Look Ma no motor

S

stevej

New member
Sold my Yamaha last week, 2500 hours and never let me down.

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Will be doing some transom work. As can be seen from the pictures; on the sides of the motor well the gel coat pulled away when I removed the plastic cap and have some of the same issues that Bob had on Thataway. Will post some additional pictures as I go along but the main problem areas are at the corners on both sides of the transom and some very poor repair work done at the factory when the roof of the moorage sank and landed on my motors a few years ago.

Interesting to note that in 95 the transom is braced with 1 inch of core that extends from the edge of the transom and wraps around the sides from top to bottom for about one foot.

Going to be an interesting project, nothing major (as in dry rot) was found when we ground the top of the transom off but there was some moisture intrusion.

More to come later
stevej
 
Good luck with the project. On an other note where are the rear windows? :shock: Was this a standard configuration or did you want it that way?

Chris Bulovsky
 
Chris, Shearwater is a first run 25 footer made in 95 and they did not have rear windows at that time. The interior is slightly different also but on the port side behind the bulkhead is the head and on the starboard side is a hanging locker. Little tough to see out back when seated at the helm but the backup camera and radar help to fill what I can's see.

stevej
 
Looks like the perfect time to raise the transom to the same height as the sides and add a hull extension/Armstrong bracket ala RF 246.

Just a thought! 8>))

Bill Uffelman
Las Vegas NV
 
Or you have a C Dory 27--getting rid of the splash well--and a full width bracket as the Tom Cat--but more weight further aft may make different handling and lines in the water.

I am also interested in what you find and looking foreard to seeing the photos. Is the center of the transom plywood?

Interesting.
 
know its sorta off topic but , Bob (thataway) how did you ever make out with the flexin on the GIANT cracks on your boat?.....john
 
John,
I want to run the boat at speed into some waves and see if there is flexion at the cracks--assuming that you mean the Tom Cat--and the cracks are not that big.

The CD 25 Transom repair shows no evidence of cracking and I don't expect that it will after a proper repair.
 
I think it was the tom- cat gotta check but , the cracks looked big in the picture, pretty sure you said you were going to run it and see so it must have been tom cat . good luck with it , have all the confidence in the world you'll get it right. have to keep an eye out for your post when you let us know what you find. no one wants to hear it on this site & i dont blame them (sorry) but i have someone who wants to trade me a fountain 29 hull no motor no drive for my boat & some cash , thinking about it . if i do strip it out & bulkhead it & set it up for racing i want to pick you brain so you dont have to reply to this one . thanks for all the great posts Bob. if i ever trailer to FL. im gonna try to get you out for a run near three digits judging from a few of your posts about running your cat on chop i get the feeling your a bit of a hot rodder at heart ? :shock: :lol: ............. john
 
Bill, no walled in transom or bracket for Shearwater. She does just fine with the original configuration and have never had an issue with much water comming over the back.

Bob, the transom is entirly balsa cored, will post some additional pictures in a few days of what I found. The water intrusion looks to be due to some poor work and questionable construction. There was no fiberglass matting used at all to cap the transom, just epoxy and filler. When the factory did repairs from the storm damage on the port side they simply gouged out about 2 inches of balsa and filled with resin on top of wet balsa, built up the area with filler and gell coated . Glad I caught it before it became a big deal.

Surprised no one has ask what I will be repowering with..... :wink:
stevej
 
Interesting that the older 25 had not matt or roving/cloth over the top of the transom--especially since it was balsa cored. I suspect that the glass is thicker on the transom than on some of the plywood cored transoms.

Transom problems are not unusual. I owned a Grady White--and many of these have serious transom problems--far more seriious than the CD 25 issues. I had to replace the entire core of the transom in a 10 year old Grady. The plywood was like toothpicks.

OK--what engine are you putting on?
 
I think he should go with one of those new v-8 outboards since he is going to be rebuilding the transom anyway. Nevermind, probably not a good idea:)
 
Finalized the deal on the motor yesterday
No Yamaha I am a little sorry to say, the only motor they had to offer in what I was looking for is heavier, a bit behind in technology and has a shorter warranty. I get the feeling that Yamaha will be getting out of the large displacement 2-stroke market. If not they have some catching up to do.

No twins for me, never really considered it due to overall weight.

After hours and hours of research, pricing and looking at various options I decided to go with a 200 HP E-Tec from channel marine. I know I am in the minority here but I really like 2-strokes and the E-Tec is an impressive motor. Will be adding I-Command guages with fuel management, GPS, water pressure, oil tank level, engine tempature, hour meter, surface water temp sensor and about a dozen other functions. The NEMA 2000 standard is so nice, just a low speed ethernet system and simple to install.

Greg (owner of Channel Marine) is a great person to work with and had no problem with me doing all the rigging (except hanging the motor and making the final connections) to save a few bucks. Also one of the few shops around that prop the boat on the water.
Actually I can’t say enough about how well Greg has treated me and been willing to work with me on the purchase. Just when I thought customer service was a thing of the past. Try this on for size, yesterday I sat down with him to finish some details on the rigging and ask for some advice on my transom work. Not only did he spend an hour plus with me on something that had nothing to do with my motor purchase but he refused to let me pay him for his time and offered to come out to my house to take a look at the boat (45 minute drive each direction) for free. Could not let him do that so we agreed to have me bring the boat by his shop for a look then he offered up to pass it by his good friend who specializes in glass repair to get his advice.

Greg also offered up a couple of ideas that I thought had some merit
When doing the drill and fill with epoxy thing for screws attaching to cored part of the boat Greg recommended that a solid fiberglass rod be inserted in the hole with the epoxy. Drill the screw hole in the rod and use it as the anchor point.
Instead of gel coating the reworked area on the transom have a colored bed liner material applied, greater durability gives a customized look and less detailed fine finishing work required.

stevej
 
Milehog, Channel Marine carries Merc and Evinrude. Sportscraft Marine seems to have a pretty good reputation around here and carries Honda. I noticed the last few days when driving by Beaverton Marine (Honda) that they look to be either getting out of the Marine business or have moved it. No more boats around the facility just RV stuff.

stevej
 
Thanks Steve, I bought my boat at Sportcraft and have heard of their good reputation.
Thing is, they dropped the ball on me a several times when I took it there for repairs after being rearended on the freeway.
BTW had I bought my boat new the E-TECs or Merc four strokes would have been my first two choices
 
Maybe I should have said as far as marine dealers go they seem to have a good reputation :wink:
I was not overly impressed with Sportcraft when I was shopping for a motor, nothing bad as far as getting me pricing or answering basic questions but they are big enough to have a "sales staff". As long as you did not ask tricky questions like what's included in the 20 hour maintenance or how do I get this type of functionality with Suzuki gauges they were able to quote prices with the best of em.

Lot to be said for being able to shake the owners hand or to call and OMG have the the owner answer the phone or be greeted at the door by the sweetheart black lab shop dog.

stevej
 
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