Transom Project
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Transom Project |
If you use a boat enough things like this will happen. I managed to run over a partially submerged tree trunk in the Atchafalaya River during November. It was a pretty good hit, about 35 mph the hull contacted then the motor. The outboard kicked up hard, and that was followed by it coming down probably twice as hard. The damage was not completely evident until I got the outboard off and the aluminum molding off of the transom. I did not have good picture taking ability until I had already begun the project.
So I have a crack problem... I hired a surveyor to come a take a look. He recommended grinding the gelcoat, glass, and filler out of the top transverse surface of the transom. He wanted to see if the wood had delaminated. I figured I was capable enough to do the repair, so I went at it.
The wood was dry, but the bond between the sheets was non existent, I couldn't find any great traces of resin between them either. There was about 95% filler on top of the wood as well, hardly any glass. The fractured glass in the corners led to a preparation situation similar to what we do to teeth that are full of decay... take the bad stuff out until there is sound structure.
I wedged the plywood sheets open to about 3/16" the entire length and poured West slow cure epoxy into the crevase. I worked the resin down with a thin metal ruler (4 to 12 inches down) and vibration. This was followed by placing some braces on the outside of the transom and squeezing everything together.
I laid in a piece of stitched knit bi-axial glass and began to wet it out. Then I added more clamps!!
I ground out the gelcoat 1 inch down both inboard and outboard sides of the transom. On the inboard side I had another fractured glass situation where I had to get rid of the bad stuff where the aluminum molding edges crushed the glass. I built this thing back up in layers of stitched/knit bi-axial, woven roving, and mat. NO FILLER!
I finished placing glass and began the shaping/fairing phase.
It shaped out really well and I used a vinylester filler to fair it out. I masked it for gelcoat.