2 Attachment(s)
The 1985 Skeeter SF-175 will need a transom repair
What can I say more about a 40 year old fiberglass bass boat that I’m the 3rd owner (my dad’s older brother was the 2nd owner)? I knew that this time would come when I had to replace a transom tie down loop that pulled through (I’m not sure why Skeeter had them below the water line) about 5.5 years ago during the COVID shutdowns, and I’ve been monitoring, drying wood, filling, and resealing fittings and bolts waiting for the day to come. I finally noticed some movement, which can been seen in this video here: https://youtu.be/SskIE6MgI9k?si=NjOQyw45HtchK4u3
Fortunately, with the boat being kept in the garage, the rest of it seems to be in pretty good shape, which Rojo confirmed yesterday when I dragged the boat to his shop. For those of you who don’t know, this was a 6 hour round trip plus about 3.5 hours of study, talking, and teaching that really needed a little more time, but I was trying to get home before it got too dark and really raining in Jackson (I still had some sprinkling between Mendenhall and Madison to deal with). I have a lot of notes that I still need to clean up and have Rojo confirm, but at the same time, we plan to communicate during the whole repair process. The great part of the trip is that he confirmed where I needed to cut, and I scored some materials! I should have enough fiberglass and Coosa Bluewater 26 to build a new transom core, and now I need to buy epoxy, slow and extra slow hardener, and supplies make the repair to get it put back together.
Attachment 512015
I forgot to take a picture down at Rojo’s shop, but you get the general idea of what I need to finish retaping after I pull the engine off the transom. When I put it back together, I still plan to have my tie downs above the water line in the splash well.
Attachment 512014
While I’m doing all of this, I also plan to install a jack plate and hydraulic steering. Rojo taught me that the step up from pad of the transom/keel area serves as a setback (~4.5” or something like that), which is why he doesn’t recommend more than a 6” jack plate in my case. Since a 4” jack plate can serve the purpose of adjustability and be an option for mounting shallow water anchors and/or crappie brakes, I’m fine going with a little bit smaller one. I’ve not decided if I still want to have my side imager transducer on the little plastic rectangle pad on the transom or on the jack plate, but I’ll look into that once I decide the jack plate and get the transom put back together.
8 Attachment(s)
Removed the outboard, cut the back skin, and started digging in...
Since my daughter decided to use my outboard stand as a "jungle gym" and didn't scratch up, I figured that the paint was dry enough to move the outboard to it. The kids did help with the process, since one of the lower mount bolts started spinning when I was turning the nut on the outside, which required my son to lay on the back deck to reach in to put a wrench on the bolt head. Once the outboard was unmounted, I was able to swivel the cherry picker around enough to pull the outboard out and port side enough to get steering cables out from the pivot tube and secondary tube. By then I got the trim in as much as reasonable possible before I disconnected power and controls (trim/tilt plug and big red plug).
Attachment 512720
While I expected the outboard to kick out at an angle once separated from the transom, it wasn't as bad as I thought as it would be. Mounting to the stand wasn't too bad. Where it sits, it actually takes up less depth in the garage than the zero turn mower, which parked there perpendicular to my truck back when we had a 3rd vehicle that my wife wanted to park in her garage next to her other vehicle--in other words, I can still park in the garage and have plenty of room to walk around.
Attachment 512721
With the outboard removed, I noticed that the skin was indented a little bit from the mount pressing in.
Attachment 512722
I decided now was a good time to clean up and put away tools and cover up the boat somewhat before I started making fiberglass dust everywhere. I also finished taping up.
Attachment 512723
Cutting the fiberglass skin wasn't too bad once I got another multitool. My old one was getting so hot that it was melting a plastic piece that couples the rotatable head and the motor, and it was originally a salvaged Rigid corded one that I ran out of those plastic couplers after cutting halfway around. I ended up getting a battery-powered Ryobi that uses the same battery as my other 18V tools. Once I was done cutting, I used one of my Stanley wonder bars to gently work the fiberglass away from the wood, since I didn't want to crack the fiberglass skin--this was a tip from Rojo. Once in, I saw a lot of wet wood--no wonder I was able to press the skin in so easily in places and didn't have much of a fight getting the skin off.
Attachment 512724
I did some digging, and I still have more digging. I also start cutting small blocks of the better wood at the top to help break it out without damaging the top cap fiberglass in the splash well. There were a couple of spots near the button outboard mount holes where torquing down compromised the fiberglass, so that will also need some repair work as well. I haven't quite found the end of wet wood for what seems to be the knee braces, so I'm going to have to get some longer scraping tools to keep digging that out.
Attachment 512726Attachment 512727
This is the pile of rotted wood that I have on the cardboard on the floor. So much of it feels like wet garden or potting soil, that I might gain back a few mph due to the weight loss. Considering how well that the rest of then fiberglass was holding the outboard between a sandwich of wet wood, the repair job shouldn't be weaker than what I had.
Attachment 512728
7 Attachment(s)
No, I haven't given up yet...
I've just been busy with vacation that started before New Year's, kids going back to school and their' activities, going back to work, and chores around the house. While I did chip at it some (both figuratively and literally) for short stints here and there during the week and even an hour yesterday, I finally got a good few hours at it this afternoon. I still have a good bit to go, although I am seeing the end of some of the sections.
Attachment 513292Attachment 513293Attachment 513294Attachment 513295Attachment 513296Attachment 513297
Since a lot of the work is just more labor intensive with dryer wood in some areas, it doesn't look like a whole lot in the bottom of my 8 gallon Shop Vac. I got tired of stepping on rotted wood and tracking it all over the garages and in the cars, so I started vacuuming after chipping or digging for a while. While I'm not getting much tracked into the house because we take our shoes off before we enter the house, it still helps for the dust that is on top of my shoes and falls down to the socks.
Attachment 513298
3 Attachment(s)
Transverse brace progress
While I did manage to dig out some chunks of wood stuck to the fiberglass skins and opening up passage for 1.5" Coosa board yesterday (not pictured), I finally cleaned up the middle and starboard sections of the transverse brace so that they are ready for sanding.
Attachment 513667Attachment 513668
I plan to chip out the port side tomorrow, which probably won't take but an hour or so now that I figured out a technique with a hammer and long-handle chisel that does wear out my arms, hands, and wrists too badly. So far my 240V 4800W garage heater is keeping the garage around 60-65 degrees F, which is comfortable with a light jacket; when the temperature starts dropping below freezing tomorrow morning, I'm about to find out if it can keep up or not.
Attachment 513669
