I recently upgraded our crabbing skiff (see Trot Lining for Crabs, to see what we do with it), but my own excitement got the best of me. I bought the boat without inspecting the transom carefully enough, and came to discover that what I had diagnosed as a minor case of rot turned out to be a major case of gooey wood in the transom. Ouch.
Then I found that the built-in seat bases had also rotted away. That the bolts I’d use to secure my brand new swiveling uber-cushy padded seats would have nothing to hold on to. Through the years I’ve done plenty of backyard fiberglass work—I’ve built consoles, repaired transoms, and refinished gel coat—but all that experience took place long ago. Once I had a solid income and could buy newer boats, those sorts of chores and the knowledge and skills doing them entails fell by the wayside. I was, more or less, starting from ground zero. Here’s what I re-learned about backyard fiberglass and gel coat work, which may come in handy for some of you one day:
One final bit of advice: before you buy that used boat, check out the transom and all other parts of the boat that were built with wood. Carefully.
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