Glassmaster seacast transom repair

[fishdog4449]

Hey guys,
I'm in the process of rebuilding the transom on my 17' glassmaster with seacast. I've dug out all the wood down to the bottom in a three foot section in the middle, but the wood on the upper sides is much harder to remove. It appears to be perfectly dry and the seacast website says the compound will bond to good dry wood, but will it really turn out as a strong? I'm worried about the structural integrity of the transom because I'll be hanging a tower of power on there when I'm done. I'll upload pics later. I bought a cheap 20 inch electric chainsaw, and i was pleasantly surprised how good it worked. I've removed most of the wood with that, a drill extension and auger bits, and a piece of bar stock I sharpened into a long-handeled chisel.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

the more you get out the better it is. non of it is easy. that's why pros charge so much. just think how much you are making per hour.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Ok, I'll pull the rest of the wood then. I think ill have better peace of mind on the water knowing i did it right. I've used a sharpened bar to scrape the wood off the sides, but there are still tiny pieces here and there..should I use a sander or wire brush to clean it further or will that hurt the fiberglass? When I'm done I have a friend whose gonna make me a stainless steel cap in metal shop at school.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

get as much out as reasonably possible.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Fishdog
The link below has some more advice on just what you are doing. Or, check out the MFG page located under "Boat Manufacturers" . You could also do a search for "transom repair"

Regards,
Ed




http://forums.iboats.com/forumdisplay.php?f=116

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

the more you get out the better it is. non of it is easy. that's why pros charge so much. just think how much you are making per hour.

I'm rich !

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Theres a guy on the seacraft site who only did the center part, left the wood on the sides out to the corner , its over 5 yrs now and still solid.
The strength comes from the fiberglass inner and outter walls of the transom.

I removed mine out to the corners and did the risers on each side, the elec chainsaw gets it out. You don't need to get every last splinter out, the stuff sticks like stink to everything, vacuum it out and wash the inside down with acetone , good to go.
For pouring I bent a flat funnel from alum, its a bit messy but simple.

 

[Robert D]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

I'm in the middle of a 72 Reinell complete teardown/restore. I was considering Seacast, and had the same isue as you, with good wood on the sides. I ended up removing the splashwell to remove the inner fiberglass skin. (I'm also upgrading to more serious power, and a complete redesign of the splashwell and knee braces will be needed, so our came the splashwell.) What I found, was that the area's where I removed the wood, still had some cleaning to do, if I were to expect the Seacast to adhere properly. I don't think I could have properly prepared it for Seacast by reaching down the gap with any tool. Particularly at the hull. I've since decided to go with the standard plywood transom using epoxy, mainly to save cost, but if you decide to go the Seacast route, I would encourage removing the inner skin and get your sander/grinder ready. For the money Seacast wants, I would take the extra effort to ensure all surfaces are prepared properly. Don't forget, if you do the transom with wood correctly and epoxy...it will not rot. Seacast sounds easy, but as in anything, the amount of preparation has a direct effect on the end result.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Well here are some pics of progress, as promised.

Lifting the mercury 115 tower of power was done with a two ton chain hoist attached to the front truss of the garage.

Noticed this after I got back from the lake...yup transom definitly needed some work.

Cut the top off...definitly rotted.

This little guy 4HP electric (70$) managed alot of the work getting the wood out

down to about three inches left in the bottom middle, need to do the upper sides.

'

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Saw a transom like yours on the Classic seacraft site... only worse.

He seacasted then faired the outside smooth,
it worked great.

I thought he would have to fix the outter skin from the inside (very difficult to do) but no, just pour the pink stuff in and its solid, he taped the outside up first with duct tape, you have to do that with all the holes anyway.

Did you check the stringers? they usually go along with the transom.
That seems to be the typical scenario with most boats with any age on em.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

The stringers and deck are solid. The reason I think the transom rotted is the PO replaced the engine at some point, but didn't fill in the old holes very well. I didn't even know the old holes were still partially open because the engine covered them up. Also, the whole area underneath the deck, unlike most boats from the 70s, drains into the bilge so water can't really get trapped there.

 

[maxum247]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Great looking boat! Looks like it really gets up and goes.

max!

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

thanks Maxum, It sure does! Lightly loaded, she'll hold her own against them brand new expensive bass boats.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

ok now i'm down to the last inch or so of wood at the bottom all across the transom. now how do I remove this last part without messing up the hull? particularly nervous about drilling I can imagine the drill going right through the glass before I even have time to stop. So, any tricks to do this or still use drill and chainsaw an just be super super careful?
Also, tasha'sdaddy what is that tool called? It looks like a long handled chisel, but coudln't find anything like it at lowes.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Cut the sharp tip off the spade drill, if the chainsaw reaches thats the way.
You can hear if it touches the glass, makes a very distinctive sound.
But it helps to scuff the glass anyway.

Other tools I used were a crowbar and a strip of steel from home depot, bend the end into a slight angle and grind it sharp.

Keep slugging, it'll come out.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Here are some pics of tools I used. As mentioned by Jonesg, the bar on the bottom is flat stock, bent and sharpened. Also the bitt with the point ground off. One trick I found useful... Attach a pair of "ViceGrips" to the end. Helps turn the tool and split the plywood

Hope that helps.

Regards ,
Ed

PS. A shopvac with a Crevice tool was a big help

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

I've got all the wood out, now I just need to wirebrush and clean the insides and wash down. Seacast isn't here yet so I'm not rushing.
What do you guys think would be the best way to repair the broken glass from the motor mounts?

 

[jonesg]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

If you can pull the glass out again great,
if not just tape it sealed and pour the seacast, then fair it flush later.

Maybe if you push a peice of wood down inside the transom, it might push the glass back out flush again.
But I've seen them a lot worse than that.

 

[Robert D]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

hey, just a thought. After you get it cleaned out, take a close look with a flashlight at the area where the end of the stringers meet the transom. Don't be surprised if there was no glass between the two...and a piece of stiff wire, bent accordingly to explore....you may see pieces of mush where your stringer is. That tends to be the usual scenario.

 

[fishdog4449]

Re: Glassmaster seacast transom repair

Robert, there is glass between the stringers and transom. I took core samples of the stringers and deck when the transom rotted on me, their fine. I noticed a large lack of sealant on the engine bolts when I switched engines last year, so that could account for some water intrusion.

Well, I did the first pour on Monday, it went very well. The stuff is really as easy to mix and pour as they say! Don't use a battery powered drill...I have a 19 volt craftsman, and each battery lasted about two minutes before I had to break out the big daddy 110v/10 amp DeWalt. Unfortunately, I ran out of seacast about 2 inches from the top of the transom, so I ordered another 2 gallons; hopefully that'll be in soon.

While I had the boat inside I did some other work, installed a new JVC stereo Cd/WMA/mp3 deck with two new 6.5" 100W speakers in the bow and two 5" 50W in the stern. I'm also putting in a dual battery system, with a control switch to select which battery to charge and which to use for accessories.


Since I did alot of night fishing last year, I'm installing blue LED courtesy lighting around the gunwales at certain points. LEDs look good, use very little power, and blue doesn't ruin your night vision.

I also found a very nice new swim platform on EBAY for 30$ , made by a metal fabrication company. I have to modify it so the starboard brace runs under the platform.