Hydra-Sport X-280 Rebuild

[bbatton]

Well after much reading on this forum about others repairing there transom and stringers I think with the help of the people here I can do this!

I was only going to replace the carpet in the boat but once I looked under the front deck And the crack getting worse in the splash area this is what I seen

And the splash area getting worse


I ordered a Lift eye to take off motor off so I can check the transom out.
Once it comes in I will pop the cap off and get a better idea what I'am about to tackle. I will post more pics when I get the cap off and try and keep this thread going from start to finish and will take any advice from others that has done this type of work. Once I get to the point of ordering supplies I will ask you guys what I need to order for this project.
Thanks and Great site btw.

[bbatton]

Has anyone used or heard of this web site? http://www.fiberglasssite.com

[ProcraftMike]

You have yourself a project there. Good luck and keep us posted... Another good site for materials is an outfit called US Composites. They have a lot of boat building and repair equipment. I have purchased all my epoxy resins and cloth from them in the past.

[northrivergeek]

With you being in FLA, you have all the supplies at your fingertips .. FLA is full of fiberglass and resin suppliers, look in your local phone book, here is one that is large http://www.fiberglassflorida.com , no need to pay shipping on stuff you have at your back door, you should have no prob finding anything for fiberglass work.

Polyester laminating Resin is the cheapest route, 20-25 per gallon, 90-100 for 5 gallons, don't pay more than 3 bucks per yard for 1.5 oz fiberglass mat.

Don't buy the junk that auto parts stores carry .. too thick! and you have no idea how long that has sat on the shelf . you want resin that is less than 6 months old!

Epoxy Resin is the strongest and most long lasting, but will cost 60-100 per gallon !

Polyester will do just fine, no matter what others try to tell you .. its been used by boat makers for eons and still is used by them .. if you want the best you can buy epoxy, but it must be measured exactly poly is more forgiving

If your transom is rotted chances are your stringers are toast too.. expect the worst pray for the best .. you will need min 10 yrds of glass, if your floor is weak in spots plan on 20 yrds, for polyester resin expect between 7-12 gallons depending on how much rot you have.

The first thing you need to do is pop the top off that boat so you can get a good look at what your up against, you don't have to pull completely off but you do need to lift enough to be able to see the stringers clearly.

if you have bad stringers you need to remove most or all of the old flotation foam, and the foam boxes in the rear corners of your boat usually L shaped, those have transom supports behind the boxes. Save the foam and remove it in as big of pieces as possible , it will save you money if you can reuse part of it .. can add new pour in foam over and around your old foam.

You have a good two months of work ahead of you .. but at least in FLA the weather is warmer and you will get more days above 60 to work on yours than I have had, or will have till feb.
Mine is close to being ready to put the top back on, but cold weather and lots of rain have slowed my progress to a crawl.
I'll send you a pdf book on transom repair if you PM me your email addy