Pacemaker Transom Restoration--HELP!

[Crankygeek01]

Hello,

I just started reading your forums here and they look great, there seems to be a wealth of good information along with many knowledgeable people.

Here's my question...

We have purchased a 1963 Pacemaker, We started out by pulling a couple of boards of the transom that were questionable at best. Like any other project, the more you dig into it, the more that you find needs to be replaced.

We are now at the point were the whole transom has been removed and a new frame is built out of pressure treated lumber. At this point, I know we need to treat the wood so it is waterproof, but need a little advice on the best way to do this is.

Some people have told me to just coat all the wood in West Systems Resin, without adding any hardner to it, give it ample time to dry and repeat the process until we have 3 good coats on all the wood then peice it back together with 5200 on all the screws to ensure that they also are sealed.

I have tested out on a peice of pressure treated with a coat of resin. It has been 2 days and it has still yet to dry. Am I missing something? do I need to add hardner to it, to get it to set-up?

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated as the winter is coming quick and I need to get this closed up before the weather moves in.

I have attached a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.

Thanks
Crankygeek

[Landlubber]

"coat all the wood in West Systems Resin, without adding any hardner to it"....wrong

Where do they get these ideas from, beats me.

Simply make the new transom as the old one was made, construction wise, but use two pack epoxy glue and then coat with epoxy resin (two pack) to provide superior waterproofing. Make sure that the lazarette has ventilation when finished, this looks very much like a case of rot caused by damp conditions that have existed for many years.

Wooden boat bilges are meant to be DRY. Salt water laying there causes evaporation, this increases the humidity, humidity is a feeder of fungi, and away we go again if you do not provide air flow.

[gonzo]

The resin will never cure and you can't get it out of the wood. The only solution is to replace any wood you saturated with the resin. Epoxy will not fix rot. It may harden it, but the hard lump will be glued to rot.

[FMS]

Originally Posted by Crankygeek01

Some people have told me to just coat all the wood in West Systems Resin, without adding any hardner to it, give it ample time to dry and repeat the process until we have 3 good coats on all the wood then peice it back together with 5200 on all the screws to ensure that they also are sealed.

I have tested out on a peice of pressure treated with a coat of resin. It has been 2 days and it has still yet to dry. Am I missing something? do I need to add hardner to it, to get it to set-up?

As Gonzo and Landlubber have already said, that will not work
Epoxy a and b need to be mixed carefully or you will have an unreacted component trapped and weakening the composite. Not good. Thorough and accurate mixing of the resin and hardener is critical with epoxy.