Great Idea........

[B.Mac]

I hope I never have to use this forum but I'm glad it's here!!
Great Idea!!!

B.MAC:D

[DaGadget]

:eek: Me 2

[Pete 88 Venus]

Yeah, this is sweet.
I'm sure I will be using it often

[Boaterbum]

I unfortunatly am hoping for MANY posts here soon, I am in the proicess of digging in, (and itching a Whole lot) and attempting to fix the Vector... No clue where to start with the materials... what do ya use for filler on the bottem? Going to straighten the hull, get rid of the hook, and so on... Lost some Gell, so have to get it done...

[Bob T]

Just curious...When I did the transom on my boat ,I took the deck completly off. why did you cut it off like that? Seems like so much more work puttng it back together the way you've done it.Please educate me!

[Wile E. Coyote]

The filler depends on what you are filling (duh) there is a product called cab-o-sil which is basically a silicone powder that you mix with the resin of choice to a paste like consistency, and then apply like putty. It sands very easily and is tough as the resin you use. there are also products called micro balloons which serve the same function.
As for removing the deck care should be taken. I have done a couple of these projects and on lighter layups and most v bottoms once the interior is completely gutted the only thing keeping the shape of the hull is the deck attached. The floor and stringers help give the hull its shape. Remove the deck and if the hull is not supported properly the hull will flex out of shape. Fiberglass all your stuff in and then try to reassemble it and man have you got a problem (dont ask how I know... please):rolleyes:
Good luck on your project....

[LaserModVee]

I paid to have mine done by an experienced local glass guy. He cut the back of the deck off of mine exactly like pictured above. His reasoning was, if you seperate the entire deck from the hull, without the hull in a custom built jig, the hull may lose some of its shape. He said over his many years of replacing transoms and doing this kind of work, he has seen boats that have been split apart and put back together that were not put in a jig. He said some of those boats had wavy hulls along the sides. They can lose their shape.

That's what I recall from his explanation, it made sense to me at the time. Maybe one of the guru's can eloborate on this.

[Jeff_G]

Maybe he's lazy? Or incompetent? :D :D
Just kidding. When the boat was originally built the hull was taken out of a mold and the deck and then mated. Unless all the supports in the boat were rotted it wouldn't flex.
What concerns me most is a straight bottom. For that I have special piece of wood the boat is placed on. The rest is just good old fashioned work to replace structural members and ensure everything is straight. When you cut a boat like that I have never seen one that held up on the long run. They always want to flex and crack.
I am in the process of removing the deck on a Mon Ark bass boat. In this case the deck was bonded to the stringers, so we have to cut the floor out then pull the cap. Once off we will bond new wood to the cap and glass, replace the transom. then reassemble.

[LaserModVee]

Maybe he's lazy? Or incompetent?

He is in the wrong business if so.

After all of the work he had to do to put the two pieces back together, it seems that it would have been easier to split the deck from the hull.
I am by far no expert on the subject, I am learning every day, and if I had to do it again, I would probably do it myself. I had it done a few years ago, since then I have tinkered around with glass and learned a few things. I have had other people, (S&Fers that do this kind of work), look at the work he did to the transom and they all give it thumbs up. I talked with a hipo boat builder that asked me about the work I had done, he told me I got a good deal!

The guy quoted me a price and a date, he stuck to both of them. He also invited me over to the shop to check out his work before he put the rear deck back on. What more can I ask?

I would recommend him any day.

Lazy, incompetent? ---NO.

Different ways to skin a cat---YES


If I did it today myself, I would build a jig and split the two apart. Much easier access to everything that needs replaced.

[Pete 88 Venus]

Mainly because the core is OK up there and there is a lightweight wood skeletal system up in the bow that I didn't want to deal with. The boat sits so flat on the trailer that it hasn't distorted it much at all, I've sat the deck back in place and it still matches up pretty good. Also I am eliminating the splashwell, mainly because then I can run the knees (gussets) all the way up to the top of the transom and I will also be putting on a small cowl that I will be fabbing moldless which will be easier to do off the boat.

Where the two sections come back together, i will fair it out dramatically and lay cloth, then mat, then cloth, then mat etc. which is how the boat was built. I will back it up from the inside with some 1708 biax. and then install another brace inside the tunnel like the one you see further up in the tunnel in the pic.

If you are doing a project similar to mine, consider biaxial fabrics over woven roven. It is a bit more pricey but it is much stronger in all directions and the resin to glass ratio is better.

Wish me luck, I sure hope this thing goes back together like I see it in my head.

[Pete 88 Venus]

Originally posted by Wile E. Coyote
The filler depends on what you are filling (duh) there is a product called cab-o-sil which is basically a silicone powder that you mix with the resin of choice to a paste like consistency, and then apply like putty. It sands very easily and is tough as the resin you use. there are also products called micro balloons which serve the same function.
As for removing the deck care should be taken. I have done a couple of these projects and on lighter layups and most v bottoms once the interior is completely gutted the only thing keeping the shape of the hull is the deck attached. The floor and stringers help give the hull its shape. Remove the deck and if the hull is not supported properly the hull will flex out of shape. Fiberglass all your stuff in and then try to reassemble it and man have you got a problem (dont ask how I know... please):rolleyes:
Good luck on your project....

Actually silica or cab-o-sil will make the resin more difficult to sand, it is mainly used to add viscosity, like when trying to layup vertical or overhead surfaces and also in bonding applications.

Micro balloons or glass spheres or phenolic maicroballoons or Q cells are good and very easily sanded but just be aware that it will make your resin porous and must be topcoated for below water line use. You are geling so they would be a good choice, mix cabosil and some sort of spheres to a putty like consistency.

What type of resin are you gonna use? If you can justify the price use epoxy. If you need some links to some glass supply shops on the net let me know and I will post some, there are a ton of them out there and a lot have some good tech articles.

[Boaterbum]

Thanks for the input, yea, if ya have any links, that'd be a great help...... Cost is not as much of an issue as is staying afloat all summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:D

[Bob T]

O.k. I get it.I assumed you were just replacing the transom.I took mine apart ,replaced the transon ,reinstalled the deck then did the floor and stringers.Went back together just like it came apart.No repairing/painting needed.Integrety/strengh /cosmetics of the deck intact.Just a thought.Also I thought micro-baloons were more for fairing/contouring and much less effective for bonding than milled fibers.