Re: 1979 StarCraft with a small area of transom rot
Hey Marcus, In my opninion it is an easy job now, but when I did my first one I was like you a little skeptical and overwelmed. I'm not sure but I think the 70 has a metal lifing eye bolted to the top of the motor that is for lifting it off. If not that 70 is not very heavy, a couple strong guys can bear hug it to get it off.
Disconnect the battery, Undo the throttle and shift cable, and wiring harness plug under the hood, take off the fuel line and if it has power trim and tilt you will have to undo those wires in the black box under the splashwell( make sure you mark them where they go) Undo the nut on the steering arm on the port side of the motor and lift the arm out of the steering cable end. Undo the large nut on the starboard side of the motor that attaches the cable to the motor, the cable will pull out when you lift the motor off.
Take the curved trim piece off the top of the transom that runs full width, by removing the small ring nails on the inside and the out side. The corner caps are held on with pop rivets, drill them out with a 3/16"drill bit, be carefull with the corner caps as they are fragile and pricey. Now take a drill with a phillips bit under the splash well and remove the huge handfull of screws that fasten it to the transom.
All tou have left to do is remove the bolts that go though the transom from the outside, it will take a helper to hold the screws from the out side and one on the inside under the splash well to take the nuts off. If the boat is only used in fresh water you may even be able to reuse the bolts. There will be 4 or 6 bolts that come though and bolt to your knee brace( the angled aluminum piece that runs up from the bottom of the boat to the transom) check it for cracks at the top where those bolts come through. All that is left now is the splash well drains, the brass tubes that go though the transom to let the water out, from the inside take a chisel or old screw driver and fold the edge in all the way around so you can hammer them out the back. Under the corner brackets there is the top of the aluminum gunwal that covers the transom, you can either bend it up or cut it off to pull the transom out. You will also have to drill out the two rivets that hold the HIN number plate on the starboard corner as they go into the transom. The transom will now lift out with some force. If you still have solid wood in the center put in a couple of strong eye bolts to lift with.
You will need 1 sheet of good quality 3/4"ply, a lot use Arucca from Lowes, Spar varnish or epoxy to seal the new transom, Gorrila glue to glue the two sheets together, a couple of plastic replacment splash well drains, 3M 5200 marines sealant a few 3/16 by 3/4 aluminum/aluminum pop rivets and a poprivet gun, and various wood working tools and a couple days.
Hope that helps.
Glen
