to Starbord Chine and visa versa. I recorded all these measurements First and would re -measure so to keep track of the movement of the hull.
Then i used a block as a jig and traced the outline inside the hull..
Then i used a 4" angle grinder with a diamond blade. and cut on the lines
When I got to the top cap. I pulled all the screws out about a third up the lenght of the cap and used my Hoist to lift it up.. I then cut the rest of the transom up.
I put a few blocks to hold the cap up and just started to pry and pull the rot off the back...
I used a Bostich 36" wrecking bar, a eastwing claw hammer , a craftsman ballpin, and 2 steel flat wedges and some old large flat head screw drivers..
The rot was significant so it really wasn't so bad... as for the corners.. I tried to get the most out in the middle of the transom and then with the hoist and some notches in the wood. I used the hoist with a rope tied to the notch to Pull up and it rolled out the plywood for the most part in one piece...
when all the wood is out. I used a mirror to inspect the back side of the glass around the perimeter .. and a very sharp hand chisel i used to chisel out the remaining wood from the glass...

I then used a 7" angle grinder with 36 grit and ground the inner glass down. In some places I had to use a 4" flap disc and or twisted wire cup wheel for the stubborn areas.. I washed the area with acetone and then I scrubbed and Pressure wash with degreaser..

[martin]

Originally Posted by GodsReel

what kind of bracket ? what type of 150's . good luck and looks tight so far.

The bracket is from a company in south fl I believe,,twin aluminum. I bought off Badabing's Damaged Seacraft... and the engines are 98 twin 150 Mercury salt water edition... My friend gave them to me for rigging is boat with a new 225 opti.. basically got the whole package for about 1000..not including labor But Hey it my Buddy...