Starcraft Jet Transom Replacement

[slapshotct]

I know this is a strange question and the answers will be somewhat subjective, but here it is anyway:

What is the quickest way to rebuild the wood transom on a 1962 Starcraft Jet aluminum so I can get it back in the water the fastest? How long is the minimum time it will take to do this properly? Please note, I want to do it right.. just quickly. I can't stand the thought of losing time on the boat at this point of the summer.

I am thinking there are several things I can do before pulling the old one to speed up the time. For instance, I could buy the plywood in advance and put a couple of coats of penetrating epoxy on the flat sides and edges before removing the old transom. Then, when I remove the old transom and use it for a template, I would only need to epoxy the cut edges which would save some time. At least I wouldn't need to worry about doing one side, wait for it to dry, flip, repeat.

Is there any way to get the dimensions of the transom boards before removing the old one? It would be awesome if I could do the entire thing in advance of removing the old transom.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

-Steve

 

[TruckDrivingFool]

Re: Starcraft Jet Transom Replacement

You sure can pre make your blank and have it ready to go. Just measure the width and the height for the blank. It can be done in a weekend even w/o premaking though.

Best tip I can give you is to have everything on hand.

If you want wade about halfway through the project thread below, I'll answer any questions I can.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Starcraft Jet Transom Replacement

Hey Steve, small transom is about a weekend job (just the transom). In your case, if you want to use the boat over the weekend, just rebuild it during the week. Ready to go for the following weekend.

I kinda think a big time saver would be the simple matter of having all the materials on hand:

Favorite Plywood
Glue (or just use epoxy)
JigSaw Blades
Epoxy
Clamps
Sandpaper
3M 5200
Drain Tubes
SS Through Bolts
Paint
I'm sure I am forgetting other stuff...

Just running around gathering/ordering all the stuff you need takes a bunch of time ya know.

Then, it's really just a matter of cure time for glue, epoxy, 3M, paint.

Yah, pulling the old one out makes for the sure fire way to to get it just the right size.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Starcraft Jet Transom Replacement

As the epoxy would need about 24 hours between coats I'd think.......doing the flats ahead of time wouldn't really save you anything other than the brushing time because it would still take days to get the number of coats needed to properly seal the edges.