Make the boat Ready For fiberglass repairs and Paint.

Because I'm taking a break from removing the deck (floor) I have been kind of  all over the place anything other then working on the floor.

I have found something to do on the boat that I can sit down while doing lol. My back has been bothering me I irritated it while removing the deck so I have been trying to stay on pace while giving my back a rest.

In the foreground is a potion of the new Transom.

All the fun in the world, actually the sanding or prep is kind of the fun. Its like the drive to a to a place that your going to on vacation, if you put on some good music and concentrate on your destination you will soon get there.

I will be replacing the fiberglass on he transom and the drain holes. 

The Westsystem

I have chosen to use at least for structural repairs the Westsystem resin, when it comes to putting down large amounts of fiberglass I will probably switch to un-waxed layer resin.

Eyes on the transom. Taking a break from the boats floor.

My back has been bothering me so pulling up a glued down floor has done me in.  I have been focusing on other things that will need to get done, things that are not as taxing on my back such as the transom.  The floor of the boat came up as a surprise and it will set me back on this project approximately 6 weeks or so. My back has been an issue for years and from time to time its a big deal and this week its been a big deal, so I have to put the floor on the back burner for a while, don't worry though there is plenty to get done.

After inspecting the Transom I see its going to take more work then first thought but I factored in some small set backs like this not a rotted out floor.

Behind the black squares are 3/8 inch round dowels that have rotted away. I thing originally they were used to clamp the two pieces of the transom together. 

Oh No Huston We have a Problem The Boat Floor and Stringers are wasted

I though while I was removing the boats hardware getting it ready for paint that the floor was in good condition. I didn't feel any soft spots but when I took a closer look while preparing it for paint I found a soft spot. Right next to the bulkhead I started sanding and when I did there it was. I first stuck my finger in the spot and it when right though, then of course the worst was realized. The stringer was wasted completely void of any properties any longer. Inside the fiberglass was Black Mush what use to be wood.

 At first I thought that may be I could get away with a patch in that small area, but quickly my worst nightmare came to fruition the whole floor has to be removed and this is going to add about four or five weeks to the project and that's if I spend at lease eight hours a week on it.  Oh and all the tools, fiberglass and research that goes along with it. Ugggg.

It looks like the stringer is there but that is just an empty shell. 

Once I opened up the stringer I found that the wood was all rotten away. 

The bulkhead removed, I'm thinking about not replacing it well see what happens. 

If you look close the middle of the picture you will see a very little weep-hole I'm only guessing that may have been a problem

Trailer Done for now.

The Trailer is done for the most part I plane to pinstripe it and when I ordered the Bumper guards for the trailer one one came in the package and the other is on backorder.

The tongue on the trailer isn't the original it was welded on by previous owner I plan in the future to remove the tongue and replace to with a more modern, nicer looking, and easier to use one. 

Now the trailer is road ready I will have to take it to the DMV where i'm sure to loose my old Black California plates

Origenaly the stop light were installed on the bumper arms but I moved them down to the base of the trailer its for two reasons one I wanted to install the bumpers of course but also while you trailer the boat the way it was before the lights keeped shaking and it was distracting in the rearview mirror. 

I wrapped the wires in plastic to preserve them for sure but also because it gives the trailer a more finished look.

13" Bumper wheel from Amizon.com about $15.00

You can see in this picture that one of the bumpers are missing from the Port side when I bought them from Amizon the picture had Two but it turned out that they were just showing both sides I guess.