Transom replacement underway

[Lootas1]

Took Rosario over to our pastor's shop. Nope, not final rites but a new transom. Ripping out rotten wood began yesterday. Have high hopes we'll have her back in the water in time for the summer that must be coming in September! I'll post some pictures as we progress. Meanwhile, we are hitching a boat ride to La Conner for the Saturday show.

[Lootas1]

Rotten wood out

The rotten wood, along with the splashwell, are gone and Pastor Chris told me today to find a credit card with a lot of credit left on it as we are going to Bellingham to buy materials. He is back to the plan of buying marine plywood and soaking it in resin instead of going with a composite material. He assured me with a good soaking and proper application of the glass, I will have a lifetime of use out of the new transom. (Since he hangs out with God, he might know how long it has to last for my lifetime.)

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Transom replacement

Jerry,
Good to see some progress on the transom. You'll have it back in the water in no time.
Good to see you and Becky at the LaConner show. Keep us up to date on the transom repair.

Tim

[Lootas1]

Some strength in transom

Yesterday Chris got the first piece of 1/2 inch Bluewater 26 Coosa Board in place. Put it against transom with fiberglass putty with many holes drilled in board to let the putty come through. Wow, never had any idea what all this stuff costs. The board was $270 at Fisheries supply and a couple of gallons of put was another $160. Someone once told me, once you have committed to repairing a boat, don't keep track of the cost. It will drive you crazy. Yup! That works for me. Anyway, here is the first half of board in place with clamps and braces. Today, the second goes in.

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Coo$a Compo$it

Jerry,
Going with Coosa, eh? Wow! That should be skookum! No more transom replacement for your boat! Yeah, the stuff is spendy!

Yeah, that reminds me, all the cockpit deck in the Saratogan is Coosa Composit.
3/4" for the engine hatches and 1/2" with 1/2" doubler everywhere else. Center engine hatch is 1 1/2" inches thick Coosa. Then reinforced with 3" fiberglass channel. I wanted it strong as it is a big span and I may have 3 or 4 people standing on it at once. I figure the materials alone for the cockpit deck were about three grand!

I'm going to rebuild the swim step on the Saratogan this winter and will likely make it out of Coosa.

Keep up the good work!

Tim

[Lootas1]

Yeah, it seems like a transom made of 24 karat gold would be pretty and cheaper than Coosa. Don't know if it would hold an outboard but it sure would make scrapping out the boat less painful way down the road!

[Helmar]

I know that John Nelson's Uniflite has quite a bit of the Coosa and fibercore board in it. If and when the transom needs replaced, he's going with that as well.
I like it due to how you and bend it around corners to make less than a 6" radius and then just glass it.

And I thought I was one of the last ones that knew the "Skookum" word

[TheBronze]

Excellent. A sturdy transom is a good feeling. Your shot of the first board reminded me of when I did the 404 earlier this year. Lots of clamps. LOTS and LOTS of clamps. One thing that I was concerned about when looking at your shots is that the clamps were directly on the exterior of the transom. Not so good for the paint or fiberglass/gelcoat. I used small pieces of wood to brace the metal clamps so they wouldn't leave marks. The wood ones weren't as much of a concern. The end result is a very solid and satisfying transom.

[Lootas1]

Almost there

Transom is done. Now to replace the splashwell, paint and hang the motor back on. Still hoping to use it before fall. Pics provided by a member/friend who is a better photographer than I.

[strobee]

Jerry, Glad to see Rosario is back together. Curious what method was used to get the old wood in the transom out. Rotten wood is easy to remove, but am looking for easier method to remove the good wood. Planning on pouring a transom in my Skagit 20. Clint

[Lootas1]

The splashwell and inside of the transom were cut away leaving just the outer glass in place. In my Skagit the wood was all rotten so it was just peeled off. Then the inside was cleaned up and pieces of Coosa board were placed against the board two layers deep. Chris drilled holes through the board and put glass putty on the transom and, using a carload of clamps and wood braces from the inside bent the Coosa board to follow the shape of the outer glass. Then another layer of Coosa board followed by fiberglass and gel coat. He assures me it would hold my 200 hp. Honda 4 stroke. Only problem is, I don't have a 200 hp Honda. Think the transom will never even notice the weight of the 50 Evinrude that actually is going back on.

[strobee]

Thanks for the info