Look what I found
 

holy crap.
That's the back of the bench seat, don't know why that would be so bad

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/DSCN7069.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/DSCN7070.jpg


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/DSCN7071.jpg

Fixx
 

That's what happened to mine,you would think as good as formula boats are built they would at least treat it with something..

It gets better, they wont go out of their to get you a patter..II talked my way in to i think his name was Chris to put a pen in the router they use and draw out the patterns for me,i waited a month and called him back and he said that they made them for me but now he couldn't find them and he said he would call me back.. that was a few months ago so i called again and now they wont make them..

freak in formula..

yeah, a pattern would be nice.

My local marina is making a new frame for me.
It has been difficult as once the vinyl is removed there is nothing hold the frame together.

I thought it was weird to see so much rot in an area that shouldn't hold water or even get wet.
The wood was not laminated or coated.

I got the patterns for my 1997 419 with no issues from Scott Smith at Formula. E-mail him at [email protected]. I don't know if mine will fit, but if he doesn't come through, pm me and I'll forward the files to you. You will have to print them out on paper at a graphics or engineering compnay, then paste to boards to cut. Make sure you use air expanded pvc board or some type of starboard, so It doesn't happen again. Pressure treated plywood will still rot, so don't use that.

Never heard of support like that, I'd dig a bit deeper maybe, I've never had a issue getting anything,,, not real sure why your back seat is like that, mines a 93 and the wood was perfect, somehow yours got wet

It was wet at some point before my ownership.

It gets better.
The boat was in for a water leak thru the drive/gimbal, which I fiqured was the top steering swivel seal on the gimbal which requires engine removal.
Bunch of other stuff came up, transom plate cracked/broken in 3 places, swival seal leaking as suspected.
Kicker is the transom is rotten too. I looked at it today and
there is rotten wood at the transom cutout.

Tech working on the boat made a good point...
The bottom of the t/plate is shaped so that water drips collect rather than drain.
Why don't builders seal/gelcoat the transom cutout so that water doesn't get into the plywood laminations.

Anyway, these guys are good and will fix it right.
They have the seat frame pictured above re-made and installed, looks like new.
It's only money, I'll get up in the morning and make some more

I did exactly that when I had the Stellings boxes off my 382 for refinishing a couple years ago. My fiberglass guy did a super job of sanding and sealing every hole in the transom including exhaust thru-hulls and transon assembly bolt holes with epoxy. As you can see in the photo, Formula does gelcoat the transom cutouts but that is not a fix-all. Note how we created a notch in the center to drain water away from the transom and back into the bilge.

Before and after:

Fixx
 

He said the boat was to old and ??? who knows, maybe he was being lazy. My boat's rear seat stays in the boat when the hatch is raised, i think your goes up with the engine hatch?

i would appreciate it if you could email me the file?
[email protected]
thanks in advance..

Same thing happened to mine I put new vinyl on the seat back , but there was enough for me to build off of. This time I mixed up some resin and layed matte on the corners and resined the whole thing.

Real common. See it all the time , including my scarab and a friend who has a twin to mine. Not much left there to work with. Bet you'll put some drains where formula should have when you do get here rebuilt.

RedDOG,
Mine has the same kind of damage that is in your first picture.
There is water in the laminations.
They said they will notch the transom from the inside,in a large perimeter around the cutout, but not cut right thru and install new wood and re-glass.

I had the exhaust thru hulls off in the summer when I installed
mufflers and that area was in good shape.

In recent years, Formula has gone to making most things including seat bulkheads and framing out of Starboard or other like material that won't decompose due to moisture exposure. They were the first to design and incorporate the matrix hull stringer system, I think for the very same reason. The only "wood" in the newer Formulas is the transom itself. I still stand behind the company, still would not likely consider another performance boat manufacturer, and pray they survive the curent economic crisis.

No intent to slam Formula, I will try and go to a 353 next year.

Mine is a 95 but you would think there would be some tech even in that distant past to seal transom cut outs and ventilate
the seat area.
The seat deal is not a big expense but the transom repairs can add up.


How did your guy rebuild the transom.

There was no need to rebuild it. The was no moisture in the transom, just some minor separation of the plywood layers around the edges of the cut-outs. The dark discoloration you see on the gelcoat in the "before" photo is grease that has splayed off the driveshaft spline of the Stellings boxes. Cutouts were stripped down to bare wood, rebonded, and then sealed with epoxy resin to prevent future water intrusion.

I was extremely fortunate to have discovered the separation before it became a serious problem only because in my typical obsessive nature, I had pulled the Stellings boxes off to refinish them the right way. Since I have owned it, the boat has always been trailered and kept in my personal humidity and temperature-controlled inside storage building and meticulously maintained with no expense spared.

Completed job:

You don't believe in using exhaust pipes? :D :drink:

Nope! And I don't need no stinkin' TV either ... :kiss:

LOL.....digital TV was coming so I ripped it out. :)