1997 190SX Transom and more finally!

[jdrautoworks]

I've posted a few times regarding this transom but am finally getting around to it and thought might be good to share, plus I have a ton of questions. So far here are the plans and feel free to add any input! Short of the long, boat is super low hours and well cared for (for the most part), sat for a long time and decided to torque the drive bolts and pulled them though the outter skin so now it's transom time, also looks like the drive has been walking around loose for a while.

• Transom is going to be a SeaCast repair: I've heard a ton of good and why I decided to go this route but did see some issues mentioned about the bond to stringers and knee braces, any thoughts?
• Gel Coat Repair: The knuckle head before me put a wake board tower on in and needless to say there are some stress cracks and there are a few holes from over the years I'm going to fill in. I'll be asking more in the next few days on some of this. Oh and it's no longer installed!
• Jack Plate: Going to install and may have some questions as well.
• New Minn Kota: Going to be looking at a quick detach i-pilot and and Hummingbird graph for the front deck, pretty sure I'll have question there as well.
• Re-Wire: Going to rewire everything I can get my hands on, or everything that needs it. Also going to upgrade the sound and on board charger as well as update the switches.
• Pumps and Lines: Going to have the batteries and tank out so figure I should take advantage of it.
• Re-carpet: Needs carpet, decided to go with padding on the front and rear deck. Up in the air if I'm going to hire it out or DIY it depends on time.
• Add-Ons: Going to put a left foot 'rest' under the drivers console, see if I can come up up with a better glove box design or more console storage. Going to add some cup holders to upgrade what was there and add some. I wanted to add storage under the rear seat and do it right and glass it in and use the OEM drain but Pat said "NO!" so I'm still tossing that one around.
• LED's: This one I may have some questions; plan is rub rail in DOT tubing with integrated nav. lights and night lights for fishing and what not. Will also be adding LED's to the decks and consoles as well as the live well and hatches.
• Rear ladder: Don't know what to do with this one but my father likes to swim when I take him out but he's 70 with a bypass and 2 bad shoulders, I don't see a real good option but maybe someone has some thoughts.
• Front Seat Bases: These things suck to be blunt, when I get them torn out I'll have your folks for some ideas.
• Rear Seat Post: I do have kids who like to wakeboard and would like to know if I should modify or reinforce the rear post or is it good to go regarding the OEM pylon? No damage that I can see currently.
• Trailer: Going to pull the boat off the trailer; trailer needs bunks, fenders, and paint thinking of doing a tandem conversion just because the overall weight is pushing the single axle and this thing sees a lot of time on the road. Thoughts are welcomed.
• The shop: Once it get it all back together and rigged going to need to take it into the shop as I cannot get thing thing to idle and will not start cold. I bought it after sitting for 2 years and did the carbs (they were trash) and fuel leaks were all fixed and runs off idle great so thinking in is a Sync issue to a leak I cannot find.

That's my hit list, hoping to have done in 30-days. I will try to document everything I do as may to help someone else as this place has already helped me a ton. If anyone has any input I take constructive criticism very well and always appreciate the thought! Oh and Pat don't worry I won't butcher this gal she's very clean and want to keep her on the water for a long time!

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[jdrautoworks]

First direct question Gel Coat: Where can I get someone to color match the OEM white gel (Hull I.D. #TSB26382B79). Minicraft will not answer 3 different email and never returned 1 call, Spectrum said not able unless I had the color code as there was 4 that year. I've dealt with paint/glass on cars/bikes for a long time but never gel and this seems to be a different animal. Also I cannot find anyone locally unless I want to pay them for the repair.

I need a matching OEM gel that does not have wax that I can shoot or thicken with silica, I have though about getting some yellow and black tint but to do it right I have to mix a entire gallon and that could be a bit 'turd' if I get the mix wrong and do not want to scrap a gallon.

[Tx Champ]

Dean's Top & Canvas may still have the build sheet for your boat. If so, they can provide the gel and flake colors.

[jdrautoworks]

Thought about Dean's and I'll reach out Tuesday as I need to get a cover from them, but my issues is who to get to mix the gel. I do have a supplier here that deals in automotive and there are 4 'white' gel colors for that year but the color code does them no good. Took all four color codes and names and pretty much was told that that info was great but had no mixing data. The two big shops for boats here just said they could match if they do the repairs.

Also talked to Spectrum again and said my options for their mixes are "Ash White" or "97 White" and neither are this color according to the color sheets I've found. From the online chip samples Ash White looks close but on the computer really doesn't mean much.

[jdrautoworks]

Was able to get into the garage, barely! Already a few days behind schedule but so goes...
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Another question before I cut the cap, does anyone know where exactly the wood transom ends at the top of the boat? Looking on the internet at pictures it looks like it comes straight across but did see some appeared to fill the area in the upper right as well. Tried using my Paint skills below to kind of show the area in question. Not quite sure how to SeaCast that area or even if I need to.

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[jdrautoworks]

Better picture this time (still have not cut the cap on the transom) the area I was questioning is just above the top green line/stripe in the upper left corner. If there is wood there no problem but I'm trying to keep the cut as minimal as I can.

Another question... Would there be any issue if I kept the trim off and reglassed and gel coated the seam at the top of the transom? My first thought was flexing from the hull to the cap may crack over time but I see the newer Champs do not have that SS trim and would look a lot cleaner with the jack plate.

The jack plate... Any reason to not go with a 8" Rapid Jack jack plate on this boat? It has hydraulic steering and all my reading say's that is the one to go with, no go on the hydo jack plate as I'm not needing every ounce out of her and pricing on the rapid jack is much more palatable.

Lastly gutted the rear hatch (tank, batteries, etc.) and it looks amazing, drilled the kickers I guess they are called to check for moisture and dry as a bone! There were a couple of cracks up on the side where the factory glass was very thing along the cap on up toward the lives wells but is not structural but I'll patch them up before I epoxy the hatch. I will have a question tomorrow after I can get some better pics. The dash has a switch for the live well fill and a dial for the fill and has a separate switch marked "Hydro" as well as the bilge. Problem is there are only 2 pumps the fill and the bilge, looks like someone may have done some plumbing and some spare wires tucked that looks like they should have a home. I'll post up some pics tomorrow.



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[jdrautoworks]

Here are the pics of the bilge area and the switches I have on the dash, pardon my ignorance on this but is only my 2nd. bass boat. I have a switch to fill the live well that is the "AER" switch and the dial and found odd fills a to the level selected (i.e. 50 = 50% full), I would have assumed that it was a percentage of run time for aeration. The hydro switch does nothing that I can tell there is power ran to the switch and switch works, what should this switch do? There are only 2 pumps and the drain valve and tucked in on the right side of the back of the well there are two wires (both black) that look like they had a home at one time.

Edit: There is a 'aerator' in each side of the live well on the fill pump.
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[jdrautoworks]

To many dumb questions?

Well went for it and cut the top of the transom, decided to cut and expose the upper part I was questioning and glad I did as there is wood there as well. Any ideas on how to pour the Sea Cast uphill in the corners? By the was I'm sure I've said this before but this is a AZ boat it's entire life and hasn't seen water since last October and the wood is soaked to the top and can pick it out with my fingers. Oh and 30 days isn't going to happen to much other stuff going on but shouldn't be to much longer.

I'll keep posting progress in case anyone else gets a hair to try this.

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[Tx Champ]

Here are the pics of the bilge area and the switches I have on the dash, pardon my ignorance on this but is only my 2nd. bass boat. I have a switch to fill the live well that is the "AER" switch and the dial and found odd fills a to the level selected (i.e. 50 = 50% full), I would have assumed that it was a percentage of run time for aeration. The hydro switch does nothing that I can tell there is power ran to the switch and switch works, what should this switch do? There are only 2 pumps and the drain valve and tucked in on the right side of the back of the well there are two wires (both black) that look like they had a home at one time.

Edit: There is a 'aerator' in each side of the live well on the fill pump.

OK, Champion pump terminology. You've already figured out AER is short for Aerate and fills the LW with lake water. The pump is in the bilge and is mounted through the step of the pad. Hydro is the recirculate pump. It should be on the back of the livewell. Pulls water from the bottom of the LW and pumps if back up through a 3rd aerator nozzle in the LW. I don't see that pump on the back of the LW, but that's not the optimal shot. The timer is percent run time with the Fill position bypassing the timer and running the pump until it's turned off or moved to one of the timed positions. The timer works for both the Aer and Hydro pumps. Normal operation would be to run the Aer pump on Fill until the desired level is in the LW. Then turn the AER off and the Hydro on and set it to one of the timed positions. Now, if your boat is not equipped with a Hydro pump, which appears may your case, you fill the LW with the Aer pump either on Fill or a timed setting. Once full, the LW will drain out the back of the boat via the overflow as fresh water is pumped in. Make sense? Champion did build some boats with this type of setup. The drawback is that on a hot Texas or Arizona day, you can't cool the water in the LW and recirculate it because you're continuously pumping hot water in from the lake.

[jdrautoworks]

That makes perfect sense! Thank you!

So I do not have the "Hydro" pump but think I do have the plumbing for it. It almost appear that someone has re-plumbed and did away with the hydro pump, maybe factory set up as the wires appear to be intact. That is my issues, I cannot just fill the well without some kind of re-circulation and keep the fish alive.

Bad pic, I can take another if it would help but there are no pump(s) on the back of the well at all.

[Lea]

The Hydro was an option....the factory wired for it in case customer wanted it.

[jdrautoworks]

Would it be a good idea to go ahead and install it now that I've got it torn apart, never used but never had it either. Also any info on how to set it up like the factory would have or are there better options?

[Lea]

There is more to it than the pump. Perhaps Tx Champ or our other experts can explain what you would need and how to install.

[jdrautoworks]

From what I've seen/read it looks like I need to mount a pump between the livewell drain and the drain valve and plumb it into either one or both of the fill/aerators. I need to look at the switch/timer set up and see how it's wired, from what I understand if the "aer" switch is on then it powers to fill and and times when "full" and if the "hydro" is powered on then the timer is active and sends power to the hydro pump.

Secondly, my 30 day project is going to be a 30 year project at this rate! But I will say I called SeaCast and their support is I think the best I've ever dealt with in anything. If anyone is planning on doing this call them before you make a single cut or plan as they will give you info you just cannot find on the .net and they know what they are doing. I had some concern regarding tying into the braces and they solved that without any issue.

I'll get some pics up today if I get a chance of the small amount of progress made.

[Tx Champ]

The Hydro on the earlier 90s boats took water from near the bottom of the livewell on the starboard side and pomped it up and across to the port side where it was reintroduced via a Flow-Rite PowerStream aerator. You might look for i dents or smooth spots where the fittings might go.

Here's a shot of the hydro pump in my 93 201. The upper fitting has 2 hose connections cause I installed a Flow-Rite Pumpout Aerator in place of the PowerStream.

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[jdrautoworks]

A small update, poured the SeaCast today and all went well it was a little warm so had to work fast but am happy with how it turned out. Had to cut the back side out of the kickers and horizontal brace and gut the wood out of there and reglass. If any one attempts this do your self a favor and get a 14" extension for a die grinder and a 1.5" flapper wheel 50grit as it makes quick work out of removing the thin layer of wood on the inner and outter skins cake. I also found a forstner bit worked better than a chain saw.

Tomorrow I'll start on the glassing in the cap and several other cracks and holes that need repair.

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[jdrautoworks]

Gotten a ton of help on this forum, thought it would be a good idea to post a few updates in this thread. A new job and the COVID crap slowed this project down to a snails pace but still chugging along.

I was worried about the transom pour so did an ultrasonic density test that basically pick up voids (have a buddy in the NDT field) and passed so good there. I decided to do away with the trim piece across the back and make it solid glass, I'm a bit worried about the movement from the top cap but worse case I'll reinstall the trim.

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Next went a head a ground out all of the crack from that goofy tower the prior owner installed and in the process of this project found seven holes in the bottom of the boat. So glassed up the holes and filled all of the scratched on the underside since I was going to be shooting gel. All in all went through two quarts of gelcoat, one gallon of resin and a ton of glass mat. Notice the new decals and the new rub rail insert, glad that rope is gone and the DOT air brake tubing looks good in pace. Will be adding LED rub rail light in the next few weeks just need the tubing to hold it's shape.

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Decided since the trailer was not paired with the boat time to tear it down and paint, it got new bearings, new fenders, new steps and added some steps ahead of the fenders, LED lights, bunks, wiring, jack, decals, pinstriping and some new non-slip matting to match the ones going on the boat. Oh and new jack plate in this batch of pics.

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More to come in a bit...

[flashnyellow]

It is looking good!

[jdrautoworks]

Jack plate installed, still a mess with the rigging but looks like its at home. Added some of the matching non-slip on the back "stepping" point to prevent doing stunts while boarding the boat after a swim.

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Here is the bilge area, cleaned up and epoxy coated, this boat did not have "Hydro-Air" so I added a three position drain valve and additional pump to utilize to two existing aerators as well as the existing timer (boat was pre-wired just not plumbed).

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TM mounted on a quick release and some more non-slip. Also forgot to note after all the glass/gel work wet sanded the entire boat starting with 500 grit to 1000 grit and went on with the orbital in this order cutting compound, heavy compound, compound, polish, swirl remover, and a carbon based topcoat "wax" this is the only way to go for lasting results on gel as the carbon gets imbedded within the pours of the gel bound by polymers in the topcoat.

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Currently left...

- Install rub rail LED (will have some questions on the LED selection)
- Install the cabin and compartment LED
- Finish the wiring and relocate the ignition switch (90% of the wire has been replaced).
- Install new NOCO charger and dock port
- Figure out how to clean up the rigging
- Carpet and deck pads
- New switch panel(s) on the bow and drivers console.
- Also need some new wheels to better match the trailer if anyone has 'cheap' sources or ideas.

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- Also need to find a place to mount two more speakers, thinking some kind of plywood build out up under the consoles.
- Going to see if I can cut out the front bow section to flush mount a new graph as well, still figuring that one out.

I'm sure there is more but what comes to mind now, I'm actually about 75%ish way done as the glass work, painting, wiring and fabbing took the most time. I skipped a lot of detail but if there are any questions I'll do my best to answer.

[jdrautoworks]

A bit hesitant to post todays fun as I had gotten a bit of back lash about even thinking about but here it is. So knowing a little on how the 190 and 190SX were built and being involved in manufacturing myself, figured "hey I bet there is some finished storage under those rear seats. Also due to the water damage and the holes in the bottom of the boat wanted to see the runners. Also knowing that the 21SX and the newer 190SX came with floor storage along came todays results. As you can see there was finished storage under the rear seats.

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The center (rear) was there from new and the last knuclehead that installed the tower screwed up the cuts trying to enlarge it but the other two are clean cut and to my surprise finished complete with drains and all. In the pic you can see the one side cut (hole in the middle from me probing around) but would never know they were under there.

All openings will get trimmed with aluminum Z-Bar and the floor will have to same aluminum lid as the rest of the deck lids (same as the OEM in the other SX boats). The floor storage will get a false floor and epoxy coated.

I'm actually glad I did this, it allowed me to see the runners, now thinking about a thru-hull transducer, a ton of extra storage. Also while I'm in there glassing up I'll use the surplus to add some built in cup holders like the 21SX and some other odds and ends.