TOPIC: Where/How to start

I'm pretty dam sure I need to replace the transom on my 196x Cutter Scamp. I was given the boat a year or so ago and eventually decided to sell it as I didn't have a lot of time.

Well I have lots of time now and I had no takers on the boat so I figured I might as well try my hand on fixing the transom, building some seats and getting this beauty back on the water.

I took some pictures of the transom area, imgur.com/a/Og9Cq#0

I'm hoping that you folks might have some suggestions on how I can go about removing and replacing the transom. I do know the top deck of the boat has been attached with fiberglass to the hull so I cannot drill out rivets and pop the top deck.

Thanks

The transom is definitely shot. My guess is that you are going to have to cut out the splash well and access it from there, then re-glass it when you are done. Removing the deck would actually be easier.

havock,

WELCOME ABOARD.

I suspect, but do NOT know, that the deck in attached with "tabs", rather than "sealed-in" all around. IF I'm correct, you can saw through the "tabs", pop the deck & remove the rotten wood from the transom & replace it with new plywood, bedded in epoxy or fiberglass resin.
(Personally, I like MDO plywood, "painted" with liquid epoxy & then buttered with "peanut butter".= Doing that makes this messy job a "once per lifetime" fix.)

yours, satx

I took a few more pictures of where the deck meets the hull. I wasn't positive but I am now. The deck has been glassed to the hull all the way around.
I'm not sure if this done when the boat was made or if the deck has been removed and reattached at some point.
I'm thinking removing the deck is out of the question now.

If removing the splash well is my only option where do I cut? I marked the photo of the splash well with a pair of yellow lines that I assume would be where I'll need to cut but I'm not sure. The blue lines make where the plywood in the transom goes up to.

Are there any other options?

Thanks

well i had the same problem . my splashwell was removable . but i removed the cap. then gutted the wood between the skins and cleaned out the rotted wood, prepped it and recently poured my transom with a pourable resin , sea-cast. i don't know if you have to remove the splashwell if you can slice the cap off ,get a better look may save some cutting and replacing. just a thought several people here have used it, that is what turned me on to the stuff. glad i found this place again. you will be too ..

billy

unfortunately I don't have an inner skin to even consider using Sea-cast. I afraid I'm stuck with wood for the repair.

I'm thinking a router to cut out the solid wood, a chisel for the the corners and a shop vac and air compressor for the rotten stuff. Maybe I can work the new transom in without having to cut the splash well off.

Havoc - welcome to the board. You must be a glutton for punishment, otherwise you would have left the boat where it was. Since you apparently aren't afraid of work, May I suggest removing the top from the hull? As intimidating as it may look, removing the top of your boat is probably going to be the best way to go. Without a doubt, doing it this way will be far easier, and it will likely net the best results. On my first restoration attempt on a boat, I tried to remove the transom by using a router as you are thinking. I ruined a $50.00 carbide Bosch bit in 20 minutes. Over the years, I have figured out what seems to work best, at least for me. Splitting the top from a boat is never a question for me now - it is a given. Transoms will often easily pry away from the boat skin with a wonder Bar and a little work. You can also use a Skil Saw with the blade set just deep enough to not cut the outer transom skin. Cut a series of cuts crisscrossing each other. Then use a chisel and hammer to knock out the chunks of wood. It will go quickly this way.

Hi Havock,
Another tool you will need , if you don't have one, is the multi-function oscilating tool. Harbor Freight has an in-expensive model that will work just fine.

www.harborfreight.com/variable-speed-multifunction-power-tool-67537.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiODE5NTE0MzYiLCJza3UiOiI2NzUzNyIsImlzIjoiMjkuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk%0D%0AIjoiMjEzOSJ9%0D%0A&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2513b&utm_source=1030&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2513b&utm_source=1030

Bruce,
I do have a propensity to to take on punishing projects. It makes the final product all the more rewarding in the end.

As for popping the top, You think cutting through the glass all around the boat then working out the transom. I know it's already de-laminated from the outer skin.
To secure the top back on I assume I would just re-glass around the under edge of the deck? That would certainly be less cosmetic work then cutting out the splash well.