Transom Repair Demonstration in Four Parts

[jimh]

Below are links to a four-part demonstration of replacement of a transom on a Boston Whaler 25 GUARDIAN boat.

Watching this whole series of presentations will take about an hour. I could not find any listing of an index or linking from one part to the next. I have deduced the proper order to watch these by actually watching them.

PART-1
Transom Replacement ~ Cutting The Fiberglass And Removing The Old Core
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UOtdrxNX8U

This is a very chatty and shaky-cam walkaround that runs for about 11-minutes.
If you just want to see the work, jump ahead about five minutes and use this URL

https://youtu.be/4UOtdrxNX8U?t=268

PART-2
Replacing The Transom On A Boston Whaler 25 ~ Installing The New Plywood Core
https://youtu.be/al-OmrHRr6g?t=31

This seems like the next step, but a lot of work is skipped. In PART 1 the transom was left with all sorts of rough plywood remaining. In PART-2 all that remaining old plywood is removed and the remaining outboard surface of the transom is really nice, smooth, and free of wood.

PART-3
Laying New Fiberglass On The Transom Of A Boston Whaler 25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnD2-urn1EQ

PART-4
Fairing And Finishing The Transom Replacement On A Boston Whaler 25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKpBmSQRGnU

This part ends with the fairing process being shown, then jumps ahead to a finished paint already applied.

In general, I found this presentation interesting for several reasons. First, the presenter uses an amazing variety of power tools. He seems to have just the right power tool for every problem that needs work. Second, the presenter uses a large variety of resins, including epoxy, thickened epoxy, vinyl-ester laminating resin, polyester resin gel coat, epoxy fairing compounds, and products from several sources, including WEST Systems, TotalBoat, 3M, and SoftSand. Third, his methods are very interesting, and he clearly has much experience and hints to pass along.

After watching this presentation, I learned that a transom replacement project is a very significant undertaking, requiring a lot of labor, plenty of materials, a good workspace, and lots of time. I doubt I will every undertake a project like this myself.

[NLA01]

I have been following Andy on Boatworkstoday for many year and watch his new episodes every week. He has a wealth of knowledge and is not hesitant to share his knowledge. Last year he ended his full time boat repair business to make instructional video on boat repair, which many are on Youtube. He also, on the side, responds to supporters emails about personal boat projects they are working on. I have learned a lot from Andy and respect his thoroughness, attention to detail and quality of work.

I learned a long time ago there is the right tool for the right job, or the "right size hammer for the job". He does not use every tool that he could. He uses the best tool for the job. Even over the last few years of his videos you can see the evolution of his repair methods, materials used and tool tryouts and switching.


Archie

[quickenberger]

I watched the presenter’s videos when trying to learn how to tackle the transom rebuild on a 1995 Sentry. While he didn't have any videos of the Whaler transom at the time, I used some of the practices I learned from a few years working in the aviation industry. Mainly using epoxy and vacuum bagging techniques with exotic core materials.

That transom rebuild has been going strong for almost 4 years now and Coosa was used instead of marine ply. He inspired me to buy one of the Makita 9031 belt sanders for that job and it has been a very handy tool for lots of other things too. There is a lot of good info on paints and primers as well as fairing compounds.