is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

greasemonkeyjmj

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
264
i am looking at a early 70s bomber fiberglass bassboat. it has been under a cover and not used since 1992. the floor seems to be in solid shape, but the transom is weak. threre isnt any major cracks in the top of the transom, but you can rock the engine and watch the transon give. also near the top of the transom you can give it a good squeeze by hand and see it give in. the boat is i believe a 16 foot with a 50 horse merc on it. the transom is sealed on the inside and out, and with the splashwell like it is, there isnt any good way to get to the transom to work on it. so i was wondering how difficult it is to remove the topside of the boat ? i figured if i could do it, that the wood in the transom will be exposed, and i could just remove it all from the top and slide in my new ply. i know this is going to be a lot of work, but i am good with resins and glass, and am very mechanically inclined. this seems like a awful lot to do on a old boat like this, but i would be getting the boat motor and trailer for close to nothing, the man parked it after having some engine work done and having it not run the next time he took it out.i figure if the motor isnt easily fixable,i can part it out .i also have available another 50 merc that i can pick up for $100.00 and the boat is set up inside just like what i am wanting.
thanks
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

its easy......depending on the boat....it can be done in a few hours......
and that is the proper way to do a transom
read hull extension in progress....there is picks of the process in there
 

redfury

Commander
Joined
Jul 16, 2006
Messages
2,655
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?


If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. One thing to keep in mind about pulling the top ( cap ) off your boat is that the sides are going to bow outward, so when you put the cap back on, you'll want help fitting it back on. I put mine on by myself last fall and it was a real bear to do singlehandedly. If you take the entire cap off, the easiest way to fit it back on is to start from the rear of the boat and work towards the bow...trust me on this....I did mine the opposite way. :(
 

greasemonkeyjmj

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
264
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

after i remove the rubrail and all of the screws i can find holding the boat together, is there usually some type of glue or sealer that i will have to deal with before pulling it apart ?
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

sometimes.
 

greasemonkeyjmj

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
264
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

thanks TD i am trying to gather all the info i can before i start on it
 

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: is splitting a boat in half difficult ?

its very easy to figgure out when you get in there........

a small putty knife between the deck hull joint....and run the knife all the way around....(shoe box joint.......the cap fits like a lid of a shoe box)

in a flange joint.....there might be a layer of fiberglass on the inside.....flange joints are somewhat rare.
 
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