'93 astro f18 help me please

[ironhead8625]

I hired a friend of a friend to replace stringers and transom that was suppose to be good with fiberglass and that was a bad mistake. Was trying to rip me off so i went and picked the boat up and it is nowhere near finished. I posted on another thread and someone is trying to say that the transom that was put back in is wrong. I have no idea how the transom looked and was wondering if anyone here might have some pics of a rebuild they done or someone who owns one who can tell me how the transom is made into the boat. Any help would be greatly appreciated, im stuck wanting to finish but dont want the wrong transom in the boat. Thanks

[kingfisher85]

take some pics of the work done and post them on here.

[Michael Stelly]

Post some pictures of it, is the cap still off? This is my boat,

[ironhead8625]

Boy, I hope I can get my boat to look like that. I have pics but how do I post them.

[ironhead8625]

Does this help, have a few more of the same area if needed. Thanks

[Michael Stelly]

From what I see in the pics I can take the measurements in the bilge area on mine and see how it compares to yours.

[Michael Stelly]

I took these pics tonight and the lighting was poor. Hope this helps, maybe I can take some measurements.

[Michael Stelly]

I can also tell by your pics the "Knees" on the transom have the wrong angle, they go past the fuel tanks towards the bow. Tomorrow after work I will try to get some more looks at mine.

[ironhead8625]

Thanks a lot. From what I can tell it looks like there is no cross member going across the transom. That's what I needed to know. Can you tell if the transom is going all the across the back or does it stop at the knee braces.

[Michael Stelly]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ironhead8625 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Thanks a lot. From what I can tell it looks like there is no cross member going across the transom. That's what I needed to know. Can you tell if the transom is going all the across the back or does it stop at the knee braces.
</td></tr></table>

I does go to the port and starboard side. The port side goes fairly snug against the top cap but the starboard side has room for the steering cables and the wiring for the motor. Tomorrow night or Wednesday morning I will move the batteries out and take some more pics. I will also try and take some measurements.

[sandbarDan]

it looks like you only have one peice of 1/2 ply wood for you "new" transom. It should be 2 or 3 layers of 3/4 or 1/2 inch marine grade plywood.

[Michael Stelly]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by sandbarDan &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">it looks like you only have one peice of 1/2 ply wood for you "new" transom. It should be 2 or 3 layers of 3/4 or 1/2 inch marine grade plywood.</td></tr></table>

I agree, I am not sure but mine appears to be at least an inch and a half or more. I will try to check that.

[ironhead8625]

No, its two pieces of 3/4, just looks that way from the angle. The guy that put it in there didn't fully resin both pieces so now I think I might have to take it back out. Thanks for the help.

[sandbarDan]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ironhead8625 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">No, its two pieces of 3/4, just looks that way from the angle. The guy that put it in there didn't fully resin both pieces so now I think I might have to take it back out. Thanks for the help. </td></tr></table>
what do you mean fully resin both peices? When he laminated them together or to the outer skin?

[ironhead8625]

From the reading the other threads I got the understanding that you let the wood completely dry and the you covered it in resin and let the wood soak it up to fully waterproof the plywood. Then you fibergalass the plywood together then fiberglass to the skin. Is this right?

[BASSCAT7]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by ironhead8625 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">From the reading the other threads I got the understanding that you let the wood completely dry and the you covered it in resin and let the wood soak it up to fully waterproof the plywood. Then you fibergalass the plywood together then fiberglass to the skin. Is this right?</td></tr></table>

Yes.

When rebuilding a transom you want all the plywood coated with resin first before laminating any glass to it.

[ironhead8625]

Thanks basscat, so do you think I need to pull the transom back out and start over to ensure full waterproof or can I just seal it the way it is

[BASSCAT7]

That's a lot of work to pull that plywood out, chances are it will get tore up and You'll need new wood to start over.
Probably just as good to coat everything you can get to with 2 coats of catalyzed resin.
How many pieces of plywood did He put together to form the transom thickness ?

[ironhead8625]

2 pieces of 3/4, I was saying take the transom out and start over with 2 new pieces of 3/4

[BASSCAT7]

That depends on You. How long you'll keep this boat and whether you want to tear it out and start over.
You could get what is in there now sealed up well, and as long as the finished transom is not broached by any wayward screws in the future it should be good.

Ideally the 2 pieces should have been laminated together with a layer of 3/4 ounce Chopped Starnd Mat between them and then completley coated with resin all the way around before installing the wood into the hull.

You can thin some resin out and brush on a few layers to get it to soak into what you have now, then put a final unthinned coat on and then start the glass work.

A wood /glass transom done right should last 20+ years if the wood is not punctured by any unsealed screws that would allow water penetration.