Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

[pmjr0987]

Hey guys last year i picked up this pos boat for $1,000. I came here naive and looking for a cheap fix. ill link that thread here... http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/1984-bayliner-capri-rotten-floor-transom-618300.html


Anyway, Ive never put the boat in the water, the responses scared me away from it. i decided to use the jetski and friends boats while mine sat :grumpy:


So a few days ago i found a local place that sells Nidabond for $178 plus tax on long island NY. Im going to pick it up in a week, next wednesday.

I just got the motor off, and cut the top of the transom off. Here is what i found,

BEFORE, the red outline is what i want to replace.

Engine off

Cut off

***CONTINUED NEXT POST***

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

From other threads on the forum, i see alot of these old bayliners are three piece transoms, and many people only replace the center with good results.

My question is, Should i chainsaw out the wood in the center and pour in the nidabond or should i cut the center out and replace it with wood, and i could even add two knee braces and glass them into the new transom center, and than the hull and existing stringers.

This thread is what im going for if i decide to replace with plywood

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/bayliner-capri-1600-deck-transom-restore-lots-pics-320546.html

**for reference**

This seems easy enough and very strong. some small pieces of plywood, resin and some glass. My transom does look different than this boats, his is 16' mine is 19' but they both are three piece

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Have you core sampled your stringers? If they are Sound and not needing to be replaced then I don't see why you couldn't do the same repair. Usually the stringers need replaced along with the transom. I'd strongly recommend that you ensure the stringers are sound before you waste time and money on doing this type of repair and then find out the stringers are bad later on.

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Thanks for the suggestion, I drilled into both stringers and the wood that came out was a light cream color, so I would imagine they are fine, I drilled into the transom and its dark and wet. I took a chainsaw to the top and its soaked. Almost black color and very wet. I'm also seeing the two smaller pieces of plywood in the two sides of the transom are wet. I'm wondering if I should just cut out the back of the boat hull and dig out all the wood that way than glass in a few thin sheets of plywood and glass in the hull again. I could also nidabond the transom doing that method too and the nidacore would go all the way across only problem is the plywood is maybe 5/8 on the sides and 1" tops in the center I do not know if that's a thick enough cavity for nidabond to be strong enough

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

If the Transom and wings are that saturated, I'd advise you to cut the splashwell off at the gunwales so you can get access to the entire transom, remove 2 ft of the rear deck and replace the entire transom with wood and glass.

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

I am trying to avoid that as much as possible as I don't want to gut the boat. I think it would be much easier and more cost affective to cut the back of the boat to remove the wood and then either fill the entire cavity with nidabond or new plywood. I'm not completely against it. But if that's the only way this boat can get on the water so I can fish I might just junk it and start over lol

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

I'm not a big fan of cutting the outer skin to replace a transom. I know it's done a lot in some areas of the country and some say it's a viable method. I just think it's just not a good method. But like I say...it's your boat and you're free do with it as you see fit.

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

After prodding a bit more the sides are not as bad as I thought, they were spot on the top where the wood was open to the elements for years. I think I'm just going to do the repair with a few layers of 1/4" plywood. It amazes me the sides are 5/8 plywood and the center is 7/8 plywood. I would think the center would be thicker but if you take a look at the pictures I posted of my boat the piece on the inside that makes the center look thick is only about 4" deep the rest is 7/8" thickness. When I build up the center I will do 2" thick top to bottom and knee brace them into the stringers outer glass with matt and epoxy. Should cost less than $200 with wood and a gallon of good epoxy. Than I can use the boat for awhile and in the spring tear out the floor and relace the soft spot above the gas tank

 

[azmav]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Interesting idea there pmjr, I have the exact same boat, (got mine for $75, no motor) but it was destroyed. You can see the process in the two threads in my signature. If you can post pictures around the gas tank area, I would love to see the set up, mine had a big hole that was either a ski locker or someone cut the gas tank out.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Just remember, the Transom is one of the most critical structural elements of the boat. It must be strong and done correctly. You will need to use fiberglass cloth and resin to do the job correctly. Do some searching and studying here on the forum on transom replacements so you'll KNOW what you need to do.

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to start gathering grinding disks etc for this project this week and start cutting out the floor and transom Saturday. I just tore up the whole carpet and the entire floor is rotted but the stringers seem ok.... looks like they glasses in the stringers than laid the plywood floor down and painted it. Doesn't look like the plywood floor that came with the boat was fiberglassed at all besides the edge?

I'll post some more pictures soon, I was able to use my hands to rip the floor out off the gas tank. Its been stored under a waterproof cover for a year and the floor is still wet as is the center transom

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

I don't want to be a Gloom and Doom Rain on your Parade kind of guy but... (doncha just hate those buts!) I think you should really slow down and do a thorough inspection/inventory of the boat and make some hard decisions. IF you want to keep this boat because you like it's styling and it fits your needs and it will for a few more years to come then it should be worth your time, effort and dollars to fix it and fix it right. If it is not, then scrap it and find one that is. Based on my experience, I'm fairly certain this boat needs a full restoration...Deck, Stringers and Transom and that means the Motor comes of, the top cap comes off, the deck gets cut out, stringers cut out Transom totally replaced, stringers totally replaced, deck totally replaced. Time and Money...100-200 man hours and $1,500 bucks give or take a few hundred.

Decision Time!!

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Hey just a minor update I'll post some pictures for people following this soon but I basically started pulling carpet and the plywood was rotted dirt which I kind of expected. The stringers seem hard and sound firm when hit. I drilled into it (about ten holes) and the shavings are light and fluffy which seems good and a small screw driver hits what feels like solid wood when I stick it in the hole too. The stringers are covered in resin and fiberglass and the rotten floor plywood was separated from the stringers because of that.


I'm still not sure if I want to try chainsawing out the transom and spending -$200-$400 on nidabond (200 for less than 5 gallons 400 for anything more) or do like I showed on the second post how he cut out the inner skin of the center transom and replaces just that with wood, fiberglassed into the rest of the transom and braced into the stringers. I believe this might be a little harder to finish than the chainsaw but will be much cheaper and just as strong maybe stronger...
.
For the floor I'm going to do polyester resin and fiberglass mat and if I do a plywood replacement transom I will use epoxy resin for that because its structural. All spots that you walk on will be replaced with plywood thats coated top and bottem with resin.

I'll post pictures tomorrow but does this seem like a viable half way point between running the boat as is and a full tear down and rebuild? Lol both are out of the question for me right now

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

I don't think I would use a chainsaw (you may be able to control a chainsaw better than I do, I have seen awesome stumps carved into grizzly bears on beer commercials) unless I was junking the boat...

no way to control the depth of cut unless you are planning on still cutting through the hull which IMHO is a wrong move. You will never regain the strength that the hull has now, no matter how many layers you put back.

If you have to get to the transom wings, you may be able to do as I have and only remove the rear section of hull cap. It isn't structural; the stern at the transom is.

I would recommend using a common circular saw and a carbide blade. Set the blade depth roughly an 1/8" shallow of the hull (hold the saw against the transom on its side, blade towards the stern) and cut lines six inches to a foot apart vertically. Horizontal lines can be cut as well. This will allow you to remove the transom without damage to the hull beneath it. I sued and old chisel and most of it popped right off, leaving little to sand and grind on.

If you use epoxy, you won't be able to gelcoat. They don't like one another. You WILL have to cover the epoxy somehow as it won't take the UV and will deteriorate within a year or two. Paint will work, but you will have to stay on top of it, maintenance wise.

How much stronger than factory does your rebuild need to be? Polly is cheaper, and if done correctly, will be stronger than factory.

Just my two cents worth. lane:

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

The chainsaw idea i actually got from here and searching google. apparently its the preferred way to pour a composite transom.

I dont think im going with the nidabond anyway. The fact that if i need just 6 gallons the price goes from $200-$400 turns me off completely. Im going to drill small 1/4" holes through the inside fiberglass coat in the side wings of the transom and soak git rot into all the holes. Than im going to cut the inside center out and rip the center transom out from the inside. its going to be tight for my 6'5" 250# *** but ill manage lol.... Ill be increasing the size of the transom from 7/8" thick to 1.5" using three layers of 1/2" exterior plywood bonded together, than fiberglass the lip of the whole center into the stringers glass and the existing wings. I thing this will be stronger than what came from the factory...

Cutting to the pictures, here is what i had done last week haven't touched it since Friday

center bulkhead will be replaced with new plywood and im going to add another under the windshield area

Next up im cutting out most all the foam and will replace with closed cell foam, than will cut out the transom... After that, trace and cut all plywood for floor and transom, and start the fiberglass work.

Any opinions or maybe things i should change in my plans let me know, its why im sharing

 

[Speak]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

The chainsaw idea i actually got from here and searching google. apparently its the preferred way to pour a composite transom.

I dont think im going with the nidabond anyway. The fact that if i need just 6 gallons the price goes from $200-$400 turns me off completely. Im going to drill small 1/4" holes through the inside fiberglass coat in the side wings of the transom and soak git rot into all the holes. Than im going to cut the inside center out and rip the center transom out from the inside. its going to be tight for my 6'5" 250# *** but ill manage lol.... Ill be increasing the size of the transom from 7/8" thick to 1.5" using three layers of 1/2" exterior plywood bonded together, than fiberglass the lip of the whole center into the stringers glass and the existing wings. I thing this will be stronger than what came from the factory...

Cutting to the pictures, here is what i had done last week haven't touched it since Friday

center bulkhead will be replaced with new plywood and im going to add another under the windshield area

Next up im cutting out most all the foam and will replace with closed cell foam, than will cut out the transom... After that, trace and cut all plywood for floor and transom, and start the fiberglass work.

Any opinions or maybe things i should change in my plans let me know, its why im sharing

sounds like you have a plan. One thing to note, on my bayliner, the bulkhead in front of the gas tank was rotted like your and what i found was that the rot had leached into the stringer. The stringer was notched to have the bulkhead fit and this is where the rot got into my stringers. Look very closely there. Other than that, good luck and keep the pics coming. cheers.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

The chainsaw idea i actually got from here and searching google. apparently its the preferred way to pour a composite transom.

Im going to drill small 1/4" holes through the inside fiberglass coat in the side wings of the transom and soak git rot into all the holes. Than im going to cut the inside center out and rip the center transom out from the inside. Ill be increasing the size of the transom from 7/8" thick to 1.5" using three layers of 1/2" exterior plywood bonded together, than fiberglass the lip of the whole center into the stringers glass and the existing wings. I thing this will be stronger than what came from the factory...

Yup, chainsaw IS the way to go for a composite transom. Save your money on the Git Rot stuff. Unless you get ALL of the wet rotting wood out it will NOT Work!!! Waste of Time and Money. Be careful increasing the thickness of the transom. The Motor has to be able to clamp to it.

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Yup, chainsaw IS the way to go for a composite transom. Save your money on the Git Rot stuff. Unless you get ALL of the wet rotting wood out it will NOT Work!!! Waste of Time and Money. Be careful increasing the thickness of the transom. The Motor has to be able to clamp to it.

WOG, if anyone would know you would, but I was afraid we were still talking cutting the hull loose at the stern, which just scares the heck out of me. I see items from time to time that others have done, and I spend more effort than I should, trying to do a viable repair. :frusty:

I'll go set in the corner now and learn something. :yield: :sorry:

 

[pmjr0987]

Re: Just started TRANSOM 1984 bayliner looking for advice!!

Speak, thanks for the heads up on the bulkhead I'll be extra careful to inspect that area and if need be replace some stringer

Woodonglass from what I read git rot is designed to harden rotten wood, to work in conjunction with it....I could be mistaken though. The wood seems hard but just rotten on the top corners where the wood was exposed to the outside.

Also, if you look careful on the third picture down in my first post you can see that 1/2" piece of plywood on top of the 7/8" only goes down 4" or so.... My thinking is to run that all the way down and fiberglass that into the hull and stringers as one 1.5" thick piece.... so clamp size should be the same but I might need longer bolts for the bottom of the mount lol