new seacraft owner

[steve s]

i guess i should have read my post before i sent it. i understand what your saying about the tank. my question about the transom should have read. can i do a standard transom replacement now. and later down the road when i can afford it, can i just enclose the cutout, install a bracket without redoing the whole transom i just installed? would this be economical or should i have the boat sit in my yard till i can afford a bracket and do it all at one time?? I'm not trying to cut any corners where safety's concerned . just trying to get my priorities in line. and yes you were right pelican this is the boat from the classified add and no matter what I'm happy its mine now.

[steve s]

i've spent the last 2 days researching the web on replacing the transom. all of the info out there can be a bit overwhelming. i have minimal glass experience, i replaced the transom on my 18' bass boat 10 years ago and it turned out desent. i want my 23 to be purfect and i need your help. i thinking about using marine grade ply does anyone that has done a 23 have the material list they used for the replacement? im sure theres a post on this site but i've searched and cant find it. thanks

[WildBill]

You can use a composite or marine grade plywood. The composite's I researched, Coosa Bluewater was about $225 a sheet as compaired to $72.00 for 3/4''marine grade plywood. You want to bring the new glass to as close to the original thickness as what your replacing. You need to decide whether your going to replace it from the inside or outside. You can probably count on using about 30 feet of glass for the transom, a little less if your just doing what's there. I used 1708. You'll use a little more for re-tabbing the stringers (from the inside) and 3 or 4 layers if you decide to fill in the space on the outside of the transom. Depending on what or how far you decide to go also will dictate how much resin you'll need. You need to decide whether your going to use poly or epoxy. The epoxy will make a better secondary bond but it run's about $54.00 a gallon. I used about 5 gallons of epoxy on my 20's transom.

You can do a title search here on the tool bar for transom rebuilds under search and find all the answers your looking for.

good luck and welcome aboard WildBill