Q with picture & drawing

[rburlington]

On Sunday, after pouring Seacast on Thursday, I found the transom very firm.  To make sure I took a core sample from a point where I will redrill a drain hole.  I was disappointed as I found the sample more flexible than I had hoped.

By Sunday night, however, the core sample was hardening.  I sent it to the manufacturer for testing and when they had it Monday (overnight UPS), they found it very hard and more than up to standard.  Apparently the cooler temps we have had in Central Illinois up until the last two days (lowe 70s during the day and high 50s at night) required a longer curing time as opposed to the set up time.

If you are following my progress b/c you may do this product, be sure and mix according to instructions without fudging and don't rush the cure time.  It will be interesting to see if this fix is as good as wood or coosa; and, of course, there are different opinions on this issue on this forum.  If you have not made a decision as to which way to go, it would be good to read posts on this forum on all the alternatives.  Wood and coosa are apparently the most tried and true methods and Seacast a relatively new comer.  A few professional shops have begun to use it for transom repairs.

I will post a picture or two of the finished transom when the job is finished and paint applied.

[JimCt]

Sound advice!

What is Seacast made of?  Is it a filled epoxy with a chopped glass binder?

[rburlington]

JimCT,

Seacast comes in three parts.  One is a bucket (or gallon, depending on what you order) of a proprietary binder that has the consistency and color of pea soup.  Another is a cream catalyst.  The third is ground up fiberglass boats.  It is shipped in the proper proportions with good instructions for mixing and pouring.

I purchased some spacers made of the same material and these appear almost ceramic in nature.  Overall the material is relatively light weight.  It binds best to polyester resins and it is therefore a good idea to put a light glass mat using Seacast's own resin and catalyst over anything to which you wish to have the product bind.

The fix is not cheap, but one gets excellent customer support before purchase and during the application; a big plus in my opinion.  

It should prevent two problems associated with wood; obviously it is not affected by water caused dry rot and less obviously it may not be subject to the same degree of fatique and delamination due to engine torque.  This latter problem I would guess (only a guess I am not an engineer) may also be assoicated with laminated glass and foam products.  It could be that water getting between it and the walls of the transom could cause a delamination between it and the glass.  Perhaps in places like Central Illinois where water in transoms freezes during the winter a problem such as this could be worth keeping an eye on.

Anyway, I think whether one does this, wood or coosa (spelling?) depends upon the structure of their boat, the money and skills they have, and whether or not they are coming in from the front or the back.  There are excellent reasons for any and all of these materials and methods.   One method suggested by Seacast, i.e. coming in from the top and removing wood with a chain saw, would have been a major error in my case as the transom was of differing thicknesses and had some very thin places in the back wall.

Finally, it should be noted that one way Seacast can be used is to pour a transom externally and then, when cured, fit it into the boat as one would wood or coosa.

Persons interested in more details are welcome to send me private messages and I will at least share my experience including details of problems I encountered.   The next couple of years should help determine how well this method panned out.

[JimCt]

Thanks for the info.  How did you judge how much material you'd need... figuring volume in an irregularly shaped cavity isn't easy.

[DRAMBO]

thanks again for posting your progress. i opted to go in from the top of the transom cap on my 250 XF,without taking the inner or outer skins off ,because the transom was so rotted that it basically turned into dirt with every scrape which made it a lot easier to get the wood out. i followed your lead with the risers and did not go any higher than where it changed to one half inch plywood, i did layer some glass in first to form pockets to hold in the seacast pour. i was suprised there was not a thicker core in those wings for more support on the transom. for piece of mind i also layered in some extra glass on th half inch ply in the risers. i poured on sunday here in n.j.  The nights have been getting cold. tuesday i pulled a piece of tape off of one hole and it was still wet. i was a little worried till i just read your post. forcast is saying it will be in the 80's today and tomorrow, i think that it will quickly finish curing in that temp. then i will be able to drill out my drains. did you happen to try sanding any of the secast, i have not ,but im interested on how difficult it is gonna be clean up and glass finish. also did you use a good amount of the recycled boat strips? i used approx 3 quarters of each bag on both buckets and it seamed to be just pourable, any more and i dont think it would have filled all gaps unless it was jammed in. anyway, the transom already feels solid as a rock, and it is not fully cured, nor have i finished overlaying the cap that i cut out to pour. gonna go check for full cure later today.

[rburlington]

JimCT: for volume figures I drew a scaled picture of the transom and then made lines for every square inch.  Then I counted the squares to get a total number of square inches on the surface.  Where angels in the lines made partial inches I counted them as 1/2 a square inch. Next I multiplied the results by 1.5 to get a volume.  It came out pretty close.  

Drambo: I used most of the fiber they sent and found it poured fine.  But my brother also pushed it in with a stick and I hit the outside of the transom with a deadblow to make sure it settled nicely.  On the question of the risers I have finally concluded that the manufacturer intended them to gain strength by using a kind of honeycomb construction.  There are 3 compartments in my risers and each is separated by about 1/2" of solid glass.  From the point where the transom cap meets the risers to the top of the risers there is a slight lean toward the bow.  I am guessing that the semi-arch created by this and the three honeycomb compartments make a pretty strong member.  When you realize that these things are also a 10" by 10" square constructed of 1/2" material on all sides, they are very strong.

We found that the Seacast sands very nicely.  You won't have any problem with places where it spilled out.

One problem we encountered has to do with trying to use Seacast as a putty by overloading it with fiber.  I thought we could fill the bit of 1/2" space we had to deal with that way, but it did not work at all.  Finally put a piece of aluminum flashing up there and held it in place with tape; then we pulled the top edge back and filled from there.

Here's hoping it really works.

[rburlington]

I finished glassing up the back of the boat and sanding.  Began painting today.  

Nobody will mistake it for a professional job, but I am learning as I go.  My brother, who is the expert in finishing, had to return to Oregon before we got this far. I have to have the boat out of the barn and in the slip by middle of next week, or face some heavy fees.  So I will finish painting the entire transom on Sunday and Monday and mount the engine of Tuesday if all goes well.  

Next fall the whole boat will be repainted, so I will suffer the with the transom in a different color for this summer season.  When finished on Monday the transom will have red bottom paint from about the middle down and be the light beige shown here to the top.  

The pictures:





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[JimCt]

Looking good!  Thanks for the walking tour of the procedure and the whys and wherefores.  Good information for the knowledge base.

[RickK]

Yup, looks good. If people do have more questions, it would be nice if you continue the topic here and that way all the members/lurkers can learn too.

[rburlington]

Thanks Jim and Rick for the comments.  I have no problem continuing the thread here; just don't want to over do it.  The project has taught me a lot.  I will certainly report whether of not the motor and transom stay attached to the boat!
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[GoneFission]

So where do you use that boat around Bloomington?  I lived in Normal for a while and mainly boated on Clinton Lake.  It seemed to be that there is not a LOT of water around Bloomington...

[rburlington]

My boat is on the Illinois River.  You are correct, Central Illinois is nearly dry.  In addition, there is not a lot of help for boaters in this part of the world.  For example, I got most glass supplies from a local paint store; one large marina in the area thought the idea of keeping mat, rove, resin, etc. a strange one.

Speaking of Clinton Lake; there was a tragedic episode out there this year.  Three generations (grandfather, son, and grandson/nephew) tried out a new bass boat late one evening  They either had engine trouble or ran of gas.  The winds picked up and in the dark they were swept over the dam.  All three died.

My wife and I hope to take this boat down the Illinois all the way to Texas; perhaps next summer.
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[GoneFission]

Clinton probably has more disasters per acre of water that just about any lake I know of.  Problem is that - as you said - most of the area around there is dry and people don't own boats.  So McLean County Farmer Bob has a good year in the corn field, and goes and buys himself a new 80 MPH Bass Boat   - now Bob's never had a boat before, but he knows it's just like a car, truck, or combine...

So Bob's fishing a little late one Saturday, and finally decides to head back to the ramp.  It's a little late, so Bob switches the running lights on - but the bow light on Bob's boat requires you stick the light in the recepticle on the front - the stern is the same way.  Bob forgets about this, and is running about 70MPH when he T-bones another boat that turns in front of him...   :cry:  That happened twice while I lived there...

Or this one (happened twice also) - Mr. Champaign Yuppie gets a go-fast boat (Donzi?) and takes his honey out to the only lake for ????? - you guessed it - Clinton.  Now Mr. CY hasn't had any boat training either, but it can't be any harder than figuring out the i-Drive on his new BMW, so let's go!  CY makes sure there is PLENTY of C6H12O6 (Alcohol) on the boat and consumes more than his share out in the sun at the lake.  Now CY does not know that there are some shallows out in the middle of the lake with old stumps and rocks, and there's no depth finder on that new Donzi, so he's doing 60+ when the boat hits something very hard in the water.  Throws him off the boat or into something on the boat - result is one dead and one seriously injured.   :(

And the last Clinton Lake story - this happened to me.  I was cruising along at about 30, and was passed on the starboard by a Bayliner pulling a skier.  As soon as the Bayliner cleared my boat, the guy turned left!  He damn near pulled the skier right into my boat!  I cut throttle and turned hard - I probably only missed that skier by a foot or so...       The amazing thing is that the skier never let go - and the whole crew just kept going like nothing happened - just a day at the lake...  

So be careful out there!

[rburlington]

Yes, Clinton Lake has had its problems.  Many local people will say, "The lake is cursed."  I have heard this more frequently since a woman and her boy friend (the boy friend was convicted) put 3 children in a car and let it go down a boat ramp, killing all 3.  Some sad stories have come from there and many other lakes and rivers around the country.
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[JimCt]