My 84 4winns horizon 195 project.

[Pmt133]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and following along. Made some progress today...

Nothing earth shattering but the stringers are out. I'm going to jump in on the transom next visit but I didn't have any more in me today. It is 70 degrees out and I'm going to take the vette for a nice drive. I may order my supplies later as well.

 

[chevymaher]

Transom should be 2 3/4 inch sheets or it isnt thick enough for the outdrive.

 

[Pmt133]

Transom should be 2 3/4 inch sheets or it isnt thick enough for the outdrive.

It's a full width 1 inch with a half inch laminated around the keyhole. Between that and gelcoat nets a 2-1/8 thick transom for mounting the drive.

Edit for clarity: the center 2 feet of the transom is 1-1/2 inches of wood plus glass and gelcoat. Same as two 3/4 sheets.

 

[Pmt133]

So I sent out my sizing for my fuel tank the other day to get some quotes. Ultimately I am going with the guy local to me. Pricing seems fair. Was quotes ~$700 for a 40 gallon. Epoxy coated etc. If anyone has any other recommendations for a manufacturer in the tristate area, I am all ears but I feel that is a fair price in this market. To put it in perspective, the quote was only 40$ more than the quote for getting the original tank replicated.

 

[Pmt133]

Also... I just had a realization. I bet the transom is actually 3 laminates of 1/2" wood. 2 sheets full width with on in the center to achieve proper thickness for the drive.

 

[Pmt133]

So for ease of working, My math comes out to needing 1.5 inches of wood on the transom for the drive to hit 2-1/8". I think I'll just laminate up 2 sheets of 3/4 full width. My math also says the weight difference will be about 10lbs. Insignificant in my opinion and it makes the whole transom a little stronger. I plan on ordering the wood today. My vendor said no charge on delivery so it's nice I won't have to drive to pick it up. Just need to make sure it stays dry.

 

[Pmt133]

Wood is ordered. I ended up doing 6 sheets of 3/4 and 4 sheets of half inch. That should get me done but, you never know. I was going to pick it up at the yard but he said no charge on delivery and should be there Monday/Tuesday. So that's nice. I'm going to order from US composites tomorrow. I was planning on doing it after work but now I'll be stuck here for another 6 hours... Figures, first 70 degree day this year lol.

 

[Pmt133]

Got most of the transom out... you can see the small amount of glue used on the center section...

 

[todhunter]

Boating may seem far off right now, but I can honestly say it feels like yesterday that my boat also looked like that

 

[Pmt133]

Boating may seem far off right now, but I can honestly say it feels like yesterday that my boat also looked like that

Lucky for me I have a waverunner and another boat. I'm still hopeful for May but we'll see how that goes lol

 

[Pmt133]

Didn't do much this weekend. It was too nice to not take advantage of the weather and if I am being honest, work kicked my ass last week. Got another shot to the body coming tomorrow too so I may not be doing much this week either... My hopes is to get the wood in the garage Wednesday, drying. Then I hope to get my supplies by Friday. My goal is to have the new transom mounted and tabbed on Monday the 25th. Then I'll do a full grind down of the hull for stringers and just slowly chip away at that....

I plan to drive over today and get some measurements and clean up. Friday I just failed at the end. Too tired to do anymore...

 

[Pmt133]

Materials have all been ordered.

 

[Pmt133]

Transom is ready to accept some wood. Kicked my ass though.

Also, wear your PPE people!

Figure that's about spent.

 

[Lou C]

I have a 3M full face shield that I use for nasty work, like painting the outdrive. I'd get one of those and use the P-100 particle filters for what you're doing now and the ones for fume vapors when you start 'glassing. This stuff is toxic and at my age I'd never do another one of these, if I need a transom/motor mounts I'll pull the engine & drive and tow the boat to my fiberglass guy down in Lindenhurst Long Island pay him what he gets.
Stay safe in the dust!

 

[Pmt133]

I have a 3M full face shield that I use for nasty work, like painting the outdrive. I'd get one of those and use the P-100 particle filters for what you're doing now and the ones for fume vapors when you start 'glassing. This stuff is toxic and at my age I'd never do another one of these, if I need a transom/motor mounts I'll pull the engine & drive and tow the boat to my fiberglass guy down in Lindenhurst Long Island pay him what he gets.
Stay safe in the dust!

Yup, 3m full face, 6000 series. I'm running cartridge/p100 combo so I'm getting the benefit of both, no VOC smells from the grinding and no particulates either. Ground that whole thing out and didn't even smell it.

As a side note, I do Hazmat for the county. I'm overly cautious about PPE now where I used to not be when I was younger. Not that I'm old but a lot of my career has been based around chemical/petrochemical and I figure I'm better off curving it now than later in life.

Iirc the machine shop dad used to use for the marina was in Lindenhurst. There was/is a lot there.

 

[Lou C]

The place I use is Raybo Marine. He does phenomenal work!
I wish I could still do this kind of work but at my age and body stiffness, it isn't worth the price I'd have to pay. You pay one way or the other lol.
I still do all the maintenance and mechanical repairs, and only minor 'glass repairs.

When I started working on my own vehicles, in the early 70s:
people cleaned parts with gas
brake & clutch linings had asbestos
People just blew brake assemblies out with compressed air, no masks!
Spray painted with no masks, etc.
Got auto trans fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze all over you, sometimes in your hair,
man we all had clear heads when we were young!

 

[Pmt133]

The place I use is Raybo Marine. He does phenomenal work!
I wish I could still do this kind of work but at my age and body stiffness, it isn't worth the price I'd have to pay. You pay one way or the other lol.
I still do all the maintenance and mechanical repairs, and only minor 'glass repairs.

When I started working on my own vehicles, in the early 70s:
people cleaned parts with gas
brake & clutch linings had asbestos
People just blew brake assemblies out with compressed air, no masks!
Spray painted with no masks, etc.
Got auto trans fluid, brake fluid, antifreeze all over you, sometimes in your hair,
man we all had clear heads when we were young!

I'm guilty of doing all those things still... Brake clean is the ultimate hand cleaner too! I actually still taste test drips to see which liquid is leaking.

I'll run the name by dad and see if it rings a bell. I figure I got another 20 years before everything starts getting bad. Dad was about that age when his back really started going, but I also take much better care of myself. Regardless bad backs run in the family so it is what it is. Otherwise I still luckily bounce back after a night's sleep and maybe a few cold snacks.

 

[Lou C]

Yep time is a thief they say however we have tried to tak much better care of ourselves than our parents did and they seemed much older when they were the age we are now. Still go mountain and road biking with my 28 year old son.

 

[Pmt133]

My grandfather was a marine... he also got jumped and beaten and ran off the road and had back surgery when he used to do armored transport. So he wasn't a great metric to go off of. My grandmother is 91 now and even though she had polio is still able to move around without much help. If I'm able to do that well into my 80s or even if I make it that far, I'll call that a win. She's looked the same for my entire life more or less. But I agree, people definitely aged more due to poor self care.

It's a weird place for me with dad as he was in his prime most all of my life. Figure he was 28 when I was born so seeing him not able to do some of these things now with him only in his 50s sucks. He's got back surgery scheduled for next week due to a car accident so hopefully that helps some but nothing is a guarantee.

 

[Lou C]

I have 4 vehicles that I maintain (one of these will become a restoration project) and the old Four Winns. And we do most of our landscaping so I maintain all the small engines as well. None of my friends & relatives my age do any of this so I feel like I’m doing pretty well & am thankful for that. Just watch your back. That and later on your hand joints. But we love fixing stuff don’t we! One of my most gratifying jobs was when I did a top end overhaul on my old Chevy 4.3. It had blown both HGs and had water in a cyl & in the oil. When the job was done it started so fast I was startled. Didn’t expect it to! And after really rebuilding the old Quadrajet it’s run fine for the 7 years after the top end rebuild. Short block is still original. Only replaced heads & head bolts. It’s really funny when I show friends & relatives these little jobs they think I’m some kind of wizard whereas we both know it’s Stone Age Simple!
So carry on & stay safe!