1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

[oops!]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

hi....

looks like you are having fun....lol

have you fit the transom in the boat with the cut out yet?....alignment of the transom with the cut out is crutial....

thickness is also extremly important, too thin,, or too thick means trouble.

pre fit that transom.. and post back.... let us know how it fits.

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Hey guys, quick update before bed... I'm beat.

The good news... THE TRANSOM IS IN!!!

The bad news... with all the time spent trying to get enough peanut butter made to the right consistency (again I ended up too hairy!!), getting it laid down, getting it aligned, getting the clamps on, tightening them down evenly to ensure I was parallel, realigning the through holes, clamping some more........ it kicked!!!! So, I did some quick checks with my calipers and I was getting about 2.25-2.3 inches which means I'm too thick. Now there's no room for the 1708. I guess I'll have to just tab it in with the 1708, ensuring that I leave enough clearance so it doesn't get under the transom plate when installed. I'm also hoping that when I take the clamps off it's flat and parallel and doesn't get too thick in places I couldn't check yet. Worst case is I'll have to grind down the thickness and re-glass it I suppose. I'm trying not to get too bummed until I can get those clamps off and take a look. One thing is for sure, it's not coming back out! So, I'll figure it out one way or the other.

Oops!, thanks for heads up. I dry fit everything and was quite pleased with the alignment. The holes were on the upper side of the hull holes at first, so I had to do some grinding on the bottom edge of the transom to bring it back down again (didn't grind down to the wood though). I also took the time to remark the center lines on the transom with my template to make certain they lined up with the center marks on the hull... and they did. Everything is centered properly, but hopefully I'm not too thick... we'll see.

If you experts have any plans for reducing the thickness, or if you know the absolute limit on the thickness (meaning is 2-1/4" hands down the limit, or can I get by with .xx inches oversize) I'm all ears. I'm guessing too thick means the drive shaft won't engage the flywheel enough, but I'm not sure.

The path of the storm leading to the transom

The calm after the storm

Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry... I was a little excited

 

[Trooper82]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Transom looks good sitting in there....hopefully thickness turns out ok...I went through same thing with mine...I plan on doing some grinding on inside when the time comes to put things back in...

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

I think 2.25 is ok.

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Thanks guys... I'm a bit biased on the thickness spec because in my line of work 50 thousandths of an inch is A LOT. I've done quality inspection for the majority of my career, which is young, but still I'm very particular. I've also seen that the designers/engineers also leave A LOT of room for error just to cover their butts (mine now since I got promoted recently , yay!) with the tolerance analysis. Usually there's PRACTICALLY more tolerance (depending on the mating parts) even though TECHNICALLY (from the math/tolerance analysis) there's no more room. I beginning to think I'm more concerned about the flatness than the thickness and parallelism is not even a concern. Flatness on the hull-side (since it is much more flemsy than the 2" of solid wood transom) could cause my gimbal housing seal...well, not to seal. I'm not sure how parallelism could be much of a problem since the transom plate has tons of clearance around the drive shaft and the through bolts have plenty of threads to play with (the plate is more like a huge washer). As long as the gimbal housing seals and it's aligned close enough to center (based on the Mercruiser hull alignment specs), the engine mounts should have enough adjustment to compensate for any parallelism issues. Thickness on the other hand could prevent the drive shaft from engaging the flywheel enough, but I'm doubting 0.050" oversize will cause an issue. May not be desirable, but may not be a show stopper either. Regardless, I'm a man of the spec and if I need to adjust to meet spec I certainly will. Just my thoughts... I will know more once I take the clamps off and assess the situation. Thanks!

 

[OneBadBuoy]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

looking good seabass

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Well I got the clamps off this evening and grinded down most the excess resin that squeezed out. As I anticipated, it looks like the flatness is over the 1/16" spec on the hull side (from top to bottom... it's in spec from left to right) and the thickness is over 2-1/4" at the high spots. But, everything is very solid and bonded well.

Posting this picture again for reference:

To measure the flatness, I took my right angle square and placed the edge against the hull (from top to bottom) near the edge of the keyhole. I then took items of different thicknesses that I had laying around and checked where they would slide under the edge of the square. At about the second bolt hole up from the bottom, I measured the most deviation and it was reading almost 0.1" (0.0625" is the spec limit). The square contacted the hull at the bottom edge of where the gimbal housing sits (note the stain outline on the hull) and at the top bolt hole. I also noted the hull deviated away from the square above the top bolt hole which tells me I've got a high spot around the top bolt hole. This was consistent on both sides of the keyhole from top to bottom.

I then repeated the process holding the square from left to right. Again the lowest spots were near the second bolt hole up from the bottom (as expected), but I couldn't fit a 0.0625" thick item underneath it, indicating I'm within spec left to right.

To fix all of this, I'm thinking I will have to grind down the gelcoat/hull about 1/32" around the top bolt hole to get within the flatness spec from top to bottom. I could then touch up the grinding spots with new gelcoat. Not to mention, I'm reading about 2.8" total thickness at the high spots, so I need to remove material there anyway. The only other option I see is to add fiberglass to the low spots on the hull side and feather it in on the edges, but then I would still have to remove material on the inside of the transom to get the correct thickness. Do you guys think removing hull material at the high spots is the way to go?

Looking forward to getting everything tabbed in this weekend and starting on the new stringer section and making the foam boxes.

 

[Rick-101]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Glad to see its coming along!
I had my own setbacks, turned out my transom was to thin, level, flat but too thin... I ended up adding a sheet of marine ply painted with gel coat. Thank you for the link to the template, it allowed me to buy the wood one night install it on site the next day cut and ready to go. I'll post some pics on my thread soon.
Keep it up!

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Thanks Rick, glad I could help out.

For anyone else wondering about the Mercruiser template, I posted a how-to to compliment Don S.'s link for printing it onto 3 regular size 8.5x11" sheets of paper a few weeks back. Just search for Mercruiser transom template.

I decided to move ahead and worry about the transom flatness later since I'm really running out of time with the weather. Friday I left work a little early to take advantage of the beautiful weather we were having here (got to make it up tomorrow though ). I spent all of Friday just grinding. I was able to get everything in the engine bay ground down and ready for new glass.

Today I got the port deck cut and fit, the new port stringer glued in with PL adhesive, and the entire starboard side foam box cut and fit. I had hoped to get the port foam box built too, but I really needed the deck in place first and the PL takes a long time to cure. So, I'll have to wait on that, but I'm very pleased with what I got accomplished today. It's turning cold for the next couple of days, but hopefully I can get the port foam box constructed and then I'll be ready to glass next weekend if doesn't rain.

How about that fancy jigsaw work!?

On as sadder note, I just wanted to share that we lost a friend last night. VA state trooper Andrew Fox was directing traffic for the state fair in Richmond and was struck by an SUV. Ironically, we hadn't seen him in about 4 years until we went on our cruise last month. He let us park our car at his place so we could ride to the airport with the other couple we went with. Sadly, that was the last time we'll get to talk to him. He was only 27. So, you all be careful and pay attention while driving... and NO TEXTING!

Until next time...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Just a FYI, it'll take a minimum of 72 hrs for the PL to outgas and cure before you can start glassin over it. And making it as smooth as possible will be a big + when it comes time for tabbing the glass. Did you Glass the underside of that decking or is it just temporarily placed in there?

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Just a FYI, it'll take a minimum of 72 hrs for the PL to outgas and cure before you can start glassin over it. And making it as smooth as possible will be a big + when it comes time for tabbing the glass. Did you Glass the underside of that decking or is it just temporarily placed in there?

Thanks WOG, I thought I read 72 hrs somewhere, but couldn't recall and didn't want to mislead anybody. No problem for me though, the high for tomorrow is 48 with rain! I wont be getting anything done for a few days.
I didnt attempt to smooth the PL very much since it bubbles as it cures. Planned on grinding it smooth anyway. But I will definitely smooth it before glassing.
All of the wood is just dry fit for now. I plan to coat it all in resin and tab it in with CSM once everything is ready. I will probably bring the tabbing up 3-4 inches from the bottom, but dont plan to do the entire surface. The box will be 100% sealed and filled with foam.

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Well another weekend has come and gone and it was a beautiful one. I got quite a bit done, but still have a ways to go. Looks like the weather is going to hold out for another week or two, so I'm trying to get the fiberglassing done unless I run out of resin first (which seems likely).

So far I've gotten the transom and drain tabbed in with 1708. I got the port stringer installed with PL adhesive, a layer of CSM, and a layer of 1708 over that. The starboard stringer patchwork is done (CSM/1708). Both stringers are now tied into the transom with 1708 and the PVC drain plugs are PB'd in. I got the port deck coated in resin, installed with PL adhesive, and tabbed in with 1708 (to the stringer and to the transom and hull). The port side foam box panels are cut (except for the top). I finished up tonight by getting port foam box side and front panels tabbed in with 1708. It was dark so I couldn't get pictures yet.

I had some good help. (Maverick, our 3yr old Siberian Husky):

Stinger in with CSM + 1708. I really liked working with the 1708! It corners so nicely, but it takes some time to soak up the resin compared to CSM. Still very nice to work with and super strong.

Glued the outer edge of the port deck to the hull with PL. Of course the decking warped a bit so I had to improvise a "clamp".

Side panel of the port foam box tabbed in. Also, I put in the PVC drains in the stringers which you can see here.

Finally, I glassed over the starboard stringer section which I had cut out when I removed the engine mount and bulkhead. Amazingly that deck patch piece fit perfect on the first attempt (and I can't help but feel like it's giving me the bird!).

Soooo, I've got to get the ladder supports cut and glassed in, get the port foam box top cut, get the starboard foam box glassed in, get the engine mount and bulkhead made and glassed in and the engine compartment should be about done. That will leave pouring the foam, finishing the forward bulkhead/stringers, and patching the seat boxes. That's still a lot of work!!!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Looks like you had a great weekend filled with lots of progress!

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Great Work! That is a Beautiful Dog!!!

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Excellent Progress and Maverick is one Awesome looking Pup! Love the keyhole frame...

 

[krakatoa]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

wow! what a beautiful glassing! Cant wait to upload my pics, hope its looks like yours, nice job on stringer beeding.

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Thanks everybody for the comments. I've not posted in awhile, but I've gotten A LOT done since the last post. Everything came together quite well and I think I'm pretty much done for the year unless we happen to get another couple of warm days. I've got about 1 pint of resin left of my 5 gallon bucket, all the 1708 is gone, and I've got loads of CSM left.

Start of the foam box construction.

Note my 1708 tabbing on the left side of the picture didn't adhere. *I think the problem was that I didn't put a coat of resin on the wood before I tabbed it in. *I'm guessing the dry wood soaked up the resin out of the tabbing as it cured. *I precoated everything after that and didn't have anymore problems. *I put a thin layer of PB over the entire tab to seal off any exposed edges and it will probably get a layer of CSM in the spring anyway before I paint. Also, you can see a large white spot at the bottom of the right-side crossmember. That happens when you keep messing with PB and folding it over on itself. A tip, lay the PB layer in and gently tap into place with a chip brush and brush away from the seam in both directions. If you mess with it too much, the fibers start to ball up and turn white (trapping air) and then its almost impossible to fix.

The new ladder mounts PBd in place and layered with 1708. I rounded all the corners and had no problems with air bubbles.

Both foam boxes tabbed in.

MY NEW ENGINE BAY!!! Motor mount, rear bulkhead, and port deck glassed in. That motor mount took some finesse. Lots of corners and edges!

All of the forward stringers and the forward buklhead glassed in.

So, left to do is:
1. Replace the fuel tank support on the keel shown at the bottom of the last picture (I found just recently it is half full of water! There was a hole in the top corner of the fiberglass which let water in)
2. Get the fuel tank back in.
3. Cut the new decking and fiberglass that in.
4. Put foam in the foam boxes.
5. Put one layer of CSM over the exposed surfaces of the new wood I've put in.
6. Grind the transom hull down to within the flatness spec and repair the gelcoat.
7. Paint the engine bay.
8. Put the engine and stern drive in.
9. Put new carpet in.
10. Put all of the seats and interior back in.
11. Splash.

Still a ways to go, but I'm pleased with where I've gotten so far. I'll be doing some maintenance on the engine and stern drive this winter, but steps 1-11 will have to wait until spring I suppose. Until then...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Lesson learned. You always, always, always must coat bare wood with resin first and check for voids in the edges and fill them prior to laying the glass. It's all about the prep!!! Rounding the edges of the plywood is always a good idea and when applying CSM if you tug and pull it to loosen the fibers they will roll over the edges much easier.

 

[nrasnake]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Yep I agree. You live and you learn, but overall I am very pleased with my first time with fiberglassing. Hopefully this thread helps other first timers like me. I found it all to be pretty straight forward, but it takes time.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: 1985 Conroy X-19 I/O Transom Restoration

Well you did get alot done and it looks great!