Todd in NY

Ttt

I'll contact some Seacast dealers and get some prices. My transom is quite a bit smaller than other transoms due to only having to replace the rear part of the SST. That should keep my materials cost a little lower.

Thanks for the information Frogger! The marina will do the transom this winter inside their shop. They've used it before, so I'll let the pros handle it. Then they can mount the new motor after the do the transom.

I dropped my boat off at the marina last week. The owner says he thinks using Seacast in the transom instead of wood or Coosa would be my best option. I like the idea of Seacast, but no decision has been made yet. I'll update this thread when the next step is complete.

You're right, I just don't have time or desire to mess with it. If I have to store it in my neighbor's barn all winter, that's ok too.

Bump with a lower price.

I got the 7/8" piece of transom wood out today in one piece. It wasn't easy, and it was painfully time consuming, but I was able to save the thick sheet of plywood to use as a template. I ended up buying an 18" long 1/2" diameter drill bit. I drilled countless holes straight down into the 5/8" piece of plywood, and also drilled holes on various left and right angles, being careful to not mess up the 7/8" piece of plywood. So here is the 7/8" piece of plywood, in one piece. At this point I was able to pull the plywood out by hand. Next step is to make the new transom board.

I didn't work on the transom on Friday, but I did make some small progress on it today. I used the electric chainsaw for awhile, but by the time I noticed the small wire brads holding the 2 sheets of plywood together, my chain was dull, because I probably hit all of them. I don't know how many I hit, but I wasn't expecting to see wire brads in the transom wood. I decided to remove all of the thinner sheet of plywood, piece by piece with a hammer, chisel and pry bar. It's working, but it's tedious and painful for my carpal tunnel, osteoarthritis and tendonitis. Yep, 20 years in the Army Light Infantry has my joints all screwed up. Oh well, I'm used to after all these years.

I was hitting the transom with a rubber mallet as I was pulling upward with the crane hoist. I repeatedly hit all four sides of the SST where the wood was in contact with the aluminum. The wood appears to be sandwiched real tight on the far left and the far right. I feel very confident that I can use my electric chainsaw to remove one width of the chain through the narrower sheet of plywood, and still pull the thicker sheet out in one piece. It's waterlogged, but not quite rotted. I'll try this tomorrow and post my results.

My electric chainsaw stops as soon as I release the trigger, unlike my gas chainsaws. I usually cut down 20-25 trees every year, then limb and buck them to firewood length, so I'm confident in my chainsaw skills. I plan on spending Friday on the transom removal.

I've removed every bolt and screw in the transom, as well as the 2 drain holes. I removed every bit of foam that was blocking my access to the bolts that were holding the wood in place. I'll check out iboats tomorrow. When I do an internet search for a transom replacement for a Crestliner Sabre SST transom, I don't see anything that could answer my questions. I'm a research-aholic, but I've come up empty in my search for a similar boat transom replacement.

I made no progress today. I tried pulling with 3/8" x 4" long eye bolts, and they pulled out of the wood. Of course I drilled a pilot hole before screwing the eye bolts in, and I screwed the eye bolt all the way in. So I went to Tractor Supply and got 2 eye bolts 3/8" x 8" long. Still had no luck. I pulled the eye loop open 3 times (at least once with each eye bolt) and even managed to pull one of the 8" eye bolts out of the transom. I was lifting the back of the boat, but that transom wood would not budge. The wood is wet all the way to the bottom. It probably swelled up like a sponge over the years. It looks like Crestliner used a sheet of 7/8" plywood, and a sheet of 5/8" plywood to get their 1.5" thickness. The two sheets are separating from each other. My next plan is to use my 16" electric chain saw and gently, slowly, and very carefully remove some of the thinner sheet of plywood. I also thought about squirting some dish soap down between the wood and the aluminum, to see if that might help. I work tomorrow and Saturday, so I don't know when I'll get back to this project. I'll post updates as soon as I get around to it. The strange part about this rotten transom is that it did NOT flex at all. Those 10 carriage bolts really held that transom together, even with wet wood in the transom. That's impressive!

Rolmops, I feel your pain. I'm glad you made some progress with your transom. What a mess you found and dealt with.

I'll be using some 13 ply mahogany marine grade plywood. I thought about using Coosa Board, but I don't know enough about it. According to the marina that I'm buying the motor from, this is the only wood he uses in transoms, to include his own boat that he is doing this winter. I was able to squeeze water out of that foam like a sponge. My wife couldn't believe it. The foam I removed probably weighed 75+ pounds.