help with transom repair 1988 sea nymph gls

jabrown88

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Mar 1, 2016
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Hello everyone I'm looking to see if anyone has replaced a transom on a sea nymph. Any advice would be appricated. I don't have alot to spend so I'm looking to do everything myself. Any advice on where to start, how, tools ect would be greatly appreciated.
 

lmuss53

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Sep 9, 2008
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Look at some of the other resto threads. It is not a terribly hard job. Exterior grade plywood and barn paint will last for many, many years and doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars. That's what I did on my Sea Nymph rebuild. I love the lines on those GLS's if I ever run across one at the right price I'm gonna grab it.
 

jabrown88

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Mar 1, 2016
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I bought the boat for 500 bucks. It has a yamaha 115 hp 2 stroke on the back. I looked through the access hole where the battery goes. The support beams look good. No cracks or anything. It just has some flex at the top of the transom. Guy at the boat shop said it needed to be replaced and said it was 3 grand to do. I guess the first step is to get the motor off and go from there, the thing is heavy! The boat is in awesome shape though. That's the only problem is the little flex. I would post pictures but I can't figure it out.
 

jabrown88

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Mar 1, 2016
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Here are the basic pictures I'll take ones of the transom and see what you guys think. Thanks for the help
 

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lmuss53

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Beauty, I'd love to find that deal. The price tag suggests that there may be more issues than a bad transom.

I won't suggest I can tell you how to do it without seeing the boat, but you basically remove as little as possible, the motor, cap and all through hardware inside and out, and slide the old one up and out. There was a sheet of aluminum over the interior surface in mine. It came out with the wood and can go back in from the top. Using the old wood (or whats left of it) as a template, trace and cut out the new one. I used plywood in different widths to stack up and get the original width. I bonded them together with liquid nails, clamped overnight and then painted everything.

BTW, take note that the exterior grade painted plywood from the factory lasted until now, so painted exterior grade plywood should last 20 plus years. Using that school of thought and considering my budget, I used Auruco plywood from Lowes and porch paint. If mine lasts 25 years I'll be 88 years old the next time I pull it apart. I don't think there is a thing wrong with using the same material and techniques as the factory to put the boat back together.

Clean the old slot out like crazy, get every scrap of everything out and dry fit the new transom, including the cap and inside sheet. I painted the interior of the hull with the same paint as the transom let everything dry for a day and put it back together, with a somewhat different stern configuration. I used all stainless hardware throughout the rebuild, but again because of the budget, I reused the old stainless hardware when it was in good shape.

I do see that my signature is back, I thought I must have done something sometime that deleted my sig.
 
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jabrown88

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Mar 1, 2016
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Well bad news the supports that go from the transom to the floor are cracked. The transom is sagging away from the splashwell. Looks like it's going to be a little bit to much for me at this point. Someone has been in here before and tried to patch it up, but did more damage than good. I have a guy coming to look at it for a 1000 bucks tomorrow. I left everything wide open and apart so he knows exactly what he's getting into. I think the boat needs a whole new rear out on it!
 

jabrown88

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Mar 1, 2016
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He says he has 2 of them at home and wants more. Says he pays 2 grand to have a fabrication shop make everything brand new and rivet it all on. She will be back on the water, just not with me driving it! Thank you everyone for the help and words of advice!
 

lmuss53

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Sep 9, 2008
Messages
1,227
If it's east of the Mississippi and that guy doesn't take it PM me please.

EDIT: I looked at your sig...located in Colorado, too bad. Best of luck
 
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