Hi Guys,
I took it out last Wednesday night and the transom held up very well in some pretty rough (and fun) water in Bowers Harbor of the West Arm of Grand Traverse Bay (NW side of Lake Michigan). It was a little windy and some water skiers making wakes to play on.
Another small spot on the right hand side bottom seam opened up in a place I didn't glue and it leaked just a little bit. It is 4 inches long and goes all the way to the inner seam. The water ran back along the space between the two layers and came in the inside right transom corner. Maybe a 1/2 gallon. It drained out ok. I could see it burbling in slowly.
I will try to pull that seam apart more and get some GOOP in there. I was very happy with the way the transom held on the the PVC in the rough water. It was really tugging on the material and deforming the cuffs when we were jumping wakes and surfing the rollers. We had it up to 18MPH which isn't much in a SKI-DOO or Boston Whaler but it felt like 100MPH in that little orange donut. My son had a big smile on his face. He clocked our speed with a GPS. I tried to keep the flat side down.
I could see the transom cuffs deform and pull on the material hard and I checked for any separation when I got home and after the boat had dried out and there is none visible. That gives me hope that it will be stay intact.
I took the camera but I wanted it show a dry ride and so, since it did leak, I didn't get any pics.
Be patient. I will get the final set up soon.
G, welcome to iBoats. These guys are awesome. I have really learned a lot from them and they have given me the confidence to try stuff I might have farmed out to someone who really wasn't much better than I am.
As for your repair, if I were you, I would wait to see if my boat works ok before I used that GOOP product. I would hate it if you used it and it failed down the road on account of me. Get some good advice from guys like DJC and others on here. They have more experience than I do. I just used GOOP because I knew how it works, had used it before on rafts (Hypalon not PVC) and I was comfortable with it. But that PVC WELD by BOSTIK seems like a good product for gluing PVC to PVC since it melts them together. But I question whether it will stick transom wood to PVC. That's why I was reluctant to use it.
However, some sites say not to use the PVC Weld:
http://www.westportmarina.com/zodiac/repairs/glue.html
Take some pictures of the damage and repairs so we can see them. If you don't have a web photo host, try OFOTO.com or one of the several other free photo hosts.
Be sure to remove all the old glue that you can from all the different surfaces, especially the transom. I used a razor blade to scrape off a lot of the old dirty, gummy crap off the transom and then I used MEK which works good for getting the last residues off. I think you can get it at any hardware store. I know ACE Hardwares around here have it.
I did the whole job with the boat inflated except, of course, for when I did the patch on the tube. There had been a very small, 1" square patch on there before and the tubes didn't hold air well. It was just a little pin hole. After my first trip out, when the transom came apart, I noticed that the patch was coming off, too. So, I just pulled it off, cleaned it up and replaced it first. I used a larger piece of material and I rounded the corners. By having it inflated when you glue the bigger sections, you will have something to push against when you are gluing it up.
Check my photos to see how I made the curved clamps to squeeze the cuffs in place with the glue. I don't see how you can put that contact cement on the inside of those cuffs, let it dry and then try to the slide the transom into those cuffs without it sticking before it is completely seated. I just think you have to use some kind of glue that will allow the transom to slide in there and express the excess glue.
I used the edges of the transom as a pattern for the curved wooden "clamps". I found the wood in a dumpster at a house remodel. No need to use a new piece from Lowes.
I suspended the transom from a bike hook on the ceiling with a line so I could push down on the cuff to get it all the way down in that upper corner of the cuff and to keep it from falling over when I was working on it. That worked good. The weight of the boat put pressure on that spot and the glue oozed out for a few minutes before it stopped. I used a strap to put the pressure on the tubes to pull them toward each other. You can see how it oozed out. I think that's called FLASH.
I originally removed the flash but later decided that the flash was a benefit and left it from then on. I smeared it out in some places which I think helps protect the seam from wear. It looks a little messy but I think I would smear the flash on all the seams if I did the job again. I think it helps to divert the water and abrasive wear from the seams.
One more thing. I have been nominated for DUMMY OF THE YEAR:
Before going to the lake, I put the motor on the transom. Then I noticed that the wooden floor wasn't installed, so I went in the garage and got the floor 5 sections. I knew I had to let the air out of the tubes to install it. So, I let the air out of the tubes.
What happened?
Well, the transom collapsed from the weight of the motor. The motor, transom and boat fell over backwards, came right off the trailer and landed, BANG!, on the driveway in a big pile.
What a dummy!
If that didn't rip that transom off, a little bumping around in the lake sure won't.
Take care, be safe.
Frednick
http://www.fredfamily.org/~nrfred/ph..._repair_small/
Zodiac Transom Failure - Repair
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