83 Osprey 200 rebuild

[RickK]

This time of year a slow mix of epoxy will give you a good amount of working time - I've seen it take better than a day to harden.  Medium mix is good for smaller mixes on the projects.

[Islander]

Back at it today. Started to take out the old transom core. Looks are definitely deceiving, I thought just the bottom was rotten, but the whole thing was mush. So glad I decided to do this now.





I used an air chisel to get most of it out (thanks for that advice Rick) I don't know how I would have done this without it. I was able to get most of it out today but  will probably spend the day tomorrow grinding the rest of the wood out.



Now I've got to make a decision about core material. Still leaning toward CoreLite but I'm not 100% sure yet.

[Islander]

Getting there...i still have another day of grinding, maybe more. At least all of the wood is gone now.

[Islander]

It feels like I'm in the never ending process of grinding still, but I was thinking ahead and had a few questions about painting. I'm using epoxy below the deck and poly above - primarily because I want to gel coat everything. I want to gel coat the outside too...but what happens when I get to the transom?

I'm now going to fully enclose the transom and add a bracket, so I will need to significantly build up my previous outer transom skin to do this. Should I use polyurethane resin to build up the outer skin? Then switch to epoxy for everything else - like securing the core to the new skin?

[wingtime]

What kinds of a bracket are you thinking?  A Porta-bracket?  Or a flotation type bracket?

Keep in mind you can bond epoxy on top of poly but not the other way around.

[Islander]

I have a question that might be dumb but I don't want to go too far - or not far enough.
Here's a look at the port side corner of my transom. The top part was ripped off when I was removing the rotten core. Do I need to grind down to that layer of  glass or is that too far?


Here's the same corner, toward the bottom. You can see the cracking in what appears to be thickened resin. I'm thinking that I need to grind all of that off. Is that correct?


Here's a wider shot to make it easier to put it into perspective. I was dry fitting the dam to see if I had enough melamine.

What kinds of a bracket are you thinking?  A Porta-bracket?  Or a flotation type bracket?

Keep in mind you can bond epoxy on top of poly but not the other way around.

I'm going to put a flotation bracket on there.

[RickK]

Grind everything smooth - thickened resin has to go too.  Are you going full transom?

[Islander]

Great, thanks. I didn't want to keep grinding past the point of no return but that makes sense.

Yes I'm going to a full transom now.

[Islander]

Alright...finally some progress!

[RickK]

Looking good - that's a big leap forward!

[Islander]

Well, I’ve hit a bit of a snag with this rebuild. My homeowners association isn’t going to allow me to keep the boat on the side of the house and it’s just a little too big to fit in the garage. Does anyone know of any covered storage places or garages in the Longwood/Lake Mary/Altamonte Springs/Sanford area where I can continue this?

Otherwise, I guess I’m going to have to sell it. I’m tired of the battle here.

Thanks,

John

[dchawk4x]

How's it going man?  Do you still have the project?