Well I bought my first boat this year only to find that the transom is rotted. I've seen some up-lifting posts and want to tackel the job myself. Any helpful tips will be a huge +. I need to know were the transon strength comes from? The transom to stringers/ or the outer layer of glass.. Also whats the best way to tie into the stringers with the new wood. And is cutting the stringers on 45 deg angles the only way to get the wood for the transom back in one pice. Thanks Kyle

Give me a call later today and I would be happy to talk to you about how I did it.

(978) 985-0639

Jon

What year is the boat? Did it spend a lot of it's life in the water?

Buck

The boat is a 1990 26' scarab cv w/ a kevler hull. No clue about the past, but looks clean to have been left in the water. Looks like someone never sealed any holes. Well I wanted something to work on and I got it. Still happy with the boat, just a little more work than I thought. Kyle

I remember you posting the pics of it when you picked it up. Damn, sorry to hear. It is a great looking boat for sure. Best of luck to ya.

Stay in touch w/ Audiofn on this topic. He should be VERY helpful w/ this.

Buck

Almost there, this is what I did all morning before work. The only thing left is the tabs are stuck to the hull with silicone not sure how to remove nicely. Looks like swiss cheese form all the screws.

Looks like a cool boat. How did you determine you have a rotten transom? Did you have a survey? Sorry to ask so many questions but I have an older scarab myself and worry about these things. I had a survey pre purchase and it came up clean. I've tapped around and all sounds good, but you never know for sure. What are the telltale signs? I was also wondering what you meant by the above qoute concerning swiss cheese. Sorry I can't help out, but I will be watching in case I need any of the great advise I am sure you will get.

Good luck,

BT

Kyle,

You are getting there. Try some heat (heat gun) on the tabs. That should heat the glue enough to break the tabs free by using a thin pry bar. I used a roto-zip to cut around all of the stringers and hullsides. Cut even with the hullsides, the plywood will be tabbed (ends) there. I used a cardboard box from an appliance store as a template.
I personally used epoxy from West Systems. It is far stronger in a repair than other resins. I used it because I was also concerned with repair strength especially at the transom/hullside joint. Call West Systems (West Marine has the number). They will send you more literature than you need on the subject, very very helpfull.

I would also recommend West System. They have a great fiberglass repair book that even goes through replacing a transom.

http://www.westsystem.com/

I recently I had to replace the stringers in my Scarab. Half of my stringers all the way up to the cabin were completely hollow. The wood had turned to dust in some places. I had to pull the entire boat apart to do this repair. Thank god i did some research on the web and OSO and I able to find a product called Sea Cast.

This is a parable transom and stringer repair. It is a polyester filler mixed with fiber glass that is 3 times stronger than wood and it will never rot. This product saved me from junking my hull. Now the hull is stronger than when it was new.

I would never think of adding wood back to any hull if not necessary. Why would you add something to the hull that is known to rot????

building boats with wood cores is going to be a thing of the past or at least separate the men from the boys. more and more companies are looking at wood substitutes. Active thunder for one is a completely wood free hull, even in there interior. It is the only way to go.

Check out there web site. http://www.transomrepair.com

Download there video. It is quite cheesy but you will get the idea. There product has been refined to pour easier since the video was made. it is very easy to work with.