265 Express – Rear Transom Door, rear locker bins Photos/Vids & Improvements

Hi everyone,

I’m rebuilding the rear transom door on my 265 Express. It was completely disassembled when I got the boat, so I’m piecing it back together myself.

I’m hoping someone can help with a few things. First, any photos or videos of the transom door pivoting up and down would be amazing, especially showing the hinge/bracket mechanism on the later models that didn’t have the 2-stroke oil filler cutouts in the transom.

I’ve removed those oil filler cutouts and glassed the transom flush, so the original bracket locations no longer line up. I need to re-engineer some of the mounting points and bracket geometry, so any reference photos would be really helpful.

I’m also trying to understand how the door actually sat in its upright and folded-down positions. Specifically, how much clearance does it have to the deck in each position, and how did it interact with the transom when fully closed or fully open?

Has anyone improved the latching or holding mechanism to stop the door from opening in rough conditions, especially when backing down? I’d love to hear what latch or restraint you used, if you added a secondary lock, or any clever solutions that work better than stock.

Does anyone have the rear bins that sit in the hollows at the back of the transom? Mine didn’t come with them. If someone has a set, or has had them remade, I’d be very interested in buying a pair. Alternatively, would anyone be willing to let me pay to have a fiberglass mold made from theirs? I would cover all costs and have a new set of fiberglass bins made and sent back to you, so I can reproduce a set here in Australia. I imagine the cost of creating custom molds from scratch without an original set would be quite expensive, so I’m hoping someone might be able to help with an existing pair.

Any advice, photos, or videos especially showing door moving, clearance and position, would be hugely appreciated. Also what the bins in the tea hatches even looked like.

Sorry for the long post, thanks in advance.

SkunkBoat said:

Take a look at this thread for the plastic bins.
https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/plastic-tub-repair.34536/
If you don't have them you can make them by doing the rim as in the pictures and then form a tub with fiberglass and thin plywood or foam.
I wasn't concerned with making them pretty, but it could be done if you are so inclined.

I have some pix of measurements of the tubs but once you make the rims, the dimensions take shape.

I can get pix of the tailgate tomorrow. Getting the hinge facing the right way is a brain teaser.

Do you have the Gas Strut and hardware for the tailgate? You NEED the strut. The tailgate is HEAVY and will drop like a rock with

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, and for sharing that thread as well. I was hoping to avoid going through everything you went through with the tubs, but it looks like that’s probably the path I’ll be heading down.

I’d really appreciate any photos/videos you have of the transom setup. From your photos and what I can see, I’ve got the hinges, the struts, and most of the main components already, so it’s not exactly rocket science. I will need to modify what I have and look to see if there’s anything I should improve while engineering the new design, and whether anyone has already found better ways of doing it.