Cap separation

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by ricciprice

One other thing improper support on a trailer will cause this too, specially with a bracket hanging in the wind.....

You're right - the vertical "G" loads when the trailer hits a bump can be significant way back there! I use a "transom saver" to support motor from aft keel roller on trailer if I'm gonna trailer the boat very far..

[plusone876]

Can't say it's NOT major until we know what's under that paint! If it was just one small tight crack in one spot, that's one thing, but to have cracks in 3-4 different areas, it seems like the boat is trying to tell us something!
That transom saver is a great idea. I think I'm going to take it to Bobby Ghelkin here in the Charleston, SC area to see what is going on. He has redone several SeaCrafts, Makos, etc. With unlimited money, I would like to redo a lot of different things and adding a large hermco bracket is at the top of that list.

The port side has a little flexing in the same area but far less and no cracking anywhere.

My list would include:

-Widening the transom and installing boxes of some type like you see on 23s
-checking the transom
-resealing the cap back to the hull and adding a new rubrail
-painting the interior of the boat, cap, hull, and removing the bottom paint

My scuppers are about 1" or so below the water line, would you think the hermco bracket would add enough bouyancy in the rear to make it self bailing?

thanks,

[shine]

Originally Posted by plusone876

Can't say it's NOT major until we know what's under that paint! ,

and that's the truth

The transom itself might be just fine, hopefully. You will just need to change how the transom is tied into the rest of the boat. Easiest way is to "box in" the transom with a bulkhead (not exactly a bulkhead because it does not go all the way down to the hull bottom) with a couple longitudinal frames. This will stop the flexing you have at the top of the transom.

like this...

[Bushwacker]

Originally Posted by plusone876

. . . The port side has a little flexing in the same area but far less and no cracking anywhere.

My scuppers are about 1" or so below the water line, would you think the hermco bracket would add enough bouyancy in the rear to make it self bailing?

thanks,

My hull does not flex at all when you push in on sides till you get a couple feet forward of transom. If yours has any flex at all within a foot or so of the transom, that's disturbing!

As far as mod's go, I'd want to make sure the transom core is tabbed into the hull sides and bottom with about 3 layers of 1708 wrapped into hull around from front of core using epoxy or vinylester resin, and I'd attach some 45 degree knees from top of stringers to transom. Those vertical boxes on front of your transom don't do much unless they're attached to the stringers. A 45 degree brace between the stringers and transom would be a much more efficient use of materials (less weight), and would transfer the bending loads that motor/bracket are putting into the transom directly into the stringers, which on a '71 hull, consist of 4 massive 2" x ~8" U-shaped fiberglass beams that are installed in the hull about halfway through the layup and run the full length of the hull.

When previous owner removed those seat boxes and splashwell from back of boat, that took out a lot of torsional stiffness out of the back of the hull because there is a 1" x 4" "beam" oriented vertically and glassed to the inner liner at the front of the seat boxes running the full width of the hull. If you install a box beam across the top of the transom and glassed to the cap as Shine describes, tied to the floor with a bulkhead, that should more than compensate for the stiffness lost to the missing seats and splashwell. I'd make it wide enough to put a couple of small storage boxes or bait wells like the later model Tracker 20's have.

Regarding your scupper position relative to waterline with a Hermco bracket. there's no way to predict that unless we know what you currently have on there, so post some pictures of it! (How much setback do you have and what is submerged volume of the flotation tank, if any?) All I can tell you is that on my Seafari shown below with original deck and transom, the waterline sitting at the dock is just below the bootstripe, which is about 5.5" above the chine at the transom, measured vertically. Now the Seafari has more weight forward than most CC models, unless you've moved your console, batteries, gas tank, etc., so it's a little more tolerant of heavy motors. It's just barely self bailing at the dock, with the waterline just below deck level. I normally just leave the plugs in or use Forum Member Fellowship's "Vortex" PVC check valve invention (last pic below) when diving when the deck's gonna be wet anyway.

[plusone876]

Any idea on cost to get someone to reattach the cap and add the necessary changes to the transom? Can anyone recommend a fiberglass shop in the Charleston area? I've reached out to Bobby Ghelkin so far.