SEA CAST....transom/ stringer repair system

Anybody ever use this stuff? Paul,Squid sounds like it could be a cheaper easier fix? Just scrape out the wood and fill in the void with seacast then glass over the tops of the stringers. We'll see what happens after I get the rest of the floor out.....AAHHH there is still some hope....

Jeff now that sound like an idea, do you have a link to that stuff?

www.transomrepair.com look under the stringers section. What do you think? looks good huh...

Jeff:

Better read the Seacast website FAQ. They say that it does NOT bond to wood!

Jeff, see if you can get a small amount and we can test it out and see.

Rob he will need to hollow out the stringers by taking all the wood out then pour the stuff in. It looks like it is made to replace the wood.

Yeah what Squid said....It would need to be done like step2 in the stringers section. Squid I only have plywood from in front of the engine forward. The rest of the floor is just glass over foam except the middle section of the back where the shaft seal and what not is under. Whats up with that?

Jeff, have no idea why they did that. Sounds like you have a adventure on your hands. But don't worry we will make that floor as good as that tower box you have on that old girl.

THATS WHAT I'M TALKIN BOUT....Think if or should we put floor material all the way back? or just redo it the way they did? I got more fiberglass up today and the foam under their is all wet and nasty.....EEEWWWW.... I think its a little Shasta water and some K.L butter....LOL

That can't be a good mix bet it smelled a little funky and we thought it was that canuck but it was the water in your boat. Well just keep working on her she will be done in no time.

hahahaha...Squid that was hilarious. Jeff, rip the floor up and bring it down. I say we try that stuff and see what happens. If it doesn't work, we can redo it all in a few years. Knowing what I do about squid, you will get it back a lot better than when it was new.

I tell you what, I will even pick it up and bring it down if you want. I'm up there at least once a week.

C'mon, us Canucks dont smell that bad

Jeff good luck with the repairs and keep us posted of your work and progress. My brother and I are close to purchasing a '78 SN that just had a marine survey done....marine survey turned out really good. We are still going to look at the '83 2001 for sale up here in Windsor. I am terrified about purchasing an older boat that does not have a marine survey completed on it. But I just can't resist a nice looking 2001.

Squid:

If I read the information correctly, he would have to remove ALL the wood from the entire stringer.

A transom of an I/O or outboard boat usually has a core of 1" plywood covered on BOTH sides by a fairly thick layer of fiberglass matt and gelcoat which provides structural support. If you shaved the top off the transom (I can see doing that on an outboard but not an I/O !) then you could reach down in with some tool and scoop out all the wood, which if it was rotten would not be too difficult. You would then be left with a shell of fiberglass with a 1 inch gap between the walls, which you fill with the Seacast stuff.

The stringer is an entirely different situation. If it is covered in fiberglass at all (many aren't) then it is probably just to provide a waterproof layer and may not be structural in nature.

If the stringer has rot it is probably in just a small area, most likely where some bolt or fastener provided a water path into the interior (especially true in cases where a fiberglass layer was used to waterproof). When you start probing you will find that there is a small area that is just mush and is easy to dig out. A few inches away the mush turns to a sponge like consistency which is a bit harder to dig out. The farther you go the more it will start to resemble decent wood.

You would probably end up with a foot or so of the stringer that you were able to scoop out, with good wood on either side. If you pour this void with somethng that does not bond well with the wood you will have effectively segmented your stringer into three parts. This would not be good for the hull!

So far, I haven't heard from Jeff that his stringers are bad. The plywood flooring will rot easily, stringers are generally a lot hardier.

Rod yes you are very correct on bond and digging that wood out. I have replaced a few stringers and transoms. I have not ran into any that were exposed. On my 78 the stringer was wrapped in fiber glass. I hope the stringers are not bad also. I wish I knew of this suff when I did mine. I could of just dug it out and then dumped it in.

is this product really good??
isnt it more convenient in the long run to just replace the whole stringer system?

I am going next door tom. to get a die grinder to cut out the rest of the floor. I know under the driver seat the main stringer and 2nd stringer are bad there. I dont know how far back the rot is yet? But either replace the whole stringer or hollow out the stringer and use seacast, I believe are my options other than Gitrot or whatever it is called. Or could I make some kind of sleave out of aluminum to cover over the bad spot and then glass over the metal? I can sorta see where the water would of made it's way in the farther foward you go the less glass material it looks like they used. And Squid I think I should leave the stringers coverd(glassed) until I haul it down your way just in case of any flexing towing it down there? Is this sound right,Oh yeah that foam crap is a pian to get out....lots of little pieces.....

Sounds like while you've got her open like a sardine can, you might have the opportunity to build a 'wet-floor' tank system in there. Now THAT'd be nice!

Jeff yes leave the stringers glassed so we can see what is going on with them.