Just purchased 1975 19-6.

[SaltH2OHokie]

Might try that Sunday.  I bought an 11"x16" hatch for the deck forward of the console, and there's already a 4" pie-plate cut in the deck aft (just above a bilge pump)...but a 4" hole isn't quite what I need to accomplish anything.  Maybe that 11"x16" can go behind the console and perhaps a slightly bigger one will fit forward?

The transom is definitely wet...so stands to reason that the stringer, if glassed "continuous" with the transom would be wet.  Transom is a given, and decks, while actually very solid as far as trampoline effect, are also pretty much a given (spider cracks and a spot or two where the core seems to have delaminated, but still 'solid')...and if they're both off, no biggie to go the final step to playing with the stringers.  Next year...or maybe the year after  

[gran398]

Yep Ryan, that would be a good idea. Ue that hatch you have, get in there and root around a bit.

[GoneFission]

You may want to consider something like I did on my CCP - cut a hole, take the wet foam out, and then put a hatch in and use the space under the deck for stowage.  I have now put rod holders under there and have 10 rods stored out of sight:

http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=5395.0

[SaltH2OHokie]

Per suggestion of Farley, cut deck at location of 4" pie plate previously installed for bilge pump access.  Deck was dry and solid all the way around the 11"x15" cut.  At what was definitely a joint between 2 pieces of ply (right down the middle, unsupported), there was about an inch of delamination of the bottom 2 layers of one piece of ply.  Otherwise near perfect.  Poked around, looked around and finally went for it and drilled holes in either stringer.  Both produced damp shavings off of the drill bit, and nothing more.  Didn't go whole hog and drill a BIG hole for a drain plug yet, so that may be the key, but I'm waiting to have plugs in hand to make the hole match the plug, rather than arbitrarily drill 3/4" and then have go up another 1/8" or something...real bear trying to evenly upsize a hole in that situation.

What I did notice while staring down through my new hatch was that the garboard plug was essentially just in a drilled hole through the transom.  Not a drilled and sealed hole.  So the 2" (or whatever thickness of wood that is) was literally just mush when poked at from the inside of the boat around the plug.  So I hopped out and drilled a hole in the transom about 6" away to see what came out.  Water weeped out, but I was hoping for a geyser  

While admiring my new hole in the boat, I noticed water was dripping from above, so I followed the drip up to one of the motor mounting holes where I found an unused hole drilled in the transom, not filled with anything more than the excess caulk from the mounting hole above it that IS used.  So that's another good way for water to get in  

In summary: Need to drill bigger holes in stringers, deck wasn't bad (in that particular area), transom is toast.

Would I be selling myself short to just do the transom and not go ahead and tear it all the way apart?  I guess my concern is that I'll be duplicating work if I do the transom now/soon and then 2 years from now decide to tear it down to nothing and build it back...is that a valid concern?  

Second question: the foam in the stringers...is it serving any purpose?  Could one pull the transom, devise some sort of plumbing snake styled tool and root out the [wet] foam and then glass the transom up and be done with it?  I'd already have drain plugs installed in my stringers so that if the now hollow stringers took on water from a source other than my transom, I'd know it and have a way to evacuate it...

Just thinking out loud.

Pictures of all of this very exciting progress will follow at some point. [sarcasm as far the "exciting" and "progress" are concerned]

[Aquasport Commodore]

With the motor tilted up, have you tried to pull down on the skeg and see if the transom flexes. If so, you will need to redo that transom, if not then you can wait and do it later.

[SaltH2OHokie]

With the motor tilted up, have you tried to pull down on the skeg and see if the transom flexes. If so, you will need to redo that transom, if not then you can wait and do it later.

Yes, before purchase, and also with fiberglass man just after purchse.  In neither case did I see anything that worried me, but its definitely wet, and my main gripe is that the boat sits like 4" too low in the water (per the scuppers).  That's obnoxious to me and I'd like to fix it, if possible without literally gutting the entire boat, but even if that's what it takes, eventually I'd do it.

[Georgie]

Ryan,

The solid deck is good news.   The minimal water in the stringers is just OK news...but still crummy because they're "protected" by your surprisingly solid deck.  Definitely raise the bow as high as possible and TRY to get her to drain a bit.  Gravity can work wonders.  

Now for the potentially good news.  You just might be able to clean out the transom, remove a ton of soaked wood, and rebuild with a lighter poured seacast transom or similar without removing anything but the top seam.  Do your research, but several members on this forum and other forums have found a chainsaw to be an invaluable tool for preparing a poured transom without removing the inner or outer skin.  I'm not good at searching like CB is or I'd do it for you.  Whatever you do, don't remove the outer skin...destroy the inner skin only if you need to for access.

Hopefully you can address/improve this without totally tearing her apart.  

[SaltH2OHokie]

Not doubting, just asking: why important not to remove outer skin?  The few transom jobs I've seen in person (at professional fiberglass shop in the area) all had the whole back off of the boat.  Watching various rebuilds on here and other forums, I've seen it done 10 different ways, and all seem to have their merits...

[slvrlng]

Not removing the outer skin means much less fairing and laminating to get a strong transom to hullsides bond. If you don't remove the outer you maintain the original smooth gel and glass layers. The chainsaw actually works really well digging out the guts of the transom, just make sure to lay the chain bar on the outside and mark it with a piece of tape so you don't go too far and go through the bottom.

How big a hole did you drill in the stringers? Jack the front end up and attach a wet dry vac up against the hole and see if that will draw out more water. The foam they used was open celled so the vac should be able to pull some water rearward.

[seabob4]

On my little Sea Sprite, every bit of wood in her had turned to dust, transom included.  The weight of the motor on the hollow transom caused the outer glass skin to basically become c-shaped permanantly.  So off it came.

When I cut out the transom, I left about 1 1/4" of good glass all the way around, which acted as a "reciever" for the new transom, bedded in poly putty and screwed in place all the way around.  The existing glass was pretty even 1/4" thick all the way around, so a piece of 1/4" ply became my new outer skin.  

I'll have very little fairing to do when it comes time to glass it all in...

[SaltH2OHokie]

Lest we forget, my outer skin ain't exactly "like new". See page 1 of this thread for a photo of the damaged starboard side of my transom.

[seabob4]

Ryan, went back and took a look...that ain't bad.  Looks like just the gel has been removed.  Looks to me like plenty of good glass left there, unless that pic doesn't show that it's a paper thin shell!!

[SaltH2OHokie]

Not paper thin, looks like someone ground out some damage, filled a portion of it with something (white and hard) and that's as far as they made it.  

I'd really like to lighten the boat, and I can't see scuppers sitting under as far as they do with just a wet transom, but then again, I have no concept for how tender this thing is with regards to added weight as I've only experienced it "as-is".

[seabob4]

That "something" white and hard sounds like MarineTex...

[Georgie]

Ryan,

As Lewis mentioned it's mainly a structural thing.  I cringe every time I see an aft transom skin completely removed because the secondary bond that will be used to reattach a new transom skin will NEVER be as strong as the original laminate.  That's not to say it can't be done well, and it doesn't apply to situations like the curved/warped transom SB mentioned which certainly necessitates re-glassing.  The original layup was done with all polyester which is the most affordable resin but is a terrible adhesive for an external transom rebuild, and then you have epoxy as a much stronger alternative but it has annoying chemical incompatibilities with poly based finish coats.  Vinylester is a nice compromise, but it too cannot achieve the physical strength of the original poly/fiberglass layup from the mold.  The transom experiences a LOT of torque and stress, so if it were my boat I would do everything in my power to keep any glasswork on the inside half of the transom so that the outer skin remains a one-piece laminate.  

Now, keep in mind the scope of work and methods depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish.  In your case, you don't need to reconfigure your transom, but only want to remove a waterlogged core, right?  To me, this SCREAMS of an opportunity for a poured transom which solves the issue forever.  There are several guys here who have gone before you and lots of good info in their threads.  Cutting out either inner or outer skin shouldn't be necessary for this job unless you're enclosing the transom or redoing the entire deck.  When you're done, it'll be solid as a rock, and the amount of fairing and gelcoating you have to do to finish the job will be minimal.

Second question: the foam in the stringers...is it serving any purpose? Could one pull the transom, devise some sort of plumbing snake styled tool and root out the [wet] foam and then glass the transom up and be done with it? I'd already have drain plugs installed in my stringers so that if the now hollow stringers took on water from a source other than my transom, I'd know it and have a way to evacuate it...

The foam in the stringers is what helps keep the stringers from deforming when the hull wants to flex in heavy seas.  Foam elsewhere underneath the deck has little function, but the stringers themselves need to have a "core" and foam is the preferred solution for the job.

Would I be selling myself short to just do the transom and not go ahead and tear it all the way apart? I guess my concern is that I'll be duplicating work if I do the transom now/soon and then 2 years from now decide to tear it down to nothing and build it back...is that a valid concern?

 If you pour the transom you wouldn't need to touch it again if you had to ultimately tear out the deck in the future.  The work wouldn't be wasted.  As such, I personally think it makes perfect sense for you to go ahead and solve the easier and more definite issue of a waterlogged transom first and see what sort of benefit it provides before diving into what would be a much more involved project.  Your list may however be a permanent issue unless it's somehow being caused by something other than waterlogged foam in your stringer.  For what it's worth, I do not see this as one of the proverbial "Go big or go home" type projects. There's opportunity for significant benefit by starting small and tackling one particular aspect at a time.  This will keep you on the water this summer which is important to the admiral!