Enterprise repairs

I have recently garaged my enterprise dinghy to dry out before attempting to repair a leak around the centreboard. I have also stripped the transom and uncovered some filler which was loose and some has fallen out. Can anyone advise how to repair this area?

 

The proper repair is to cut out the bad material, including that filler, which looks like it can't be trusted and scab in good wood with epoxy. There's clearly signs of long term deterioration, so getting back to good wood may involve removing a considerable amount of transom. This may warrant replacement (the transom) as an easier way to go.

 

Enterprise Repair

Thanks for the reply PAR, i'm not sure i have the skills or tools to replace the whole transom. The boat was not expensive and all i really want to do is get her back on the water for the coming summer season. Maybe you can recommend some filling techniques or let me know if replacing the transom is an easy task? I also need some advice on stripping the varnish, and the paint from the Hull. It looks like its been overpainted a number of times but now there are some serious cracks in the paint, particularly around the bailers, and i suspect theres quite a bit of soaked wood under there. Any advice on the best way to strip the paint, is it best to use solvent strippers or maybe a heat gun and shave hook with plenty of elbow grease and sandpapers?

 

Elbow grease, scrapers and sand paper are the best choices for the novice. You can use media blasters (sand blasters using stuff other then sand) or chemical strippers, but you run the risk if doing a lot of damage. Chemicals have a nasty habit of getting where you don't want them. They also can stain and contaminate wood, making finishing difficult. Blasters can easy remove more then paint, they can eat wood fairly easily if used by a beginner.

In my mind, you look to have at least 20 - 25% of the transom in need of repair. That's a lot of filler. It's very likely, judging from the picture, that your transom has been leaking around it's perimeter. Filling the bad spots may leave you with a transom that still leaks or will be soon.

Replacing it isn't that tough, but is a large task for a backyard kind of guy. Start by closely examining the plank seam, where it meets the transom. Grind away the paint so you can see what's going on. Dark stains around the fasteners, splits, obvious signs of wet wood, suggest it's time.

Expose the planking to transom fasteners with a grinder and check each for tightness. I'll bet you a beer, they're loose or most of them, the wood is stained, split and the transom has been leaking for some time.

Remove the planking fasteners. Don't use a power drill, you'll just tear off the heads or strip out the slots. Start them out by hand, then move to the power drill, when you're sure you can spin them out without tearing things up. Some will strip, that's life. If it's just spinning in the hole, leave it. If it's head is buggered up, then drill it for a bolt extractor (an "easyout") and remove it that way. The loose fasteners can be "talked" out of their holes as you "spring" the planking away from the transom, during removal.

With the fasteners removed, including any through bolts going into knees or transom braces, you can start wedging the planking away from the transom. I use hardwood wedges, left over from scarfing. Wiggling, and holding you jaw just right and the planking will spring away from the transom, enough to let you tilt it out and lift it off the back of the boat.

Now that there's a big old hole where there once was a boat butt, you can clean up the areas around the screw holes and contact area at the transom edge. These area need to be clean, really clean. Any planking repairs can be preformed now. Like gluing up splits, or scabbing in plank ends to replace shot ones. When ready, prime (at least 3 coats) then paint (at least 3 coats) the inside of the planking. This is now ready to receive the new or repaired transom.

The transom can be made a number of different ways. The best is a plywood version. Plywood is stable and can be put in one piece. Yours looks to be plywood. Use the old one as a template, being sure to note the changing bevels along the edges to match the planking.

Unfortunately, plywood doesn't take fasteners into the end grain very well. You can use extra long screws or better yet is to bond the holes with epoxy. This is drilling over size fastener holes, filling with thickened epoxy, then inserting a fastener so the goo can harden around it.

Once the transom is cut out, beveled and ready to install, the contact surfaces need to be "bedded". I prefer 3M 101 for this task, but several products will do. 3M 101 will let you remove the transom again if necessary, some of the other products will not without damage. Of course the transom edge is completely painted, before installation.

 

One other Quick n' Dirty way is to put a sister transome board inside the gooberd up transome board.

Find a board of Cedar or even a plain Common lumber board 2" thick and 10 or 12 inches wide. Cut to fit, screw it in place.
Seal it up with anything before you install it.
That is soooo Temporary! Its about the only quick repair you can make with that mess.

Next fall, pull the whole transome off, cut the ends of the planks till you have good wood and make a new transome.

 

Thanks Guys,

Replacing the whole transom seems a bit extreme, the damaged area is only about 3" x 5" so i'll try a repair i think. whats the best way to fix/ glue a new section? And should it be marine ply, or will any ply of the correct thickness be ok?

Next Problem!! I have removed one of the self bailers from the floor of the boat and the ply around it is rotten, theres no way it will go back in securely.
How can i repair this area to accept the bailer again?

 

I know you're looking to get back on the water quickly and as cheaply as possible, but, take it from some one who has repaired hundreds of boats. When you find rot, you've only found a small percentage of what's actually there.

Just from the one photo above I can see some sort of gap filling goo that has been applied along the transom seam, beyond the obvious area in need of repair. This is indicative of a transom that has worked loose it's fasteners and leaked. Judging by the haphazard way in which the goo was applied, it appears it's not a very good job, probably still leaks and is most likely hiding more rot, worn out fastener holes, etc.

If the bailer is also experiencing similar ills, then you know you've got a handful of repairs that must be made. Other likely locations will be, along the garboard seams, chines, rubs, stem and previously mentioned transom and centerboard log seams, plus other penetrations or attachments to the hull.

She's sick, but you can administer medicine. The various repairs will vary in nature, some slightly others considerably. The crux of it is to remove the bad wood, well back to good wood. Machine a piece to fit the area, with an eye on the structural needs of that particular element and glue in a "scab" or replacement piece with epoxy.

Material choices are usually fairly easy to make. You can low ball the stuff you put in the boat, which generally forces you to have to make future repairs again, possibly involving bigger areas next time, or you can use good materials and not have to worry unless you bank it into something hard and pointy (usually not good for small wooden sailors).

Familiarize yourself with epoxy, fillers and application, by logging onto WWW.westsystem.com or other epoxy formulator's site. There you'll find a user's guide to their products, with basic instruction on how to use them.

Next would be the wood working aspect. If you own a chisel, hand saw, screwdrivers and a drill, you can make these repairs, though having some other tools is very helpful, especially saws.

You need to read up on how to "scarf" plywood repairs into plywood panels. A scarf is a fancy, tapered joint that dramatically increases the surface area within the joint so glue will have something to stick to and you don't get "point loading" or "stress risers", which can weaken a repaired piece.

All of your repairs will require some scarfing, wood fitting and epoxy effort. How much? Beats me, but there are plenty of previous threads here that discuss all the techniques you'll need. Use the search tool and look up scarf, transom replacements, sole replacement (it'll cover techniques), hole patching, etc.

There are a few books that cover most of the techniques. You might want to invest in one or three. Check out the book store here or at your local book retailer.

 

Thanks Par, appreciate the advice.

It's a big learning curve for me but i'm just gonna have to get stuck in and see how i do. If i uncover any more problems, (seems likely) then i'll post some more plea's for help

Thanks again!