Seacast Success

I thought I'd pass this on....

I finally got some time to work on the transom of my 21' Bayliner project boat.

This was a boat I got for a steal due to a soft transom. Upon removing the engine, I discovered that the engine had actually started sinking into the glass, it was so soft.

I used the recommended chainsaw method, and the wood came out fast and easy, except for a few tough spots. The stuff that came out looked like mulch. I mounted a chisel to a long piece of maple, and was able to really scrape the inner skin of the transom clean. This was the hardest part, and it took a couple of hours over several afternoons to accomplish to my satisfaction. I let it dry in the summer heat, and all was ready to go.

I used fiberglass tape and resin and repaired the damaged area the motor caused as well as a few other places that needed help. Once that was done, it was time to mix!

I made a plywood "funnel" like the seacast directions showed, and the pour went fast and easy. Even after only a couple of hours, it became very obvious that this transom was going to be ROCK SOLID!!!

I purchased a piece of 2-1/2" angle aluminum to cap the transom with for $37, and it looks great. Before I mount it, I plan to fair the repairs and then spray gelcoat for a clean finish. That will be my project for next weekend.

In the meantime, this transom now feels like a piece of granite! Awesome results with the Seacast. I HIGHLY recommend this stuff to anyone who has a soft transom and feels capable of doing major repairs on a boat. That last sentance is important, because regardless of the materials, you will need a certain level of ability to do this quickly and correctly.

This repair cost me about $500 in materials total, and perhaps 10 hours labor so far. I'm guessing smoothing and spraying the transom and everything else needed will cost me about another 10 hours, but even now, the results are well worth it!

I'll post pictures and the rest of the story soon.

Thanks, Seacast!

-TH

 

Glad to hear!

I always wondered how the SeaCase performed. Did you have to pour multiple layers, or agitate it like cement to get all the air out? I was going to use it to repair a stringer, but opted to use a composite instead. Also, what is the new weight of you transom? Someone once said that seacast doubled the weight and causes more problems down the road. I never finished the research once i opted for the composite.

 

I took a long time deciding to try it. I was very skeptical at first, particularly due to some of the negative comments by people who have never actually used the product. I always think it's best to ask questions FIRST.

Pouring time -- I needed 1-1/2 buckets, and I mixed it all at once and did it in a single pour. About 2 hours, start to finish.

Transom weight -- a lot less than the wet wood that came out! My calculation comes to about 42lbs total. It's surprisingly light and really DOES float as advertised. I have a picture of a big slab of it floating in the dog's baby pool. When I post the pictures, I will include that one.

Strength -- I am extremely impressed with how strong this stuff is. I beat my sample with a framing hammer, and it never broke. I finally chipped a small piece off the corner and I was done. Wood would have been destroyed long before. (I am a construction contractor/structural engineer by trade)

I don't need anyone else to tell me anything about this stuff anymore. I've seen it with my own eyes. I'm very confident that my transom will be solid longer than most of us will live. As you would expect from a solid piece of fiberglass 2" thick.

I hope this is helpful, and hope I don't sound like a commercial. When researching, I found it annoying that everyone said almost the same thing. (Works GREAT!!!) It seems fake that ANYTHING gets ALL positive reviews from end users. But now that I've used it, I sound just like the others. Truth is truth.

My personal conclusion is that I'm VERY glad I spend my $$$ on the Seacast, instead of the tons of labor and compromised structure of someone cutting my boat apart and trying to put her back right. Doing the repair so fast and cheap is awesome.


-TH

 

You seem to have done all the research and tests i would have. Congratulations on your new transom, I'm sure it will last. Post those photos when you can, I'm interested to see how the shell looked before the pour.

PS- I give anyone who would undertake this job tons of credit. It says alot about someones love for their boat to do a job like this.

 

Previuosly threaded: http://forums.boatdesign.net/showthread.php?t=4287

 

Here are the pictures I promised:

Here is a shot of the transom once the motor was removed.


You can see all the holes in the transom, some had been sealed, some had not.


Here is a close-up of where the engine was literally sinking INTO the rotten transom


Seacast says use a chain saw, so I touched it to the top of the transom. Sunk right in.


Using the chain saw really was as easy as Seacast said it would be. The rotten wood came out just like mulch. Notice the soft brown shreds all around. Because the wood was soft, it was easy to shave right up against the glass. I finished the wood removal with a chisel mounted to a piece of 1x2 maple, and then used a shop vac with a piece of 3/4" hose on it to get everything clean as a whistle inside.




Then I used a grinder and glass tape to close the holes, damaged areas and giant scuppers. Then I poured the Seacast. (sorry, no pics- I had my hands full, and I didn’t want to mess anything up)

Pouring the Seacast was almost a non-event. You mix it up as directed, and pour it in. I used a stick to push it around and then thumped it with a rubber mallet to release any trapped air bubbles. I laid a piece of glass tape across the top, and three hours later, I had a VERY solid transom! I couldn’t be happier!

The patch work I did to the skin of the transom needed to be cleaned up, so I mixed powdered glass into some resin and skimmed it flat. Very easy, if you’ve ever done any drywall work. Sand it and do it again, and she was ready for spraying gel coat:


Here is a picture of the transom after spraying. Sorry about the haze, the camera had been in A/C, and I grabbed it for the pic, and it was 100 degrees outside, hence the condensation.


And that’s pretty much it. Seacast really lived up to it’s claims. I already knew this from others on this board, but I’m glad it proved true for me, too. I'm confident that this transom is stronger that it has ever been before, including when it was brand new.

In summary... It took me 5-6 hours to get the transom cleaned out over several afternoons, less than 1 hour to tape the holes shut, 1 hour to pour the Seacast, about 4 hours over a couple of days to skim out the repairs and about 3 hours to spray the gel coat. I will buff and wax the new gel coat, (about 2 hours) and put the motor back on. (about 1 hour)

So the total investment for replacing my rotten transom is $497 in materials and 17-18 hours of my time in the evenings. It would have been a LOT LESS, had the damage to the fiberglass not occurred, probably more like 10 hours.

Hopefully, I’ll finally be back on the water by next week.

-TH