The Fish Tank AKA The Beast

[kmoose]

It was all Mel. I sat in the passenger seat and cried like a girl the whole trip. I got the bronchitis bad.

[natecert]

Now Ed knows exactly how Hillary feels... haha
Good one!!
kmoose, Yep I took the bait, hook, line and sinker.

Terry England stopped by on Saturday to chat and some thing stuck w/me it's my boat do what you want. So, will probably cut down the curved top of the transom and make it flat, I want a small cooler for bait prep and rod holders on each side.

Already bought a thick starboard hatch cover for the bait tank and will go back to the Marine Trading Post in NFM to get two more for the cooler lids, will double as cutting boards.

If any one has pointers on getting the transom wood out I'm all ears>

[kmoose]

Ed, I'm doing the same thing on my transom. I was going to leave it open but have decided to flat across the back. I like the idea of added storage and or livewell.

As far as getting the wood out...... You are in virgin territory on that one considering it was not rotten. I know this sounds extreme but I would consider building a new transom skin. Many fiberglass guys don't even bother with wrecking out old transoms as it's usually more labor intensive unless you are trying to save the original gel coat. Considering you will likely paint the whole boat I would just cut it out and build a new one.

[DonV]

Ed, here's how I did mine. My transom was rotten on both sides below the small hatches, the wood around the engine was fine. I took off the rear skin and after the goo was removed, pretty much with a putty knife, I took a circular saw and set the blade at 1 3/8" deep. I cut across the good wood in 2" strips and chiseled out the wood off the inner skin. Pretty much a PIA. After that it was cleaning up with a 4" angle grinder with 24 or 36 grit disc.

If it was me, I'd think hard about Moose's suggestion.

[natecert]

Kmoose
That has crossed my mind. However with the inner skin removed I am concerned with the hull being warped. As Terry mentioned about another re build where the cap was removed and the hull spread some four inches.
I sent in the pre- order to Hemco and have not heard back. Should I call?? Would like to pick up between Xmass and New Year's. There are some good places in the area to look over pre loved parts.

Don
The checker board cut I have done is about 6X8 and think I will follow your lead and make more cuts. Get the first 3/4 ply out and then work on the second one. Worst case scenerio will be I cut thru the outer skin in a few places.

In the end IT WILL COME OUT. Just slowing me down and chompin at the bit to get on with the resurection.

Ed

[DonV]

Good luck. The inner skin on my 23 was very thin, basically a water barrier, the outer skin was very thick as I figure yours is. You should have no problem getting the wood out, a 1 1/2" wood chisel is all I used! An air chisel would work very well with extreme caution.

[Capt Chuck]

Originally Posted by DonV

Good luck. The inner skin on my 23 was very thin, basically a water barrier, the outer skin was very thick as I figure yours is. You should have no problem getting the wood out, a 1 1/2" wood chisel is all I used! An air chisel would work very well with extreme caution.

Yeah, the chisel. Mine was wetter i guess, as it came out in a large chunk and pieces

[natecert]

I have been using a one inch and a one an a half inch wood chisel along with a medium size wrecking bar. Broke down a bought a new 1.5" chisel, hope it helps. Also have a 0* cut off tool that helps a lot, just slow. If I push it too hard it will cook the cutting teeth. At thirty something a pop for the blades I'm trying to use only the $100 worth I have already bought.

To break things up I plan to work on the transom until I get tired of it then work ont he live well, doing glass work.

Not going to worry about the transom, just keep plodding along until its done.
With all the boards skin coated things should move along well after the transom is out. Especially since my neighbor TA has offered to help with the glass work on the weekends. He is a joy to watch doing glass work, much faster and better than me in all respects.

When it comes time to remove the cap I have three people lined up to help, hope that's enough. Don't have a large flat area so will have to make something in the back yard for that part of the project.

Thanks for the support and comments.

Ed

[kmoose]

Originally Posted by natecert

I sent in the pre- order to Hemco and have not heard back. Should I call??

I would call and have your credit card ready to pay half up front. You won't be disappointed in the end product.

[natecert]

kmoose, i have got the bracket ordered an will be ready around the first of the year. Plan on picking it up and spend an over night on the east coast and look for boat items over there.
While ordering the bracket I found the transom is bowed and will need to address that as part of the process of the replacement. Good thing I am replacing the wood otherwise a bracket would be impossible due to it being non uniform port to starboard.

Got bored with hammer and chisels and started the live well. The flat will be used for all water in and out. 1.5" over flow set for full and 1/2 tank level and two feeds, one 3/4" and one 1" from two separate pumps. The ball valve on the underside will make it quick to dump the the tank and have no residual water to slime up the bottom of the tank.

Also laid up 1707 and csm on the sides and bottom to give the aerator tank more strength, was not intended to be on a pounding boat.