I am about to start a transom replacement on an 86' Wellcraft Scarab Panther; any special circumstances or issues I need to be aware of before I start?
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yes!
You need to be aware it is not gonna be an easy task!!!
But you also need to know it's gonna be well worth it in the end!

Just dont give up!!!

and keep posting pictures for us! we'll crank you up!

The worse the transom is the easier it wil be. It might help to measure the thickness of the wood and glass on the inside, should be around 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 (you dont want to cut into the out er layer of glass) and cut a bunch of cross hatch cuts with a skill saw, then get a good chisel and hammer, If the wood isnt totally gone it can make removing a lit easier than grinding it all out.

That transom looks really thin for some reason, maybe just the pictures. When you put the new wood in the transom make sure that you are not recreating that 'bow' where the drive mounts up, it was probably created when they put the wood in the boat originally but didnt do a good job fitting it at the corner or bottom where the glass is thicker.

use the corebond stuff... its great... and buy a full face respirator... now... Actually if I were to do it again, I wouldn't do it without a supplied air setup... but thats just me.

A couple of weeks ago Ship Shape TV did an entire transom tear down and rebuild. You might want to try and find the episode online as it's all the info. As it's all the info. You need and then some! FWiw they used Coosa Board in lieu of wood, no more rot and you can order it pre cut if you desire. Good Luck!

I thought the word Coosa was banned on this site.. I th caused much drama years back.. . Do a serve on glassdave's posts in regards to transom replacement. He states a good case on why not using it in the transom.. I feel it holds true still..,
Jr.

Check your stringers from transom forward and for floor delaminating. I would bet your stringers are wet as well. Whic will make the transom a little easier if they are out of theway.
I just had replaced my transom and stringers. While i was at it i raised the x dimension.

Huh, I'll have to do a search and see what that was about! My join date = newbie. FWiw I'd put anything put wood back into a transom is mostly what I was getting at.

I would disagree with the direction of going with Coosa Board and here is why. The boat is 30 years old, it's not a 100k boat and he sounds like he is trying to do this for as little money as possible(hence why he is doing it himself). The existing wood transoms (and I have heard they could have been done better from the factory) lasted 30 years! If he does it in wood and does it right he will probably get another 30 years and be in it for a lot less than doing it with an alternative to wood.

I just did a partial transom in my 84 scarab S-Type and was in the same decision mode a year ago. Just couldn't justify the fancy new materials on a boat that is heavy, has a ton of wood elsewhere and is already 30 years old!

Thanks
Jim

Thank you all for your feedback. The boat currently has Alpha drives which I plan to put back for now however if I decided to switch to Bravo drives down the road do I need to consider the X-Dim or do they set the same depth?