TOPIC: seacast or nida bond ????? oh woah is me

ok guys and gals im back after a long drought spell just too busy i am measuring for my transom pour and i can't make my mind up which product to use there are a few dealers here in Georgia i might be able to get the material from without having it shipped from Florida .. that might make the difference in what i use.... so any suggestions will be appreciated.....

here are a few pictures to refresh your minds on what i am working on.

be back in a few work calls

Well I used Seacast, and had it shipped from FL.
I am a one time refurb. I never did anything like this before. It worked well, as advertised. Yes it wasn't cheap, but the transom is permanent and would stop a large caliber bullet.

I have discussed this issue in length many times on another forum where I am a long time member. If I may be so bold, Why do you want to go to the added expenses to use a composite material for the transom on your boat? If it's only because you don't want it to ever rot again then might I submit this for your consideration. A properly fabricated, installed and maintained wood core fiberglassed transom will last 5-6 decades. What does this mean? It means it must be covered in the off season, All holes drilled into it must always be coated with a Premium Marine sealant as well as the screws or bolts and regular inspections done to ensure no cracks or damage has occured and if any, proper repairs done, immediately. My boat is 50 years old and still running the original transom. My question is...Do you think you will still own the boat 60 years from now, and if you do, don't you think you will take the proper care of it so that it will last that long? The ONLY reason I see for using composites is when it is easier than tearing out the deck etc. and you can just pour it in and recap the top of the transom to save time and effort. Other than that, it's not worth the money. That's my 2¢ worth.

I cannot completely disagree with MyFlamingo, but there are more considerations. The size of the boat. That thing looks pretty big, and separating the deck from the hull looks difficult and time consuming, as MyFlamingo mentioned. Another consideration I just thought of is a curved transom. I can't see if that applies to this boat though. In the end you have to make a decision no matter what and get it done.
My deciding factor was the separation of the deck and hull. I had no place to put it, and I hadn't found this website yet either. It may have swayed my decision, since the members here mostly rebuild with wood. On the next boat (yea right) I would likely go with wood if the boat were smaller than the one I have now, and I had a proper workshop.

Capt B,

I wrestled with this on my 59 Glastron. A friend of mine used Seacast on the transom of his 22' Pearson day cruiser and was happy with it. In the end I decided to go with wood. The only rot in the transom is where the penetrations were and I figured it would be way to difficult to remove the old one without taking the deck off. If I was going to that degree, I might as well do it in epoxy-coated wood.

It looks like your boat would be tough to take the deck off (can you get access to the transom without doing that?). If it had a curved transom as you described, I would definitely consider the pourable. Every boat and situation is different and you need to figure what is best for you. Nice boat, BTW.

It is not necessary to remove the topcap of the boat in all cases. In the case of this boat the gunwales can be cut just in front of the splashwel and just the rear section of the cap can be removed. The glass repair to the gunwales is a very simple repair and is completly unnoticeable once done at the finish. It looks like this...


On extremely RARE occasions you can even cut the transom out from the stern and replace the wood and repair the glass from the back. Usually NOT recommended but can be successfully done. The above is done quite frequently with great success. If the top cap is large and cumbersome, I usually recommend cutting the gunwales and using this described methodology. Again, just my 2¢ worth.

To answer your question seacast or nida bond ? they are both the same thing as Nida makes it for Seacast,just labeled different.I was told this through a email to Nida.So whatever is easier for you to obtain is the way to go.

If you have able bodied friends, neighbors or family members to help heft a boat top from the hull - splitting a boat is not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. The time saved in removing and replacing the transom, floor, and stringers will be far more than the effort to remove the top. It makes redoing the boat infinately easier and nets the best results. Be brave - split the boat in half. Many of us can give suggestions on how to go about doing it without causing a nightmare or unnecessary work.

Bruce

i appreciate the suggestions .. the main reason for my inquiry is the transom is curved i have gotten it close to true, the boat is 21 feet long i am doing all this in my back yard and under a canopy ... and i have to formed for the pour. from the floor up. i also have a good inner and outer skin that rotted from the bottom up . i did not know the two products were the same. good to know. i am sending a few pictures for the experts to look over and hopefully give me a good grade under the circumstances .

Nice Job! You can laminate a new wooden transom using 1/4" or 3/8" ext. grade plywood epoxied and clamped to the transom in individual separate laminations to keep the curve. Fairly easy to do and it will be strong as the dickens and will last for decades. You could use Polyester resin too, but I'd recommend epoxy in this case. Gives you more working time and much more forgiving.

to ALL,

several laminations of MDO, bedded & coated with peanut butter will outlast the hull itself.

in addition to being generally more difficult to do (by the time you dig-out all the rotted-out wood), to me the expense of a pourable transom is far too much to contemplate on my military pension.
(especially, on a free-300.oo boat)

also i'm NOT convinced that (long-term) that pourable transoms will outlast OR be as strong as a wood/epoxy lamination, especially on a big/heavy/powerful boat with a heavy motor.

just my opinion, satx