1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

[crovowen]

This is my new to me 1978 Kingfisher 170. bought it (500 with trailer) knowing it needed alot of work and over the winter, repaired/replaced the wiring, added a fuel guage, rebuilt the carbs and upgraded to a CDI ignition on the 1978 1150 Merc. I rebuilt the trim pump, and now need to tackle the transom. as you can see, there has been an attempt at prolonging the inevitable by the previous owner.



fisrt hint of a serious problem during teardown. a reminder this boat hasn't been in the water for 4-5 years-

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

The motor is now off- to be cleaned and painted.

I guess when a bolt pulls thru- ya get a bigger washer!

Plate coming off- the bolts tell the true story-

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Hi and welcome, "crovowen"...
Nice to see another bass boat getting a shot at a second, better life...
You are in the best place on the web to get all the info you will need from some of the most helpful and knowledgeable guys around, right here at the Iboats Dry Dock...
Ask all the questions you have and post all the pics you can...
Best of luck,
GT1M

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

and the damage reveals itself-


I think this is supposed to be straight!

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

looks like mulch, some cracks and all of those things i have been reading about on these forums for a while now-

And at this point, i am not going to pull the cap. i would like to cut the back part of the cap and splashwell to survey the extent of the damage. any suggestions on where to cut? it has red mettalic clear gel coat(?) and i am not concerned about it when it goes back together- paint is fine with me. there is a wood bulkhead just behind the rear hatches, and am thinking to cut just behind that.

looking forward to reaping the benefits of everyones experience1

Just call me Crow-

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Hey Crow,
You can just cut forward of the splash well, BUT, in most cases, the transom won't be the only part that has rot in it...
The majority of these old boats are pretty much rotten through and through and will require the stringers and any bulkheads to be repaired or replaced, which pretty much entails a complete gut and restore...not to mention the casting decks may need some attention, too...
The reason being is that the transom relies on the stringers for complete structural integrity of the boat...
A cap removal will also make replacement much easier and is really not that much more difficult or involved as cutting the cap apart and splicing it back together...
In the end it is your choice to do it the best way you see fit, but if you are going to the trouble of replacing the transom, without regard for the rest of the substructure...well...ya know that can't be good...
GT

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Yep, this^^^^ is true. I strongly recommend a de-capitation and a thorough examination of the superstructure under the deck. I'd bet a bunch that there's a bunch of rot going on down below. 35 yrs is a long time.:joyous:

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

The more i think about it you guys are right- guess now i need to find a way to remove it. it is too bad since the P.O. re surfaced the deck with Durabak non slip and it is in really good shape. I will have to cut thru it to get to the plywood deck. well, i guess it is time to build a gantry and jump in with both feet- it will just take longer than expected. but, hey, i am in new mexico, and there is no water this year anyway!!

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

well, started gutting the boat- pulled batterys, trim pump, and fuel tank. then i removed the plate bolted on the INSIDE of the transom........


So a little bit of silicone and some expanding foam and i am good to go, right? (sic)

gonna be a long summer- i will let ya know when it is time to pop the cap- anyone have a simple plan for building A frames for this??

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

No real plans, just threw together some lumber and created a couple of temporary trusses using a bunch of drywall screws, then used some ratchet straps and some rope to yank it off the hull...

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

will be buying some lumber this week- clearing a space for the job- thanks GT!

 

[Letsg0fishing]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

I found the transom of my ranger to be mostly mulch as well.. and it smelled pretty bad, I didn't use it in the flower beds

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Ok- weekends progress- started the teardown and found a bunch of problems to be fixed when rebuilding.

the P.O. had drilled holes everywhere to drain, I guess, but they all went to an inaccessible area under the seat and then the water was expected to drain under the batteries thru the storage area and under the tilt pump-

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

also started cutting and grinding to remove the cap from the deck. what a PITA! stainless screw embedded in fiberglass and resin and coated with durabak non skid. gonna take some time.

that was the test hole and yep, you guessed it, wet foam. the half circle is a drain that just goes thru the fiberglass and goes right under the live well.

looks like this part of the cap was cut for the jicky doo repair on the transom. it will be repaired when I redo the cap and filled all the holes.
back to work this week, so won't get much done, but want to get the cap loose in the next week or so..

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

OK- cap is separated from the hull- ready to be lifted up and out. Glad I listened to you guys about doin the whole shebang-
all of the wood is toast. learned about hidden tabbing- great game- NOT!
looks like P.O. dumped a bunch of resin in there to try and fix it- guess it didn't work (sic)
i am starting my materiel list and would like input on preferred brands of resin and fiberglass materiels. kinda leaning towards poly and glass from US Composites, but any other info would be greatly appreiciated.

oh, by the way, the admiral has named the boat 'Second Chance'- thought that was appropriate-

Crow

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

cap off- fun has started cutting out floor and removing wet foam. looks like foam was sprayed in, and this hull only has a center stringer. foam boxes (?) at the front and back look like the foam was sprayed in, shaved or cut to size, and then covered with resin. it is all being removed. can't post more pics at this time because of an error message, file to big. will reset the camera for future posts- photobucket will let you resize the pic, but doesn't change the file size- onward- Crow

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Forgot to ask this question:
While making and taking notes and measurements, i noted that the transom on this boat is only 1 1/2 inches thick. I would like to use 2 x 3/4 ply with a 1708 layer between them and seal the outside and lay down a layer of CSM. is this a good idea? or should i just laminate 2 x 3/4 and just seal and CSM the outside? i would like to us PB to glue in the transom, but is PL a better way to go? I really want to do this right and not have to do this again for at least a couple of years.

Thanks- Crow

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

This link..."Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms" Will give you the info on how to make and install your transom. Do NOT put 1708 between the two pieces of plywood. Just glue em up with Titebond III. Fill any and all voids with PB then coat both sides of the wood with resin then apply a layer of CSM on both sides and the edges.

 

[crovowen]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

cool- that is what i thought, but had read on another forum (not iboats) about the 'sandwich'- does the same go for the single stringer? or should the layer of CSM wait until the stringer is bedded? n oticed today that the stringer just kinda sits there, not touching anything on the stern or bilge box. should this be addressed? or just redo as it was built? and thanks for the quick reply-

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1978 Kingfisher 170 Transom overhaul (first one)

Again, read the link. It has all the info on Decks, Stringers, and Transoms. I would tab the stringer to the bilge and or the transom where ever it's supposed to butt up to.