Transom Replacement Planning Help Needed.

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by thill, Mar 8, 2007.

  1. thill
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: Virginia, USA

    thill Junior Member

    I see we were posting at the same time.

    I understand the frustration of trying to steer people in the right direction, and then having them ignore your advice! Fiberglass Jack, I have respect for you, and believe it or not, I am NOT ignoring your advice. In fact, initially, due to reading your posts here, I HAD decided to go ahead and repair the transom with epoxy and plywood.

    But your advice that I should replace the transom from the inside is what gave me serious pause. It is not because I'm LAZY, nor is it because I don't think I'm capable of doing it, (I tear apart and re-build stuff for a living and have all the equipment already) but it's because I can't justify in my mind destroying a perfectly sold floor, motor well, bulkhead and gas tank structure to get to it. That just seems counter-productive and a waste of time.

    So that puts me back to either cutting from the outside or trying Seacast. So I have been researching. At this point, it's still a toss up, but I'm definitely leaning towards the Seacast.

    In searching for information, I just examined, in person, a Seacast repair that was rock-solid after five years of use This demonstrates to me that this material of unknown properties has held up nicely for at least that long. A chunk of data to add to the pool of information on this subject.

    I have searched for Seacast failure stories, and the only thing I found (on the Seacast website, of all places) was a fellow who tried to make an outboard bracket out of it without glassing it, and it snapped. But I haven't been able to dig up a single other failure story in all the internet, or by word of mouth.

    Regarding professionals, there is a list of shops that use the stuff. There just happens to be a reputable marina repair shop very near me on Lake Anna, Virginia, that does Seacast transom repairs, and they trust the stuff. That says something. I intend to visit them soon. More data for the pool.

    Fiberglass Jack, please understand, that I'm not challenging or questioning you in any way. I'm just trying to objectively gather as much information as I can before making a decision. Believe me, if you or anyone else gives me some detailed negative testimony about this stuff, I'm all ears!

    I'm just trying to learn as much as I can before making decisions.

    But the fact is, I still don't even know if Seacast will work in my case, so his all may be moot. But I think it would be foolish on my part to simply ignore a possibly good product YET, until I learn more about it.

    Anyway... Thanks again, and keep the info coming!

    -Tony Hill
     
  2. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    were cool thrill.
     
  3. tri - star
    Joined: Feb 2007
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    Location: Vancouver, B.C., Canada

    tri - star Junior Member

    Ditto - PAC and fiberglass jack.

    Sometimes it's best to let people go their own way.....
    As grads of the school of hard knocks, we know things from experience.
    .....so let them enroll in the same colledge...
    Try to see Seacast; as longterm, job security.

    Cheers !
     
  4. trawler builder
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: nova scotia

    trawler builder Junior Member

    "going from the outside u are adding a **** load of refinshing work guys are to lazy to do the job right i know its hard to do from the inside but who said boat repair is easy "

    PAR - i agree with you on the coosa and the seacast but i can't agree that going in form the outside is always the "lazy" way . aggreed it makes for a bit of refinishing work but soemtimes it is still the best way . you can make a outside in repair to be every bit as solid as inside out , you just have to take the needed precautions . i don't have any experience with the seacast material but it looks like a glorified version of a fill we make in our shop from "talc " and polyester resin .
    just my opion par ,not saying you don't know what your talking sbout .

    tb
     
  5. Seacast
    Joined: Jan 2007
    Posts: 6
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    Location: Florida

    Seacast Junior Member

    The Wood To Seacast Question Answered

    Many Questions and concerns have been raised regarding Seacast and it,s ability to bond to wood. Here are some pictures that clearly show that the Seacast will not fail. The bond between the materials is intact; it is the wood itself that proves to be failing point.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Here are two more pictures showing the adhesion to fourty year old laminate. The adhesion is so strong that the original fiberglass will delaminate before the adesion to the Seacast will be broken. Never in 25 years has there been a reported product failure of any Seacast applications and no one has ever had to replace a Seacast Transom.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Your friends At Seacast LLC
    Bobbi
     
  6. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    i want to test this stuff out for myself any way you could send be a bucket of it
     
  7. thill
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: Virginia, USA

    thill Junior Member

    "Never in 25 years has there been a reported product failure of any Seacast applications and no one has ever had to replace a Seacast Transom."

    Bobbi,
    That is pretty interesting. I spoke to you on the phone a couple of days ago. I'm going to take you up on your offer to send me a sample.

    Fiberglass Jack,
    You ought to grab a sample too, and see what you think of the stuff. You never know... You might find that you like it.

    What is Coosa board, by the way?

    -TH
     
  8. Seacast
    Joined: Jan 2007
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    Location: Florida

    Seacast Junior Member

    Seacast Samples

    Hi Guys,

    Please call me for a Seacast sample. I need your address and name for mailing. Our toll free number is 877-716-4820.

    Ask for Bobbi

    Your Friends At Seacast LLC
    Bobbi
     
  9. trawler builder
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: nova scotia

    trawler builder Junior Member

    Coosa is a composite product ,that is rigid like plywood ,but 45 % lighter. i don't have a question that seacast will bond to wood , i just question how it will replace plywood or synthetic core . i guess i will have to call also .

    TB
     
  10. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    coosa is better than ply anyday, but sometimes cost is a factor,if your fixing a runabout for the cottage well you dont need state of the art material, its different if your building or repairing a offshore powerboat and going over 100 mph then you will want the strongest material out there,
     
  11. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    A question to the guys at seacast, if I repair a customers transom with your product and follow all the steps, say even if I went to your faciltys and was fully trained in seacast repairs, and lets say the transom failed , will you cover all expensise to redo the job?. your site says that its the greatest thing since bread, iam talking about the labour as well not just the material
     
  12. buckknekkid
    Joined: Oct 2005
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    Location: north of pompano

    buckknekkid Senior Member

    only if you take along a chaperone

    You would be too close to Shooters during the Hot Bod contest,, I have to take you under my wing
     
  13. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Thill, you'll probably end up cutting the outer skin off. It's not a big deal and a reciprocating saw will do a fine job of it. So will a circular or jig saw and maybe a Roto Zip or router. This makes cleaning and roughing up the inside a whole lot easier, even if you go with Seacast.

    The bottom line is how thick are your transom skins. Some boats don't have a full inner skin, which will insure you'll have much additional construction (making an inner skin) if you use a pour in transom product.

    Just cutting the cap off and knocking out the loose stuff will not provide you much security. Seacast is a polyester resin based product with bits of ground up old boats used for filler material. Polyester is on the low end of the spectrum in the adhesion department compared to other stuck-ems (in the above Seacast supplied example, an epoxy based polyester filler core would have about 10 times the strength of the tested sample shown). Poly doesn't stick to itself very will without properly cleaned and well abated surfaces. This is very difficult if you have to work through a 1 1/4" wide slot along the top of a transom. How do you get the wood out? How do you put a heavy tooth on both inner and outer skins? How do you clean it? I can just see a cute little sand paper on a stick sort of deal causing you to invent new words to go with your cussing, just so you can get to the bottom of the transom (where you'll need the most strength) with some 36 grit.

    When you get your boat back, drill some holes (with a hole saw, not a drill bit), clean through the transom. Make them big enough (an inch or more) so you can see the thickness of the skins. This is called a core sample and the first thing I do on a transom job. Drill the hole at the bottom center(ish) of the transom. Don't drill through the bottom of the boat, but get close to the lower edge, say a few inches up. Remove the core and look at it. The outer skin should be pretty easy to see, the plywood will likely be moist and crumbly and hopefully it has an inner skin. These holes can easily be patched during reassembly.

    With a complete inner skin, you have the possibility of using Seacast, but it's not a guarantee. You'll have to post the skin thicknesses, plus make and model of the boat and the engine and tankage carried. I then can tell you if you're in the ball park for a cored transom replacement or if something else has to be done.
     
  14. Up_in_Michigan
    Joined: Mar 2007
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    Location: Michigan

    Up_in_Michigan Junior Member

    Thill, I am getting ready to pour seacast in the next couple of days. I was searching the net also for any last minute doubts, and ran accross this post. I have a 69 Arrowglass boat that would not at all be worth the expense of what I was quoted to repair the transom. I can't see any reason to put plywood back into this boat myself, and have it rot out again. I hear what the pro's are saying here though, and if there was a shop that did it up here, I might have taken it to them if the labor was reasonable. Alot of people around here are real interested in seeing how this stuff works though, so I will post some pictures of mine also when I am done.
     

  15. Seacast
    Joined: Jan 2007
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    Location: Florida

    Seacast Junior Member

    Hi Fiberglass Jack,

    Wolfgang would like you to call him about you question in your post. Please call him at 877-716-4820.

    Your Friends At Seacast LLC
    Bobbi
     
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