Opinions on transom replacement

[dcobbett]

I probably making mountains out of mole hills here, but this type of glass work is new to me and
I’d appreciate opinions on how best to finish off the transom replacement project I’m into right now.

Effectively, I think I’m looking at a full transom replacement done from the outside. rather than a more typical rebuild that has some good wood around the edges of the transom. I’d like to keep the raised seats/hatches in the corners of the transom, but modify the splash well by extending the deck straight back to the transom and installing a Armstrong 10” x 20” deck plate for better bilge access (similar to what Peter Alarie did on his boat).

My saw cut line (blue tape) is about 4” in from the edges, figuring about 3” for a 12:1 bevel, and another 1” of play. The majority of the wood just fell right out. I’ve cleaned out behind the lower sections of transom glass right down to the bottom of the hull. I’m afraid that the wood behind the sides and top pieces also needs to come out since there is a lot (estimate +40%) of dark, wet ply in those areas.

[image][/image]
If I don’t want to take the top corners off of the inner liner, it looks like I’ll need to install the new transom in pieces, and if I go with a thick, 1 piece composite material, the pieces could look something like what I’ve shown in red and green: 2 side pieces (shown in red), a center piece (shown in green), then cut out the notch after (shown in yellow)?

Am I into problems with joints within the main area of the transom, should I go with multiple, thinner layers with staggered joints for the new core, or should I just cut the cap at the corners and try and drop a one-piece unit in from above?

The inner glass skin seems pretty weak and the transom plywood was not bonded to it very well. The glass skin has broken away from the bottom of the hull in several places, which allowed bilge water to contact the bottom of the ply core. I’m thinking about cutting it out below the bottom of the inner liner (pink line) which would make it easier to get the rest of the bad wood out and I could also tab the new transom into the sides and bottom of the hull, the stringers, new knees (maybe), etc.