Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

I would love to know how to draw and print on the photos as you have......very clear!

The thickness should not be a problem as their is the fiberglass wall of the transom about 5/16" then one piece of 3/4" ply (the X area), then a smaller 3/4" plywood layer doubled around the transom cut out.

It would be pretty easy to cut a piece of plywood that would inclued the X area and the two lower wings. do you think that would add rigidity?


I am turning my attention to the stringers now. I drilled some test holes and the wood in the exposed area (cased in fiberglass, shown in the two photos) seems solid. There was an 8" piece of 2x4 out at the extreme sides of the boat that was not enclosed in fiberglass. I presume these were there to have a place for the plywood deck to anchor on the outsides. Have you seen construction like that before? I thought there would be one continues piece of 2x4 running the whole outside of the floor of the boat, but I guess not. Any thoughts on this?

I would love to see a schematic of the framing from Century on this boat.

thanks for your expertise, I appreciate it!

Very easy to mark up your pics, Just use Microsoft Paint. It's on Everyones PC. In the Accessories Folder. Lots of boats have partial stringers for deck support. Nothing to worry about. If the core samples don't show any signes of wetness or rot, seal em up and don't worry about em. Again, you should research the installation specs for your particular Outdrive and Make sure that your build your transom to match the required thickness specs for it. They must correct or the outdrive will not install correctly.

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

are you saying to import a photo to Paint.....do the editing.....then upload that file?.....or can Paint be used on files once they are attached to my post?

ok, i will see if I can find specs for the mounting in the manuels.

what about making a solid piece of plywood that would include the lower wings, that are not plywooded now......any value to this or just overkill?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

You have to copy the picture to Paint, edit it, and then upload it.

I would only replace wood that is rotted. If the wood on the "Wings" is solid I would not worry about replacing it.

 

[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

I would not leave any wood in there that looks good to the eye, The rot is IN the wood even if visabily not detectable,it is in there.Trying to cut out the rot and work with pieces is just delaying the rot.Of course all depends on what you want,A quick fix or a good fix.The latter taking longer but lasting a lot longer of course.IF you decide to do it the easy way I would at least inject the old wood with git rot. It is an epoxy resin thats used by way of injection in rotten wood.It kills or stops the rot molecules.
Replacing a transom or stringers is not easy and demands experience,Do not be afraid to ask those that have done it before,And learn from our mistakes! Have a blast and good luck watever you decide!

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

I-Mike, thanks for the advice and encouragement. I worked on pull the transom off today for about 3hours. The rot looked more extensive on the ply sheet against the rear fiberglass wall. The doubled up piece, which is still dry and solid was hiding the rot behind.

I definitily do not want to do a quickie fix. Engine out + transom stripped = Do it once...Correctly!

Can you use a belt sander on the bits of plywood still stuck to the fiberglass transom? would this hurt the fiberglass or cause adhesion issues with new transom install?

I have been using chisels and pry bars so far.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Go to Harbor Freight and get this stuff.... Back up Pad, 24 grit discs and a 4 1/2" Grinder. You need to get All the old resin and wood off the glass and grind down to Fresh Glass in order for the new Glass and resin to bond properly. You will also need to wear ALL the appropriate Saftey gear, i.e. Respirator, Tyvek Suit, Goggles Gloves etc...

Hint: Coat yourself in Talc Powder before suiting up. It really helps cut down on the itching.

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[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Hi I am glad you decided to do it once.and yes you could use a belt sander but I prefer a orbital sander (much more control)use 100 or 80 grit.
You mentioned chisels.Good.prybars I would take a lot of care with you might damage something.It took me two weeks of chiseling to get mine out...Patience! (working under splashwell)Sanding the glass is good you are prepping and cleaning for adhesion ,But do not go crazy...deep.Take your time.do not forget cleaning with acetone or thinner before you stick your transom back. I am more than willing to walk you through it if you want,Tomorrow I am painting my honeycomb pilothouse (second Time) Paint seller told me the wrong mixing ratio,The last 4 days I have been taking the paint off(laquerthinner OUCH!!)So untill then good luck. I mike.

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Woodonglass, I do have a grinder. I can get the sanding gear. Is this used to pull the last bits of plywood off the transom hull ? I also am using the safety equip. and tyvek suit. I will have to try the talc powder. I did have some itching after my first tear in.

When you say "all the old resin" I need clarification. I can tell where there is matting and get that off. On parts of the transom where all the wood is cleaned, I see fiberglass "gel coat", the same color as my exterior hull. Are you saying there is, or could be resin coating over the inside gel coat?

I-Mike, thanks for the tips. I will post when I get to the next step.

 

[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Just the grinder will work fine since you explained you have gelcoat on the inside(very strange indeed) I wonder how the plywood is connected then since resin does not adhere to gelcoat.Got pics??.Anyway you will carefully have to grind and/or sand away the gelcoat untill you reach bare fiber,(When ALL the colour is gone)no more no less.But be careful not to grind too deep. Its tricky and requires a steady hand,Hope this helps.Ask away we are here to help.But really a few pics would help.Good luck. I mike.

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Ok, I did some more cleaning off of the old transom plywood and took a couple of photos.

I think I mispoke about the interior "gelcoat". First off, I know the gelcoat is the outer most layer with the color on it. My fiberglass transom is about 5/16 thick. How much of this is gelcoat?

One photo shows my gelcoat as a beige color. When I first saw what was underneath some of the transom wood, I thought it was this color. Another photo shows an area surrounded by white lines that shows some yellow-greenish color, with all the wood cleared off. Under this area is another area perfectly flat with the impression of plywood pressed into the surface. This area then blends into a scalloped area at the bottom that just thins off to nothing. then there is fiberglass mesh below this.

Is this greenish yellow color the resin Woodonglass mentioned?
How do I know when I have reached fiberglass mesh? will I see strands of mesh or what?

all help appreciated, as usual!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

This glass in the red cirlce is where you need to sand to and maybe just a Little bit more and then you're good to go.

(click the pic to enlarge_

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

thats doesnt seem too hard to do. Its amazing how much that transom wall flexes now without that plywood in there.

thanks for your clear advice!

 

[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Hey there 84Edh.
Could not jump in,You know; painting today,But youre doning fine there.Be glad to answer any questions tomorrow, Greetings Island mike.

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Ok, I have finished stripping out the old transom wood and cleaning up the old fiberglass. What is the procedure for getting new wood in there?

marine grade? varnished or sealed before glassing in? Should the first piece be installed and glassed, then the cut out made and then the doubled up piece glued/glassed over the first piece?

help appreciated!

 

[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

Hi there.I use marine grade,It realy doesnot matter much what kind since it will be sealed off from water and the elements..Just make sure its ply and dryed out properly.Cut out the 2 pieces and check if they fit on your transom.Use clamps and adhesive to stick the 2 cutouts together,.I use west system,(there are plenty of other products out there)The adhesive I use is called 404 high density adhesive filler.You would have to mix with epoxy resin.Aply evenly. do not leave any of the ply uncovered(air pockets)You would have about 20 min.before it starts to gel (get hard).after you have glued the two pieces together,Wipe off any adhesive and let dry for about a good day or so.Allright,So you have got your wood ready,Sand off ANY adhesive that will have been squeezed out from in between the two pieces of ply.Fit your ply in the transom. now you will have to drill holes through your fiber and through your ply,This is to be able to bolt the fiber and ply together and get the plywood flat on the fiber,Do not worry about the holes,They can be filled later. Check again if it fits. When ready ,Put everything you are going to use close at hand.clean the fiber with acetone.get your adhesive ready,remember you have only 20 min. before it will harden,but easy does it.cover the side of ply that will go on the fiber with adhesive nice and thick; one cm. or so thick, stick your ply on to the fiber and stick the bolts through the holes tighten equally untill adhesive starts squeezing out.Then stop,Do not overtighten because you will squeeze all the adhesive out. smoothen out adhesive in between the gap along the ply and fiber the idea is to seal it off completly.If nessesary make another batch of adhesive and aply more so that gap is completly filled.Try to smoothen the adhessive out as much as you can,Once hard it is very hard to fair .Once hard(a day or two) you will have to work those bolts out wich is a little hard so I cover them with plastic(,Epoxy resin does not stick to plastic)And make your holes bigger than the bolts it makes it easier to get them out afterwards.When this is all hardened out after a day or so,you can cover your ply with fiberglass,but thats later.If you have any quistions ask please!
Here in the caribbean we use pieces of wood (2by4) to aply pressure instead of bolts,wedging them and aplying pressure,But this is much more difficult and time consuming,So I would defenitly stick with the bolts.I hope this helps.Good luck and remember : prep!!! Run things through your mind and get everything you need,put close by.since you have limited time once you have mixed the adhesive.. do not worry you will be fine take a good deep breath work fast but not hastly..Good luck !!! Island mike.

 

[island mike]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

You can also stick your cutouts together by lying them on a FLAT surface and putting some weight on them(evenly),Wichever way you choose,Screws,clamps,weight;The rule is do not aply too much pressure for you will squeeze out all the adhisive..Island mike

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

You don't need to use epoxy. You can if you want but do not need to. Your boat is made out of Poly so poly will be fine. I would recommend you watch these videos and they will show and tell you all you need to know about installing an I/O transom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i30vc3_s20M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u3SO7O2Coo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZSjnoHY2u8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_FKuN3n1As&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdshiwBMYGM&feature=related

 

[84EdH]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

thanks for the feedback guys. W-D, thanks for the videos......visuals really help!

 

[florida boat 53]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

you might want to look into this stuff called Seacast. you remove the wood and replace it with this stuff you just pour in. I have seen a couple of local boats and it works just fine . much better than cutting you boat apart to get at the wood. go look at transomrepair.net stronger than wood and never rots or becomes water logged.

 

[florida boat 53]

Re: Transom Repair 1979 Century 3000

the gel coat is only about a 1/16" think paint