1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Questions about boat repairs with our resins and fiberglass: hull patches, transoms and stringers, foam, rot etc.
fallguy1000
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by fallguy1000 »

I mean the floor looks rotten.

Moisture meters are notoriously untrustworthy in these matters, btw.

Equilibrium moisture around any ocean will be 12-20%. No boat should get glassed at that high a number or it'll rot from within.

What about the stringers?

The best test for them is an sharp awl. If it goes in and they are wood; they are junk. Lotsa people will suggest glassing over them, but if they are soggy, that is more weight, not to mention the old poly resins.

If the edges of the sole are rotten; they aren't really going to be good to use for cleating. Take some closeups and far aways and we'll see if there is another way to put the new sole down.

Jaysen is right. If you don't love it, don't fix it because it is never worth more than a good boat of same vintage that ain't rotten. So, you can spend a thousand hours and five grand and end up with a boat with 6 grand and you made a buck n hour fixing it unless you paid something for it. All the boats I had in here that were at a diseconomy to fix got landfilled (two of them).
My boat build is here -------->

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t_mcgarry
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by t_mcgarry »

Well guys, I’ve been doing more research and crawling over the boat. I removed the screws holding down the center console. Most seemed to be in rotten wood. I also sounded her out and I’m sure the whole sole is wet and rotten. Except around the junction at the gunnels on either side. So I have a 1983 19 ft GW that needs a transom and new sole. May as well throw in the stringers and probable a couple of bulk heads? It is a lot and may out value her! But I do love the boat and think it’s still a good project. If I get it done? I’ll know what I have and won’t be inheriting problems from another boat. I plan on keeping and using her for a good ten or more years. My may concern is having a good place to work on it. The best place to me is home. So I’ve decided to bring it home after I modify my garage so it fits. I’ll see how far I get over the next couple of months. If I need to finish in the spring? Well, will see? I do appreciate your objection opinions and thanks. I’m going to take the center console off so it fits in my garage. Now what would be a good way to cut the sole out pattern wise? I’ll keep you updated.

fallguy1000
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by fallguy1000 »

Removing the sole ought to be done with great care. Many demolitions end up holing the hull and more repairs.

The best way to go is to leave a bit of the old sole; like 2-4". But if very rotten; then not the best. The old sole makes a good place for a flat cleat, say 4-6" wide. That cleat can be epoxied in and screwed from above and makes a landing for the new sole. However, if it is really rotten; this might be a silly move.

And you can cut it out along the hull carefully with an oscillating tool that has a carbide blade. It is a slow process, but faster than blowing a hole with a recip saw.

The alternative to leaving the sole on edges is of course, removing it all. Then you can put cleats on the hull edges and bond the cleats to a well prepped hull surface. Cleats can be made from timber, like pine or even a rot resistant wood if you want.

You can also cleat with marine foam. It is easy to cut to shapes on a table saw and simple to bond to the hull.

The plywood replacement sole ought to be neat coated with 3 coats of epoxy after cut to fit. Then when the sole is bonded; it won't rot soon.

Also, this is an opportunity to add buoyancy foam. This is a great chance to do it and make your boat safer and less likey or impossible to sink, done right.
My boat build is here -------->

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t_mcgarry
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by t_mcgarry »

Thanks, I plan on using my meister oscillating tool. It worked well cutting the transom shell. I do have another question? Do you all think the work can be done on my trailer? I plan on putting two more gunnel supports on and shoring up the transom with some blocks I’m borrowing from the marina. I’ll need to pull it in and out of my garage to work on it. The city will be after me if I try to leave it in the driveway. Do you think that will be enough support? Thanks, Tom
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fallguy1000
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by fallguy1000 »

Might be easy enough to extend a couple 2x6s off each bunk to the transom. You are walkin in it, so it definitely needs to be well supported underneath.

Just curious..why not leav in garage? Is it too big? Take the tongue off the trailer?
My boat build is here -------->

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t_mcgarry
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by t_mcgarry »

I was planning on doing the grinding on the driveway. I still have other stuff in garage and didn’t want the dust settling. That’s all.

fallguy1000
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by fallguy1000 »

t_mcgarry wrote: Fri Aug 13, 2021 12:08 pm I was planning on doing the grinding on the driveway. I still have other stuff in garage and didn’t want the dust settling. That’s all.
I have that darn glass dust all over the place. I hear ya!
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Fuzz
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by Fuzz »

Once you get a good coating of glass dust in the shop it never goes away. I am still finding glass dust from 30 years ago :help:

t_mcgarry
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by t_mcgarry »

Hi, it’s been a couple of weeks. Almost ready for some cutting. After disconnecting everything from the center console ie. wiring, throttle cables, steering cable etc. I had the marina lift off my center console with there fork lift and placed it on a pallet. It’s going to need some revision around the base in do time. The marina agreed to store it temporarily.😊 So I towed her home and put it in my garage. I had to make some revisions to my back wall! I have an attached shed that gives me an extra 5 or so feet. It fits perfect and I can pull it in and out if I need to. I’ll also need to wear a helmet due to the low hanging joists. 😂Anyway I was crazy enough to enlarge it. The city can’t say anything as long as I keep in the garage. Damn city ordinances. The best thing is the weather broke. The heat index isn’t 100 this week. 🥵 I’ll see what I can accomplish in a couple of days. I need to check on my trailer at Mitchell’s Bay Marine park on Lake St Clair this weekend. I haven’t seen it for almost two years. That’s a process in itself. Here are my garage pic’s. I plan on some serious rotten wood removal. Thanks, Tom
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t_mcgarry
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Re: 1983 Grady White 19’ Fisherman transom rebuild

Post by t_mcgarry »

Back at it! Hi, I’ve been dealing with some family issues since last fall. Life always amazes me good or bad! Things have simmered down and I resumed gutting the Grady White in early February. It’s been in my garage since September. I have removed the sole, (saturated), ended up cutting it down the center at each end to room it after removing the center access panel. I had to cut out the live wells to have access to the hull underneath. Removed 90% of the old foam in the bulkheads. I had left a 3 inch rim of the sole to tie into but it to is saturated. I’ll need to remove that and the remaining foam under the gunnels. If that sounds right? I did get to the transom and removed the rest of it as best I could.I used the multi tool saw and cut chunks out and used my wonder bar and hammer. I then used the blade to skim cut some of the remaining backing of plywood to the shell of the transom. It’s down to less than an eighth of an inch on the shell. Next, I drained 50 gallons of fuel into a clean 55 gallon drum. Then removed the 80 gallon fuel tank and the stinky wet foam underneath. I was happy with the demo so far and haven’t hurt anything yetthat I know of. Haven’t cut through the hull again. I can’t believe the amount of holes in the shell of the transom. I guess after forty years it’s to be expected. More than transducer and screws hole. It’s no wonder why they get wet. Almost looks like Swiss cheese.

So I’m down to the stringers. I used a hole saw and took samples of them. They are all wet except the forward stringers under the forward deck that I left intact. I’m hoping to keep the forward deck in place and tie into the solid stringers. Of course, I’m not sure if that’s the right direction? Your opinions are welcome. I just figured it’ll be a little less work. So my questions are: 1. When cutting out the remaining sole should it be cut at a 90 degree angle or would it be beveled for any reasons? 2. Do you think I can leave the forward deck and tie into the original stringers? The deck is solid. 3. I was going to use my multi tool saw for removing the stringers. It’s time consuming but worked quite well everywhere else. Any tricks to it or advice on stringer removal. That’s enough for now. I almost have all the rot out. Then we can start adding!
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