2001 Sailfish Transom - How to Access for Rebuild?

[Pat Hurley]

They are pretty much all the same. it came out great and i removed the bang strip that Grady put on and glassed it completely closed. Here are some pictures before the new motors went on.

Why don't they (Grady) build it like this in the first place ? ?

Nice Job !!

 

[Bretts02]

Tough job, eh? When you are done getting the wood out, I would suggest using a wire wheel on the inside skin to rough it up prior to "peanut buttering" the new transom in. That will give the resin more surface to bind to. As well, I would suggest that you layout and drill out any penetrations that will occur in the new transom, about 1/2" oversize and fill those holes with peanut butter. That way when you install the new mounting bolts, transducer etc., the fasteners will not expose the wood to moisture. Also, I would suggest that you use resin to laminate the plywood layers of the new transom together rather than wood glue.
Looks good so far!

Thanks for the advice! good ideas. I was thinking about roughing up the inside surface and then putting one layer of new glass on before attaching core. For the core I was looking at using a Coosa or something else (not much more expensive than good treated marine plywood). There was one layer of glass between the two sheets of plywood, any reason to repeat that or just go with 1.5" thick Coosa

 

[HTHM]

I'd go with the Coosa. I've never worked with it so I have no first hand experience to pass on.
There is a very good fiberglass forum on Scream and Fly, and restoration forum on Bass Boat Central. Lots of knowledge to pick from.

 

[Stephnic]

When I was going mine transom I talk to Grady they recommend that I use wood the way the boat came from the factory. That way it would not change the way the boat sits in the water or the way it runs.

 

[Bretts02]

Interesting thoughts. I sent email to grady with a few questions, that is one of them. I would be ok pulling some weight out of the transom core, because i do plan to increase the fiberglass thickness on the inner skin, and saving some weight in anticipation of the heavier 4 strokes going on there in the future would be a good trade.

Heres the latest destruction status. Very surprised that the inner skin is at most 1/8" thick. Only that section just to the right of centerline is all the way down to the inner core. Looks like about 2 full inches of plywood in the lower section.

 

[ScottyCee]

If you do any of the floor panels, you’ll find the same thing. Very thin fiberglass and gelcoat layers. I had to go slower than I wanted to to avoid damaging cosmetically.

 

[ScottyCee]

How is this going, Brett??

 

[Bretts02]

Finally decided it’s time to share an update. Lots of work, bloody knuckles, scary moments, beers and sanding dust but it’s more or less done. Went with Coosa core, west system epoxy for layup, total boat epoxy primer and gelcoat. Trim tabs replaced with Zipwake system. Bottom paint and primer are going this week. Overall I’m really happy with the results and it was a ton of work, but not that expensive. Less than $2500 all in for the transom rebuild portion.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and especially the BoatWorksToday videos on YouTube, invaluable. I have about 500 more pictures and learned a lot along the way so if anyone wants more details before tackling their own project just ask.

 

[Pat Hurley]

Nice job !!
so you eliminated the trim tab pockets and went with ZipWakes. Were the pockets a PIA to to reconstruct and the Zips a good alternative or just personal preference ?

 

[Bretts02]

It was 50/50 on the tabs - I was worried about remaking the pockets, but I was also really keen to have the active stabilization that zipwakes provide. They’re expensive, but making sure the wife doesn’t get seasick is priceless.

I plan to do a thorough review of them as soon as the boat goes in the water as I couldn’t find much data showing how well they worked outside of zipwakes own marketing materials.