95 Sea Ray 230 Sundancer stringer repair

[tpenfield]

IIRC, @alldodge did a partial transom restore on his Formula 27 about 8-10 years ago. If the wet/rot is localized at the bottom of the transom, a partial replacement may be do-able. . . a judgement call for sure.

 

[redneck joe]

When they did mine, they cut the hole a bit larger and fiberglassed the exposed wood.

 

[gmach]

I'll have a better idea of how bad the rot is after pulling the engine. The way things are going, I have a feeling it's not going to be good. I noticed what appears to be a stress crack radiating from the garboard drain when I pulled the outdrive yesterday.

 

[Scott Danforth]

We are here for moral support as well as technical.

you have this. you are already past the first step

 

[Pmt133]

Read the links posted over a beer or two. I'm not as well versed on all this as the others are. But I did finish mine and it's as good or better than new. (And probably anything mass produced you can buy currently)

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

Yeah, that's right about at the bottom edge of the transom. Since you'll have to cut the bottom half off anyway, just do the whole thing. By the time you cut the transom in half, it's not really any more work to just take the whole thing out.

 

[tpenfield]

We are here for moral support as well as technical.

you have this. you are already past the first step

It is like the 5 phases of grief . . .

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

 

[gmach]

Thank you all, I really appreciate your support. It's good to be able to talk to people that understand what I'm up against. Most of the people around me think its nothing to worry about and that it's nuts to tear into a boat that there is seeming nothing wrong with. I'm an aircraft inspector and I occasionally run into a few people like that and know better though.

 

[Scott Danforth]

in a few weeks when you are itchy and waking up with nightmares of moldy wood and foam, we will be here too.

pro tip. a 3" diameter cup brush on the end of a 2' extension powered by a drill motor will chew up old flotation foam. use leather gloves to steady the cup brush.... have the shop vac handy to suck up the nasty wet bits.

when cutting fiberglass, use a shop vac with both a filter bag and a filter.

always take a beer break. tyvek suits are hot.

 

[Pmt133]

If you go one size larger on the tyvek, it really helps keep the itch to a minimum. Only time I got the itch during my whole project was when I wasn't wearing one and working with surface prep.

I reccomend a full face APR. It's a pain but really makes a difference and you can fully encapsulate with it.

If you tape the sleeve to an under glove you can just put on and take off/replace the top glove as needed.

Mentally what worked best for me was setting a goal every time I worked on it. No matter how small as long as I went and did something it meant progress. Test fitting a piece of wood all the way to bedding stringers. Doing something was a step in the right direction.

As mentioned with the drinks... 30 minutes to an hour is the guide line for working in a suit. When I'm in a class A I'm on air so I typically only get an hour. I can push longer with an APR in a tyvek. I still take a break every hour or two for water. Don't mess around with that and make sure someone checks on you or calls or something. Had a few close calls with people trying to go too hard.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

As mentioned with the drinks... 30 minutes to an hour is the guide line for working in a suit. When I'm in a class A I'm on air so I typically only get an hour. I can push longer with an APR in a tyvek. I still take a break every hour or two for water. Don't mess around with that and make sure someone checks on you or calls or something. Had a few close calls with people trying to go too hard.

I've gone all day all suited up with no break. Haven't passed out yet, and inly once during the whole kitchen rebuild!

Gmach, honestly both sides are kind of right. It definitely should all be replaced, but it's amazing the structural rot I've seen at work and they still hold together.

 

[Pmt133]

I've gone all day all suited up with no break. Haven't passed out yet, and inly once during the whole kitchen rebuild!

Gmach, honestly both sides are kind of right. It definitely should all be replaced, but it's amazing the structural rot I've seen at work and they still hold together.

I'm not saying it can't be done. I dehydrate faster than most and have dealt with the issues that come with that my whole life. I've also seen guys nearly die in shorter amounts of time. Everyone's different and needs to work up to it. Every hour or so I'd pop out and chug sone water and hop back in. No real break but keeping hydrated at least.

 

[gmach]

All good advice; thank you! I initially dove into this project thinking I would just be able to replace the core in the ceiling of the midship birth (another post) and be done with it. It will give me great piece of mind to get down to the foundation and fix it right. It would worry me if the extended swim platform I bought would turn into a giant dunk tank platform if I bolted it to a rotten transom.

 

[MikeSchinlaub]

I'm not saying it can't be done. I dehydrate faster than most and have dealt with the issues that come with that my whole life. I've also seen guys nearly die in shorter amounts of time. Everyone's different and needs to work up to it. Every hour or so I'd pop out and chug sone water and hop back in. No real break but keeping hydrated at least.

I definitely push myself too much sometimes. I'm stubborn.

 

[alldodge]

I'm not saying it can't be done. I dehydrate faster than most and have dealt with the issues that come with that my whole life. I've also seen guys nearly die in shorter amounts of time. Everyone's different and needs to work up to it. Every hour or so I'd pop out and chug sone water and hop back in. No real break but keeping hydrated at least.

Might need to use a air feed suit

 

[redneck joe]

What size engine do you have? If you got the bu ks you could upsize?

 

[Pmt133]

Might need to use a air feed suit

I use the cool vests for hazmat calls in class A. Wasn't allowed to borrow those.

The air feed would've been awesome. I was doing almost 2 gallons of water over a 12 hour day gutting. Coincidentally never stopping to use the restroom as I had no need. I brought it up with my PCP and a "specialist" a few times... the response was youre just sweaty... and a little fat. It's over and done though.

 

[gmach]

What size engine do you have? If you got the bu ks you could upsize?

It's a 5.7 merc. I was daydreaming about massaging in a stroker crank while the engine was out, but I don't think the alpha 1 will handle the bump up in torque.

 

[Pmt133]

Alphas are usually okay with strokers. They don't like big blocks though. That being said I know a few people with big blocks in front of them that are still alive... I'd focus on getting it usable first though.

 

[Scott Danforth]

It's a 5.7 merc. I was daydreaming about massaging in a stroker crank while the engine was out, but I don't think the alpha 1 will handle the bump up in torque.

being a 1995, first thing to do is get the 96+ vortec heads, and a cam change and you add about 40-45hp easy

the Alpha will hold up to a 383 if you watch your hole shot, and use a rev limiter