Rick- we have a saying up here - if you want to go fast, get a merc. If you want to get home, get an Evinrude(Johnson)
Six weeks later the boat is finally back from the shop with a new transom. I posted some pics over here: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1345
The boat looks great. Who did the transom? OMC made nice light weight motors with plenty of power and quiet too. I think the secret to keeping a boat rot free in Florida is to keep it inside. jim
The work was done by J. R. Ratz Custom Yachts in Largo. It took a long time but they did an spectacular job. I was expecting to get the boat back with half the carpet missing and none of the accessories mounted, but they took care of everything and gave it back to me in "as new" condition. The only thing left to do is mounting speedo pickups which I told them not to do because I have new ones at home. To answer dynebob's question from my picture thread, only the aft section of the deck was lifted. The transom was replaced in 1983 and the deck was cut then, so I had no qualms about cutting it again. In fact, the new repair is far better than the old one and the joint is virtually impossible to find. I'm particularly impressed with the way the splash well is joined to the outer skin. The previous repair was not done very well, and that joint was covered with an aluminum corner piece that was screwed into the transom and there was a ton of caulk everywhere. The new joint is completely glassed over, rounded, nice and smooth. It looks like brand new back there. I wanted to ask the experts if that metal corner piece on the splashwell/transom joint is how the boats were made originally. Or was that something that B&B in Orlando came up with when they did it? I guess I really shouldn't complain because it lasted 26 years. I expect the new one to last until I'm too old to be skiing anymore. As far as keeping the boat nice, having it indoors really helps. But I've also done (or had done) a TON of work on it in the 20 years I've owned it. I mentioned this earlier, but I had the floor replaced once, and then I did it again with foam. Stringers are Seacast so there will be no more rot under there. I also had the entire boat stripped and new gelcoat applied. I've replaced carpet 3 times and seats twice. The motor was entirely rebuilt about 10 years ago and has never been in salt water. I just had the lower unit resealed as well. So at this point it is basically a new boat. Now it's time to get out on the water and do some skiing.
I am not sure which metal piece you are referring to. Your boat has the rub rail continuing around the rear corners of the boat like mine. They were not originally built like that although I like that look. If you look at Marks boat and others you will see metal corner pieces where the rail meets the transom and the rub rail ends at the corner piece. If there are black metal pieces at the end of your rub rail like mine, those are standard pieces available all over the place. jim
Yeah, I knew about that part and actually I think I might have those corner pieces somewhere. But I'm talking about the center section, just where the splash well meets the outer skin. There was a metal corner piece running horizontally across that whole section, with screws drilled vertically down into the top of the transom.
My O/B had that piece of aluminum on it to cover the seam. I think that is the way they come. You can see it in this pic at the top of the transom.
Yes, that's what I'm talking about! I hunted all over for a picture to show it. I'll snap a closeup of mine this weekend. The repair job he did on it is incredible. Thanks Ga.
Answering a couple questions from my picture thread, just trying to maintain order here. Only the back section of the deck was lifted. I have the original pylon behind my house but I don't use it for two reasons: a standard quick release won't fit on it, and the boat won't fit in my garage with the pylon in place. You'll notice in the pictures that my trailer sits up very high - high enough that I can leave the motor all the way down without fear of hitting anything. So I use a removable pylon that has two small studs mounted at the back corners of the deck. Not as strong as the original, but strong enough to pull two skiiers from deep water and that's enough for me. Cost for the transom work was $3450. With all the stuff I've done and had done over the years I could have bought a new boat, but that's not really the same thing is it?
I finally got the boat in the water today and posted some more pics in my other thread here: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1345&p=6979#p6979 After looking at the boats here for a while I missed the stripes on the deck so I put them back on this morning. Not the traditional red and blue, because there's no blue in the boat. My interior is all gray, and the Johnson outboard has red and black stripes, so I went with red and black to complement that. They look good in the pictures but up close they're pretty crappy. So I'm going to have them professionally redone. After skiing season is over, of course. I've missed enough of the summer already.
