Re: 1981 15' SeaSquirt Project
Well, I have just come up with a new problem. The panel that was covering the inner side of the transom is trashed. Its not usable and literally fell apart with all the cracks that were in it. Any idea how I can rebuild a new panel to cover the inner side of the transom and tie that into the floor and sides? can I buy 1/8" sheet of fiberglass to glue on to the transom and work with that? Could I layup several thick layers of fiberglass onto the actual transom? and tie that all in together? Anyone run into anything like this? Thanks, Chris
Your talking about the INNER skin of fiberglass on the cockpit side of the transom. Correct? That's what is crumbling, not the OUTER skin of fiferglass on the motor side.
I think you may misunderstand the westsystem description. This will all be dealt with in the same fashion as tabbing the hull sides & deck back together. Go back up & click WOG's signature link for fabricating decks, stringers & transoms (in that thread, post #622) it has a good drawing of the multiple layers of glass & plywood.
After bonding 2 sheets of 3/4" ply (exterior grade, marine, MDO, or arroco [sp?]) {This gives you the correct thickness of wood, correct? 1.5" +/-, based on the
original, if not then the transom cap may not fit}, together with TiteBond III, cutting it to shape & to fit the transom area, applying a layer of resin & CSM, to all faces & surfaces of the wood transom. This 'glassed wood lamination is bonded to the inside face of the exterior transom skin, using a wide array of clamps & possibly fasteners. They are currently regularly called WOG's transom clamps, but he has mentioned that it is another iBoaters clamp. GT1M's got a pretty good photo set showing his use of them & possibly how he made them. Fairly simple to make. WOG does have them shown in a drawing but I don't have it at work. Adhering the wood transom onto the fiberglass is done w/ either PB or PL depending on your preference. Ask 2 people, you'll get 2 different answers. WOG prefers PB as I remember. Once the plywood transom is adhered, the gap along the edges of the transom is filled w/ PB to ensure no voids in the structure. Overfill the joint & run a serving spoon along the joint to create a cove, this will allow a smooth transition between the 2 adjoining surfaces (transom to hull bottom & sides, or deck to hull sides & transom) for the fiberglass that will be soon be applied.
EDIT: Changed above a bit, typo @outer vs inner transom skin:facepalm: sorry if there was any confusion. Re-read it before post & again after, made sense then, but needed to be changed
Once the 'glassed wooden transom is installed & tabbing is run around the edges covering the PB cove, alternating layers of CSM & 1708 fiberglass are laid up in increasingly large pieces, overlapping further onto the adjoining surfaces.
This is were your 'unsinkable' boat differs from some (most?). You have now created the inner skin you were asking about buying or fabricating. At this point most O/B runabouts have a cap that is actually the inner clamping surface for the motor. My wood lamination, tabbing, and CSM & 1708 layups will all be hidden from view once I put the cap back on. Yours will be exposed, so extra care should be taken during prep & layup to minimize extra work to smooth it out after it cures.
It
may also mean you will need to do the final layer of resin & glass w/ WAXED instead of UNWAXED resin. All work up to this point is done w/ unwaxed resin. It allows additional layups w/ out having to scuff the surface of the last layer to remove the amine blush. I said may because I'm not clear on how you plan to finish the newly added glass that won't match the existing gelcoat. I am guessing 1 of the many suggested paints, and that you'll fully paint the boat once it's put back together and reconstruction is finished. Unwaxed resin can be used (I will) as the final coat of resin, but it takes quite a while longer to fully cure. Using waxed resin speeds curing by inhibiting contact w/ the air (because it has the added wax component). You can actually buy the raw wax from most fiberglass suppliers & make your own waxed resin on an as needed basis, that way you only have to buy unwaxed rather then 2 types. But it will also then require a thorough sanding & wipe down during paint prep to remove the amine blush and give the paint some tooth to grab.
Does all that make sense?
If I have made any errors in the above, hopefully someone will chime in soon, and I hope they were errors by omission, rather then factual. But it's tricky these days. Some days better then others....
Hopefully it helps,
)and $400 for his Starcraft with Johnson 60 on it. He took it. 
