78 StarCraft American Transom Rebuild. There's no way cap is epoxy right???

[Dwoolaver]

Hi all, I'm venturing on replacing the transom in my 78' StarCraft American. I've hogged out the middle section of transom from the top and getting at the wings from the inside. The large splash well makes full access from inside impractical or even impossible without lifting the cap which not something I want to get into. I will be pouring in Arjay 6011. My main question at this point is how to tell with reasonable certainty the material the cap/splash well is made of. I figured there was zero chance of any part of this boat having been made of epoxy and everything is original. But, when I cut a strip off the cap to access the transom from top it "looks" more like epoxy than fiberglass resin. It did not smell particularly sweet when cutting. There's no way Starcraft used epoxy on a production boat in 1978, right?

 

[matt167]

pretty much all fiberglass boats are polyester. You will have easier access to the stringers and deck which are most likely rotted as well by pulling the cap

 

[Dwoolaver]

Thanks Matt, I hear what you are saying on the stringers. The transom plywood was wet for sure but not nearly as far gone as I was expecting The deck is SOILD. The middle stringer which I can see from the bilge is also solid. Upon drilling an inspection hole in the deck behind the transom I found dry foam. I will explore further as I remove plywood from the wings from the inside.