I would wait till I got the transom and splash well back on the boat before I flip it. You want it to not flex so much.
Hey Waterman, am I wrong or are the only vertical braces for the gunnels the fishing rod holders on the sides? When you did the patches to the skin on your Chief, did you bond them with marine tex or something before you riveted in place? I have a few rivets on the transom that need to be replaced, I am thinking blind rivets coated with 5200, but I am more than happy for suggestions.
When I get to actually dropping in the transom, I'm gonna follow JimbC's method to not bend up the AL any more than it has to. Are the end caps available for these boats? Mine had a piece of 1.5" angle on both sides lol.
Thanks again.
Jamie
For patches on the transom there's a trick to it using the solid rivets so the transom wood slides in without hitting the bucktails.
Thanks for all your advice Waterman. I know it's double work, but you think I should postpone the leak test until after all the paint is stripped and rivets replaced? Also is there a truck to clean strip? It seamed to dry out quick and didn't remove the amount of paint I was hoping for. I pasted 8 or 9 coats if it before I got to the point of the pic above. Thanks JamieFuzzy pop corn rivets don't sound very appetizing :lol: About all you can do is press on with the tear down/clean up, pressure washing and paint stripping. I believe my final count for rivets used on my Chief at just under 600.